Deviation measurement system

In an automobile frame or body straightening system including a rack for supporting a vehicle and means to push or pull components thereof, said system including means for determining the location of a series of points on said vehicle, said determining means comprising:

• (a) a plurality of emitter means,
• (b) array mounting means located adjacent the vehicle, said array mounting means having a number of movable arms and position sensor means designed to determine the positions of said arms,
• (c) receiver means including a plurality of microphones spaced apart from said emitter means and mounted on said array mounting means,
• (d) means for causing energy signal emission from said emitter means,
• (e) means for timing energy signal travel from said emitter means to said receiver means and determining the three dimensional coordinates of the point to be measured and calculating and comparing the deviation of the position of a measured point from a reference positio where the reference position data for a point to be measured is inputted for a selected vehicle model, and
• means designed to display the deviation comparison to the operator of said system, said display means designed to display the comparison in a graphic format showing two views of the vehicle and comparison so as to give a true three dimensional picture of the position deviation.

A system for determining the spatial position of an infinite number of points on, in and adjacent to a body and comparing one or more of the measured positions with corresponding reference positions, said system comprising:

• (a) data acquisition means designed to measure the three dimensional positions of an infinite number of points on, in and adajcent to a body, said data acquisition means including,
• (1) at least one emitter means mountable to the body, said emitter means having a plurality of energy signal generators in known spatial relation to one another and the body to locate an infinite number of points, thereby permitting measurement of positions on, in and adjacent to the body,
• (2) at least four receiver means in optical, electrical and acoustical communication with said generators and located away from the body, said receiver means having three receivers in line with one another and known separations, the fourth of said receivers off of the line formed by the other three, said receivers being able to detect the energy signals generated by said emitter means,
• (3) control means designed to cause energy signals to be sent by said emitter means,
• (4) timing means linking said receiver means and said control means and designed to generate a time measurement of the time elapsed from the time the signal is generated by said emitter means until the signal is detected by said receiver means,
• (5) processing means designed to receiver the time measurements of said timing means and further designed to convert the time measurements into three dimensional coordinates of the point to be measured using calculations that are independent of the velocity of said wavefronts and any deviations due to ambient conditions around the system, and
• (b) an operator display unit in communication with said data acquisition means designed to compare the measured position with the reference position.

A system for determining the spatial portions of an infinite number of points on, in and adjacent to a body, said system comprising:

• (a) data acquisition means designed to measure the three dimensional positions of an infinite number of points on, in and adjacent to a body, said data acquisitions means including,
• (1) at least one emitter means mountable to the body, said emitter means having a plurality of energy signal generators in known spatial relation to one another and the body to locate an infinite number of points thereby permitting measurement of positions on, in sad adjacent to the body,
• (2) at least three receiver means in optical, electrical and acoustical communication with said emitter means and spaced apart from the body, said receiver means being in noncollinear relation to one another and further being able to detect the energy signals generated by said emitter means,
• (3) control means designed to cause energy signals to be sent by said emitter means,
• (4) timing means linking said receiver means and said control means and designed to generate a time measurement of the time elasped from the time the signal is generated by said emitter means until the signal is detected by said receiver means, and
• (5) processing means designed to receive the time measurements of said timing means and further designed to convert the time measurements into three dimensional coordinates of the point to be measured.