Chassis dynamometer
AssigneeClayton Industries
InventorsWilliam Clayton, Jr., Dmitry Shchedrin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A chassis dynamometer for testing motor vehicles in place includes a frame, at least one roll for engaging the wheel(s) driven by the vehicle engine and an eddy current brake/inertia unit in which the brake rotor is attached to one end of the roll to form an integral structure rotatably supported on the frame at each end of the structure.
Claims7
A chassis dynamometer, for simulating inertia and road load forces for a motor vehicle having at least one driven wheel, comprising:
- a) a frame;
- b) at least one roll having a longitudinal axis, a first and second end and a wheel engaging surface for contacting the driven wheel of the vehicle;
- c) an eddy current brake for absorbing power from the vehicle driven wheel to simulate road load forces and also vehicle inertia during an acceleration of the driven wheel, the brake including a shaft with at least one free end, a rotor supported on the shaft for rotation therewith and a stator assembly having at least one field coil for inducing eddy currents in the rotor, the stator assembly being coupled to the frame to remain stationary relative to the rotor and roll, the rotor being secured to the second end of the roll to form an integrated unit comprising the roll and rotor, the rotor extending radially outwardly from the wheel engaging surface of the roll and comprising at least 50% of the minimum inertia of the dynamometer;
- and
- d) first and second spaced bearings for rotatably supporting the first end of the roll and the free end of the brake shaft on the frame, respectively, whereby the roll and brake rotor are supported relative to the frame only at the first end of the roll and the free end of the shaft.
In a chassis dynamometer for simulating motor vehicle inertial and road load forces, the dynamometer including a frame, at least one roll having a longitudinal axis and an outer wheel engaging surface for engaging at least one driven wheel of the vehicle and an eddy current brake for applying a braking force to the roll to simulate the road load forces and the vehicle inertia during acceleration, a load cell for providing a measure of the force applied to the vehicle wheel minus the force attributable to the dynamometer parasitic losses, a speed encoder for providing a measure of the roll speed and a controller, the improvement of the roll and eddy current brake comprising:
- the eddy current brake having a longitudinal axis, a shaft with a free end, a rotor and a stator assembly, the rotor being secured to one end of the roll for rotation therewith and having a braking section extending axially away from the wheel engaging surface of the roll along the longitudinal axis, the stator assembly having at least one field coil positioned adjacent the braking section of the rotor, the brake rotor and roll forming a unitary structure with only the free end of the rotor shaft and said other end of the roll being rotatably supported relative to the frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.