The present invention generally relates to manufacturing technology and more particularly to a system to measure and adjust toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Camber is the inward or outward tilt of the tires. Inward tilt is negative, outward tilt is positive. Camber is used to distribute load across the entire tread. Improper camber makes the tire wear on one edge and causes the vehicle to pull to the side that has the most positive camber. The camber and toe are adjusted by bending the axle. In common practice of manufacturing, one of the existing solutions includes using proximity sensor or contact based sensor to detect the toe and camber. The slide moving forward on rails to three contact with end plate surface. The proximity sensors measure angles. However, the existing solution fails if the sensor fails to come in contact with the end plate surface further, some of the sensors may be overly in contact and may give faulty readings due to some of the sensors overly in contact and some floating over the end plate surface. This results in highly inaccurate value of toe and camber angle. Further, wear and tear of the contact based sensor causes inaccurate reading. Furthermore, this also results in frequent part replacement of the contact sensors to obtain accurate readings.
Inaccurate value of the toe and camber angle results in poor tyre and wheel health of the vehicle. This also results in diminished efficiency of vehicle and also greatly affect the handling of the vehicle.
There is an eminent need in the art to overcome above disadvantages. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a new system to measure and adjust toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a system to measure toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system to adjust toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle.
Yet another object of the present invention is to reduce wear and tear of wheels.
Yet another object of the present invention is to increase balance of the vehicle.
Yet another object of the present invention is to increase accuracy in measuring toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle.
Yet another object of the present invention is to increase productivity by reducing wastage of bended axle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simple manner, which is further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the subject matter, nor to determine the scope of the invention.
According to an aspect of the present invention a system to measure and adjust toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle is provided. The system comprises a plurality of laser sensors, a clamp configured to fasten an end plate of the axle proximal to the plurality of laser sensors, wherein the plurality of laser sensor are configured to project rays of light at the end plate and detect a first angle of toe and camber of the axle, a processing module connected with the plurality of laser sensors is configured to compare the

detected first angle of toe and camber with a predetermined angle of toe and camber, determine whether the first angle of toe and camber is higher or lower than or within a tolerable range of the predetermined angle of toe and camber; send a first signal indicative of an alert of a scrap axle in case the detected first angle of toe and camber is higher or lower than the predetermined angle of toe and camber and send a second signal indicative of a usable axle in case the detected first angle of toe and camber is within a tolerable range of the predetermined angle of toe and camber.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of laser sensors are mounted on a linear motion (LM) guide rails.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system comprises a hydraulic arm, connected with the plurality of laser sensors, configured to move the plurality of laser sensors in a forward or backward direction, on the LM guide rails.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system comprises a hydraulic press, connected with the axle, configured to bend and reshape the axle.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system comprises a User Interface configured to receive the first signal and the second signal displaying the axle as either the scrap axle or the usable axle.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module is configured to instruct the hydraulic press to bend the axle thereby bringing the first angle of toe and camber to the predetermined angle of toe and camber.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system comprises a proximity sensor to detect presence of the axle on the clamp.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, each laser sensor of the plurality of laser sensors is configured to project the light ray on the end plate.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, each laser sensor of the plurality of laser sensors is configured to detect a length of the projected light ray.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the angle of toe and camber is determine by the processing module based on the length of the plurality of projected light rays from the respective plurality of laser sensors.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module is configured to determine a degree of flatness of the endplate using the plurality of projected light rays incident on the end plate from the respective plurality of laser sensors.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular to the description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

These and other features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following text figure, with like reference numbers referring to like structures across the views, wherein:
Fig. 1 illustrates a system to measure and adjust toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 illustrates the system and working of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
Fig. 3 illustrates light rays from a plurality of laser sensors incident on an end plate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
As used throughout this description, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e., meaning must). Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one" and the word "plurality" means "one or more" unless otherwise

mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.
Likewise, the term "comprising" is considered synonymous with the terms "including" or "containing" for applicable legal purposes. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention.
The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, a number of materials are identified as suitable for various facets of the implementations. These materials are to be treated as exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, figure 1 illustrates an environment diagram of system (100) to measure and adjust toe and camber of an axle (120) of a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system (100) comprises a plurality of laser sensors (104), a hydraulic press (106), a processing module (102), a hydraulic arm (not shown in figure 1), a clamp (not shown in figure 1), and an end plate (not shown in figure 1). In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the hydraulic press (106) and may be selected from but not limited to mechanical press, eccentric press, pneumatic press, forging press, Arbor press, or assembly press. The hydraulic arm (112) may be an electric, hydraulic, or a pneumatic arm. In one scenario of the present invention, electric motors such as, but not limited to, servo motors may be used to adjust position of the plurality of laser sensors (104). The hydraulic arm (112) may have extenders which extend or contract on command.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module (102) is envisaged to include computing capabilities such as a memory unit (1022) configured to store machine readable instructions. The machine-readable instructions may be loaded into the memory unit (1022) from a non-transitory machine-readable medium, such as, but not limited to, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs and Flash Drives. Alternately, the machine-readable instructions may be loaded in a form of a computer software program into the memory unit (1022). The memory unit (1022) in that manner may be selected from a group comprising EPROM, EEPROM and Flash memory. Then, the processing module (102) includes a processor (1024) operably connected with the memory unit (1022). In various embodiments, the processor (1024) may be a microprocessor selected from one of, but not limited to an ARM based or Intel based processor or in the form of field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a general-purpose processor and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Further, the processing module (102) further comprises a communication module (1026) are configured for enabling connection of the hydraulic press (106), the hydraulic arm (112) and the plurality of laser sensors (104). The connection may be wired or wireless. In that sense, the communication module (1026) may include Power over Ethernet Switch, USB ports etc. These may allow transferring of data from plurality of laser sensors (104) to the processing module (102) and data from the processing module (102) to hydraulic press (106) and hydraulic arm (112) and vice versa via ethernet cable, USB cable etc. Additionally, or alternately, the communication module (1026) may be an Internet of Things (IOT) module, Wi-Fi module, Bluetooth module, RF module etc. adapted to enable a wireless communication between the hydraulic press (106), the plurality of laser sensors (104), the hydraulic arm (112), and the processor (1024) via a wireless communication network (110). The wireless communication network (110) may be, but not limited to, Bluetooth network, RF network, NFC, WIFI network, Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN). The wireless communication network (110) may be implemented using a number of protocols, such as but not limited to, TCP/IP, 3GPP, 3GPP2, LTE, IEEE 802.x, etc. In one embodiment, the all the components of the system (100) are connected with each other via the communication network (110). The processing module (102) is also envisaged to implement Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and deep learning for data collation and processing.
Further, figure 2 illustrates the system (100) and working of the system (100) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in figure 2, the plurality of laser sensors (104) are mounted on a linear motion (LM) guide rails (114). In an additional or alternative embodiment, the the plurality of laser sensors (104) may be mounted on a motorised extending arm. As shown in figure 2, the plurality of laser sensors (104) may be connected with the hydraulic arm (112). The hydraulic arm (112) may be

configured to move the plurality of laser sensors (104) in a forward or backward direction, on the LM guide rails (114).
Further, as shown in figure 2, the clamp (118) is configured to fasten the end plate (116) of the axle (120) proximal to the plurality of laser sensors (104). In an additional or alternative embodiment, the system (100) may comprise a proximity sensor detect presence of the axle (120) on the clamp (118). In an additional or alternative embodiment, the system (100) may include a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the axle (120) before measuring and obtaining reading of the toe and camber of the axle.
Further, the axle (120) may be clamped (118) using snap fit mechanism, or fasteners such as screws, rivets, hinges etc. Further, the plurality of laser sensors (104) may be arranged proximal to the end plate (116) by moving the plurality of sensors forward and backward using the hydraulic arm (112). Furthermore, as shown in figure 2, the hydraulic press (106) may be connected with the axle (120). The hydraulic press (106) may be configured to bend and reshape the axle (120).
The invention works in following manner:
Figure 2 and figure 3 illustrate implementation of the system (100), in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in figure
2, clamp (118) configured to fasten an end plate (116) of the axle (120) proximal to the plurality of laser sensors (104). As shown in figure 2.the plurality of sensors are arranged proximal to the end plate (116). The plurality of laser sensors (104) are configured to project rays of light at the end plate (116) and detect a first angle of toe and camber of the axle (120). As shown in figure 3, the plurality of laser sensors (104) are projecting respective plurality of light rays onto the end plate (116). As shown in figure
3, each laser sensor of the plurality of laser sensors (104) is configured to project the light ray on the end plate (116). Each laser sensor of the plurality

of laser sensors (104) is configured to detect a length of the projected light ray. For example, the detected first angle of toe of the axle (120) may be 39 minutes and the detected first angle of camber of the axle (120) may be -65 minutes.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module (102) connected with the plurality of laser sensors (104) is configured to compare the detected first angle of toe and camber with a predetermined angle of toe and camber. For example, in normal car typically a slight amount of negative camber -5 to -60 minutes to have a good balance of cornering grip, braking grip, and tire wear. On most vehicles it's common to have slightly more negative camber -5 to -60 minutes in the rear to reduce the chances of oversteer (loss of grip in rear). Further, generally the angle of toe is in range from -5 to +35 minutes. Preferably, for a car, let's say the toe angle is 39 minutes. In this scenario, the processing module (102) may compare the detected first angle of toe and camber i.e., 39 minutes and -65 minutes with the predetermined angle of toe and camber i.e., -5 to +35 minutes and -5 to -60 minutes respectively.
After comparing the detected first angle of toe and camber with the predetermined angle of toe and camber, the processing module (102) us configured to determine whether the first angle of toe and camber is higher or lower than the predetermined angle of toe and camber. In an additional or alternative embodiment, the angle of toe and camber is determine by the processing module (102) based on the length of the plurality of projected light rays from the respective plurality of laser sensors (104). In an additional or alternative embodiment, the processing module (102) is configured to determine a degree of flatness of the endplate using the plurality of projected light rays incident on the end plate (116) from the respective plurality of laser sensors (104). Continuing the above example, the detected first angle of toe and camber is higher than the predetermined angle of toe

and camber. As shown in figure 3, the detected first angle of toe is higher than the predetermined angle of toe and camber.
Next, after determining the detected first angle of toe and camber is higher or lower than or within a tolerable range of the predetermined angle of toe and camber, the processing module is configured to send a first signal indicative of an alert of a scrap axle in case the detected first angle of toe and camber is higher or lower than the predetermined angle of toe and camber. Further, the processing module is configured to send a second signal indicative of a usable axle in case the detected first angle of toe and camber is within a tolerable range of the predetermined angle of toe and camber.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention the user Interface is configured to receive the first signal and the second signal displaying the axle as either the scrap axle or the usable axle. For example, the detected first angle of toe and camber is -50 minutes which is within a tolerable range of -5 to -60 minutes, the processing module is configured to send the second signal configuring the user interface to display the usable axle. Otherwise, the processing module is configured to send the first signal configuring the user interface to display the scrap axle.
In an additional or alternative embodiment, the processing module (102) is configured to instruct the hydraulic press (106) to bend the axle (120) thereby bringing the first angle of toe and camber to the predetermined angle of toe and camber. Continuing the above example, the detected first angle of toe is higher than the predetermined angle of toe and camber, the hydraulic press (106) is configured to pull the end plate (116) from an upper end. The pulling results in a change in camber angle of the end plate (116). The hydraulic press (106) may pull the end plate (116) from the detected -65 minutes to within tolerable range of -5 to -60 minutes. Further, the hydraulic press (106) may push the end plate (116) on side to

change its toe angle. The hydraulic press (106) may push the end plate (116) from 39 minutes to -5 to +35 minutes.
In an additional or alternative embodiment, if the temperature of the axle (120) is above a predetermined temperature, the processing module (102) may instruct the laser sensors (104) to stop measuring and reading the angle of toe and camber. Further, the processing module (102) may instruct the hydraulic press (106) to stop the bending at which there is a probability of unwanted deformation of the axle. For example, while measuring and reading the angle of toe and camber, if the temperature of any part of the axle is above lets' say 52°C, the processing module (102) may instruct the laser sensors (104) to stop measuring and reading the angle of toe and camber till the temperature of the axle (120) is within the predetermined 50°C to 60°C. The laser sensors (104) to stop measuring and reading the angle of toe and camber may continue when the temperature is detected below the predetermined temperature.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the processing module (102) may also include a user interface. The user interface may include a display envisaged to show activities of the system (100). The display may be, but not limited to Light-emitting diode display (LED), electroluminescent display (ELD), liquid crystal display (LCD), Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) & AMOLED display. Furthermore, the user interface may include accessories like keyboard, mouse etc. envisaged to provide input capability to enable a user to enter predetermined parameters, toa and camber angle, calibration settings. In another embodiment, the user interface may be a touch input based display, that integrates the input-output functionalities.
The present invention has various advantage. The invention provides an easy and cost effective approach to measure toe and camber of the axle of the vehicle. One such advantage is present invention provides a system

to measure toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle. The present invention provides a system to adjust toe and camber of the axle of the vehicle. The system helps in reducing wear and tear of wheels. The present invention helps in increasing balance of the vehicle. The present invention increases accuracy in measuring toe and camber of an axle of a vehicle. The present invention increases strength of axle by minimising bending efforts on the axle i.e., earlier, the axle toe and camber are measured again and again and resulting in more bending of the axle. However, in the present invention, the bending is minimal due to accuracy in measurement of the toe and camber. The present invention increases productivity by reducing wastage of wrongly bended axles.
In general, the word "module," as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be appreciated that modules may comprised connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and may comprise programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other computer storage device.
Further, while one or more operations have been described as being performed by or otherwise related to certain modules, devices or entities, the operations may be performed by or otherwise related to any module, device or entity. As such, any function or operation that has been described as being performed by a module could alternatively be performed by a different server, by the cloud computing platform, or a combination thereof. It should be understood that the techniques of the present disclosure might be implemented using a variety of technologies. For example, the methods described herein may be implemented by a series of computer executable

instructions residing on a suitable computer readable medium. Suitable computer readable media may include volatile (e.g., RAM) and/or non-volatile (e.g., ROM, disk) memory, carrier waves and transmission media. Exemplary carrier waves may take the form of electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals conveying digital data steams along a local network or a publicly accessible network such as the Internet.
It should also be understood that, unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as "controlling" or "obtaining" or "computing" or "storing" or "receiving" or "determining" or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system (100), or similar electronic computing device, that processes and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
Various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The principles associated with the various embodiments described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the description is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown along with the accompanying drawings but is to be providing broadest scope of consistent with the principles and the novel and inventive features disclosed or suggested herein. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and the appended claims.

We claim:

A system (100) to measure and adjust toe and camber of an axle (120) of a vehicle, the system (100) comprising:
a plurality of laser sensors (104);
a clamp (118) configured to fasten an end plate (116) of the axle (120) proximal to the plurality of laser sensors (104), wherein the plurality of laser sensors (104) are configured to project rays of light at the end plate (116) and detect a first angle of toe and camber of the axle (120);
a processing module (102) connected with the plurality of laser sensors (104) is configured to:
compare the detected first angle of toe and camber with a
predetermined angle of toe and camber;
determine whether the first angle of toe and camber is
higher or lower than or within a tolerable range of the
predetermined angle of toe and camber;
send a first signal indicative of an alert of a scrap axle in
case the detected first angle of toe and camber is higher or lower
than the predetermined angle of toe and camber and
send a second signal indicative of a usable axle in case the
detected first angle of toe and camber is within a tolerable range
of the predetermined angle of toe and camber.
The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of laser sensors (104) are mounted on a linear motion (LM) guide rails (114).
The system (100) as claimed in claim 2, comprising a hydraulic arm (112), connected with the plurality of laser sensors (104), configured to move the plurality of laser sensors (104) in a forward or backward direction, on the LM guide rails (114).

4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a hydraulic press (106), connected with the axle (120), configured to bend and reshape the axle (120).
5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a User Interface configured to receive the first signal and the second signal displaying the axle as either the scrap axle or the usable axle.
6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing module is configured to instruct the hydraulic press (106) to bend the axle (120) thereby bringing the first angle of toe and camber to the predetermined angle of toe and camber.
7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 comprising a proximity sensor to detect presence of the axle (120) on the clamp (118).
8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 wherein, each laser sensor of the plurality of laser sensors (104) is configured to project the light ray on the end plate (116).
9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7 wherein, each laser sensor of the plurality of laser sensors (104) is configured to detect a length of the projected light ray.
10. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7 wherein, the angle of toe and camber is determine by the processing module (102) based on the length of the plurality of projected light rays from the respective plurality of laser sensors (104).
11. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7 wherein, the processing module (102) is configured to determine a degree of flatness of the endplate using the plurality of projected light rays incident on the end plate (116) from the respective plurality of laser sensors (104).