Universal wheel-fixation frame for electronic alignment sensor
AssigneeJackco Transnational Inc.
InventorJohn Huang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An alignment frame for affixing a sensor configured to measure one or more alignment angles to a wheel of a vehicle can include a pair of arms configured to contact a tire mounted on the wheel to support the alignment frame, a center base configured to receive a first bar, a second bar, and a third bar orthogonally aligned in a linear alignment such that the first bar is at ninety degrees from the horizontal axis defined by the second and the third bar, and a spacer positioned on each of the first, second, and third bars and configured to align the bars with a face of the rim so as to center the center base with respect to the rim of the wheel. The center base can receive a mounting portion of the sensor to center the sensor with the respect to the rim of the wheel.
Claims20
A method of measuring a camber or a caster angle defined by a wheel of a vehicle, wherein measuring the camber or the caster angle includes:
- affixing an alignment frame including a sensor to the wheel to locate vertical and horizontal axes of the alignment frame parallel to vertical and horizontal axes of the wheel, wherein affixing the alignment frame includes positioning a pair of arms adjustably coupled to the alignment frame on a tire of the wheel such that the pair of arms contacts and extends substantially along a section width of the tire and positioning a spacer of a first, second, and a third bar of the alignment frame on a rim of the wheel;
- activating circuitry of a computer system operably coupled to the sensor to cause the sensor to generate data associated with a geospatial position of the wheel;
- and
- operating a steering system of the vehicle to cause the wheel to move throughout a range of motion defined by the steering system;
- wherein the computer system is configured to analyze the data generated by the sensor to determine and display the camber or the caster angle to a user on a display screen of the computer system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.