APPARATUS FOR MEASURING THE DEFORMATION OF DAMAGED VEHICLES AND FOR RECONSTRUCTING CRIME SCENE

摘要

An apparatus for measuring on the site of an accident the three-dimensional deformation of a damaged vehicle comprises a reference frame and a distance measuring device. The reference frame comprises a first straight frame portion installed in front of the vehicle parallel to the transversal axis thereof, a second elongated straight frame portion installed on the side of the vehicle parallel to this vehicle's longitudinal axis, and a third elongated straight frame portion installed at the rear of the vehicle parallel to the the transversal axis. When the deformation is situated in front of the damaged vehicle, the first frame portion defines a first axis of a three-dimensional coordinate system, the second axis of this coordinate system being located in a vertical plane in which the first elongated frame portion is lying. The distance measuring device measures distances between the first frame portion and the body of the damaged vehicle in the region of the three-dimensional deformation, by measuring distances along the second and a third axis of the three-dimensional coordinate system. The distance measurements along with knowledge of the spatial relationship between the first frame portion and the non deformed part of the vehicle body give very accurate information about the three-dimensional deformation of the vehicle.