JP2007298294A - Side-slip tester - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a detachable side-slip tester capable of high detection accuracy and being manufactured at low costs in spite of a simple mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The side-slip tester for measuring the amount of side slipping of a vehicle by passing both wheels of the vehicle over footboards includes the right and left footboards arranged in parallel side by side, in a casing and movable independently in the right and left directions; right and left support members, protruding inward in the right and the left directions, from each side end part of the right and left footboards and fixed to the footboards at positions facing each other, in such a way that both their tip parts support detectors for measuring the amount of movement of the footboards in the right and left directions; the detectors supported between both tip parts of the right and left support members facing each other; and restoring mechanisms, arranged for returning the moved footboards to their original positions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a side slip tester for inspecting that a side slip amount of a wheel (tire) of an automobile is in an appropriate range. More specifically, the present invention relates to a separation-type side slip tester having a mechanism capable of independently moving a pair of left and right treads.

  The wheels of the vehicle are designed to go straight without side-slip if the wheel alignment is appropriate, or to go straight with moderate side-slip, but if there is a wheel alignment error for some reason, A difference occurs in the wheel alignment between the tires, the straightness of the vehicle is reduced, and a side slip amount as designed can not be obtained. As a result, the tire is likely to be prematurely worn or abnormally worn. The side slip tester is used for easily inspecting whether or not the wheel alignment is appropriate by detecting such a side slip amount.

  In general, a side slip tester is a flat plate resembling a pair of left and right road surfaces that can be moved smoothly in the left-right direction, a detector for measuring the amount of movement of the tread, and a detector It is composed of instruments such as an arithmetic device and a display device that display signals as movement amounts. When the vehicle moves straight with respect to the tread at a predetermined speed, the left and right treads move in the left and right direction when the wheels slide, so the side slip amount (mm / m) is detected by detecting the amount of movement with the detector. ) Can be obtained.

  The side slip tester is a unit in which the left and right treads are connected to each other by a link mechanism, the amount of movement of one of the treads is detected by a detector, and expressed as a side slip amount (Patent Document 1) and the left and right treads are separate units. It is roughly classified into a separation type (Patent Document 2) in which the amount of movement of each tread is detected by each detector and both are expressed as side slip amounts. In the link type, since the movement amount is regulated to be the same between the left and right treads by the link mechanism, it is only necessary to detect the movement amount with only one of the treads. For such a link mechanism, the manufacturing accuracy of the side slip tester is required to be high, but there is also a problem that the repeated use over time tends to cause looseness in the link part, and this tends to lower the detection accuracy. . Furthermore, there is also a problem that the tread is distorted by the load of the vehicle, which is transmitted to the link portion, and the movement of the tread tends to become slow.

JP-A-6-258195 JP-A-8-128924

The separation-type side slip tester has the advantage that inspection can be performed with high detection accuracy because the detection of the side slip amount is performed independently for each of the left and right treads, compared to the link type. In addition, a detector and an arithmetic unit for processing a signal from the detector are also required, which tends to increase the manufacturing cost as a whole.
An object of the present invention is to provide a separation-type side slip tester that has high detection accuracy and can be manufactured at low cost regardless of a simple mechanism.

The present invention is a side slip tester that measures the amount of side slip of a vehicle by allowing the left and right wheels of the vehicle to pass over the tread board. Right and left treads, projecting inward in the left-right direction from each side end of the left and right treads, and both ends thereof are opposed to each other so as to support a detector for measuring the amount of movement of the treads in the left-right direction Including left and right support members fixed to the tread board at a position, a detector supported between the opposing tip portions of the left and right support members, and a restoring mechanism arranged to return the moved tread board to its original position It is in the side slip tester characterized by.

  In the side slip tester of the present invention, the restoring mechanism has left and right initial position fixing members fixed to the support member at an angle with respect to the support member in the vicinity of the front end portions of the left and right support members, and the left and right initial position fixing members. The left and right initial position fixing member has a center of rotational movement at the intersection of the left and right support members and rotates around the center by the movement of the fixing member accompanying the movement of the left and right footboards in the left-right direction. The left and right rotational motion members attached to the housing so as to be engaged with the side ends of the fixing member, and the rotated rotational motion members returned to their original positions, thereby moving in the left-right direction. It is preferable to include an initial position restoring member that is arranged by connecting the ends of the left and right rotational movement members so that the left and right treads return to the initial position.

  Although the side slip tester of the present invention is a separation type, since there is only one detector between the two treads to detect the amount of left and right movement of both treads, the structure of the apparatus can be simplified, and the conventional Since the number of detectors and the number of arithmetic devices associated therewith can be reduced as compared with the separation type, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, since the detection accuracy of the side slip amount, which is an advantage of the separation type, is maintained as it is, a highly accurate side slip tester can be provided.

A side slip tester of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 and 2 each schematically show a main configuration of a preferred example of the side slip tester of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side slip tester 1 of the present invention includes a housing 2, left and right tread plates 3 a and 3 b disposed in the housing 2, and left and right sides of the left and right tread plates. The left and right support members 4a and 4b that protrude inward in the direction and whose front ends face each other, the detector 5 attached between the left and right support members, and the tread plate moved in the left and right direction A restoring mechanism 6 having a mechanism for returning to the above is included. The side slip tester according to the present invention has a configuration necessary for operating the tester and obtaining a test result, for example, data (signal) obtained by a detector, in addition to the above components. A display device or the like for displaying the obtained result is included in the same manner as the conventional side slip tester.

  The left and right treads 3a and 3b are attached in the housing 2 so that each treadle slides independently in the horizontal direction center line A (device center line). Normally, each tread board is arranged so that the center line is on the center line A of the housing 2. The left and right support members 4a and 4b are provided so as to protrude from the side end portions so that one end thereof is fixed to each side end portion of the left and right treads and the front end portions thereof are in positions facing each other. The height and position at which the left and right support members 4a and 4b are attached to the tread are not particularly limited, but normally, the left and right support members are located when the vehicle is placed on the tread with respect to each tread surface (vehicle placement surface). Each tread board surface is attached so that it may become the substantially same position as the horizontal position of a left-right support member. Moreover, it is preferable that both support members 4a and 4b are attached on the center line A of each tread.

The detector 5 is supported at the front ends of the left and right support members 4a and 4b protruding from the left and right treads 3a and 3b. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the detector 5 can be placed on one of the left and right support members in the vicinity of the tip. And the terminal 5a of a detector is arrange | positioned so that the front-end | tip part of the other support member 4b may contact. In order to obtain higher detection accuracy, the detector 5 is a position where the terminal 5a contacts the tip of the other support member at the intersection of the center line A and the center line B at a position orthogonal to the center line. It is preferable that it exists in. In this case, the tread plate 3 a and the tread 3 b are in symmetrical positions with respect to the center line B.
In addition to the arrangement in which the terminal directly contacts the tip of the support member, for example, an auxiliary member is attached to the tip of the support member so that the detector terminal contacts the auxiliary member. It can also be arranged.

  The detector 5 is not particularly limited. For example, a conventionally known device such as a potentiometer or an encoder can be used. In the present invention, it is preferable to use a potentiometer. In particular, in the case of a potentiometer with a built-in spring, the measurement terminal presses the attachment attached to the tip of the other support member 4b with a small force, so that even if the tread 3b moves slightly, the amount of movement Can be detected with high accuracy. In the present invention, a plurality of detectors can be attached to the tip portions of the protruding left and right support members 4a and 4b. However, only one detector is required, and the number of attached detectors and the associated arithmetic devices can be reduced. Therefore, it is advantageous for cost reduction.

  The restoring mechanism 6 is disposed to return the moved tread to the original position. The restoration mechanism 6 includes rod-like left and right initial position fixing members 7a and 7b fixed to the left and right support members, deformed rectangular left and right rotational motion members 8a and 8b attached to the housing 2, and initial position restoration. Members 9, 9a and 9b are included. Although the basic configuration of the restoring mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the same, the initial position restoring members 9, 9a and 9b are respectively connected to the end portions of the members and the housing with respect to the left and right rotational motion members 8a and 8b. The structure is different in that it is attached to the body 2 or between the end portions of the members.

The restoration mechanism will be further described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the detector display is omitted. FIG. 3 schematically shows a restoring mechanism having one initial position restoring member for one rotational motion member. FIG. 4 schematically shows a restoring mechanism having one initial position restoring member for a pair of rotational motion members.
The left and right initial position fixing members 7a and 7b are fixed to the support members so as to intersect with the support members at an angle in the vicinity of the front ends of the left and right support members 4a and 4b. The shape (length, width, etc.) of the initial position fixing member can be the same as the conventional one. The fixing angle of the initial position fixing member with respect to the support member is determined by the relationship between the shape and arrangement state of the left and right rotational motion members 8a and 8b, as will be described later.
The left and right initial position fixing members 7a and 7b are preferably arranged so as to be equidistant from the center line B as described above in order to increase detection accuracy. The distance is usually 5 to 50 cm from the center line B.

  The rotational motion members 8a and 8b have the center of the rotational motion on the intersections (Pa and Pb) between the left and right support members 3a and 3b and the left and right initial position fixing members 7a and 7b. The rotational motion member is crossed with the initial position fixing member, and both side edge portions 7c, 7c, 7d, 7d of the left and right initial position fixing member are connected to both side edge portions 8c, 8c, It is attached to the housing so as to engage with 8d and 8d, respectively. The rotational movement member can be installed at an arbitrary angle around the center of the rotational movement, but both side edge portions 7c, 7c, 7d, 7d of the left and right initial position fixing members and both sides of the rotational movement member It is preferable that the positions engaging with the end edges 8c, 8c, 8d, and 8d are arranged so as to be parallel to the center line B. With such an arrangement, the amount of sliding between the engaging portions and the contact pressure can be minimized, so that wear of members usually made of metal can be prevented.

  The initial position restoring members 9, 9a and 9b may be any member or device having an action of returning the moving member rotated by the left and right movement of the tread as described above. For example, a spring (spring) is preferable.

The operation of the restoration mechanism shown in FIG. 3 will be described.
FIG. 3A shows a state before the operation. In this state, one end of the rotational motion member 8b is pulled by the initial position restoring member 9b, while one end of the rotational motion member 8b opposite to the side to which the initial position restoring member 9b is connected is Since it is in contact with one side end of the initial position fixing member 7b, it is in a stationary state.
FIGS. 3B and 3C show a state in which the rotary motion member 8b is rotated by moving the tread 3b in the direction of the arrow ((b) is on the left side and (c) is on the right side). The rotary motion member 8b rotates counterclockwise because one end of the initial position fixing member 7b presses one end of the rotary motion member when the tread 3b moves in the direction of the arrow by an external force. Thereafter, when the external force is removed, the rotational movement member 8b causes the pressing portion (engaging portion) to press the engaging portion of the initial position fixing member clockwise by the action of the initial position restoring member 9b. Is returned to its original position. The movement of the rotary motion member 8a accompanying the movement of the tread 3a is the same as that of the rotary motion member 8b.

The basic mechanism of the restoration mechanism shown in FIG. 4 is the same as that of the restoration mechanism shown in FIG.
FIG. 4A shows a state before the operation, and one end of the rotational motion members 8a and 8b is connected by an initial position restoring member 9, and both ends of the initial position fixing members 7a and 7b are rotational motion members 8a, Since the contact is made at a diagonal position across the rotation center of 8b, it is in a stationary state.
FIGS. 4B and 4C show a state in which the rotary motion member 8b is rotated by moving the tread 3b in the direction of the arrow ((b) is on the left side and (c) is on the right side). In the rotational motion member 8b, the one end of the initial position fixing member 7b presses one end of the rotational motion member 8b by the movement of the tread by an external force, so the rotational motion member 8b rotates counterclockwise. After that, when the external force is removed, the rotary motion member 8b causes the pressing portion (engagement portion) to press the engagement portion of the initial position fixing member 7b in the clockwise direction by the action of the initial position restoring member 9. 3b is returned to its original position.
On the other hand, when the tread 3a is moved in the direction of the arrow by external force ((b) is on the left side, (c) is on the right side), the rotational motion member 8a rotates in the clockwise direction opposite to the rotational motion member 8b. The rotary member 8a also pulls the initial position restoring member 9 in the opposite direction to the rotary member 8b simultaneously with the rotary member 8b. When the external force is removed, the rotary movement member 8a causes the pressing portion (engagement portion) to press the engagement portion of the initial position fixing member 7a counterclockwise by the action of the initial position restoring member 9, so that the tread plate 3a Is returned to its original position.

The side slip tester of the present invention can also measure the side slip amount of the vehicle by the same method as before.
Measurement of the side slip amount of the vehicle can be performed, for example, as follows using the side slip tester of the present invention.
The vehicle is directly opposed to the case of the side slip tester and traversed on the tread at a low speed (normally 3 km / h or less). When the tire crosses the tread, the vehicle causes a side slip depending on the mounting state of the tire and the right and left treads move in either the left or right direction with respect to the center line B. The amount of movement of the tread is detected by the terminal 5a of the detector 5 disposed between the two support members, and the signal can be immediately obtained on the display device as a side slip amount via an arithmetic unit or the like. The step board after passing the vehicle is instantly returned to the original position by the restoring mechanism.

The main structure of a preferable example of the side slip tester of the present invention is schematically shown. The main structure of another preferable example of the side slip tester of this invention is shown typically. FIG. 2 schematically shows the operating state of the restoring mechanism shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 schematically shows the operating state of the restoring mechanism shown in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Side slip tester 2 Housing | casing 3a, 3b Step board 4a, 4b Support member 5 Detector 5a Detector terminal 6 Restoration mechanism 7a, 7b Initial position fixing member 8a, 8b Rotation motion member 9, 9a, 9b Initial position restoration member

Claims (4)

  In a side slip tester that measures the amount of side slip of a vehicle by passing the left and right wheels of the vehicle over the tread plate, the left and right tread plates that are arranged side by side in the housing and can be moved independently in the left and right directions , Projecting inward in the left-right direction from each side end of the left and right treads, and both ends of the treads at positions facing each other so as to support a detector for measuring the amount of movement of the treads in the left-right direction It includes a fixed left and right support member, a detector supported between the opposite ends of the left and right support members, and a restoring mechanism arranged to return the moved tread to its original position. Side slip tester.   Left and right initial position fixing members fixed to the supporting member at an angle with respect to the supporting member in the vicinity of the respective front end portions of the left and right supporting members, and intersection points of the left and right initial position fixing members and the left and right supporting members The center of the rotational movement in the left and right crossing with the left and right initial position fixing member so as to rotate around the center by the movement of the fixing member accompanying the movement of the left and right footboard in the left and right direction, The left and right rotational motion members attached to the housing to be engaged with the side ends, and the rotated rotational motion members are returned to their original positions so that the left and right treads moved in the left and right directions are returned to the initial positions. The side slip tester according to claim 1, further comprising an initial position restoring member attached between the end portion of the member and the housing with respect to the left and right rotational movement member.   Left and right initial position fixing members fixed to the supporting member at an angle with respect to the supporting member in the vicinity of the respective front end portions of the left and right supporting members, and intersection points of the left and right initial position fixing members and the left and right supporting members The center of the rotational movement in the left and right crossing with the left and right initial position fixing member so as to rotate around the center by the movement of the fixing member accompanying the movement of the left and right footboard in the left and right direction, The left and right rotational motion members attached to the housing to be engaged with the side ends, and the rotated rotational motion members are returned to their original positions so that the left and right treads moved in the left and right directions are returned to the initial positions. The side slip tester according to claim 1, further comprising an initial position restoring member arranged by connecting the end portions of the left and right rotational motion member. The side slip tester according to claim 1, wherein the detector is a potentiometer.

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