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US 6,269,688 B1Granted
Apparatus and method for testing tires
AssigneeIntercomp Company
InventorsWilliam P. Kroll, Karl J. F. Kroll
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tire test apparatus, comprising a base, a support, a force applicator, a tire contact member in contact with a tire, a travel indicator mechanism, and a force indicator mechanism. The support extends upwardly from the base and holds a tire a predetermined distance above the base. The force applicator applies a force to cause pressure between the tire and the tire contact member. The travel indicator mechanism quantifies a change in relative positions between the tire and the tire contact member. The force indicator mechanism quantifies the force applied by the force applicator.
Claims18
A tire test apparatus, comprising:
- (a) a base;
- (b) a support extending upwardly from said base for holding a tire;
- (c) a tire contact member in contact with the tire;
- (d) a force applicator for applying a force to cause pressure between the tire and said tire contact member;
- (e) a travel indicator mechanism for quantifying a change in relative positions between the tire and said tire contact member;
- and
- (f) a force indicator mechanism for quantifying the force applied by said force applicator.
4 more elements
A tire test apparatus, comprising:
- (a) a base;
- (b) a support extending upwardly from said base for holding a tire a predetermined distance above said base, said support including a mast and a shaft, said mast having at least one aperture through which said shaft may extend, said shaft extending through the tire, each of said at least one aperture being positioned a predetermined distance above said base;
- (c) a tire contact member in contact with the tire, said tire contact member having a vertical position with respect to said base;
- (d) a force applicator having a tire contact member in contact with the tire, said force applicator applying a force to the tire through said tire contact member, said force applicator including a jack, said jack having a mount attached to said base and further having a piston attached to said tire contact member;
- (e) a travel indicator mechanism being connected to said base and being in contact with said tire contact member, said travel indicator mechanism including a digital indicator device and a slide, said digital indicator device cooperating with and sliding over said slide in a measured fashion, said digital indicator device quantifying said position of said tire contact member;
- and
- (f) a force indicator mechanism being connected to said force applicator, said force indicator mechanism including a load cell electrically connected to a force indicator display, said load cell being attached to and positioned between both said piston and said tire contact member.
4 more elements
A tire testing apparatus for measuring the spring rate of tires, comprising:
- (a) a base;
- (b) a support extending upwardly from said base for holding a tire a predetermined distance above said base, said support including a mast and a shaft, said mast having at least one aperture through which said shaft may extend, said shaft extending through the tire, each of said at least one aperture being positioned a predetermined distance above said base;
- (c) a tire contact member in contact with the tire, said tire contact member having a vertical position with respect to said base;
- (d) a force applicator having a tire contact member in contact with the tire, said force applicator applying a force to the tire through said tire contact member, said force applicator including a jack, said jack having a mount attached to said base and further having a piston attached to said tire contact member;
- (e) a travel indicator mechanism being connected to said base and being in contact with said tire contact member, said travel indicator mechanism including a magnetic digital indicator device and a slide, said magnetic digital indicator device cooperating with and sliding over said slide in a measured fashion, said magnetic digital indicator device quantifying said position of said tire contact member, said magnetic digital indicator device having a display readout for reporting said vertical position of said tire contact member, said slide being connected to said tire contact member and said magnetic digital indicator device being mounted a predetermined distance above said base;
- and
- (f) a force indicator mechanism being connected to said force applicator, said force indicator mechanism including a load cell electrically connected to a force indicator display, said load cell being attached to and positioned between both said piston and said tire contact member.
4 more elements
A method of measuring the spring rate of a tire using a tire tester having a platform, a travel indicator mechanism, a force indicator mechanism, a jack and a contact member, comprising the steps of:
- (a) placing the tire on a center of a platform of the tire tester;
- (b) zeroing the travel indicator mechanism and the force indicator mechanism;
- (c) actuating the jack to compress the tire via the contact member and the platform;
- (d) reading a change in relative position between the tire and the tire contact member as measured by the travel indicator mechanism;
- and
- (e) reading a compression weight as measured by the force indicator mechanism.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.