MACHINE FOR BALANCING MOTOR VEHICLE WHEELS

• US 3,741,016 A
• Filed: 01/14/1971
• Issued: 06/26/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dionys Hofmann
• Original Assignee: Dionys Hofmann
• Inventors: Hofmann, Dionys
• Primary Examiner(s): Gill, James J.
• Application Number:
  US05/106,394
• Time in Patent Office: 894 Days
• Field of Search: 73/66,462,487
• US Class Current: 73/462
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 7/02 for measuring length, width or thickness G01B7/004, G01B7/12 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 7/12 for measuring diameters
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 1/02 Details of balancing machines or devices

Abstract

A machine for balancing motor vehicle wheels including sensors for sensing the physical dimensions of the wheel to be balanced. The sensors comprise movable arms positioned along potentiometers as a function of rim diameter and depth.

Claims

1. In a balancing machine for the wheels of motor vehicles of different size and types each having a rim, especially for the wheels of passenger cars which are fixedly clamped onto a rotating spindle for measuring balance by measuring means without specified values from a table and whereby the balancing machine will automatically provide an indication of the quantitative and angular values of unbalance for both planes of the wheel undergoing balancing, the improvement comprising, first sensing means for measuring the distance from a known point to one plane of said rim, second sensing means for measuring the radius of said rim, setting means associated with said first and second sensing means for deriving from the measurements of said first and second sensing means electrical signals, storing the values of these signals, and transmitting these signals to said measuring means.

2. The wheel balancing machine as recited in claim 1 wherein said first and second sensing means comprise two mechanically adjustable arms having at least one means for contacting the wheel rim and two potentiometers and said setting means comprises contact points on the respective potentiometers connected to said arms so that electrical values are indicated on said potentiometers which correspond to the adjustment of said arms, wherein one of said arms is adapted to measure the radius of the wheel rim while the other arm is adapted to measure the distance from a known point to one plane of the rim.

3. The wheel balancing machine as recited in claim 2 wherein the arm for measuring the rim radius is mounted at the free end of and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the arm for measuring the distance to one plane of the rim.

4. The wheel balancing machine as recited in claim 3 further including means for clamping said contact points to said potentiometers so that said potentiometers retain their readings.

5. The wheel balancing machine as recited in claim 4 wherein said clamping means includes electrical operators and said operators are controlled by at least one switch.

6. The wheel balancing machine as recited in claim 3 wherein means are provided to removing said arms from contact with said rim without changing the mechanical adjustments thereof.

7. The wheel balancing machine as recited in claim 1 further including a third sensing means and a third setting means associated therewith for measuring the distance from a known point to the plane of the other rim.