Optical device and method for inspecting tires

1. A method for inspecting tires; the method comprising:

taking at least one 2D image of at least one first area of a tread of a tire that is to be inspected;

determining a profile depth of at least one second area of the tread of the tire by 3D profile depth measurement; the second area being included in the first area;

dividing the at least one 2D image into a plurality of image sections;

calculating texture features for each of the image sections;

assigning the at least one 3D profile depth measurement to the texture features; and

simultaneously displaying the at least one 2D image of the at least one first area; the position of the second area in the first area; and the determined profile depth.

2. The method of claim 1 ; wherein the 2D image is a 2D gray-scale value image or a 2D color image.

3. The method of claim 1 ; further comprising:

illuminating at least the second area of the tread of the tire.

4. The method of claim 1 ; further comprising: determining a minimum profile depth of the second area of the tread; and simultaneously displaying the minimum profile depth of the second area of the tread along with the at least one image of the at least one first area; the position of the second area in the first area; and the profile depth.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the taking the at least one image includes taking an image sequence having a plurality of images of different areas of the tread of the tire, the method further comprising: composing an overview image of a greater area of the tread of the tire from the images of the image sequence; and displaying the overview image.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising: identifying characteristic features of the tread; and composing the images of the image sequence to form the overview image with the aid of the characteristic features.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

analyzing the images of the image sequence automatically, so as to arrive at statements on the condition of the tread.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

taking into account the previously determined profile depth in the analysis and/or identifying texture features of the tread, and

comparing them with previously stored texture features and/or comparing the texture features of the tires of a vehicle to one another.

9. A device for inspecting tires, the device comprising:

at least one camera to take a 2D image of at least one first area of a tread of a tire that is to be inspected,

an optical projection device to illuminate at least one second area of the tread of the tire that is to be inspected, the second area being included in the first area, an evaluation device configured for:

determining the profile depth in the second area of the tread of the tire from the 2D image taken by the camera;

dividing the at least one 2D image into a plurality of image sections;

calculating texture features for each of the image sections; and

assigning the at least one 3D profile depth measurement to the texture features; and

a display device to simultaneously display the profile depth determined by the evaluation device, the 2D image of the at least one first area of the tread, and the position of the second area within the first area of the tire.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the evaluation device is configured to analyze the taken image, so as to arrive at a statement on a condition of the tread.

11. The device of claim 9 , wherein the evaluation device determines a minimum profile depth of the second area of the tread, and the display device simultaneously displays the minimum profile depth along with the image of the at least one first area of the tread, the position of the second area within the first area, and the profile depth.

12. The device of claim 9 , wherein the at least one camera takes an image sequence having a plurality of images of different areas of the tread of the tire, the plurality of images including the at least one image,

the evaluation device composes an overview image of a greater area of the tread of the tire from the images of the image sequence, and

the display device displays the overview image.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the displayed profile depth includes a two dimensional representation of the profile depth over a width of the tread in the second area.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising simultaneously displaying the at least one image, the position of the second area, and the profile depth for each of a plurality of tires.

15. The method of claim 4 , further comprising, upon determining that the minimum profile depth is below a predetermined value, providing an optical or acoustical warning.

16. The method of claim 4 , wherein the second area is a section of the tread over a full width of the tire.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium including program instructions, which when executed by a processor perform a method for inspecting tires, the method comprising:

taking at least one 2D image of at least one first area of a tread of a tire that is to be inspected,

determining a profile depth of at least one second area of the tread of the tire by 3D profile depth measurement, the at least one second area being included in the first area, dividing the at least one 2D image into a plurality of image sections; calculating texture features for each of the image sections;

assigning the at least one 3D profile depth measurement to the texture features; and simultaneously displaying the at least one 2D image of the at least one first area, the position of the second area in the first area, and the profile depth.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , the method further comprising:

determining a minimum profile depth of the second area of the tread, and simultaneously displaying the minimum profile depth with the at least one image, the position of the second area, and the profile depth.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , the method further comprising:

taking an image sequence having a plurality of images of different areas of the tread of the tire, the plurality of images including the at least one image,

composing an overview image of a greater area of the tread of the tire from the images of the image sequence, and displaying the overview image.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the displayed profile depth includes a two dimensional representation of the profile depth over a width of the tread in the second area.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determined profile depth overlays the at least one 2D image.

22. The device of claim 9 , wherein the determined profile depth overlays the at least one 2D image.

23. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the determined profile depth overlays the at least one 2D image.