JPS60195414A - Adjusting device for fitted state of wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute easily and quickly an adjustment by positioning a camber detecting means at a specified position by engaging a conical recessed part of a position detecting means with the tip of a wheel, bringing its detecting signal to comparing operation processing, and displaying it. CONSTITUTION:In a center measuring part B1, a guide cone 6 with a recessed part 6a is inserted and held so as to be freely slidable, in a recessed part 4c of a pressure member 4 with a camber detecting part 4a of the tip of a shaft 1, and the measuring part B1 is supported so as to be freely movable upward and downward, and to the right and left through a middle frame 12 and an outside frame (omitted in the figure). Subsequently, the tip face of the detecting part 4a is brought into contact with a flange W1 of a wishbone-type suspension W, the recessed part 6a is engaged with a bearing cap W11 formed semispherically at the tip of an axle, and an axle RX and a center axis AX of the measuring part are matched. In that case, an adjustment quantity is calculated from a signal of a camber detecting rotary encoder (omitted in the figure) connected to the member 4, expressed in terms of a kind and the number of pieces of shims to be interposed in a supporting position of the device W, and displayed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wheel attachment adjustment device, and more particularly to a camber/caster measuring and adjusting device suitable for adjusting the camber and caster of individual wheels of an automobile.

Vehicle wheels, especially front wheels, have toe, camber, caster, kingpin angles, etc. set to improve steering stability. It is necessary to appropriately set these various conditions to stabilize the driving performance of the vehicle itself. Among these, camber and caster are important factors that also relate to the restoring force of the handle, and must be set accurately. Here, the camber of an automobile is the center line C of the wheel R in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG.

The inclination θ1, that is, the inclination θ2 of the axle R× with respect to the horizontal direction
Also, caster refers to the inclination angle ψ of the axle support member S with respect to the vertical direction, as shown in FIG.

By the way, a wishpon type front wheel suspension system W as shown in FIG. 8 is used. In this wishbone type rack device, the spindle W3 to which the wheel mounting flange W+ and the brake disc W2 are inserted is connected to the knuckle W4.
The upper and lower arms Ws and Wa are suspended from the main body frame W7 via support members.

In this case, the upper and lower arms Ws and Wa are rotatably supported by the frame Wy via respective shafts W8. In addition, each arm Ws, We and the knuckle arm W4 are connected via a ball joint W9, and the frame W7
A spring W+o is interposed between the lower arm W6 and the lower arm W6.

Normally, settings such as camber and caster can be carried out in the final step after assembly has been completed, but with the Witschbon type front wheel suspension system W mentioned above, this cannot be done after assembly has been completed, and therefore the front wheels and casters cannot be set on the frame. This needs to be done in an intermediate process when the rear wheels are installed.

In this case, since it is an adjustment work in an intermediate process, it is required to be carried out as quickly as possible, but it is difficult to carry out quickly using conventional methods such as magnetic detectors with level gauges. It is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wheel attachment adjustment device that can easily and quickly adjust the attachment condition of wheel camber, caster, etc. so that it falls within an appropriate range. With the goal.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail based on specific examples. FIG. 3 is an overall side view showing a main body of a camber/caster measuring and adjusting device as one embodiment of the present invention. The adjusting device of this example can be roughly divided into caster measuring section A.
, camber measuring section B.

The toe correction part C1 is composed of a display part and a frame part E. I'm here.

First, the camber measuring section B will be explained based on two types of schematic sectional views in FIGS. 4 and 6 and a schematic front view in FIG. 5 (corresponding to FIG. 4).

For convenience of explanation, the caster measuring section A is omitted in FIG. 4, and the rotary encoder for camber detection is omitted in FIG. 6. In FIG. 4, a shaft 1 is rotatably supported within a casing 3 via a bearing 2. As shown in FIG. A pressing member 4 having a bowl-shaped camber detection portion 4a formed at the tip is fixed to the tip of the shaft 1. In this case, the distal end surface of the bowl-shaped detection section 4a may be
As shown in the figure, the camber is detected by uniformly abutting the finished flange WI surface. Foot portion 4 of pressing member 4
b is formed hollow, and a spring 5 is installed in the recess 40.
A guide cone 6 having a conical recess 6a formed at its tip is slidably inserted through the guide cone 6. Also, shaft 1
A rotary encoder 7 for detecting caster, which will be described later, is attached to the rear end side of the wheel. In this case, from these rotary encoders 7 to the casing 3. Each member including the shaft 1 and the suppressing member 4 is mounted so that their longitudinal central axes coincide with the same axis Ax. Therefore, when carrying out measurement, first, as shown in FIG. 6, the tip recess 6a of the guide cone 6 is engaged with the bearing cap Wn, which is usually formed in a hemispherical shape, at the tip of the axle of the wheel to be measured. Then, align the axle Rx and the measurement unit center axis Ax.

Furthermore, an air locking cylinder 8 is fitted onto the shaft 1, and a pair of locking claws 10, 10 are connected to this via an arm 9 (see FIG. 5). By gripping the finely finished circumferential surface of the axle with the locking pawl 10.10, it is possible to more accurately align the measuring section center axis Ax and the axle axis Rx.

In FIG. 5, the above-mentioned central measuring section B+, which is mounted coaxially with respect to the central axis Ax, is accommodated in the inner frame 11 so as to be movable therewith. In this example, a pressing cylinder 13 installed at 7-2 is connected to the outer surface of the inner frame 11, and a rotary encoder 12 for camber detection connected to the pressing member 4 is connected to the pressing cylinder 13. As a result, the inner frame 11, the center measurement part B1, and the rotary encoder 12 are pressed and moved together toward the measurement reference part of the wheel. In this case, the inner frame 11 is housed in the inner frame 12 and is slidably supported via the slide rail mechanism 14, and as the pressing cylinder 13 operates, the inner frame 11 moves in the direction perpendicular to the paper plane in FIG.
That is, it reciprocates in the front and back direction to approach and move away from the object to be measured. Further, the middle frame 12 is also accommodated within the outer frame 16 and is held via the slide rail mechanism 15 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction on which gravity acts.

In this case, a counterweight 17 is attached to the middle frame 12, as shown in FIG.
The total weight of these members balances with the weight 17, so that the inner frame and the entire contents stored therein can freely reciprocate in the vertical direction. The entire measuring section Q housed in the outer frame 16 is slidably installed on the rail 18a laid on the base 18, as shown in FIG. can be freely moved back and forth. As described above, by supporting the center measurement part B1 so as to be movable in the upward, downward and left-right directions via the middle frame 12 and the outer frame 16, the above-mentioned effect of measuring the center position of the guide cone 6 and lock claw 10 is achieved. This is fully realized, and it becomes possible to accurately align the measurement unit center line Ax and the axle axis Rx.

Next, the caster measuring section A will be explained based on FIG. 6. The caster detection rotary encoder 7 of the central measurement unit B1 described above is attached to both of these so that the rotation angle of the casing 3 about the shaft 1 can be detected. A caster arm 19 is fixed to the surface of the casing 3, and a contact 20 for detecting caster is rotatably supported at the tip of the arm 19 via a shaft 21.

A contact air cylinder 21 for rotational driving attached to the arm 19 is connected to the contact 20, and when the cylinder 21 is turned on, the contact 9-70-〇-20 can perform caster measurement. It is rotated to the position (indicated by the double-dashed line). Furthermore, a caster detection air cylinder 22 attached to the pressing member 4 of the central measuring section B1 is connected to the arm 19, and when this is operated, the arm 19
The contactor 20 is also rotated together with the center axis Ax. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, on the suspension device W as in this example.

Lower ball joint part W9. Line C2 connecting the center of W9
The contact end 2 is parallel to the finished reference surface S2.
By bringing 0a into contact, the caster of the wheel is detected.

As shown in FIG. 3, the toe correction section C includes a correction member C1.
is reciprocated in the longitudinal direction along the slide rail C2 by an air cylinder C3, and the toe value representing the degree of inclination of the wheel to be measured with respect to the vehicle center line is corrected to approximately zero. This makes it possible to eliminate variations in measured values of camber and caster due to toe.

Here, before explaining the configuration of the display section, a method for adjusting camber and caster employed in this example will be explained. As shown in FIG. 9, the upper arm W5 of the above-mentioned wishbone type suspension system W is normally movably supported on the frame W at two points. That is, the shaft W8 to which the upper arm W5 is fixed is connected to the bearing W12 at two points, front α and rear β, with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle shown by the arrow.
1 W +3, respectively, so as to be rotatable. As shown in FIG. 10, an intervening space P for the adjustment shim I is secured in advance between the bearing W12°W +3 and the frame W7. Camber and caster can be adjusted by interposing appropriate combinations of shims with three different thicknesses. For example, front and rear bearings W +
By making the thickness of the interposed shims the same for 2 and W+3, only the camber can be adjusted, and by changing the thickness of the interposed shims at the front and rear, it is possible to adjust the caster as well as the camber.

On the display section, as shown in Fig. 11, the camber angle,
Before the caster angle and adjustment mentioned above.

Zones Z + , Z 2 , Z3°Z4 are formed on the surface to indicate the number of combinations of various shims to be installed in the rear bearing positions α and β, respectively. Inside, it is connected to the encoder 12゜7 for detecting camber and caster, stores the respective detection signals sent in advance, compares them with a reference value, and calculates the necessary signals to match the reference value. A comparison processing section (not shown) is provided for converting the adjustment amount into the number of combinations of various shims to be inserted. Note that DI and D2 are pass/fail indicator lights, and D3 is an indicator light that indicates the type of shim to be inserted. Therefore, for example, if the numerical values shown in Fig. 11 are displayed in each zone and the failure indicator is lit, the values of camber and caster are 2 degrees and 1 degree 33 minutes, respectively, which are failures. To keep it within the appropriate range, insert 1, 2, and 3 thick, medium, and thin shims each in the front bearing part α, and one each of three types of shims in the rear bearing part β. This indicates that intervention is sufficient.

The operation of the above-mentioned embodiment configured in a tilted manner, that is, the method of adjusting the camber and caster of the wheel according to this embodiment will be explained below.

11- First, as shown in FIG. 8, an intermediate product in which a wishbone type suspension device W is temporarily assembled on a frame W7 is placed on a surface plate T. Then, the measuring and adjusting device main body is moved so that the recessed portion of the guide cone 6 can engage with the bearing cap Wn attached to the tip of the spindle W3 of the suspension device W. Note that L is a load applying device that applies a load corresponding to actual use.

Then, in FIG. 6, the pressing cylinder 13 is operated to move the central measuring portion B1 together with the inner frame 11 toward the spindle W3 by a predetermined distance corresponding to the stroke of the cylinder. As a result, the guide cone concave portion 6a first engages with the bearing cap Wll, and the central measurement portion B1 flexibly follows the movement of the guide cone 6 by the sliding mechanisms provided on the inner frame 12 and the outer frame 16, respectively. , bottom and left,
Move to the right and align the central axis Ax of the central measuring section B1 with the spindle axis Rx. Then, while being guided so that both axes A input R uniformly contacts the outer periphery of the In this case, as described above, the suppressing member 4 moves approximately in a predetermined course due to the guiding effect of the guide cone 6, so that the inconvenience of coming into contact with an obstacle such as a stud bolt protruding from the flange surface S+ is avoided.

Next, the locking cylinder 8 is operated, and the locking claw 1 is
0 to grip the processed reference peripheral surface S3 of the spindle W. As a result, both wheels Ax.

Rx is more accurately matched. Furthermore, even if the surface of the bearing cap Wu is unevenly formed, the alignment action of the lock claw 10 allows the alignment of both axes Ax.

The deviation of R× is corrected correctly. Under this condition, the inclination of the flange W+, that is, the camber angle, is detected by the rotary encoder 12 (see FIG. 4) via the pressing member 4.

Next, the contact cylinder 21 is operated to tilt the caster contact 20 forward, and then the caster cylinder 22 is operated to tilt the casing 3. The arm 19 and the contact 20 are rotated together around the central axis Ax in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7, and the contact end 20a is brought into contact with the processed reference surface S2. Under this condition, the rotary encoder 7 detects the rotation angle about the axis Ax of the caster measurement unit A extending from the casing 3 to the contactor 20, that is, the caster angle. In this case, as described above, since the rotation center axis Ax is accurately and reliably aligned with the spindle axis Rx, an accurate caster angle can always be detected.

The camber angle and caster angle detected by each encoder 12.7 are sent as signals to a display section, where comparison processing with each reference value is performed. Then, as described above, the number of combinations of various shims that are required to be installed in order to keep both the camber and caster actors within the appropriate range is displayed. Therefore, the operator only has to insert various shims into the front and rear support parts α and β described above according to the instructions (see FIGS. 9 and 10). This allows the camber and caster to be adjusted within the appropriate range.
The operator completes the adjustment work after confirming that the pass indicator lamp is lit.

In the above embodiment, it is not necessary to provide both the guide cone 6 and the locking pawl 10, and the guide cone 6 may be omitted for measurement targets where there are no obstacles on the camber measurement reference plane. The locking pawl 10 can be omitted for objects whose engagement surfaces with which the cone 6 engages are formed accurately and uniformly.

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily align the axle and the center axis of the measuring section and to measure the camber or caster of the wheel, thereby making it possible to quickly and accurately measure a famous actor. Further, by directly displaying the amount of adjustment required to keep the above-mentioned actor within the appropriate range by the number of combinations of various spacers such as shims to be inserted, the adjustment work can be carried out quickly. Therefore, by applying the device of the present invention to the production process of automobiles, both the quality and productivity of automobiles can be improved.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, a separate measuring and adjusting device for caster and camber may be used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams showing the camber and caster of a wheel, respectively, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the camber and caster of a wheel, respectively.
4 is a schematic plan cross-sectional view showing the camber measurement section B, FIG. 5 is a front view showing the camber measurement section B, and FIG. 6 is a caster measurement adjustment device main body.
A schematic cross-sectional plan view showing camber measurement parts A and B, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a caster measurement method, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the Uitschbon type suspension device FW and its adjustment process.
FIGS. 9 and 10 are an explanatory view and a perspective view showing a camber and caster adjusting method, respectively, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a display section. (Explanation of symbols) 4: Pressing member 6: Guide cone -17-^・16-7.12: Rotary encoder 10: Lock claw 20: Caster contactor D: Display Department Patent applicant Safety Automotive Kanto Co., Ltd. Automotive Industry Co., Ltd.・r::;,;. 18-

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. I! In an adjustment device for adjusting the mounting condition of a wheel, such as camber, which indicates the degree of inclination of the wheel with respect to a vertical line, the camber is detected by uniformly bringing the tip surface into contact with a reference plane extrapolated perpendicularly to the axle. A detection signal sent from the detection means is compared with a position regulating means that includes a conical recess and positions the camber detection means at a predetermined detection position by engaging the recess with the tip of the axle. 1. A wheel mounting condition adjustment device comprising: display means for displaying an adjustment amount for calculating and keeping a detected value within an appropriate range. 2. The wheel attachment adjustment device according to item 1 above, wherein the camber detection means includes a bowl-shaped abutting portion. 3. The wheel attachment adjustment device according to item 1 above, wherein the adjustment amount displayed by the display means is the combined number of various shims to be inserted into the support portion of the support member that supports the axle. 4. In an adjustment device that adjusts the mounting condition of a wheel, such as camber, which indicates the degree of inclination of the wheel with respect to a vertical line, the camber is detected by uniformly bringing the tip surface into contact with a reference plane extrapolated perpendicularly to the axle. a camber detection means for detecting the axle; a position regulating means for positioning the camber detection means at a predetermined detection position by gripping the surface of the axle; and a position regulating means for positioning the camber detection means at a predetermined detection position by gripping the surface of the axle, and comparing and calculating the detection signal sent from the detection means to adjust the detected value to an appropriate range. 1. A wheel mounting condition adjustment device, comprising display means for displaying an amount of adjustment to be made within the specified range. 5. An adjusting device for adjusting the mounting condition of a wheel such as a caster representing the support angle of a support member that supports an axle, which is equipped with a rotatably supported contact, and the tip of the contact is placed at a predetermined position on the support member. caster detection means for detecting the caster by bringing it into contact with a reference surface; position regulation means for regulating the position of the caster detection means so that the support shaft of the contactor is aligned with the axle; 1. A wheel attachment adjustment device comprising: a display means for displaying an amount of adjustment necessary for performing comparative calculation processing on detection signals and keeping the detection value within an appropriate range. 6. The wheel attachment adjustment device according to item 5 above, wherein the adjustment amount displayed by the display means is the combined number of various shims to be inserted into the support portion of the support member that supports the axle.