JPH06347378A - Wheel alignment measuring apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To measure a toe-in angle, a camber angle and a caster angle of a wheel of an automobile, and to further measure a kingpin angle with a simple structure. CONSTITUTION:The wheel alignment measuring apparatus comprises a turntable 1 rotatable by placing a wheel D of an automobile, a first angle sensor for detecting a rotary angle of the turntable 1, a support rod 16 telescopically protruding from an upper part of a post stood at the side of the turntable 1, a detecting plate 17 pivotally secured to ends of a roller 19 and the rod 16, second, third angle sensors 7b, 7c provided at the plate 17 to detect lateral and radial inclining angles of the plate 17, a fourth angle sensor provided at the plate 17 and cooperated with rotation of the roller 19 to detect a rotary angle of the wheel D, and a calculating controller inputting the detected angles to calculating a toe-in angle, a camber angle, a caster angle and a kingpin angle of the wheel.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheel alignment measuring apparatus suitable for measuring the toe angle, camber angle, caster angle, and kingpin angle of the wheels of an automobile in the inspection and maintenance of the automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a wheel alignment measuring apparatus, the applicant first mounted a wheel of an automobile on which a turntable rotatable with the wheel, a first angle sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the turntable, and An advancing / retreating support rod that has a detection plate protruding from the upper part of a column that is erected on the side of the turntable and tilting by contacting the outer surface of the wheel at the tip, and a detection rod provided on the detection plate Second and third angle sensors for detecting left and right and inner and outer tilt angles, an arm rotatably provided at the root of the support rod, and having a contactor at a tip thereof capable of contacting a peripheral portion of the wheel, A fourth angle sensor that detects a rotation angle of the arm that rotates via a contact as the wheel rotates, and the first, second, third, and fourth angle sensors.
It has been proposed that the arithmetic and control unit inputs the detected angle of the fourth angle sensor and calculates the toe angle, the camber angle, the caster angle and the kingpin angle of the wheel. (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-119784).

[0003]

According to the wheel alignment apparatus of the previous application, the arm having the contact rod at the tip end which is capable of contacting the peripheral portion of the wheel is particularly used as the detecting means for calculating the kingpin angle. There is a problem that the structure needs to be rotatably provided at the root part and the structure becomes complicated.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a wheel alignment device having a simple structure and capable of measuring a kingpin angle in particular.

[0005]

To achieve this object, the present invention provides a turntable on which a vehicle wheel is mounted and rotatable with the wheel, and a first angle sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the turntable. A support rod projecting upward and backward from an upper portion of a column standing upright on the side of the turntable; and a roller that rotates in contact with the outer surface of the wheel. A detection plate pivotally attached to the tip of the rod so as to be tiltable in response to contact, second and third angle sensors provided on the detection plate for detecting left and right and inner and outer tilt angles of the detection plate, and the detection plate A fourth angle sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the wheel provided in conjunction with the rotation of the roller or in association with the rotation of the roller on the turntable on which the wheel is mounted; First, second, third and fourth angle sensors Toe angle and inputs the detection angle of the wheel, the camber angle, characterized in that it consists an arithmetic control unit for calculating a caster angle and kingpin angles.

[0006]

With the turntable fixed, the wheel of the automobile to be measured is placed on the turntable, and then the support rod is advanced to bring the roller of the detection plate into contact with the outer surface of the wheel. At this time, the detection plate tilts, and the angle of this tilt is detected by the second angle sensor and the third angle sensor,
The arithmetic and control unit inputs the detection signals of these angles and calculates the toe angle and the camber angle of the wheels.

Next, the turntable is made rotatable and the wheels are steered to the left or right. At this time, the rotation angle of the turntable is detected by the first angle sensor, and the inclination of the detection plate due to the inclination of the wheel is detected by the third angle sensor.
The angle is detected by the angle sensor, and the arithmetic and control unit inputs the detection signals of these angles and executes a predetermined arithmetic operation to calculate the caster angle of the wheel.

Next, the wheels are steered to the left or right. The rotation angle of the turntable at this time is detected by the first angle sensor, and the rotation angle of the wheel due to the rotation of the wheel due to the above-mentioned steering is detected by the fourth angle sensor. The angle detection signal is input and a predetermined calculation is executed to calculate the kingpin angle of the wheel.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Reference numerals 1 ... 1 denote turntables which are provided on the floor and on which four wheels of an automobile are mounted, respectively. These turntables 1 are constructed as follows.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of rails 3 and 3 extending in the front-rear direction are laid on the upper surface of the base 2a installed on the lower surface of the recess 2 formed on the floor, and these rails 3 and 3 are provided. A first supporting plate 4 which is movable in the front-rear direction along the above is provided on the upper side, and a pair of rails 5 and 5 extending in the left-right direction are further laid on the upper surface of the first supporting plate 4, and these rails 5, 5 are provided.
A second support plate 6 which can move in the left-right direction is provided on the upper side of the second support plate 6, and the turntable 1 is rotatably supported by the second support plate 6. The turntable 1 has a rectangular frame 1a.
And a supporting plate portion 1b protruding sideways from the side and the frame 1
The rotation angle of the turntable 1 is composed of rollers 1c and 1c axially supported in the front and rear in a and a friction plate 1d provided between the rollers 1c and 1c so as to be lifted and lowered by a first lifting means 1e composed of an air cylinder. Is detected by the first angle sensor 7a provided on the second support plate 6 and composed of, for example, a potentiometer. Then, on the left and right inner side surfaces of the recessed portion 2, a first stator 8 having a protrusion at the tip capable of restricting forward and backward movement of the first support plate 4,
8 is provided via a first advancing / retreating control means 9 composed of, for example, an air cylinder, and first left and right side surfaces of the first support plate 4 are engageable with the first stators 8, 8. 4a and 4a are formed, and second stators 10 and 10 having front and rear ends on the first support plate 4 and having protrusions at the tips capable of restricting lateral movement of the second support plate 6 are provided, for example. The second engaging recesses 6a, 6a are provided via the second advancing / retreating control means 11 composed of an air cylinder, and these second stators 10, 10 are engageable with the front and rear side surfaces of the second supporting plate 6. And a third stator 12, 12 having a protrusion at the front end capable of restricting the rotation of the turntable 1 at the front and rear ends on the upper surface of the second support plate 6 is, for example, an air cylinder. It is provided through the advancing / retreating control means 13. Both third engaging recess 1f around the side surface of the turntable 1 these third stator 12, 12 engageable, 1f are formed.

Further, an air cylinder is provided on the upper surface of the base 2a, which is capable of raising and lowering a friction body 29 which can be brought into contact with the lower surface of the first support plate 1 in order to regulate the forward and backward movement of the first support plate 1. The second lifting means 29a is provided.

A column 14 is erected on the upper surface of the support plate portion 1b of the turntable 1, and a fourth advance / retreat control means 15 such as an air cylinder is horizontally provided above the column 14 as shown in FIG. A detection plate 17 is provided at the tip of the support rod 16 that moves back and forth from the fourth forward / backward control means 15 by a universal joint 18 so as to be tiltable left and right and inward and outward,
The detection plate 17 projects three-pronged protrusions, and contact rollers 19 are rotatably provided on these protrusions, respectively. The first operating piece 2 composed of a semi-circular gear is provided on the upper end of the detection plate 17.
0 is projected and the fixed gear 21 is meshed with the rotary shaft of the toe angle sensor 7b of the wheel, which is provided on the horizontal axis of the universal joint 18 and is composed of, for example, a potentiometer, and the fixed gear 21 is meshed with the second angle sensor. The tilt angle of the detection plate 17 in the left-right direction, that is, in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4 is detected by 7b.

A second actuating piece 22 having a curved gear at its tip is provided on the horizontal axis of the universal joint 18 in a protruding manner, and the second actuating piece 22 has an L-shaped support piece 23 on the support rod 16. A fixed gear 24 is meshed with the rotating shaft of a third angle sensor 7c, which is fixed by a potentiometer, and the tilt angle of the detection plate 17 in and out, that is, in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Was detected.

Reference numeral 7d denotes a fourth angle sensor, which is composed of, for example, a potentiometer, is provided on the detection plate 17, and is connected to the contact roller 19 through a means such as a gear.

Reference numeral 25 denotes an arithmetic and control unit composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and the arithmetic and control unit 25 is
It has a calculation control function as will be described later, and is connected to the first to fourth angle sensors 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d at the location of each turntable 1 through an interface 26 as shown in FIG. 26 and the respective drive devices 27, the first to fifth advance / retreat control means 9, 11, 13, 15 and the first and second elevating means 1e,
29a.

In FIG. 5, 28 is an operating device and 30 is a display device.

Next, the measurement by the apparatus of the above embodiment will be described.

First, the first advancing / retreating control means 9, the second advancing / retreating control means 11 and the third advancing / retreating control means 13 are operated by a command from the arithmetic and control unit 25 by operating the operating device 27 to operate the first, second and third. The three stators 8, 10 and 12 advance to engage with the first and second support plates 4 and 6 and the engagement recesses 4a, 6a and 1f of the turntable 1, respectively, and The movement, the movement of the second support plate 6 in the left-right direction, and the rotation of the turntable 1 are also restricted, and the turntable 1 is fixed.

After that, the vehicle to be measured C is entered into the measuring field, and the arithmetic and control unit 25 is operated by operating the operating unit 28.
The first advancing / retreating control device 9 operates to retract the first stator 8 to release the engagement with the engagement concave portion 4a, thereby enabling the first support plate 4 to move back and forth. Each wheel D
Are placed on the rollers 1c, 1c of each turntable 1. The arithmetic and control unit 25 is operated by operating the operating unit 28.
The second elevating means 29a is operated to raise the friction body 29 in accordance with a command from the above to restrict the movement of the first support plate 4 in the front-rear direction, and the fourth advancing / retreating control means 15 is operated to advance the support rod 16. Then, the rollers 19 ... 19 of each detection plate 17 are brought into contact with the outer surface of each wheel D.

After that, each roller 1c is rotationally driven to rotate each wheel D to bring the automobile C into a traveling state. In this traveling state of the automobile, the toe angle of each wheel D is measured by the second angle sensor 7b as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the camber angle of each wheel D is detected by the third angle sensor 7c, and the toe angle and the camber angle are displayed on the display device 28 via the arithmetic and control unit 25.

Next, after the traveling of the automobile C is stopped, the second elevating means 29a and the second and third advancing / retreating control means 11, 1 are operated by a command from the arithmetic and control unit 25 by operating the operating device 28.
3 is operated to lower the friction plate 29 to release the regulation of the first support plate 1 so that the first support plate 1 is movable in the front-rear direction, and the second and third stators 10 and 12 are retracted to regulate the second support plate 6. The turntable 1 is released so that the turntable 1 can be freely moved in the left-right direction, and the regulation of the turntable 1 is also released so that the turntable 1 can be freely moved in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction.

Further, in response to a command from the arithmetic control means 25, the first elevating means 1e is actuated to raise the friction plate 1d to move each wheel D.
Comes into frictional contact with the friction plate 1d.

After that, when the wheel of the automobile is rotated leftward or rightward by any angle to rotate the wheel D leftward or rightwardly, the turntable 1 is rotated leftwardly or rightwardly as shown in FIG. The rotation angle T ₁ of each turntable 1 at this time is detected by the first angle sensor 7a, and
The camber angle α ₁ of the wheel in this state is detected by the third angle sensor 7c.

Next, after returning the handle, the turntable 1 is rotated right or left together with the wheel D by rotating it to the right or left by any angle, and the rotation angle T ₂ of each table at this time is set to the first angle. While being detected by the sensor 7a, the camber angle α ₂ of the wheel in this state is detected by the third angle sensor 7c. Where the caster angle θ _c is

[Equation 1] (1), the arithmetic and control unit 25 inputs the rotation angles T ₁ and T ₂ and the camber angles α ₁ and α ₂ from the first and third angle sensors 7a and 7b, and calculates the equation (1). Is calculated to calculate the caster angle θ _c of each wheel, and the calculation result is displayed on the display device 28.

Then, after returning the handle, the detection plate 17
19 is in contact with the outer surface of the wheel D, and when the steering wheel of the automobile is rotated left or right by an arbitrary angle as described above, the wheel D turns while rotating left or right and the turntable 1 Is rotated to the left or right, and the roller 19 contacting the tire of the wheel D as the wheel D rotates.
Rotates. The rotation angle T ₃ of the turntable 1 is determined by the first angle sensor 7a, and the rotation angle β ₁ of the wheel D is determined by the fourth angle sensor 7a.
It is detected by the angle sensor 7d.

The calculation of the rotation angle β of the wheel D will now be described. As the wheel D rotates, the roller 19 also rotates.

Therefore, when the rotation circumference of the roller 19 is L and the radius of the wheel D is R, the rotation angle β is

[Equation 3] … (2)

Thus, from this relational expression, the fourth angle sensor 7
A detection signal corresponding to each rotation β of the wheel D is output from d.

Next, the handle is returned to its original position and then rotated to the right or left by an arbitrary angle, and the rotation angle T ₃ of the turntable 1 rotated to the right or left in response to this, and the rotation angle associated with the rotation of the wheels D. β ₂ is detected by the first and fourth angle sensors 7a and 7d.

Here, the kingpin angle θ _k is

[Equation 2] (3) Therefore, the arithmetic and control unit 25 uses the first angle sensor 7
The rotation angles T ₃ and T ₄ of the turntable 1 and the rotation angles β ₁ and β ₂ of the wheel D are input from a and the calculation of the formula (3) is performed to determine the kingpin angles of the left and right front wheels. θ _k is calculated, and the calculation result is displayed on the display device 30. In this way, all the toe angle, camber angle, caster angle and kingpin angle of the wheel D can be measured.

In the above embodiment, the fourth angle sensor 7d
Although the example in which the fourth angle sensor 7d is provided on the detection plate 17 and connected to the roller 19 is shown, the fourth angle sensor 7d may be provided on the turntable 1 and interlocked with the roller 1c or 1d.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the caster angle as well as the toe angle and the camber angle of the wheel of the automobile can be measured, and the structure related to the contactor which is necessary in the conventional measuring device is not required. It is possible to measure the kingpin angle with a simple configuration, and it is possible to perform these measurements with a simple operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a turntable.

3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a measurement state of a toe angle of a wheel.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a measurement state of a camber angle of a wheel.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing a measurement state of a caster angle of a wheel.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing a measurement state of a kingpin angle of a wheel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 turntable 1c roller 1d friction plate 2 recess 4 first support plate 6 second support plate 7a first angle sensor 7b second angle sensor 7c third angle sensor 7d fourth angle sensor 10 second stator 12 third stator 14 Support 16 Support rod 17 Detection plate 19 Roller 25 Arithmetic control device 29 Friction body

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A turntable on which wheels of an automobile are mounted and which can be rotated together with the wheels, a first angle sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the turntable, and a column which stands upright on a side of the turntable. A support rod projecting upward and backward so as to be able to move forward and backward, and a roller that rotates in contact with the outer surface of the wheel are pivotally attached to the tip of the rod so as to be tiltable in accordance with the contact between the roller and the wheel. Detection plate, and second and third detection plates provided on the detection plate for detecting left and right and inner and outer tilt angles of the detection plate
The angle sensor and the rotation angle of the wheel are detected in conjunction with the rotation of the roller provided on the detection plate or in association with the rotation of the roller on the turntable on which the wheel is mounted. It comprises a fourth angle sensor and an arithmetic and control unit for inputting the detected angles of the first, second, third and fourth angle sensors to calculate the toe angle, camber angle, caster angle and kingpin angle of the wheel. A wheel alignment measuring device characterized in that 2. A first support plate is movably provided in the front-rear direction on a lower surface of a recess formed in the floor surface, and a second support plate is movably provided in the left-right direction on the first support plate. The turntable is rotatably provided on the two support plates, and the first support plate, the second support plate, and the turntable can be controlled to move or rotate by the friction body and the second and third stators, respectively. The wheel alignment measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the wheel alignment measuring device is formed. 3. The wheel alignment measuring device according to claim 2, wherein the turntable includes front and rear rollers and a friction plate interposed between the rollers and capable of vertically moving. 4. The arithmetic and control unit inputs, from the first angle sensor, a rotation angle T ₃ T ₄ of the turntable when the wheels on the turntable are steered leftward or rightward. The rotation angles β ₁ and β ₂ of the wheels due to the rotation of the wheels due to steering are input from the fourth angle sensor and the calculation of formula (3) is executed to determine the kingpin angle of the wheels by θ.
The wheel alignment measuring device according to claim 1, wherein _K is calculated.