Vehicle wheel alignment system
OwnerJ. Bruce Emmonsinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle wheel support and alignment system includes a pair of rollers that are mounted on swing arms that independently pivot relative to a base. The rollers rotate and pivot relative to the base as they support the load of the vehicle wheel. The pivot position of the rollers relative to the base is indicative of whether the vehicle wheel is in a desired alignment. A method of determining proper wheel alignment that utilizes angular information available from the independently pivotable swing arms is also disclosed.
Claims18
A vehicle wheel support device for use in wheel alignment operations, comprising:
- a base;
- a first roller mounted on said base such that said first roller rotates relative to said base about a first roller axis and such that said first roller pivots relative to said base about a first pivot axis that is nonparallel to said first roller axis;
- a second roller mounted on said base such that said second roller rotates relative to said base about a second roller axis and such that said second roller pivots relative to said base about a second pivot axis that is nonparallel to said second roller axis;
- and
- wherein said first and second rollers independently pivot relative to said base, said first and second rollers being adapted to support a vertical load of a vehicle wheel that is placed on said rollers.
A vehicle wheel alignment device, comprising:
- a base;
- a first roller coupled to said base such that said first roller rotates relative to said base about a first roller axis;
- a second roller coupled to said base such that said second roller rotates relative to said base about a second roller axis, said first roller being supported for pivotal movement relative to said base and relative to said second roller;
- means for determining a pivot position of said first roller relative to said base;
- means for determining an alignment orientation of the vehicle wheel, coupled to said position determining means;
- and
- wherein said first and second rollers support the vertical load of a vehicle wheel that is placed on said rollers.
A method for determining the alignment of a vehicle wheel using a vehicle wheel support device having a pair of rollers that independently rotate and pivot relative to a base and wherein the rollers support a vertical load of the vehicle wheel, comprising the steps of:
- (A) placing the vehicle wheel on the support device such that the load and alignment of the wheel move the rollers relative to the base;
- (B) determining a first pivot position of one of the rollers relative to the base;
- (C) determining a second pivot position of the other of the rollers relative to the base;
- and
- (D) determining the alignment of the vehicle wheel using the pivot positions determined in steps (B) and (C), respectively, and a predetermined relationship between the pivot positions and the wheel alignment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.