Method of adjusting vehicle wheel alignment
First Claim
1. A method of adjusting vehicle wheel alignment comprising the steps of:
- placing a wheel of a vehicle, said wheel including a tire mounted thereto, on a tire driving surface on which a step of a predetermined height is formed at at least one place along a rotating direction in which the tire driving surface is driven by a rotational force;
measuring variations in forces applied in the rotating direction of the tire driving surface and a rotation axis direction which is orthogonal to the rotating direction at the time the wheel passes over the step while the tire driving surface is being driven so that the wheel is rotated in a proceeding direction of the vehicle; and
adjusting a positional angle of the wheel, on the basis of said measurements, such that a variation in lateral force generated by the tire when the wheel passes over the step is a minimum.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method for adjusting vehicle wheel alignment in which a positional angle of a wheel corresponding to the characteristics of a tire can be set easily, running stability suited for an actual road surface can be obtained, and one-sided wear can be reduced. The method for adjusting vehicle wheel alignment includes the steps of: placing a wheel of a vehicle, which is an object of adjustment, on a tire driving surface on which a step of a predetermined height is formed at at least one place along a rotating direction in which the tire driving surface is driven by a rotational force; measuring variations in forces applied in the rotating direction of the tire driving surface and a rotation axis direction which is orthogonal to the rotating direction at the time the wheel passes over the step while the tire driving surface is being driven/rotated so that the wheel is rotated in a proceeding direction of the vehicle; and adjusting a positional angle of the wheel, on the basis of results of measurement, such that a variation in lateral force generated by a vehicle tire when the wheel passes over the step is a minimum.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of adjusting vehicle wheel alignment comprising the steps of:
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placing a wheel of a vehicle, said wheel including a tire mounted thereto, on a tire driving surface on which a step of a predetermined height is formed at at least one place along a rotating direction in which the tire driving surface is driven by a rotational force; measuring variations in forces applied in the rotating direction of the tire driving surface and a rotation axis direction which is orthogonal to the rotating direction at the time the wheel passes over the step while the tire driving surface is being driven so that the wheel is rotated in a proceeding direction of the vehicle; and adjusting a positional angle of the wheel, on the basis of said measurements, such that a variation in lateral force generated by the tire when the wheel passes over the step is a minimum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of adjusting vehicle wheel alignment comprising the steps of:
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placing wheels of a vehicle, said wheels each including a tire mounted thereto, on at least a pair of tire driving surfaces on each of which a step of a predetermined height is formed at at least one place along a rotating direction in which the tire driving surface is driven by a rotational force, and which are disposed such that the rotating directions of the tire driving surfaces are parallel and such that the tire driving surfaces are positioned in substantially the same horizontal plane; measuring, for each tire driving surface, variations in forces applied in the rotating direction of the tire driving surface and a rotation axis direction which is orthogonal to the rotating direction at the time the wheel passes over the step while the tire driving surface is being driven so that the wheel is rotated in a proceeding direction of the vehicle; and adjusting, for each wheel, a positional angle of the wheel on the basis of a way in which force applied in the rotation axis direction of the tire driving surface varies during a period of time determined in accordance with variations in force applied in the rotating direction of the tire driving surface. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of adjusting wheel vehicle alignment comprising the steps of:
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placing wheels of a vehicle, each wheel including a tire mounted thereto, on at least a pair of tire driving surfaces on each of which a step of a predetermined height is formed at at least one place along a rotating direction in which the tire driving surface is driven by a rotational force, and which are disposed such that the rotating directions of the tire driving surfaces are parallel and such that the tire driving surfaces are positioned in substantially the same horizontal plane; measuring, for each tire driving surface, variations in forces applied in the rotating direction of the tire driving surface and a rotation axis direction which is orthogonal to the rotating direction at the time the wheel passes over the step while the tire driving surface is being driven so that the wheel is rotated in a proceeding direction of the vehicle; and adjusting, for each wheel, a positional angle of the wheel such that the variation in force, which is applied in the rotation axis direction of the tire driving surface at the time the force applied in the rotating direction of the tire driving surface is a maximum or a value near a maximum, is a minimum. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification