US5528496A — Vehicle alignment system and method incorporating…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 123 words

A system for facilitating the inspection and alignment of the suspensions of numerous different vehicle models comprising: manually operable means for selecting a particular vehicle model to be inspected and adjusted; means for prestoring a number of digital photographs depicting predetermined actual wear and adjustment points for the alignment and suspensions of a plurality of different actual vehicle models; display means for displaying digital photographs; controller means responsive to the selection of a particular vehicle model by the selecting means for providing, if available, at least one of the stored digital photographs for that particular vehicle model to the display means for display, said displayed digital photograph depicting at least one of said predetermined wear and adjustment points of the selected vehicle model.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 123 words

A system for facilitating the inspection and alignment of the suspensions of numerous different vehicle models comprising: manually operable means for selecting a particular vehicle model to be inspected and adjusted; means for prestoring a number of digital photographs depicting predetermined actual wear and adjustment points for the alignment and suspensions of a plurality of different actual vehicle models; display means for displaying digital photographs; controller means responsive to the selection of a particular vehicle model by the selecting means for providing, if available, at least one of the stored digital photographs for that particular vehicle model to the display means for display, said displayed digital photograph depicting at least one of said predetermined wear and adjustment points of the selected vehicle model.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 32 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the storing means has stored therein over 500 different digital photographs depicting actual wear and adjustment points of actual vehicle models.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 40 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the storing means has stored therein digital photographs depicting actual wear and adjustment points for a majority of the automobiles sold in the United States over a predetermined decade.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 40 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the storing means has stored therein a first set of digital photographs for use in vehicle inspection and a second set of digital photographs for use in vehicle adjustment.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 37 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 4 wherein the inspection digital photographs have associated therewith visual indicia indicating to the user inspection points for the particular vehicle model suspension being displayed in the photograph.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 33 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 5 wherein the visual indicia includes alphanumeric legends and arrows pointing to the particular parts on the digital photograph corresponding to the alphanumeric legends.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 40 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 4 wherein the adjustment digital photographs have associated therewith visual indicia indicating to the user adjustment points and instructions for adjusting the particular vehicle model alignment being displayed in the photograph.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 36 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the storing means has stored therein a plurality of digital photographs for each of at least some of the particular vehicle models to be tested.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 39 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the prestoring means has stored therein at least one such photograph for at least a majority of the automobiles sold in the United States over a predetermined period.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 21 words

The vehicle alignment system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the storing means is a compact disc read only memory.

Claim 12

Independent Claim 95 words

A method of operating alignment apparatus for inspecting the suspensions of numerous different vehicle models comprising the steps of: selecting from a plurality of vehicle models a particular vehicle model to be inspected; displaying as a digital image a digital photograph of at least one actual wear point of the suspension of the actual vehicle model selected, said digital photograph being retrieved from a collection of digital photographs; displaying in connection with said digital image visual indicia of a plurality of predetermined inspection points for that portion of the suspension of the selected vehicle model.

Claim 13

Independent Claim 95 words

A method of operating alignment apparatus for inspecting the suspensions of numerous different vehicle models comprising the steps of: selecting from a plurality of vehicle models a particular vehicle model to be inspected; displaying as a digital image a digital photograph of at least one actual wear point of the suspension of the actual vehicle model selected, said digital photograph being retrieved from a collection of digital photographs; displaying in connection with said digital image visual indicia of a plurality of predetermined inspection points for that portion of the suspension of the selected vehicle model.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 31 words

The method as set forth in claim 11 wherein the step of displaying the digital image includes accessing and displaying the selected digital image from a CD-ROM digital photograph storage medium.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 39 words

The method as set forth in claim 11 wherein at least one such photograph is stored in the collection of digital photographs for at least a majority of the automobiles sold in the United States over a predetermined period.

Claim 16

Independent Claim 89 words

A method of operating alignment apparatus for adjusting the suspensions of numerous different vehicle models comprising the steps of: selecting from a plurality of vehicle models a particular vehicle model to be adjusted; displaying a digital photograph of the portion of the suspension of the particular vehicle model under test which may require adjustment, said digital photograph being retrieved from a collection of digital photographs; displaying adjustment instructions in connection with the digital photograph; and following the displayed adjustment instructions to adjust the suspension of the vehicle if necessary.

Claim 17

Independent Claim 89 words

A method of operating alignment apparatus for adjusting the suspensions of numerous different vehicle models comprising the steps of: selecting from a plurality of vehicle models a particular vehicle model to be adjusted; displaying a digital photograph of the portion of the suspension of the particular vehicle model under test which may require adjustment, said digital photograph being retrieved from a collection of digital photographs; displaying adjustment instructions in connection with the digital photograph; and following the displayed adjustment instructions to adjust the suspension of the vehicle if necessary.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 31 words

The method as set forth in claim 14 wherein the step of displaying the digital photograph includes accessing and displaying the selected digital photograph from a CD-ROM digital photograph storage medium.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 42 words

The method as set forth in claim 14 wherein said collection includes at least one photograph depicting an actual portion of the suspension for each of at least a majority of the automobiles sold in the United States over a predetermined period.

Claim 20

Independent Claim 177 words

A system for facilitating the inspection and alignment of the suspensions of numerous different vehicle models comprising: manually operable means for selecting a particular vehicle model to be inspected and adjusted; means for prestoring a number of digital photographs depicting predetermined actual wear and adjustment points for the alignment and suspensions of a plurality of different actual vehicle models; display means for displaying digital photographs; controller means responsive to the selection of a particular vehicle model by the selecting means for providing, if available, at least one of the stored digital photographs for that particular vehicle model to the display means for display, said displayed digital photograph depicting at least one of said predetermined wear and adjustment points of the selected vehicle model; at least some of said digital photographs having associated therewith visual indicia indicating to the user inspection points for the particular vehicle model being depicted and at least some of said digital photographs having associated therewith visual indicia indicating to the user adjustment points and instructions for adjusting the particular vehicle model being depicted.

Claim 21

Independent Claim 177 words

A system for facilitating the inspection and alignment of the suspensions of numerous different vehicle models comprising: manually operable means for selecting a particular vehicle model to be inspected and adjusted; means for prestoring a number of digital photographs depicting predetermined actual wear and adjustment points for the alignment and suspensions of a plurality of different actual vehicle models; display means for displaying digital photographs; controller means responsive to the selection of a particular vehicle model by the selecting means for providing, if available, at least one of the stored digital photographs for that particular vehicle model to the display means for display, said displayed digital photograph depicting at least one of said predetermined wear and adjustment points of the selected vehicle model; at least some of said digital photographs having associated therewith visual indicia indicating to the user inspection points for the particular vehicle model being depicted and at least some of said digital photographs having associated therewith visual indicia indicating to the user adjustment points and instructions for adjusting the particular vehicle model being depicted.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1999-06-18	1999-12-18	2000-06-18	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2003-06-18	2003-12-18	2004-06-18	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2007-06-18	2007-12-18	2008-06-18	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Vehicle alignment system and method incorporating digital photograph database of vehicles

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag