JPH0465650A - Floating supporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To measure the extent of inclination of a necessary wheel with high accuracy by supporting a body to be supported on a floating member in a floating state where the body is movable in an optional direction in a specific plane. CONSTITUTION:A support roller assembly 40 is set in a floating state. Therefore, when the extent of inclination of the wheel supported on a support roller 15r is measured, the wheel is held in a state where the wheel can be put in translational motion and rotary motion in an optional direction, so the extent of inclination of the wheel can accurately be measured. Thus, the support roller assembly 40 is supported in the floating state by using four LM guides and then respective wheels can be held in the floating state without any problem even when the wheel to be inspected has large weight. Further, four-point support constitution is employed to disperse a force and balanced floating operation becomes possible, so the inspection can be performed with high accuracy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wheel inspection device for inspecting wheels of vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, and trailers, particularly for inspecting alignment such as wheel inclination. The present invention relates to a floating support device for supporting a wheel in a floating state so that the wheel can be freely moved in any direction within a predetermined plane in such a wheel inspection device. In a broader sense, the present invention relates to a floating support device that supports an object such as a wheel so that it can move freely in any direction within a predetermined plane.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, wheel inspection devices have been used to inspect the alignment and installation conditions of vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, and trailers. Various conditions are set for wheels installed on vehicles, especially.

In relation to its driving performance, toe angle, camber angle,
A so-called inclination degree such as a caster angle is set. These degrees of inclination are sometimes inspected as an item of vehicle inspection after the vehicle is manufactured and before it is put on the market, and sometimes when the vehicle is repaired, such as when replacing wheels. If the vehicle has good running performance, it is important that the degree of inclination of the wheels is set accurately. Furthermore, the dynamic characteristics of the wheel, that is, the characteristics of the state in which the wheel is rotating, include the amount of left and right deflection of the wheel, the turning angle of the wheel, etc., and the running characteristics of the wheel are significantly influenced by these dynamic characteristics. Therefore, it is also important to be able to accurately characterize the dynamic characteristics of the sinuses. Furthermore, some vehicles use so-called double wheels, in which a pair of wheels are mounted adjacent to each other, in order to increase their load capacity, and such double wheels must be properly inspected. It is important that this is possible.

By the way, as conventional techniques, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 51-83301 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 51-83 disclose methods for measuring the toe angle and/or camber angle of a wheel while keeping the wheel in a rotating state.
There is a technique disclosed in No. 4-49701. However,
In the techniques disclosed in these documents, a wheel is supported on a pair of rollers and rotated, but the side surface of the wheel is not supported or a contact roller is brought into rolling contact with one of the outer surfaces for measurement. However, since the geometric center position of the wheel, which is the object to be measured, is not positioned by holding both the left and right sides, it is difficult to perform accurate '83 determination. Furthermore, techniques for positioning the geometric center of the wheels by supporting them on a floating table and sandwiching the wheels from the left and right sides are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1982-109235, Japanese Patent Application No. 9502-1982, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1987-61. No. 41913, but with the techniques proposed in these eight applications, the wheels supported on the table are maintained statically, so it is not possible to measure the dynamic characteristics of the wheels.

On the other hand, a wheel inspection device capable of measuring the dynamic characteristics of a wheel by rotating the wheel while holding the wheel from both sides is disclosed in JP-A-63-286742. In the technique disclosed in this patent application, a wheel is supported on a pair of rollers, and both sides of the wheel are held between the rollers.

It is possible to perform dynamic measurements of the wheel. By the way, the embodiments described in this patent application are mainly applied to ordinary four-wheeled vehicles (
In other words, it is suitable for inspecting the wheels of a two-axle vehicle. Therefore, in the case of high-load vehicles such as trucks, buses, and trailers, the wheels may have three or more axles, or each wheel may have a pair of auxiliary wheels mounted adjacent to each other. It has a structure such as double wheels.

For such high-load and heavy vehicles, the technology disclosed in the above-mentioned JP-A-Sho is not necessarily satisfactory. There are problems in terms of accuracy improvement in wheel alignment inspection of wheeled vehicles, measurement of inclination of individual wheels in dual wheels, and wheel inspection of high-load vehicles.

1-F The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art as described above, and provides a floating system that allows objects such as wheels to move freely in any direction within a predetermined plane. It is an object of the present invention to provide a floating support device that can be supported in a fixed state, and that is particularly suitable for application to a wheel support structure in a wheel inspection device.

Structure In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects and other objects, the present invention preferably provides a floating member that supports a desired object such as a floating table using a linear motion (LM) guide and a rotary bearing. A floating support device is provided that can be set to be freely movable in any direction.

The floating support device of the present invention includes first linear guide means provided at three or more predetermined positions on the base surface, and a first sliding member that is slidable in a first direction along the first linear guide means. A moving object is provided. A second linear guide means is provided on the first sliding body and extends in a second direction different from the first direction,
A second sliding body is provided which is slidable in a second direction on the second linear guide means. A protrusion is formed on the second sliding body. Furthermore, the floating member forming the floating plate is provided with a rotation bearing for each protrusion, and each protrusion is fitted into the corresponding rotation bearing. Therefore, the floating member can freely move in any direction over a predetermined range within a predetermined plane and is maintained in a floating state.

Preferably, the first direction and the second direction are set to be orthogonal. Furthermore, the first linear guide, the first sliding body, the second linear guide, and the second sliding body constitute a two-directional LM guide, and four such two-directional LM guides are arranged symmetrically in the left, right, front, and back. to be placed. Furthermore.

An object support means is provided on the floating member.

Preferably, the object support means supports a wheel, and the floating support device is incorporated into the wheel inspection device to support the wheel in a floating state.

Such a floating support device is useful, for example, when it is applied to a wheel inspection device, when the vehicle is heavy, or when the wheels have a configuration such as double wheels or double tires. too.

It is possible to stably support the wheels in a floating state.

[■] Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show a wheel inspection system 1 constructed based on an embodiment of the present invention, and the illustrated example is particularly a two-axle vehicle, in which each of the left and right rear wheels is mounted on a so-called two-wheel vehicle. 1 shows a wheel inspection system suitable for inspecting wheels of a vehicle having a heavy wheel configuration. still.

The basic configuration of this wheel inspection system is similar to the configuration described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-286742. Therefore, for a better understanding of the present invention, please refer to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-286742. That's good.

This wheel inspection system 1 is placed in a pit P drilled in the floor FL of a wheel inspection yard, etc. The wheel inspection system 1 is installed on the pit bottom PB of a bit P, and its upper surface is It is approximately the same height as floor FL. This wheel inspection system 1 is.

Since it is for a two-axle vehicle (four-wheeled vehicle), it generally includes a front wheel inspection section 3f and a rear wheel inspection section 3r.

The rear wheel inspection section 3r is located rearwardly away from the front wheel inspection section 3f, in order to apply it to vehicles to be inspected whose distances between wheel bases are different.

In this system, a front wheel inspection section 3f and a rear wheel inspection section 3
It is possible to adjust the distance between r to a desired value. That is, a frame 2 constituting the overall framework of the one-piece system I is disposed within the bit P, and a front inspection section 3f and a rear inspection section 3r are mounted on this frame 2. The front inspection section 3f is fixedly mounted on the frame 2, but the rear inspection section 3r is a sliding section 2 that can slide on a guide rail 2b provided on the frame 2 extending in the front-rear direction.
It is mounted on a. Therefore, the sliding part 2a is unlocked and slid on the guide rail 2b, and after setting the desired distance between the front wheel inspection part 3f and the rear wheel inspection part 3r, the sliding part 2a is locked to the frame 2. It is possible to make the state.

The front wheel inspection section 3f and the rear wheel inspection section 3r are respectively.

A pair of right front axis inspection devices [3fr and left front axis inspection device 3fl
And a pair of right rear wheel inspection equipment! ! 3rr and left rear wheel inspection device! 3rl, which are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line CL. Left and right wheel inspection department! (That is, 3fr and 3fl and 3rr and 3r1) are symmetrical, so they have substantially the same configuration. Furthermore, each wheel inspection section [3fr and 3fl of the front wheel inspection section 3f and each wheel inspection section 3rr and 3rl of the rear wheel inspection section 3r]
The respective wheel inspection sections 3rr and 3rl of the rear wheel inspection section have substantially the same configuration except that they are modified for measuring the inclination of a so-called dual wheel.

First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the front wheel inspection device 3fl (3fr is also the same) of the wheel inspection system 1 will be briefly described. The wheel inspection device 3fl is installed on the left front axle W.
It has a pair of support rollers 15f on which support rollers 15f are supported, and these support rollers 15f are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction with their rotational axes extending in the lateral direction. Support roller 15f
is rotatably supported and, in a preferred embodiment, has a built-in motor and is driven and rotated by itself. The driving force is transmitted from an external motor, or it is installed in a freely rotating state, and in the case of an @shaft drive type vehicle, it is also possible to drive the front wheel Wf itself. be.

A pair of inner lower contact rollers llu and outer lower contact rollers are disposed on both sides of the support roller 15f in the lateral direction, and furthermore, an upper contact roller 12 is disposed on the outside of the support roller 15f. . These contact rollers 11 and 12 clamp the wheel Wf supported on the support roller 15f from both sides and come into contact with both sides thereof. Therefore, the wheel Wf can be driven and rotated on the support roller 15f with both sides of the wheel Wf being clamped by the contact rollers 11 and 12. That is, it is possible to dynamically measure the wheel Wf. Note that the contact rollers 11 and 12 are arranged so that their rotational axes extend substantially in the radial direction of the wheel Wf, but the inner contact roller 11u and the outer contact roller lls are not necessarily symmetrical. In the illustrated example, the outer contact roller Ils is arranged at a somewhat larger opening angle than the inner contact roller Ilu. Further, the outer lower contact roller IIs and the upper contact roller 12 are integrally mounted on a roughly triangular roller support.

The wheel inspection device 3fl has a five-box-shaped base or box body 8, and within each box body 8, an inner contact roller llu and an outer contact roller lls are supported so as to be movable apart from each other, and vertically Clamp mechanism 9 rotatably supported around the axis
is installed.

As will become clear later, the support roller 15f is supported on the floating member so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis and movable in translation in the horizontal direction. Therefore, support roller 1
5f and the contact rollers 11 and 12 are provided so as to be movable relatively independently.The box body 8 is fixed to the frame 2 and extends in the lateral direction perpendicular to the center ICL. It is slidably mounted on the rail 12 of. Therefore, the one box body 8 is guided by the rails 12 and is movable laterally in a direction perpendicular to the center line CL. However, the arm 6 provided integrally with the box body 8
is operatively connected to one end of the equalizer 4f. The other end of the equalizer 4f is operatively connected to the arm 6 of the box body 8 in the wheel inspection device 3fr for the right front axle. The central pivot point of equalizer 4f is always at center 1RCL.
Since it is located above, the left and right wheel inspection department! f3fl and 3fr are always automatically positioned at symmetrical positions with respect to the center gcL.

On the other hand, a clamp mechanism 9 disposed within the box body 8 supports the contact rollers 11 and 12 so that they can move away from each other and rotatably around a vertical axis. The pantograph 5f is slidably supported on a guide rail laid therein, and is operatively connected to one end of the pantograph 5f via an arm 7. The other end of the pantograph 5f is operatively connected via an arm 7 to a clamp mechanism 9 of a wheel inspection device 3fr for the right front wheel.

Therefore, left and right wheel inspection department! ! The clamp mechanisms 9 of 3fr and 3fl are always automatically positioned at symmetrical positions with respect to the center ff1cL. Therefore.

When the left and right wheels Wf are clamped by these clamping mechanisms 9 via the rollers 11 and 12, the geometric center positions of the respective wheels Wf are automatically positioned symmetrically with respect to the center line CL. . Therefore, as a result, the tread center, that is, the center position between the left and right wheels, is automatically aligned with the center line CL, which is a predetermined reference line. Furthermore, an angle detector (
Preferably, a 5 encoder) 30f is provided, which makes it possible to measure the required angle of inclination (eg toe angle) of the wheel Wf in the clamped state.

A wheel guide device is provided at the entrance to the wheel inspection device 3fl, and the wheel guide device in this case includes a central roller 18, a first side roller 19, and a second side roller 2.
It has 0u. A pair of central rollers 18 are provided, which are arranged in parallel and protrude somewhat above the running surface of the wheels Wf and extend in the traveling direction of the vehicle. The first side roller 19 is rotatably disposed at a first height higher than the center roller 18 . First side roller 19
are arranged at an angle so as to be somewhat narrow in the direction of travel of the vehicle. The second side roller 20u is rotatably supported at a second height that is higher than the first height. The second side roller 20u is also arranged to be inclined so as to be somewhat narrow in the direction of travel of the vehicle. Further, an auxiliary roller 201 is rotatably supported and disposed adjacent to each of the second side rollers 20u and somewhat inside thereof, and the auxiliary roller 201 is positioned at a first height. According to such a wheel guide device.

It is possible to stably and accurately guide the wheels along a predetermined trajectory.

Next, referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the wheel inspection device 13rl (same as 3rr) for the rear axle will be briefly described. The wheel inspection device 3rl for the rear wheels generally has a similar configuration to the wheel inspection device 3fl for the front wheels described above.In the illustrated example, the wheel inspection device 3rl for the rear axle has The difference is that it has been modified in such a way that it is possible, in particular, to inspect wheels with a double wheel or double tire configuration.

Also in the wheel inspection device 13rl for the rear axle, an inner contact roller flu and an outer contact roller lls (However, in FIG. 1, these rollers are housed inside the cover 17 and are not shown, and in FIG. , and rollers (only rollers are shown), and a clamping mechanism (not shown) that supports these rollers so that they can move away from each other and rotatably about a vertical axis is provided. Wheel inspection bag [
3rl similarly has a box 8 as a base, and this box 8 is always operatively connected to the box 8 of another wheel inspection device 13rr via an equalizer 4r. Further, the clamp mechanisms disposed in the respective boxes 8 of the left and right wheel inspection bags @3r1 and 3rr are operatively connected to each other by a pantograph 5r. The box body 8 of the wheel inspection group [3r1 is slidably mounted on a rail 12 fixed to the sliding portion 2a of the frame 2. Therefore, 1 box 8
is movable laterally guided by rails 12. Furthermore, the wheel inspection device 3 r l has a pair of support rollers 15r, and these support rollers 15r can support the rear wheel Wr thereon. Sho 1
In this illustrated example, the rear wheel Wr is expected to be a so-called double wheel or double tire, so the support roller 15r of the rear wheel inspection group [3r 1 is long and the front wheel The length is approximately twice as long as that of the support roller 15r.

A wheel guide device constructed according to one feature of the present invention is also provided at the entrance of the wheel inspection group for the rear wheels. This wheel guide device.

In particular, the roller 1 properly supports double wheels or double tires.
It has a unique configuration to guide it on 5r. Regarding this wheel guide device, not only Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, but also
A detailed explanation will be given below with reference also to FIGS. 3 and 4.

A wheel guide device constructed based on the present invention.

Guide rollers 18 basically arranged at three height levels
．． A pair of central rollers 18 are provided in one illustrated example having 19 and 2o.

These central rollers 18 are rotatably supported in parallel with each other, and are arranged with their rotational axes extending in the direction of travel of the vehicle. In the illustrated example, the pair of central rollers 18 are arranged symmetrically with respect to a predetermined reference center line. Incidentally, this central roller 18 may be a - book,
It is also possible to provide three or more. As best shown in FIG. 5, the central roller 18 is disposed substantially flush with the running surface of the wheel, and preferably projects somewhat above the running surface of the wheel. Therefore, when the wheel runs on this central roller 18, the wheel can move freely in the lateral direction, and the lateral position of the wheel can be positioned at a desired position.

Note that the central roller 18 is preferably arranged parallel to a horizontal plane.

First side rollers 19 are rotatably supported and disposed on both the left and right sides of the center roller 18.

As is clear from FIG. 5, these first side rollers 19
are arranged at a first height higher than the central roller 18. Furthermore, the first side roller 19.

It is arranged so as to be inclined so that the width becomes gradually narrower in the direction of travel of the vehicle. It is desirable to set this inclination angle so that the crossing angle formed by the left and right first side rollers 19 is within a maximum of 30 degrees, preferably around 15 degrees. It is better to set the distance between the closest tips of the first side rollers 19 to the width of the front wheel Wf or a value slightly smaller than that, or the first side rollers 19 are too long than the radius of the wheel Wf. In some cases, it is preferable to have a configuration in which the vehicle is segmented into several parts, and the length of each segmented part is preferably set to be about the radius of the wheel Wf or less. Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the first side rollers 19 are disposed parallel to the horizontal plane, but the rollers 19 may be disposed so as to be gradually lowered toward the vehicle traveling direction and tilted forward. It is. In this case, the forward inclination angle formed by the horizontal surface and the first side roller 19 is preferably set within the range of 0 degrees to 15 degrees. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment,
The left and right first side rollers 19 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the reference line of the center roller 18.

Further outside the first side roller 19, a second side roller 2 is provided.
In the illustrated example in which the roller 0u is rotatably supported, the second side roller 20u is connected to the first side roller 19.
Although they are arranged at the same opening angle as the first side rollers 19, it is also possible to arrange them at an angle different from that of the first side rollers 19. As best shown in FIG.
0u is.

In the illustrated example, the first height is set to approximately twice the second height, but it may be set to a different value if desired. It is also possible to set it to . Since the second side roller 20u is relatively long, it is segmented, and the length of each segment is preferably set to be equal to or less than the radius of the rear wheel Wr. Further, the distance between the closest front ends of the second side rollers 20u is set to a value that is approximately equal to or slightly smaller than the width when the rear wheels Wr are double wheels or double tires. good.

In the illustrated example, auxiliary rollers 20u are further disposed, and each auxiliary roller 20u is arranged adjacent to and somewhat inside the corresponding second side roller 20u and rotatably supported. has been done.

As is clear from FIG. 5, this auxiliary roller 20u is arranged at the first height. The auxiliary roller 2°l is provided parallel to the second side roller 20u. This auxiliary roller 201 provides an additional running surface and an additional lateral guiding function for the rear wheel Wr having a double wheel or double tire configuration, thus significantly improving the guiding function of the wheel. be done.

After learning about the operation of the wheel guide device with the above configuration,
explain. As shown in Fig. 1, when a vehicle enters in the direction indicated by arrow A, the front wheels Wf of the vehicle are first guided by this wheel guide device, and the rear axle wheel inspection device @
Pass through 3 r l or 3 rr. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, when the front wheel Wf comes into contact with the second side roller 20u and the auxiliary roller 201 or the first side roller 19, the box body 8 is integrated with these rollers. Since the box body 8 receives a reaction force, the box body 8 moves in a direction perpendicular to the center line CL in accordance with the reaction force. In this case, as described above, since the left and right boxes 8 are operatively connected via the equalizer 4r, the left and right vehicle inspection bags [3r and 3rf move synchronously. In this way, as the vehicle advances in the direction of arrow A, the left and right wheel inspection devices 13rr and 3rf work together with the present wheel guide device to control the corresponding wheel inspection devices 3rr and 3rl for each wheel Wf. It is assumed that the state is almost consistent. Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the wheel Wf is placed on the center roller 18, it becomes easy to give a relative lateral movement between the wheel Wf and the center roller 18. , also in cooperation with the first side roller 19.

Each wheel Wf has a corresponding wheel inspection device! 3rr or 3rl
This will be consistent with the above. In particular, the first side roller 19 is inclined in a tapered shape, and its tip is set to approximately the width of the wheel Wf or a value slightly smaller than the width of the wheel Wf. 3r r or 3rl
The support roller 15r is located approximately at the center of the support roller 15r.

Furthermore, when the vehicle moves forward in the direction of arrow A, the front axle Wf moves past the wheel inspection devices 3rr and 3rf for the rear axle.

In this case, since the wheel inspection devices 3rr and 3rl are locked by the locking device i10, the support roller 15r is integrally fixed to the box body 8. Further, the support roller 15r itself is also locked in a non-rotating state by the roller lock device @5o.Next, the rear wheel Wr of the vehicle enters the rear wheel inspection section [3rr, 3rl.

In this case, the rear wheel Wr has a so-called double wheel or double tire configuration, and therefore, as shown in FIG.
The rear wheel Wr has a pair of inner and outer auxiliary wheels or tires Wrs and Wru that are coaxially mounted adjacent to each other. Therefore, when the rear shaft Wr moves forward, it rides on the first side roller 19 because its width is wider than the entrance width of the first side roller 19 . In that case, when the rear wheels Wr are in the left and right direction, either of the second side rollers 20u and/or
Or contact with the auxiliary roller 201, wheel inspection part [3rr,
3rl are symmetrically displaced to align with the respective rear wheels Wr. Since the rear wheels Wr ride on the first side rollers 19, the relative positional displacement in the lateral direction between the rear axle Wr and the wheel inspection devices 3rr and 3rl becomes easy, and as a result, each rear axle Wr
The positional alignment of the corresponding wheel inspection parts fi3rr and 3rl with respect to r is performed extremely smoothly and stably. As a result, the wheel inspection section f! that the rear axle Wr corresponds to by the present wheel guide device! Accurately matched with f3rr and 3rl.

Therefore, the rear shaft Wr is positioned on the corresponding support roller 15r in a substantially aligned state.

Next, a wheel inspection system for inspecting wheel alignment of a three-axle vehicle, which is constructed based on another feature of the present invention, will be described with particular reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. 6th
As shown in the figure, in this wheel inspection system 1,
As in the system shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle to be inspected enters the system by advancing from the right side of the drawing to the left side as indicated by arrow A. The wheel inspection system 1 for three-axle vehicles shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 has an overall similar configuration to the wheel inspection system 1 for two-axle vehicles shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Similar reference numerals are used to refer to similar components. In this embodiment of the three-axle vehicle, in addition to a wheel inspection section 3f for the front axle (first axle) and a wheel inspection section 3r for the rear wheel (second axle), there is a wheel inspection section 3r for the intermediate axle (third axle). It has a wheel inspection section of 3 m. The wheel inspection units 3r and 3m for rear wheels and intermediate axles assume that each rear wheel Wr has a double wheel or double tire configuration. Therefore, the support rollers 15r in these wheel inspection sections 3r, 3m have a sufficient width on which the rear wheel Wr having a double wheel or double tire configuration can be placed.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the wheel inspection section 3m for the intermediate axle is disposed adjacent to the wheel inspection section 3r for the rear axle. An equalizer 4r and a pantograph 5r, which operatively connect the pair of left and right wheel inspection devices 3rr and 3rl in the rear wheel inspection section 3r, are arranged in front of the rear wheel inspection section 3r in the vehicle traveling direction. There is.

On the other hand, a pair of left and right vehicle inspection equipment [3mr, 3ml] are connected to the equalizer 4m and pantograph 5m, which are connected to the wheel inspection unit [3m] for the intermediate axle at the rear with respect to the vehicle traveling direction. It is located. By adopting such an arrangement, it is possible to arrange the wheel inspection sections 3r and 3m for the rear axle and the intermediate axle adjacent to each other, and it is also possible to compare the heights of these wheel inspection sections 3r and 3m. It is possible to set the target low.

The intermediate axle wheel inspection section 3m and the rear wheel inspection section 3r are:
Although they have a substantially symmetrical configuration in the front, rear, left, and right directions with respect to their center points, only the rear axle wheel inspection section 3r has a wheel guide at its entrance. Since the intermediate axle wheel inspection section 3m is arranged adjacent to the rear wheel inspection section 3r, it is not necessary to provide such a wheel guide device. According to the system, it is possible to simultaneously and independently inspect each wheel of a three-axle vehicle. Furthermore, as a countermeasure against high loads, three-axle vehicles often have dual wheels or double tires on the latter two axles.

Even in this case, according to the present system, it is possible to individually measure the inclination of each wheel or tire of each axis.

Eleven features of the triaxial vehicle wheel inspection system of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 8. In the wheel inspection system shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the center positioning means of the wheel inspection sections 3f and 3r for the front and rear wheels have fixed, ie immovable, center positions on the frame 2. This center positioning means has a pantograph 5f or 5r that operatively connects the left and right wheel clamping means, and the pantographs 5f and 5r have fixed center points 60f (not shown) and 60r on the frame 2. . Therefore, the straight line connecting these fixed center points 60f and 60r defines the reference centerline CL of the inspection system. In detail, when the sliding part 2a is in the unlocked state, the center point 60r is movable along the reference center line CL, but when the sliding part 2a is in the locked state, the center point 60r is movable. It is fixed to frame 2.

With the above configuration, the wheels are rollers lls and llu.
When clamped from both sides by
Alternatively, one box body 8 located symmetrically with respect to the reference center line CL via 5f may also be connected to the reference center line C via the equalizer 4.
They are always positioned symmetrically with respect to L. Since the clamping means and the box body 8 are relatively movable, the center of one box body 8 and the center of the clamping means do not necessarily coincide.

On the other hand, the center position of the pantograph 5m serving as center positioning means for the wheel inspection section 3m for the intermediate shaft is set on the sliding body 61. That is, there is a reference center line CL on frame 2.
A pair of guide rails 62 are disposed in a direction perpendicular to. A sliding body 61 is slidably provided on these guide rails 62. The center positions of the pantograph 5m and the equalizer 4m are set on this sliding body 61. Therefore, pantograph 5m and Irakoza 4m
can be displaced in the left-right direction indicated by arrow C with respect to the reference center tcL by the sliding body 61.

Therefore, if the tread centers of each of the three wheels of a vehicle are not aligned in a straight line, in this inspection system, the center line of the vehicle is determined by the tread centers of the front and rear wheels, and the reference center & ICL are determined. is consistent with

The trend center of the wheels for the intermediate axle is the reference center line C.
Although it deviates from L in either the left or right direction, this amount of deviation is absorbed by the relative movement between the sliding body 61 and the rail 62.

Therefore, even in a three-axle vehicle, it is possible to measure the degree of inclination of each wheel with high accuracy with respect to a predetermined reference line.

In addition, in this case, by measuring the amount of deviation of the sliding body 61 from the reference center line CL with the meter 63, the inter-shaft slip,
That is, it is possible to measure the amount of deviation of the center of the tread.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the center positioning means for the intermediate shaft is configured to be movable left and right. Furthermore, it is also possible to configure all the center positioning means to be movable to the left and right and to be selectively lockable at a predetermined position. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the inventive concept can also be applied to inspection systems for vehicles having four or more wheels.

Next, another feature of the present invention, which is a double encoder configuration capable of independently measuring the inclination of both side surfaces of each wheel, will be explained. This feature is particularly useful when measuring the inclination of a wheel with a double wheel or double tire configuration.

First, Figure 10 and 11ri! Referring to I, the first
For rear wheels or intermediate wheels provided in either the two-axle vehicle wheel inspection system 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 or the three-axle vehicle wheel inspection system 1 shown in Figures 6 to 9. The detailed internal configuration of the wheel inspection device 3 is shown. still,
If the front wheels of this vehicle have a double wheel or double tire configuration, it goes without saying that this wheel inspection device 3 can also be applied to the front wheels.

As shown in FIG. 10, the wheel inspection device 3.

It has a box body 8 as a base, and as described above, one box body 8 is provided so as to be slidable in the left-right direction on a rail 12 extending laterally at right angles to the reference center line CL. It is being In the N body 8, a rectangular opening 8c is bored approximately in the center on the bottom plate 8b of the one box body 8, which is operatively connected to one end of the equalizer 4r via the arm 6, and a rectangular opening 8c is bored on both sides of the bottom plate 8b. A pair of guide rails 32 are laid along.

A pair of inner roller supports 31u and outer roller supports 31s are slidably mounted on the guide rail 32. The inner roller support 31u has a generally single-shape shape, and rotatably supports a pair of inner contact rollers llu on its upper part.

The 1-shaped support body part of the inner roller support body 31u is rotatably mounted around a vertical axis relative to the sliding body engaged with the guide rail 32 constituting the pedestal, and the relative rotation thereof The angle can be detected by an inner angle detector 30ru provided in connection with the inner roller support 31u. Preferably, the angle detector 30ru is a rotary encoder.

Similarly, the outer roller support 31s rotatably supports a pair of outer contact rollers on its upper part. The 1-shaped support body part of the outer roller support body 31s is rotatably mounted around a vertical axis relative to the sliding body engaged with the guide rail 32 constituting the pedestal, and the relative rotation thereof The angle can be detected by an outer angle detector 3Qrs provided in connection with the outer roller support 31g. Preferably, this angle detection 11ii30rs is also a rotary encoder. Therefore, the inner contact roller 11
u and the outer contact roller IIg are movable apart from each other relative to each other and are supported so as to be freely rotatable about the vertical axis of the corresponding roller support 31.

The inner roller support 31u and the outer roller support 31S are connected to both ends of the clamp pantograph 330 and are operatively connected. Furthermore, pantograph 33 for clamp
A center plate 34 is mounted at the midpoint of the rail through a combination of a rail and a sliding body. Therefore, pantograph 3
3, the center plate 34 on which the rail is laid is always maintained at the center position of the pantograph 33. The center plate 34 itself is provided as a sliding member on the guide rail 32 so as to be slidable left and right. Thus, the central plate 34 has inner and outer contact rollers llu
and lls, defining the geometric center position of the roller clamp mechanism. A central support 35 is provided which is integrally fixed to the central plate 34 and extends below it. This central support 35 is
The box body 8 is opened through an opening 8c formed in the bottom plate 8b of the box body 8.
Extends outwardly and downwardly through the arms.

It is operatively connected to the pantograph 5r.

As best shown in FIG. 15, a cylinder 36a of a clamping cylinder device is further fixed to the central support 35, and the tip of a rod 36b that can move forward and backward relative to the cylinder 36a is As best shown in FIG. 14, it is connected to an outer roller support 31s. Therefore, by driving the clamping cylinder 36a.

It is possible to move the rod 36b forward or backward,
The clamping pantograph 33 is expanded and retracted, and as a result, the inner and outer contact rollers llu and lls are moved away from each other. In this case, the position of the central plate 34 is always maintained at an intermediate position between the inner and outer rollers llu and lls, and the position of the central plate 34 is
Via the pantograph 5r, it is automatically maintained at a symmetrical position with respect to the reference center line CL. Therefore, when the clamp cylinder 36a is operated to move the inner and outer contact rollers llu and lls toward each other, the wheel Wr located between them is clamped from both sides, and the respective contact rollers llu and lls are clamped from both sides. comes into contact with the corresponding side surface of the wheel Wr. In this state, the center position W of the clamp mechanism (that is, the position of the center plate 34) is aligned with the center position of the clamped wheel Wr, and furthermore, the left and right wheels Wr are symmetrical with respect to the reference center line CL. It will be located in a certain position.

That is, the tread centers of the left and right wheels Wr are the reference center line CL.
located above. In FIGS. 12 and 13, the positions at which the contact roller has advanced to the maximum are indicated by reference numbers 11u' and 11s' with dashes.

As mentioned above, this wheel inspection device 3 for rear axles and intermediate axles
In this case, separate angle detectors 30ru and 30r are provided for the inner roller support 31u and the outer roller support 31s, respectively.
s is provided. The inner angle detector 30ru detects the rotation angle around the vertical axis in the roller support portion of the inner roller support 31u, and the one-sided angle detector 30rs detects the rotation angle of the roller support portion of the outer roller support 31s. The rotation angle around the vertical axis is detected. Therefore, the inner and outer angle detectors 30rU and 30r
s can detect rotation angles independently of each other. The inner contact roller llu is brought into contact with the inner side surface of the wheel Wr, and the unilateral contact roller lls
is in contact with the outer side surface of the wheel Wr. Therefore, according to this wheel inspection device 3, it is possible to measure the degree of inclination of each of the inner and outer side surfaces of the wheel Wr independently of each other.

A wheel inspection bag with such a double encoder configuration!
! ! 3 can exhibit extremely effective effects, particularly when the wheels Wr have a double wheel or double tire configuration. That is.

In the case of wheels with double wheels or double tires, instead of a single wheel, a pair of auxiliary wheels or tires are placed adjacent to each other and mounted on the same axis so that they act as if they were a single wheel. However, it is rare that such a pair of auxiliary wheels or tires are mounted with the same inclination or alignment. In order to inspect the misalignment condition at such a slope, it is necessary to measure each auxiliary wheel or tire individually.
Conventionally, it has been impossible to perform such an inspection.

Wheel inspection device with double encoder configuration according to the present invention! ! In 3, since it is possible to independently measure the inclination of each of the inner and outer side surfaces of the wheel Wr,
Even in the wheels Wr having such a dual wheel or double tire configuration, it is possible to independently measure the inclination of each subwheel or tire. Therefore, it is possible to detect which auxiliary wheel or tire deviates from the required degree of inclination.

Next, a description will be given of a floating configuration in which a wheel configured based on another feature of the present invention is supported so as to be movable in any direction within a predetermined plane.

In this embodiment, this floating configuration.

This is particularly shown in FIGS. 10, 11, and 17 to 20. First, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, four linear motion (LM) guide units are arranged symmetrically in the front, back, left and right on the bottom cutout 8b of the box 8. That is,
Each LM guide unit includes a pair of lower guide rails 46 fixedly laid on the bottom opening 8b, and a lower guide rail 4.
a lower sliding body 45b slidably mounted on the lower sliding body 45b; an upper guide rail 45a fixedly laid on the lower sliding body 45b and extending orthogonally to the lower guide rail 46;
and an upper sliding body 44b slidably mounted on the upper guide rail 45a, and a cylindrical projection 44 projecting upward at the top of each upper sliding body 44b.
A is provided protrudingly.

Therefore, the protrusion 44a can move in a plane in any direction over a predetermined range relative to the bottom plate 8b.

On the other hand, a roughly T-shaped support roller table or assembly 40 rotatably supports a pair of support rollers 15r.
is housed and located within the box body 8. Four circular holes 40a are bored in the bottom of the support roller assembly 40, corresponding to each protrusion 44a, and a rotation bearing 43 is installed in each circular hole 40a, and the rotation bearing 43 is mounted with a mounting tool 43a. It is fixed to the bottom of the support roller assembly 4o. The inner ring of each rotary bearing 43 is fitted onto the corresponding protrusion 44a.

It is integrated with it. Therefore, the support roller assembly 4
The support roller assembly 40 is generally movable in translation in any direction over a predetermined range and rotationally movable over a predetermined range.
An example of the locus of rotational movement is indicated by B in FIG. 17. In this way, the support roller assembly 40 can perform translational and rotational movements in any direction relative to the box 8, so the support roller assembly 40 is set in a floating state. Therefore, the support roller 15r
When measuring the inclination of the wheels supported above, the wheels are maintained in a state where they can translate and rotate in any direction, making it possible to accurately measure the inclination of the wheels. It is.

In this way, by using the four LM guides to support the support roller assembly 40 in a floating state, no problems will occur even if the vehicle to be inspected is heavy. It is possible to maintain each wheel in a floating state without any problems. Furthermore, by adopting a four-point support configuration.

Since it is possible to measure the distribution of force and obtain a balanced floating motion, it is possible to perform inspections with high precision. In addition, in this example,
Although four LM guides are used, it is sufficient to use at least three or more LM guides.Furthermore, instead of using such LM guides, for example, the bottom plate 8b of the box body 8 and the support roller assembly The support roller assembly 40 can be translated and rotated relative to the box body 8 by dispersing a plurality of rollers or balls between it and the solid body 40 or by interposing a sliding substance such as grease. It is also possible to set it in a floating state.

Since the support roller assembly 40 is supported in a floating state relative to the box 8, an initial position locking device 1110 is provided for locking the support roller assembly 40 at the initial position.

In other words, the cylinder group is rotatably supported on the side wall of one box body 8! i l Oa is provided, and this cylinder device E
10a at the tip of the forward and retractable rod.

The base end portion of the tenth hook arm 10b is rotatably connected. On the other hand, the base end of the cylinder of the cylinder device I 10a is pivotally supported by the box body 8, and the 20th arm l
The proximal end of the oc is rotatably connected. Furthermore, the first
A connecting lever 10d is provided to rotatably connect the intermediate portions of the 0-th lock arm 10b and the 20th lock arm loc. 1st and 20th arm 10b and 10c
A positioning roller 10e is rotatably supported at the tip of each of the rollers. On the other hand, at the center of the front end and the rear end of the support roller assembly 4o, a bronze 9 member 41 is provided so as to be able to receive the corresponding positioning roller lOe.

Therefore, when the initial position locking device W10 is operated to the forward position, the positioning rollers loe are moved toward each other and engaged with the corresponding V-block members 41, and the support roller assembly 4o is moved.

The box body 8 is locked at an initial position approximately at the center thereof. On the other hand, when the initial position locking device 10 is operated to move to the retracted position, the first positioning roller 10e is placed in the retracted position shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and the force support roller assembly 40 is placed in a floating state. Box body 8
It is possible to freely perform translational and rotational movements within a predetermined range.

In addition, in this wheel inspection device, it is possible to statically measure the inclination of the wheel Wr supported on the support roller 15r in a stationary state, or to dynamically measure the inclination while the wheel Wr is rotating. It is. When measuring in the dynamic mode, the support roller 15r may be driven to rotate, or the support roller 15r may be supported in a freely rotating state, and the wheels Wr may be driven and rotated by the vehicle engine. Depending on the inclination of Wr, the support roller 15r receives a reaction force from the wheel Wr, and as a result, the support roller assembly 40
is displaced in the direction of the reaction force. In order to absorb such reaction force, a first engagement protrusion 42 having a roughly U-shape is provided protruding from the front end of the support roller assembly 40.
A second engagement protrusion 48a that is engaged with the first engagement protrusion during operation is provided to protrude from the support body 48. This support body 48 is fixed to an appropriate external member such as the frame 2, for example. This second engagement protrusion 48a is movable back and forth, and if necessary, is moved forward to connect the support roller assembly 4.
0 in a pivotally connected state. For this purpose, an opening 8d is bored in the front side wall of the box 8.
The second engagement protrusion 48a can access the inside of the box body 8 through this opening 8d.

Next, the roller lock group [50 of the support roller 15r] will be explained with particular reference to FIGS. 16 and 21.

The support roller 15 is rotatably supported during operation, but is in a locked state when the vehicle enters the inspection system and when the vehicle leaves the inspection system. For this purpose, a roller lock group [50] is provided for each support roller 15r. That is, a roller gear 54 is provided fixed to one end of each support roller 15r, and an idle gear 55 that is constantly engaged with the roller gear 54 is provided. A pair of lock gears 56 and 57 are disposed on both sides of the meshing portion between these gears 54 and 55 and are always in mesh with the roller gear 54. These lock gears 56 and 57 are rotatably supported on a pair of links 52 and 53, respectively, which are rotatably supported around the rotation axis of the roller gear 54. A cylinder device consisting of a cylinder 51a and a rod 51b is interposed between the distal ends of the pair of links 52 and 53. Therefore, by operating the cylinder device and bringing the pair of lock gears 56 and 57 into engagement with both the roller gear 54 and the idle gear 55, the support roller 15r can be brought into a locked state (non-rotating state). It is possible. On the other hand, when these lock gears 56 and 57 are in the state shown in FIG.

The support roller 15r is set to be rotatable.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As detailed above, the present invention provides an improved wheel inspection system. It is also possible to perform dynamic or static inspections of each wheel, including toe angle, camber
A wheel inspection device capable of measuring other required degrees of inclination of wheels with high precision is provided.

In particular, according to the first feature of the present invention, a wheel guide device having a predetermined multistage roller arrangement is provided, so that it is possible to smoothly and stably guide the vehicle to be inspected into the wheel inspection device. Yes.

Furthermore, by setting the vehicle at a predetermined inspection position, it is possible to automatically set each wheel at a position symmetrical with respect to a predetermined reference line. Further, even when the wheel has a configuration called a so-called double wheel or double tire, the wheel guide device of the present invention can quickly and stably move the wheel to a predetermined position of the wheel inspection device. By using the wheel guide device of the present invention that can guide the vehicle to an inspection position, it is possible to downsize the wheel inspection device, and in particular, it is possible to minimize its width.

According to the second feature of the present invention, not only the wheel inspection sections for the front wheels and the rear axle, but also the wheel inspection section for the intermediate wheels are provided between them, and the respective wheel inspection sections are arranged independently of each other. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously measure the alignment or inclination of each wheel of a three-axle vehicle with high precision. In particular, the wheel inspection section for the intermediate axle and the wheel inspection section for the rear wheel are located adjacent to each other in a juxtaposed relationship, and the connecting means for operatively connecting the left and right wheel inspection devices of the wheel inspection section for the intermediate axle is connected to the wheel inspection section for the intermediate axle. The connecting means, which is disposed at the front in the direction of travel and which operatively connects the left and right wheel inspection devices of the wheel inspection section for rear wheels, is disposed at the front in the direction of vehicle travel.

It is possible to configure a wheel inspection system for a three-axle vehicle to be compact overall. Furthermore, since the wheel inspection section for the intermediate axle is arranged adjacent to the wheel inspection section for the rear wheels, there is no need to provide a wheel guide device for each wheel inspection device in the wheel inspection section for the intermediate axle. .

According to a third feature of the invention, a double encoder arrangement is provided, with a pair of inner and outer angle sensors associated with each of the inner and outer clamping rollers clamping opposite sides of the wheel to be inspected. It is possible to inspect each side of the wheel independently of each other and measure the degree of inclination, and it is possible to perform measurements with extremely high precision. If you want to measure the overall inclination of the wheel, you can simply average the respective measurements from the inner and outer angle detectors. In this way, each side of the wheel can be inspected independently. Therefore, it is possible to discover that some kind of abnormality exists on one side, and it is possible to detect not only the degree of inclination but also other related abnormal situations regarding the wheels. . In particular, this feature is that when the wheel is a double wheel or a wheel with a double tire configuration, the inclination angle etc. can be measured independently for each of the pair of auxiliary wheels or tires that make up the wheel. is possible. It is therefore possible to carry out dynamic or static measurements of wheels with a double wheel or double tire configuration with high precision.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, an improved floating device is provided for setting a wheel to be tested in a floating state. According to this floating device, it is possible to smoothly and stably establish a floating state even in heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses.

Furthermore, this floating device simply uses an LM guide and a rotation bearing.

It is simple in structure and easy to manufacture.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a wheel inspection system for inspecting the wheels of a two-axle vehicle in which the rear wheels are dual-wheel or double-tire wheels constructed based on one embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a schematic front view of the wheel inspection system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the wheel inspection system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which is constructed based on an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic side view of the wheel inspection device shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the wheel inspection device shown in FIG. 3. 6 is a front view, and FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a wheel inspection system for a three-axle vehicle constructed based on an embodiment of the present invention;
yA is a schematic front view of the wheel inspection system shown in FIG. 6;
Figure 8 is a schematic partially enlarged view showing the arrangement of the left wheel inspection devices for the intermediate axle and rear wheels in the wheel inspection system shown in Figure 6, and Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the configuration shown in Figure 8. 10 is a front view, and FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a wheel inspection device constructed based on one embodiment of the present invention, which is installed in the wheel inspection system shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. is a schematic enlarged perspective view showing the arrangement of the wheel inspection device shown in FIG. 10 in the box body, and FIG. 12 is a schematic partial enlarged view showing in detail the configuration of a part of the wheel inspection device shown in FIG. 10. figure. FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing in detail the roller clamp mechanism installed in the wheel inspection device shown in FIG. 10;
Fig. 14 is a schematic front view of the roller clamp mechanism shown in Fig. 13, Fig. 15 is a schematic side view of the roller clamp mechanism shown in Fig. 13, and Fig. 16 is the interior of the wheel inspection device shown in Fig. 10. 17 is a schematic plan view of the support roller assembly shown in FIG. 16, and FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view of the support roller assembly shown in FIG. FIG. 20 is a schematic right side view of the support roller assembly, FIG. 21 is a schematic left side view of the support roller assembly, and FIG. 21 shows a roller lock device incorporated in the support roller assembly. This is a schematic diagram. (Explanation of symbols) 3f: Front wheel inspection section 3m = Intermediate axle wheel inspection section 3r: Rear wheel inspection section 4: Equalizer 5: Pantograph 8: N body 9: Clamp mechanism 10: Initial position locking device 11: Lower contact roller 12: Upper contact roller 15: Support roller 18: Center roller 19: First side roller 20u: Second side roller 201: Auxiliary roller 30: Angle detector 31: Roller support 33: Pantograph for long lamp 36: Clamp cylinder device 40: Support roller assembly 50: Roller lock device

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. At least three first linear guide means are provided at predetermined positions on the base plane, a first sliding body is provided so as to be movable along each of the first linear guide means, A second linear guide means is provided on each first sliding body extending in a direction different from the corresponding first linear guide means, and the second sliding body is provided slidably along each of the second linear guide means. , protrusions are provided on each of the second sliding bodies, and a floating member is provided that includes a rotation bearing into which each of the protrusions can be fitted, and an object supported on the floating member can be moved in any direction within a predetermined plane. A floating support device is characterized in that it is supported in a floating state. 2. The floating support device according to claim 1, wherein the first linear guide means are symmetrically arranged at four predetermined locations on the base plane. 3. In claim 1 or 2, the movement path of the first linear guide means extends in a first direction, and the movement path of the second linear guide means is different from the first direction. A floating device extending in a second orthogonal direction. 4. Any one of claims 1 to 3
7. The floating device of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second linear guide means has at least one linear guide rail. 5. Any one of claims 1 to 4
2. The floating support device according to item 1, wherein the floating member is provided with a wheel support means for supporting a wheel thereon. 6. Any one of claims 1 to 5
2. The floating support device according to item 1, further comprising locking means for locking the floating member at an initial position.