Apparatus and method for automatically compensating for lateral runout
First Claim
1. An on-vehicle disc brake lathe system for resurfacing a brake disc of a vehicle brake assembly, the brake lathe system comprising a lathe body with a driving motor, a cutting head operably attached to the lathe body, and a drive shaft, the on-vehicle brake lathe system being further defined by an alignment system comprising:
- a sensor operable to produce a signal indicative of movement of the lathe body;
an electronic controller operable to receive the signal from the sensor and to use the signal in generating at least one control signal;
an input adaptor attached to the drive shaft to rotate with the drive shaft;
a hub adaptor configured to attach to a hub of a vehicle and to rotate with the drive shaft; and
an adjustment mechanism coupled to the input adaptor, responsive to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and operable to automatically adjust an axial alignment of the input adaptor with respect to an axis of rotation of the hub adaptor in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller,wherein the electronic controller generates the at least one control signal so that automatically adjusting the axial alignment reduces movement of the lathe body so as to improve alignment of the lathe body and the cutting head relative to an axis of rotation of the hub of the vehicle.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for automatically compensating for the lateral runout between an on-car lathe apparatus and a vehicle hub axis including one or more stop discs that rotate with the drive shaft of the lathe and that can be selectively stopped from rotating with the shaft by a stop mechanism. In response to such stopping, one or more adjustment discs are caused to rotate in order to adjust the relative position of the axis of the lathe with respect to the axis of the disc brake assembly. In this manner, the system compensates for and corrects lateral runout that exists between two concentrically attached rotating shafts.
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Citations
57 Claims
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1. An on-vehicle disc brake lathe system for resurfacing a brake disc of a vehicle brake assembly, the brake lathe system comprising a lathe body with a driving motor, a cutting head operably attached to the lathe body, and a drive shaft, the on-vehicle brake lathe system being further defined by an alignment system comprising:
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a sensor operable to produce a signal indicative of movement of the lathe body; an electronic controller operable to receive the signal from the sensor and to use the signal in generating at least one control signal; an input adaptor attached to the drive shaft to rotate with the drive shaft; a hub adaptor configured to attach to a hub of a vehicle and to rotate with the drive shaft; and an adjustment mechanism coupled to the input adaptor, responsive to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and operable to automatically adjust an axial alignment of the input adaptor with respect to an axis of rotation of the hub adaptor in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, wherein the electronic controller generates the at least one control signal so that automatically adjusting the axial alignment reduces movement of the lathe body so as to improve alignment of the lathe body and the cutting head relative to an axis of rotation of the hub of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An on-vehicle disc brake lathe system for resurfacing a brake disc of a vehicle brake assembly, the brake lathe system comprising a lathe body with a driving motor, a cutting head operably attached to the lathe body, and a drive shaft, the on-vehicle brake lathe system being further defined by an alignment system comprising:
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an electronic controller operable to produce at least one control signal; an input adaptor attached to the drive shaft to rotate with the drive shaft; a hub adaptor configured to attach to a hub of a vehicle and to rotate with the drive shaft; and an adjustment mechanism coupled to the input adaptor, responsive to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and operable to automatically adjust an axial alignment of the input adaptor with respect to an axis of rotation of the hub adaptor in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, wherein the adjustment mechanism comprises; at least one stop disc coupled to the input adaptor and operable to selectively follow the rotation of the drive shaft or to rotate relative to the drive shaft in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and at least one adjustment disc associated with the stop disc and operable to rotate in response to the relative rotation of the stop disc, wherein an axial alignment of the input adaptor relative to the hub adaptor varies based on a rotational orientation of the adjustment disc. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An automatic alignment assembly for use in an on-vehicle disc brake lathe system for resurfacing a brake disc of a vehicle brake assembly, the alignment system comprising:
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an electronic controller operable to generate at least one control signal; an input adaptor configured to rotate with a drive shaft of a brake lathe system; a hub adaptor configured to attach to a hub of a vehicle and to rotate with the drive shaft; and an adjustment mechanism coupled to the input adaptor, responsive to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and operable to automatically adjust an axial alignment of the input adaptor with the hub adaptor in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, wherein the adjustment mechanism comprises; at least one stop disc coupled to the input adaptor and operable to selectively follow the rotation of the input adaptor or to rotate relative to the input adaptor in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and at least one adjustment disc associated with the stop disc and operable to rotate in response to the relative rotation of the stop disc, wherein an axial alignment of the input adaptor relative to the hub adaptor varies based on a rotational orientation of the adjustment disc. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. An apparatus for automatically aligning the axes of two rotating shafts, the apparatus comprising:
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an electronic controller; an input adaptor attached to a first shaft to rotate with the first shaft; an output adaptor attached to a second shaft to rotate with the second shaft; an adjustment mechanism coupled to the input adaptor, responsive to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and operable to automatically adjust an axial alignment of the first shaft with respect to an axis of rotation of the second shaft in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller; and a sensor operable to produce a signal indicative of movement of a component coupled to the input adaptor; wherein the electronic controller is connected to receive the signal from the sensor and operable to use the signal from the sensor in producing the at least one control signal so as to adjust the axial alignment to reduce movement of the component coupled to the input adaptor. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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42. An on-vehicle disc brake lathe system for resurfacing a brake disc of a vehicle brake assembly, the brake lathe system comprising a lathe body with a driving motor, a cutting head operably attached to the lathe body, and a drive shaft, the on-vehicle brake lathe system being further defined by an alignment system comprising:
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an electronic controller operable to generate at least one control signal; an input adaptor attached to the drive shaft to rotate with the drive shaft; a hub adaptor configured to attach to a hub of a vehicle and to rotate with the drive shaft; an adjustment mechanism coupled to the input adaptor, responsive to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and operable to automatically adjust an axial alignment of the input adaptor with respect to an axis of rotation of the hub adaptor in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller; and a sensor for measuring lateral runout of the lathe system, the sensor providing an electrical measurement signal to the electronic controller, and the electronic controller using the measurement signal to generate the at least one control signal provided to the adjustment mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. An automatic alignment assembly for use in an on-vehicle disc brake lathe system for resurfacing a brake disc of a vehicle brake assembly, the alignment system comprising:
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a sensor operable to produce a signal indicative of movement of a lathe body of the brake lathe system; an electronic controller responsive to the signal from the sensor and operable to use the signal in generating at least one control signal; an input adaptor configured to be rotated with a drive shaft of a brake lathe system; a hub adaptor configured to attach to a hub of a vehicle and to rotate with the drive shaft; and an adjustment mechanism coupled to the input adaptor, responsive to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller, and operable to automatically adjust an axial alignment of the input adaptor with the hub adaptor in response to the at least one control signal from the electronic controller.
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Specification