×

Wheel balancer

  • US 6,244,108 B1
  • Filed: 05/06/1999
  • Issued: 06/12/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A wheel balancer (1) for measuring imbalance in a vehicle wheel (2) in a balancing plane (17,18) normal to the axis (38) of rotation of the vehicle wheel (2), and for indicating the position (22) on the wheel (2) at which a balance weight (20) is to be located for correcting the imbalance, the wheel balancer (1) comprising a support means (30), a main shaft (36) rotatable about a rotational axis (38) in the support means (30), a receiving means (39) located on the main shaft (36) for receiving the vehicle wheel (2) with the axis of rotation of the vehicle wheel (2) co-axial with the rotational axis (38) of the main shaft (36), a sensing means (53,91) for detecting the balancing plane (17,18) of the vehicle wheel (2) and a balance weight receiving location (10) adjacent the balancing plane (17,18), and for generating signals representative of the position of the balancing plane (17,18) along the rotational axis (38) relative to a reference plane and the radius of the balance weight receiving location (10) adjacent the balancing plane (17,18), a monitoring means (41,44) for monitoring rotation of the main shaft (36) and for generating signals representative of the magnitude and angular direction of imbalance forces in the main shaft (36), a computing means (45,46) for computing the magnitude of a correcting balance weight (20) and the angular position of the balance weight (20) to be located at the balance weight receiving location (10) in the balancing plane (17,18) for correcting the imbalance in response to signals generated by the sensing means (53,91) and the monitoring means (41,44), and a position indicating means (70,72) responsive to the computing means (45,46) for indicating the angular position relative to the wheel axis at which the correcting balance weight (20) is to be located, characterized in that the position indicating means (70,72) indicates a balance weight position (22) in the balance weight receiving location (10) adjacent the balancing plane (17,18) at which the correcting balance weight (20) is to be located, the angular position of the balance weight position (22) and its position relative to the reference plane being indicated by the position indicating means (70,72), and the position indicating means (70,72) indicates the balance weight position (22) by means of a visually perceptible indication (86) on the wheel (2).

View all claims
  • 1 Assignment
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×