Apparatus for mounting a wheel on a balancer

• US 4,462,253 A
• Filed: 06/29/1983
• Issued: 07/31/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
• Original Assignee: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
• Inventors: Becher, Joel P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gill, James J.
• Application Number:
  US06/508,953
• Time in Patent Office: 398 Days
• Field of Search: 73/487, 157/14, 157/21
• US Class Current: 73/487
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 1/045 the body being a vehicle wheel

Abstract

An apparatus for accurately centering a wheel on the spindle of a balancer is disclosed. The apparatus has mounting pins resiliently disposed in recesses in the surface of a disk member. The mounting pins have locations that correspond to the mounting holes in a wheel, and engage the mounting holes in the wheel when a means for securing retains the wheel against a planar surface of the disk member.

Claims

1. An apparatus for mounting a wheel on a spindle having a circular backing plate coaxially attached thereto, said backing plate having a planar reference surface that is perpendicular to said axis, said wheel having a plurality of mounting holes therethrough with the centers of the mounting holes located on a mounting hole circle and symmetrically disposed around a central hole through said wheel, said mounting hole circle and said central hole having centers that are located on the axis of rotation of said wheel, said apparatus comprising:

a disk member having first and second planar surfaces, said first planar surface having a first plurality of circular recesses therein with the centers of said recesses located on a mounting circle haing the same diameter as the mounting hole circle of said wheel and being symmetrically disposed around a central bore through said disk member in a manner identical to the manner in which the mounting holes of said wheel are disposed around the central hole through said wheel, said central bore being coaxial with said disk member and said circle having a center that is located on said axis, said central bore having a diameter such that said spindle may be inserted therethrough;

a mounting pin resiliently disposed in each of said recesses, the axes of said mounting pins being parallel to the axis of said disk member and central bore, an inwardly tapered portion of each mounting pin extending outwardly from said first planar surface to engage a mounting hole of said wheel when said spindle is inserted through said central bore such that said second planar surface engages the reference surface of said backing plate and a means for securing retains said wheel against said first planar surface.

2. An apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said mounting pins are resiliently disposed in said recesses by springs, said springs exerting a force on said mounting pins in a direction away from the second planar surface of said disk member.

3. An apparatus as described in either of claims 1 or 2 wherein said recesses are of substantially identical diameter and depth, and said mounting pins each have substantially identical dimensions.

4. An apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein said mounting pins are removable.

5. An apparatus as described in claim 4 further comprising a second plurality of circular recesses in said first planar surface, the centers of said second plurality of recesses being located on a mounting circle that is concentric with the circle on which the centers of said first plurality of recesses is located, said second plurality of recesses being symmetrically disposed around said central bore, and said second plurality of recesses having substantially the same diameter and depth as said first plurality of recesses.

6. An assembly for balancing a wheel of the type having a plurality of mounting holes therethrough with the centers of the mounting holes located on a mounting hole circle and symmetrically disposed around a central hole through said wheel, said mounting hole circle and said central hole having centers that are located on the axis of rotation of said wheel, said assembly comprising:

(a) a wheel balancer comprising a means for rotating a spindle and a spindle having a circular backing plate coaxially attached thereto, one end of said spindle being attached to said means for rotating and another end of said spindle being unsupported, said backing plate having a planar reference surface that is perpendicular to said axis and faces the unsupported end of said spindle;

(b) an apparatus for mounting said wheel on said spindle comprising

(i) a disk member having first and second planar surfaces, said first planar surface having a first plurality of circular recesses therein with the centers of said recesses located on a mounting circle having the same diameter as the mounting hole circle of said wheel and being symmetrically disposed around a central bore through said disk member in a manner identical to the manner in which the mounting holes of said wheel are disposed around the central hole through said wheel, the spindle of said wheel balancer being inserted through said central bore and said second planar surface engaging the reference surface of said backing plate, said disk member being coaxial with said spindle and backing plate, and

(ii) a mounting pin resiliently disposed in each of said recesses, the axes of said mounting pins being parallel to the axis of said disk member, an inwardly tapered portion of each mounting pin extending outwardly from the first planar surface of said disk member to engage a mounting hole of said wheel; and

(c) a means for securing attached by means for attachment to said spindle to retain said wheel against the first planar surface of said disk member.

7. An assembly as described in claim 6 wherein said mounting pins are resiliently disposed in said recesses by springs, said springs exerting a force on said mounting pins in a direction towards the unsupported end of said spindle.

8. An assembly as described in either of claims 6 or 7 wherein said recesses are of substantially identical diameter and depth, and said mounting pins each have substantially identical dimensions.

9. An assembly as described in claim 8 wherein said mounting pins are removable.

10. An assembly as described in claim 9 further comprising a second plurality of circular receses in the first planar surface of said disk member, the centers of said second plurality of recesses being located on a mounting circle that is concentric with the circle on which the centers of said first plurality of recesses is located, said second plurality of recesses being symmetrically disposed around said central bore, and said second plurality of recesses having substantially the same diameter and depth as said first plurality of recesses.