Device for measuring and comparing tire to pavement skid resistance

#The field of the present invention relates to a device for comparing and measuring tire to pavement skid resistance, and more particularly to a device that is portable, manually operated, and compares and measures tire to pavement skid resistance under different conditions.

#Numerous conventional solutions found in the art have disclosed different devices and apparatuses for measuring skid resistance between a vehicle tire and the pavement.

#Among these conventional solutions, there is provided a pendulum tester, which is a pendulum-based apparatus for measuring the skid resistance between pavement and tire. In this apparatus, the pendulum is released from the horizontal position by a quick release button, it swings down with uniform force each time, and the rubber slider at the bottom of the pendulum contacts the road surface for a fixed length previously set by increasing or decreasing the height of the pivot of the pendulum. The degree to which the pendulum will rise up the calibration on the left-hand side is dependent on the friction/resistance the rubber slider meets on the road surface.

#Aspects of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the present invention, without restricting the scope of the invention, and in which:

#FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a portable device for measuring and comparing tire to pavement skid resistance under different conditions, configured according to embodiments of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of a portable device for measuring and comparing tire to pavement skid resistance under different conditions, configured according to embodiments of the present invention.

#FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a device for measuring and comparing tire to pavement skid resistance under different conditions configured according to embodiments of the present invention, wherein such embodiments comprise one or more rotating arms 1a, 1b, and/or 1c; one or more shoe assemblies 2a, 2b, and/or 2c; a central shaft 3; a stabilizing weight 4; a shaft 5 (which may be square-sectioned); a spring 6; a handle 7; and an angular scale 8. The device may be portable and/or manually operable. For purposes of hereinafter describing embodiments of the present invention, the device will be described having a plurality of rotating arms and a plurality of shoe assemblies, though embodiments of the present invention may have one or more (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) rotating arms and corresponding shoe assemblies.

#According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the plurality of rotating arms 1a, 1b, and 1c may be identical, each with two ends 10 and 11 (noted as 10a, 11a for rotating arm 1a; 10b, 11b for rotating arm 1b; and 10c, 11c for rotating arm 1c), and can have any regular-shaped cross-section when viewed perpendicularly to the longitudinal directions of such arms, wherein each of such rotating arms is connected from one of its ends 10 (i.e., 10a, 10b, 10c) to a cylindrical wall, tube, or ring, 12 forming a shape of radially outwardly extended members. The rotating arms 1a, 1b, and 1c may be angularly equidistant to each other.

#In embodiments of the present invention, each of the shoe assemblies 2 (i.e., 2a, 2b, 2c) has an upper surface 20 (i.e., 20a, 20b, 20c), a lower surface 21 (i.e., 21a, 21b, 21c), and a clamp 22 (i.e., 22a, 22b, 22c). Each of the shoe assemblies 2 (i.e., 2a, 2b, 2c) is connected to one of the free ends 11 (i.e., 11a, 11b, 11c) of the rotating arms 1a, 1b, and 1c using any suitable connecting means, such as bolts and/or nuts, wherein such shoe assemblies 2 (i.e., 2a, 2b, 2c) each hold tire specimens 100 (i.e. 100a, 100b, 100c) at their lower surface 21 (i.e., 21a, 21b, 21c) respectively, wherein such holding may be achieved by clamps 22 (i.e., 22a, 22b, 22c). In the holding process of the tire specimens, each tire specimen as well as the upper and lower surfaces 20 and 21, respectively, of each shoe assembly 2 becomes bounded by each of the clamps 22. The tire specimens may be of any shape (e.g., rectangular shape). The clamps 22 for holding the tire specimens may be bolted bracket clamps.