Method and apparatus for measuring the inclination of the wheels of an automobile

Apparatus for measuring the inclination of a wheel of a vehicle with respect to a predetermined reference line, comprising:

• first supporting means for supporting said wheel in position;
• aligning means for aligning said vehicle with reference to said reference line;
• and
• detecting means for detecting the inclination of said wheel with respect to said reference line, said detecting means including a pair of detector units, which are generally spaced apart from each other thereby allowing said wheel to be inserted therebetween and which are provided to move closer together to be pressed against said wheel from both sides, second supporting means for supporting said pair of detector units freely rotatable, driving means for driving to move said pair of detector units, and indicating means for directly indicating said inclination of said wheel when said pair of detector units are pressed against said wheel from both sides as driven by said driving means.

Apparatus for measuring the inclination of individual wheels of a four-wheeled vehicle with respect to a reference line, comprising:

• a first pair of left and right supporting means, which are provided to be movable closer together or separated away from each other, for supporting thereon the front left and right wheels of said vehicle;
• a second pair of right and left supporting means, which are provided to be movable closer together or separated away from each other, for supporting thereon the rear left and right wheels of said vehicle;
• first link mechanism for operatively connecting said first pair of left and right supporting means;
• second link mechanism for operatively connecting said second pair of left and right supporting means;
• interconnection means for operatively interconnecting said first and second link mechanisms such that a longitudinal center line of said vehicle is made parallel to the longitudinal direction of said interconnecting means when the wheels of said vehicle are placed on said first and second pairs of supporting means, said interconnection means establishing said reference line;
• detecting means mounted on each of said supporting means for detecting the inclination of said wheel supported on the corresponding supporting means with respect to said reference line when activated;
• and
• indicating means for indicating the inclination of said wheels thus detected by said detecting means.

A method for determining the inclination of a wheel of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

• locating said vehicle in a measuring site;
• detecting a deviation between a longitudinal center line of said vehicle thus located in said measuring site and a predetermined reference line of said measuring site;
• detecting the tentative inclination of said wheel with respect to said predetermined reference line;
• and
• correcting the detected value of said tentative inclination using said detected deviation to produce the information relating to the inclination of said wheel with respect to said longitudinal center line of said vehicle.

Apparatus for measuring the inclination of individual wheels of a four-wheeled vehicle, comprising:

• a first pair of left and right supporting means, which are provided to be movable closer together or separated away from each other, for supporting thereon the front left and right wheels of said vehicle;
• a second pair of right and left supporting means, which are provided to be movable closer together or separated away from each other, for supporting thereon the rear left and right wheels of said vehicle;
• first link mechanism for operatively connecting said first pair of left and right supporting means;
• second link mechanism for operatively connecting said second pair of left and right supporting means;
• interconnection means for operatively interconnecting said first and second link mechanisms such that a longitudinal center line of said vehicle is made parallel to the longitudinal direction of said interconnecting means when the wheels of said vehicle are placed on said first and second pairs of supporting means;
• sensing means operatively associated with said interconnecting means for sensing an angular deviation of a longitudinal center line of said vehicle from a reference line of said apparatus;
• detecting means mounted on each of said supporting means for detecting the inclination of said wheel supported on the corresponding supporting means with respect to said reference line when activated;
• and
• processing means for processing information received from said sensing means and said detecting means to calculate said inclination of each of said wheels with respect to said longitudinal center line of said vehicle.