Transportable vehicle enclosure for inspecting vehicles
View Patent ↗A transportable vehicle enclosure for inspecting vehicles is formed as a mono-block suitable for loading onto a transporter and unloading from a transporter. The enclosure includes side, front, rear, ceiling and floor portions, at least one of the portions being configured to allow vehicular assess whereby, in use, a vehicle maybe placed within the enclosure. The enclosure further includes a plurality of cameras integrated into or on a plurality of proportions for imaging each side of the vehicle when a vehicle is located in the enclosure.
1. A transportable vehicle enclosure for inspecting vehicles, comprising:
a mono-block housing suitable for loading onto a transporter and unloading from a transporter and comprising portions including side portions, a front portion, a rear portion, a ceiling portion and a floor portion;
at least one of said portions being configured to allow vehicular access so that a vehicle may be placed within said mono-block housing during use;
a first light sensor provided within said mono-block housing to determine a level of light sensed within said mono-block housing;
a first aperture with a first shutter and a first driver to open and/or close said first shutter being incorporated into one of said front portion or said rear portion, said first driver being configured to vary said first aperture by controlling said first shutter dependent upon the level of light sensed within said mono-block housing by said first light sensor; and
a plurality of cameras, at least one camera of said plurality of cameras being integrated into or on each of said portions for imaging each side of said vehicle when said vehicle is located in said enclosure, wherein said each side of said vehicle includes a bottom panel of said vehicle;
wherein said plurality of cameras image individual panel damage by assessing panels of said vehicle in six orthogonal axes when said vehicle is located in said enclosure; and
wherein a cleaning nozzle and a blower are provided outside of said mono-block housing to facilitate cleaning and drying of the vehicle before entrance of the vehicle into said mono-block housing and wherein the mono-block housing is free of any cleaning nozzle and blower within the mono-block housing, whereby the enclosure facilitates the imaging of each side of said vehicle when the vehicle is located within the mono-block housing.
2. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of said plurality of cameras is located at a height for imaging wheel rims of said vehicle when said vehicle is located in said mono-block housing.
3. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of said plurality of cameras comprises a housing which is fixed to one of said side portions.
4. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of said plurality of cameras comprises a housing which is fixed to a corner region between said side portions and either said front or rear portions of said mono-block housing.
5. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , further comprising:
said floor portion comprising a window; and
at least one of said plurality of cameras being aligned with said window for imaging at least part of an underside of said vehicle when said vehicle is located within said mono-block housing.
6. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , further comprising:
said vehicle comprising tires and said tires have a tread; and
at least one of said plurality of cameras being configured to assess said tread when said vehicle is located within said mono-block housing.
7. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein said front portion is configured to facilitate an entrance of said vehicle into said mono-block housing and said rear portion is configured to facilitate an exit of said vehicle from said mono-block housing.
8. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 7 , wherein said front portion incorporates said first aperture with said first shutter and said first driver.
9. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 8 , wherein said rear portion incorporates a second aperture with a second shutter and a second driver to open and/or close said second shutter.
10. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , further comprising a blower for blowing a gas onto at least part of said vehicle.
11. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , further comprising an integral dryer for drying said vehicle prior to inspection of said vehicle.
12. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 11 , wherein said vehicle comprises wheel rims and said integral dryer is configured to direct drying medium towards said wheel rims prior to entry into said mono-block housing.
13. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of cameras are configured to pan and/or tilt to scan each panel of said vehicle when said vehicle is located within said mono-block housing.
14. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , further comprising an entrance ramp with an integral blower.
15. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , further comprising a nozzle directed towards said vehicle for cleaning said vehicle.
16. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , further comprising a second light sensor disposed outside said mono-block housing, wherein said first driver is also configured to vary said first aperture by controlling said first shutter dependent upon a level of light sensed by said second light sensor disposed outside said mono-block housing.
17. The transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein said first driver is configured to vary said first aperture by controlling said first shutter dependent upon the level of light sensed within said mono-block housing by said first light sensor and dependent upon the level of light needed for imaging by the plurality of cameras.
18. A method of inspecting a vehicle comprising the steps of:
opening a transportable vehicle enclosure according to claim 1 ;
driving said vehicle into said enclosure;
closing said enclosure;
imaging a plurality of panels of said vehicle in all six of the orthogonal axes to assess individual panel damage;
opening said transportable vehicle enclosure; and
driving said vehicle out of said enclosure.
19. The method of claim 18 , comprising the step of preparing a plurality of external parts of said vehicle.
20. The method of claim 19 , comprising the step of treating the plurality of external parts of said vehicle.
21. The method according to claim 18 , further comprising the step of blowing a medium onto said vehicle as said vehicle enters said enclosure.
22. The method according to claim 18 , further comprising the step of imaging said vehicle from one or a combination of each one of the following: upper elevation, bottom elevation, right side elevation, left side elevation, front and rear elevation.
23. The method according to claim 18 , further comprising the step of imaging a tire of said vehicle by providing a camera in a side elevation position of said tire, when said vehicle is provided in said enclosure.
24. The method according to claim 18 , further comprising the step of providing a camera below said tire to image a tread of said tire when said vehicle is provided in said enclosure.
25. The method according to claim 18 , further comprising the step of providing a window in said floor portion and a camera therein, and imaging at least part of an underside of said vehicle through said window.