Apparatus and method for adjusting camber and toe
First Claim
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1. A shim for use in adjusting the camber and toe of a wheel comprising:
- a tapered shim hub having a periphery; and
a plurality of outwardly extending tabs operably, removably coupled to the periphery of said shim hub, said tabs varying radially in thickness around said periphery in accordance with the taper of said shim hub such that said tabs and shim hub together define a shim angle.
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Abstract
A unique shim and method for installing the shim to adjust camber and/or toe in a land vehicle wheel assembly is disclosed. The shim comprises an annular, tapered shim having a shim hub and a plurality of shim tabs extending radially outwardly from the shim hub. A camber and toe adjustment chart is used to determine the angular orientation of the shim required to achieve a desired camber and toe correction, and a template is provided to determine which shim tabs require detachment from the shim hub to provide bolt clearing gaps in the shim.
33 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A shim for use in adjusting the camber and toe of a wheel comprising:
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a tapered shim hub having a periphery; and a plurality of outwardly extending tabs operably, removably coupled to the periphery of said shim hub, said tabs varying radially in thickness around said periphery in accordance with the taper of said shim hub such that said tabs and shim hub together define a shim angle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A shim for use in adjusting the toe and camber alignment of a wheel in a vehicle wheel assembly, the wheel assembly including a spindle for rotatably supporting said wheel, a spindle face plate, an axle, an axle face plate and a plurality of bolts received through said spindle face plate and said axle face plate for detachably, operably coupling said spindle face plate to said axle face plate, said shim comprising:
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a shim plate having a first, generally planar, spindle face plate engaging surface, and a second, opposed, generally planar, axle face plate engaging surface, said first and second surfaces lying in nonparallel planes whereby said shim plate presents a generally tapered profile, said shim plate including structure defining a peripheral edge and a plurality of slots extending inwardly from said peripheral edge to define a centered, tapered shim hub and a plurality of outwardly extending shim tabs removably coupled to said shim hub, said tabs varying radially in thickness around said periphery in accordance with the taper of said shim hub such that said tabs and shim hub together define a shim angle, whereby predetermined ones of said shim tabs can be removed from said shim hub to present bolt clearing gaps such that said shim plate can be positioned between said spindle face plate and said axle face plate at a preselected angular orientation to selectively adjust the alignment of said wheel, said bolt clearing gaps receiving said bolts and said hub and said tabs not removed from said hub engaging said spindle face plate and said axle face plate. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for adjusting the camber, toe, or combinations of camber and toe of a land vehicle wheel assembly having a wheel spindle, an axle, and a plurality of bolts operably coupling said wheel spindle to said axle, comprising the steps of:
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a. measuring the alignment of said wheel to determine the adjustments of toe and camber required to bring said wheel into proper alignment; b. providing a tapered shim having a tapered shim hub and a plurality of outwardly extending shim tabs selectively removably coupled to said hub at its periphery, said tabs varying radially in thickness around said periphery in accordance with the taper of the shim hub such that said tabs and said shim hub together define a shim angle; c. determining the angular orientation of said shim required to provide the adjustments of toe and camber determined in step a; d. detaching required ones of said shim tabs from said shim hub to provide bolt clearing gaps in said shim; and e. installing said shim in said wheel assembly at said angular orientation, said bolts being received within said bolt clearing gaps. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification