Wheel balancer with lateral force variation measurement
First Claim
1. A wheel balancer comprising:
- a shaft adapted for receiving a wheel/tire assembly, said shaft having a longitudinal axis and being rotatable about said axis so as to rotate the wheel/tire assembly removably mounted thereon;
a sensor assembly for measuring rotation of the shaft about said longitudinal axis;
a vibration sensor assembly for measuring vibration of the wheel/tire assembly as the wheel/tire assembly is rotated;
a motor operatively connected to the shaft for rotating said shaft about said longitudinal axis, thereby to rotate the wheel/tire assembly;
a load roller for applying a generally radial force to the wheel/tire assembly during rotation of said wheel/tire assembly;
a load roller movement sensor to measure movement of said roller to determine loaded radial runout of the wheel/tire assembly while the force is applied to the wheel/tire assembly;
a lateral force sensor for measuring lateral force between the load roller and the wheel/tire assembly; and
a control circuit responsive to the measured vibration of the wheel/tire assembly to determine wheel imbalance, and responsive to the measurement of lateral force to provide information relating to the measured lateral force to a user.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A wheel balancer is provided that includes a shaft adapted for receiving a wheel/tire assembly, the shaft having a longitudinal axis and being rotatable about the axis so as to rotate a wheel/tire assembly removably mounted thereon, a sensor assembly for measuring rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis, a vibration sensor assembly for measuring vibration of the wheel/tire assembly as the wheel/tire assembly is rotated, a motor operably connected to the shaft for rotating the shaft about its longitudinal axis, a load roller for applying a generally radial force to the wheel/tire assembly during rotation of the wheel/tire assembly and a sensor for measuring the lateral force between the load roller and the wheel/tire assembly. A control circuit is also included that is responsive to the measured vibration of the wheel/tire assembly to determine wheel imbalance, and responsive to the measurement of lateral force to provide information relating to the measured lateral force to the user.
-
Citations
5 Claims
-
1. A wheel balancer comprising:
-
a shaft adapted for receiving a wheel/tire assembly, said shaft having a longitudinal axis and being rotatable about said axis so as to rotate the wheel/tire assembly removably mounted thereon;
a sensor assembly for measuring rotation of the shaft about said longitudinal axis;
a vibration sensor assembly for measuring vibration of the wheel/tire assembly as the wheel/tire assembly is rotated;
a motor operatively connected to the shaft for rotating said shaft about said longitudinal axis, thereby to rotate the wheel/tire assembly;
a load roller for applying a generally radial force to the wheel/tire assembly during rotation of said wheel/tire assembly;
a load roller movement sensor to measure movement of said roller to determine loaded radial runout of the wheel/tire assembly while the force is applied to the wheel/tire assembly;
a lateral force sensor for measuring lateral force between the load roller and the wheel/tire assembly; and
a control circuit responsive to the measured vibration of the wheel/tire assembly to determine wheel imbalance, and responsive to the measurement of lateral force to provide information relating to the measured lateral force to a user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
Specification