JP2007298295A - Side-slip tester - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a detachable side-slip tester capable of being manufactured at low cost by providing a simple structure for the device as a whole. <P>SOLUTION: The side-slip tester for measuring the amount of side slipping of a vehicle by passing the right and left wheels of the vehicle over footboards includes the right and the left footboards, arranged in parallel side by side in a casing and movable independently in the right and the left directions; right and left support members protruding inward in the right and left directions from each side end part of the right and left footboards and fixed to the footboards, in such a way that both their protruding tip parts face each other; detectors for measuring the amount of movement of the footboards in the right and the left directions; and restoring mechanisms, arranged at the tip parts of the right and the left support members facing each other for returning the moved right and left 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, since a detector, a restoration device, and the like are required, there is a problem that the entire device is likely to be complicated and cost is increased accordingly.
An object of the present invention is to provide a separation-type side slip tester that can be manufactured at a low cost by making the entire apparatus a simpler structure.

  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. Left and right treads, left and right support members fixed to the treads so as to protrude inward in the left-right direction from the respective side end portions of the left and right treads, and the left and right support plates fixed to the treads A side slip tester comprising: a detector for detecting the amount of movement in the direction; and a restoring mechanism disposed at the front ends of the left and right support members to return the moved left and right treads to their original positions. It is in.

  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.

  In the side slip tester of the present invention, after detecting the amount of side slip of the vehicle, a restoring mechanism for returning the moved tread to the original position is provided at the front ends of the left and right support members that protrude from the left and right treads, respectively. Therefore, the structure can be simplified. In particular, although it is a separation-type device, it is sufficient that only one restoring mechanism is provided at the tip portion, so that the device can be prevented from becoming complicated and the manufacturing cost of the device can be suppressed.

A side slip tester of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows a main configuration of a preferred example of the side slip tester of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the side slip tester 1 of the present invention includes a housing 2, left and right treads 3 a and 3 b disposed in the housing 2, and inward in the left-right direction from each side end of the left and right treads. The amount of movement of the left and right treads can be measured via the left and right support members 4a and 4b, which are protruded in the opposite direction, and at the positions where both ends thereof oppose each other, and the detection auxiliary members Sa and Sb fixed to the left and right support members. And the restoring mechanism 6 having a mechanism for returning the tread plate moved in the left-right direction to the original position, and the detectors 5a, 5b arranged in this manner.
The side slip tester according to the present invention has a configuration necessary for operating the tester and obtaining a test result in addition to the above-described components, for example, an arithmetic device for processing data (signal) obtained by a detector. A display device or the like for displaying the results is included as in 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 detectors 5a and 5b are arranged so that the amount of movement of the left and right treads can be measured via the detection auxiliary members Sa and Sb fixed to the left and right support members 4a and 4b. The auxiliary member for detection is preferably arranged perpendicular to the left and right support members so that the terminals of the detector come into contact as shown in the figure. The detectors 5a and 5b are 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 abuts against the auxiliary member for detection and is pressed with a minute force, so even if the treads 3a and 3b move slightly, the amount of movement can be made with high accuracy. Can be detected.
In addition to the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the detector can be arranged at any position in the housing as long as the amount of movement of the left and right treads can be measured. Therefore, as described above, it is also possible to dispose them so that they can be detected directly from the left and right footboards without using a detection auxiliary member. Even when the detector is arranged so that it can be directly detected from the left and right footboards, it is preferable to use a spring built-in potentiometer.

  The restoring mechanism 6 is supported at the tip portions of the left and right support members 4a and 4b protruding from the left and right treads 3a and 3b. The restoring mechanism 6 is disposed to return the moved tread to the original position. The restoring mechanism includes rod-shaped 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 the left and right rotational motion members. An initial position restoring member 9 attached between the ends of 8a and 8b is included. By adopting the restoring mechanism having such a configuration, the structure of the entire mechanism can be further simplified, and as a result, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

The restoration mechanism will be further described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the detector display is omitted.
In the configuration of the restoring mechanism, 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 (located at the center with respect to the left and right treads) at a position orthogonal to the center line A.

  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 member 9 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, and for example, a spring (spring) is preferable.

For example, the restoring mechanism shown in FIG. 2 operates as follows.
FIG. 2A shows a state before the operation. In this state, one end of the rotational motion member 8b is pulled inward by the initial position restoring member 9, while one end of the rotational motion member 8b opposite to the side to which the initial position restoring member 9 is connected. Is in contact with the side end of the initial position fixing member 7b, and is in a stationary state.

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 left and right footboards is detected by a detector arranged so that the amount of movement of each can be measured via a detection auxiliary member fixed to the left and right support members, and these signals are sent via an arithmetic unit or the like. The amount of side slip can be obtained immediately on the display device. 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. FIG. 2 schematically shows the operating state of the restoring mechanism shown in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

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

Claims (3)

  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 Left and right support members fixed to the tread so as to protrude inward in the left-right direction from the respective side end portions of the left and right treads, and the amount of movement of the left and right treads in the left-right direction A side slip tester comprising: a detector for detecting the left and right sides; and a restoring mechanism disposed at the front ends of the left and right support members for returning the moved left and right treads to their original positions.   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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