JP4231332B2 - Method and apparatus for rotating headlight tester - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technology for directly facing a headlight tester with respect to a headlight to be tested, and more specifically, the optical axis of the headlight tester and the optical axis of the headlight to be tested are not parallel. In such a case, the present invention relates to a headlight tester rotation facing method and apparatus capable of carrying out a rotation facing to bring both into a parallel state.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, the headlight tester is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the lateral direction along a straight path in front of a stopped vehicle, and is also provided to be movable in the vertical direction. Then, the headlight tester in front of the headlight to be tested is positioned, and the projection beam from the headlight is received and measured or adjusted.
[0003]
In that case, it is important that the optical axis of the headlight and the optical axis of the headlight tester match as much as possible. Therefore, before measuring or adjusting the headlight by the headlight tester, It is necessary to make the light test face the headlight to be tested. In the prior art, a technique for moving and controlling the headlight tester in the lateral direction and the height direction has been proposed, but in order to match the optical axis of the headlight tester and the optical axis of the headlight as much as possible, The rotational alignment technology that rotates the headlight tester around the vertical axis was extremely limited. For example, the headlight tester is rotated around the vertical axis by visual observation with respect to a portion of the vehicle other than the headlight using a telescope or a laser provided in the headlight tester, and rotation alignment is performed.
[0004]
Therefore, the conventional rotational alignment technology of the headlight tester is extremely limited and depends on the ability of the operator, so that its accuracy varies and the work efficiency is extremely poor.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art as described above, does not depend on the ability of the operator, and is highly accurate, efficient, reliable, and reproducible. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for rotationally facing a headlight tester having
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the invention,
Measuring the distance between the centers of the left and right headlights of the vehicle by moving the headlight tester in the lateral direction along the first straight path in front of the stopped vehicle;
Measuring the amount of deviation from the first straight path in the direction of the second straight path perpendicular to the first straight path of the left and right headlights;
An inclination angle with respect to the direction of the second straight path of the left and right headlights is calculated from the center-to-center distance and the shift amount,
Rotating the headlight tester by the tilt angle so that the optical axis of the headlight tester is parallel to the optical axis of the headlight to be tested;
A method of rotating the headlight tester is provided.
[0007]
Preferably, when the optical axis of the headlight tester is parallel to the optical axis of the headlight to be tested, the optical axis of the headlight tester is coincident with the optical axis of the headlight to be tested and the headlight The tester is located at a predetermined distance from the headlight to be tested.
[0008]
Preferably, when the tilt angle is calculated, the tilt angle is α, the center distance is W, and the shift amount is l, based on the formula tan α = 1 / W. It is characterized by doing.
[0009]
Furthermore, according to the second aspect of the present invention,
First moving means for moving the headlight tester in front of the stopped vehicle along the first straight path;
First measuring means for measuring a moving distance of the headlight tester along the first straight path;
Second measuring means for measuring first and second vertical distances in the direction of the second straight path perpendicular to the first straight path between the first straight path and each of the left and right headlights of the vehicle;
Based on the distance between the centers of the left and right headlights measured by the first measuring means and the first and second vertical distances measured by the second measuring means, the headlight tester with respect to the direction of the second straight path Calculation means for calculating the inclination angle of the left and right headlights,
Rotating means for rotating the headlight tester about a vertical axis by the calculated inclination angle in order to make the optical axis of the headlight tester parallel to the optical axis of the headlight to be tested,
There is provided a rotation facing device for a headlight tester characterized by comprising:
[0010]
Preferably, the headlight tester further includes second moving means for moving the headlight tester along the second linear path, and controls the first and second moving means and the rotating means to control the headlight. Control means for positioning the tester at a predetermined distance from the headlight to be tested and aligning the optical axis of the headlight tester with the optical axis of the headlight to be tested is provided.
[0011]
More preferably, when the inclination angle is α, the center-to-center distance is W, and the amount of deviation, which is the difference between the first and second vertical distances, is l, the computing means has tan α = l / The tilt angle is calculated based on the formula of W.
[0012]
More preferably, the second measuring means includes at least two first and second imaging devices, and the first and second imaging devices each have an optical axis that passes a predetermined point at a different angle. And each focal point is located at the predetermined point.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
First, with reference to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment for carrying out the rotation facing of the headlight tester according to the present invention will be described.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 such as an automobile is stopped with respect to a predetermined stop line 3. In this case, the center points 2Lc and 2Rc of the left and right headlights 2L and 2R of the vehicle are usually defined by those skilled in the art as being the center of the headlight by the lamp core, the center mark of the headlight cover, etc. Are not exactly aligned on the stop line 3. Therefore, in order to accurately align the center points 2Lc and 2Rc of the headlights 2L and 2R on the stop line 3, two or more workers are required and the vehicle is moved many times. Is required, and the work efficiency is extremely poor. In the present invention, such a troublesome work is unnecessary, and it is possible to reliably ensure the correct facing of the headlight tester.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of rails 12, 12 are laid in front of the stop line 3 in parallel with the stop line, and reciprocate on the pair of rails 12, 12 as indicated by a bidirectional arrow H. A carriage 11 is provided so as to be movable. A position measuring means known to any person skilled in the art can be attached to the carriage 11, and the distance between any two points where the carriage 11 moves along the rails 12, 12 can be measured. . A headlight tester 10 is mounted on the carriage 11 so as to be movable in a direction indicated by a bidirectional arrow B orthogonal to the direction in which the rails 12 and 12 extend, and to be moved up and down with respect to the carriage 11. Further, the headlight tester 10 is provided so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis O as shown by a bidirectional arrow R over a predetermined angular range.
[0016]
Next, a method for directly facing the headlight tester 10 will be described based on a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, first, after the vehicle 1 is stopped with respect to the stop line 3, the carriage 11 is moved along the rails 12 and 12 to the left position L, and the headlight tester 10 is moved to the head. Alignment is performed with respect to the center point 2Lc of the light 2L. In this case, since the left and right headlights 2L, 2R of the vehicle 1 are not aligned with the stop line 3, the projection direction of the projection beam from the headlight 2L is the light of the headlight tester 10 positioned at the left position L. It does not match the axis. However, in the illustrated example, since the center point 2Lc of the left headlight 2L is located on the stop line 3, the distance between the center point 2Lc and the headlight tester 10 is a predetermined distance L (for example, 1 m ).
[0017]
Next, the carriage 11 is moved to the right and stopped when the optical axis of the headlight device 10 coincides with the center point 2Rc of the right headlight 2R (right position R). In this state, the distance W between the centers of the left and right headlights 2L and 2R in the direction parallel to the direction in which the carriage 11 moves is measured. Further, the distance (L + l) from the headlight tester 10 to the center point 2Rc of the right headlight 2R is measured. Therefore, from this measurement result, the shift amount l of the left and right headlights 2L and 2R with respect to the stop line 3 is determined. The inclination angle α due to the vehicle 1 inclining with respect to the stop line 3 has a relationship of tan α = 1 / W between the center distance W and the shift amount l. The value of α can be calculated by this relational expression. This inclination angle α represents an angle at which the optical axes of the headlights 2L and 2R are inclined with respect to a line orthogonal to the stop line 3, and therefore the headlight tester 10 is rotated in the rotational direction R around the vertical axis O. , The optical axis of the headlight tester 10 can be made parallel to the optical axis of the headlights 2L and 2R to be tested, that is, the rotational alignment can be performed. is there.
[0018]
Further, in order to make the optical axis of the headlight tester 10 coincide with the optical axis of the headlights 2L and 2R, the headlight tester 10 is rotated by an inclination angle α and the carriage 11 is moved along the rails 12 and 12. It is necessary. Further, in order to set the distance between the headlight tester 10 and a headlight (in the illustrated example, the headlight 2R) at a distance other than the predetermined distance L, the headlight tester 10 is set to the predetermined distance L. It is necessary to move along the direction B relative to the carriage 11. In this way, the optical axis of the headlight tester 10 and the optical axis of the headlight 2R can be matched and the headlight tester 10 can be positioned at a predetermined distance L from the headlight 2R. It is possible to establish a state.
[0019]
A specific example of measuring the linear distance between the headlight tester 10 and the headlight to be tested will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the headlight tester 10 is equipped with a position measuring device 20 for measuring the position of the headlight. The position measuring device 20 is a pair of upper and lower imaging devices (for example, a CCD camera) having a predetermined point X at a predetermined distance L in front of the headlight tester 10 on the optical axis 10a of the headlight tester 10 as a common focal point. 21 and 22. The pair of upper and lower imaging devices 21 and 22 are set so that the respective optical axes 10b and 10c pass through the predetermined point X at different angles (values or signs). However, it should be noted that in the illustrated example, the optical axes 10b and 10c pass the predetermined point X at an angle θ which is the same value but a different sign.
[0020]
The image captured by the upper imaging device 21 is processed by the image processing device and displayed on the upper screen 23 as a projection beam image 21a. On the other hand, the image captured by the lower imaging device 22 is also processed by the image processing device and displayed on the lower screen 24 as a projection beam image 22a. In this case, since the center 2Lc of the left headlight 2L is located on the predetermined point X which is a common focus, the displayed projection beam image 21a (22a) is on the upper screen 23 (lower screen 24). Are displayed in alignment with the center of the vertical and horizontal reference lines. As shown in FIG. 2, the center point 2Lc of the left headlight 2L is at a height H from the floor, so that the position measuring device 20 has its center optical axis (in this case, the light of the headlight tester 10). When the headlight tester 10 is not at the height H, the headlight tester 10 is controlled to be raised and lowered so that the center optical axis becomes the height H.
[0021]
On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the headlight tester 10 is positioned at the right position R. In this case, as described with reference to FIG. 1, the center point 2Rc of the right headlight 2R is separated from the headlight tester 10 by the distance L + 1, that is, is located farther from the predetermined distance L by the shift amount l. is doing. Accordingly, for example, the optical axis 10b of the upper imaging device 21 extends beyond the predetermined point X, which is the focal point, to a position below the center point 2Rc of the right headlight 2R. As shown on the upper screen 23, the projected beam image picked up by (1) is displayed shifted downward by a height h from the reference position. Similarly, the projection beam image picked up by the lower image pickup device 22 is displayed shifted downward by a height h from its reference position as shown on the lower screen 24. This shift amount h is proportional to the shift amount l of the headlight center point from the predetermined point X. Accordingly, the relationship between the shift amount h and the shift amount l is experimentally determined in advance, and the shift amount h is determined by the image processing device from the images captured by the imaging devices 21 and 22. l can be calculated.
[0022]
Next, a headlight tester 10 incorporating a rotation facing mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Referring first to FIG. 4, a headlight tester 10 constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention has a housing 14 that is generally box-shaped and has an open front. A lens 15 is provided at the front opening of the housing 14, and the lens 15 defines an optical axis 10 a of the headlight tester 10. A reflector 16 is disposed behind the lens 15 so that a projection beam passing through the lens 15 is input to an imaging device 17 for measuring a projection beam such as a CCD camera. Therefore, the imaging device 17 can receive the projection beam from the headlight, perform image processing, and measure or adjust the performance of the headlight. For example, the projection beam picked up by the image pickup device 17 is subjected to image processing by an image processing device 18 constituted by a CPU or the like, and the processing result is displayed on the display screen 19.
[0023]
The housing 14 is further provided with a pair of upper and lower imaging devices 21 and 22 for measuring the distance between the headlight and the headlight tester. The upper imaging device 21 is arranged so that its optical axis 10b is incident on a predetermined point X that is a common focus at a first angle, while the lower imaging device 22 has its optical axis 10c at a second angle. It is arranged to be incident on the fixed point X. As described above, the predetermined point X is a common focus of the upper and lower imaging devices 21 and 22. Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 4, since the center point 2Lc of the left headlight 2L is located at the predetermined point X, each of the imaging data from the upper and lower imaging devices 21 and 22 is a projection beam image. Therefore, the image processing device 18 determines that the left headlight 2L is located at a predetermined distance (L in the illustrated example) from the headlight tester 10. On the other hand, when the image processing device 18 determines that the headlight (for example, the right headlight 2R) is located at a distance other than the predetermined distance L from the headlight tester 10, the image processing device 18 moves. It is possible to move the headlight tester 10 in the direction B on the carriage 11 by sending a signal to the means.
[0024]
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a lower plate 30 having a protrusion 30 a protruding downward is fixed to the bottom of the housing 14, and a support plate 31 is disposed below the lower plate 30. ing. An opening 31a is formed in the support plate 31, and the protrusion 30a is inserted into the opening 31a. Therefore, the housing 14 is supported rotatably around the central axis of the protrusion 30a as a vertical rotation axis. Has been. A motor 32 is fixed to the support plate 31, and the rotation shaft of the motor 32 is connected to a screw rod 34 via a universal joint 33 as shown in FIG. 6. The screw rod 34 is screwed into a nut 35 fixedly supported by a support 36 on the bottom of the housing 14. Therefore, when a control signal from the image processing device 18 is applied to the motor 32, the screw rod 34 is rotated by the motor 32, so that the housing 14 (and hence the optical axis 10a of the headlight tester 10) rotates the protrusion 30a. It is rotated around the axis by a predetermined inclination angle.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 5, the support plate 31 is coupled to the lifting device 13 mounted on the carriage 11. Therefore, the position of the housing 14, and thus the headlight tester 10, can be controlled in the vertical direction by the lifting device 13, and the operation of the lifting device 13 can be controlled by a signal from the image processing device 18.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to perform the rotational alignment of the headlight tester reliably and with reproducibility. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the rotational alignment operation of the headlight tester can be completely automated and can be operated quickly.
[0027]
Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention should not be limited only to these specific examples, and various modifications may be made without departing from the technical scope of the present invention. Of course, it is possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a head-to-head tester is rotationally aligned according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a distance between a headlight tester and a headlight is measured according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a distance between a headlight tester and a headlight is measured according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a headlight tester having a rotation facing function configured according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a schematic plan view of the headlight tester shown in FIG. 4. FIG.
6 is a schematic bottom view of the headlight tester shown in FIG. 4. FIG.

Claims (7)

In the headlight tester rotation facing method,
Measuring the distance between the center of the left and right headlights of the vehicle by moving the headlight tester in the lateral direction along the first straight path in front of the stopped vehicle;
Measuring the amount of deviation from the first straight path in the direction of the second straight path perpendicular to the first straight path of the left and right headlights;
An inclination angle with respect to the direction of the second straight path of the left and right headlights is calculated from the center-to-center distance and the shift amount,
Rotating the headlight tester by the tilt angle so that the optical axis of the headlight tester is parallel to the optical axis of the headlight to be tested,
Rotation facing method of a headlight tester characterized by the above.   2. The headlight tester according to claim 1, wherein when the optical axis of the headlight tester is made parallel to the optical axis of the headlight to be tested, the optical axis of the headlight tester is coincident with the optical axis of the headlight to be tested. A method of rotating the headlight tester, wherein the light tester is positioned at a predetermined distance from the headlight to be tested.   3. When calculating the tilt angle according to claim 1, when the tilt angle is α, the center-to-center distance is W, and the shift amount is l, the equation of tan α = 1 / W is obtained. Rotation facing method of headlight tester characterized by calculating based on. In the rotation facing device of the headlight tester,
First moving means for moving the headlight tester along the first straight path in front of the stopped vehicle;
First measuring means for measuring the distance between the centers of the headlight of the left and right of the vehicle along said first linear path,
Second measuring means for measuring first and second vertical distances in the direction of the second straight path perpendicular to the first straight path between the first straight path and each of the left and right headlights of the vehicle;
Based on the distance between the centers of the left and right headlights measured by the first measuring means and the first and second vertical distances measured by the second measuring means, the headlight tester with respect to the direction of the second straight path Calculation means for calculating the inclination angle of the left and right headlights,
Rotating means for rotating the headlight tester about a vertical axis by the calculated inclination angle in order to make the optical axis of the headlight tester parallel to the optical axis of the headlight to be tested,
And a headlight tester rotation facing device.   5. The head according to claim 4, further comprising second moving means for moving the headlight tester along the second straight path, and controlling the first and second moving means and the rotating means. A head having a control means for positioning a light tester at a predetermined distance from the headlight to be tested and aligning the optical axis of the headlight tester with the optical axis of the headlight to be tested Light tester rotation facing device.   6. The calculation means according to claim 4, wherein when the inclination angle is α, the center-to-center distance is W, and the amount of deviation, which is the difference between the first and second vertical distances, is 1, tan α = A rotation facing device for a headlight tester, wherein the tilt angle is calculated based on an expression of 1 / W. In any one of the claims 4 to 6, wherein the second measuring means has a respective at least one of the first and second imaging device, the first and second imaging devices, respectively, A headlight tester rotation facing device characterized by having an optical axis passing through a predetermined point at a different angle and positioning each focal point at the predetermined point.

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