Merrill Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

Other

Marcellus S Merrill

Lowell H Erickson

Richard E Kiefer

Thomas B Chapin

David Chrisp

The present invention discloses apparatus and method for centering the steering wheel of a vehicle prior to alignment of the vehicle wheels using a wheel aligner. A portion of the apparatus is mounted to the vehicle steering wheel for sensing deviation in the position of the steering wheel from a centered position. This portion of the apparatus can be mounted on vehicle steering wheels having different configurations and can wirelessly transmit signals corresponding to the deviations. The apparatus can be used with differently configured steering wheels by virtue of a linked cam assembly in which rotation of either of a pair of cams causes rotation of the other cam in an opposite direction of equal magnitude. In operation, the deviation in the position of the steering wheel from a centered position with a pre-selected tolerance is determined. When the deviation is greater than the pre-selected tolerance, alignment of the vehicle wheels by the wheel aligner is prevented.

Steering wheel centering device

Apparatus and method are provided for use in determining information relating to the plane of rotation of an object, particularly a vehicle wheel. The apparatus includes a probe that is maintained at the same contact point relative to the wheel during the rotation of the wheel. The position of the probe is monitored and position-related data is analyzed by a processing system. The processing system implements a least squares method for defining the plane of rotation utilizing a number of the position-related data points, which were obtained during rotation of the wheel. In one embodiment, the probe is connected to a pivotable wobble plate for use in maintaining a predetermined position of the probe relative to the wheel during rotation thereof. A carriage assembly also acts to maintain the predetermined position of the probe. In another embodiment, instead of a carriage assembly, rotatable arms and counter-weight are employed so that the probe moves as a direct result of rotation of the wheel. The apparatus relies solely on information received from the single wheel to determine the plane of rotation of the wheel and does not require translational movement of the wheel in making this determination.

Single contact point distance measuring for plane determination

A fault detecting and automatic calibrating apparatus is provided for monitoring the position of a monitored apparatus. The calibrating apparatus detects errors and corrects the errors during its monitoring operation. In one embodiment, the monitored apparatus is a wheel alignment testing apparatus which checks a front wheel suspension system for proper alignment. The wheel aligner is simultaneously moveable about both a vertical axis and a horizontal axis. The movements of the wheel aligner are detected by transducers which provide angle signals corresponding to a toe angle and a camber angle of a wheel being tested. The calibrating apparatus checks the magnitude of the angle signals whenever a control circuit outputs a target pulse indicating that the toe angle or camber angle of the wheel is at predetermined angles. The predetermined angles are conveniently selected at zero degrees and a positive one degree. If the magnitude of the toe angle signal or camber angle signal does not correspond to a positive one degree toe or a positive one degree camber, upon occurrence of the target pulse, a visual indication is provided by the calibrating apparatus indicating that the apparatus is not properly calibrated. If the magnitude of the toe angle signal or camber angle signal does not correspond to zero degress toe or zero degrees camber, upon occurrence of the target pulse, the calibrating apparatus automatically recalibrates itself so that the angle signal is adjusted to correspond to the actual zero angle of the wheel.

Calibration fault detector and automatic calibrator

An automatic calibrator is provided in combination with a wheel aligner used in determining the toe angle and camber angle of a wheel. A target is connected to the wheel aligner to move therewith. When the wheel aligner is at a predetermined angle, the target is used to provide a signal indicating that the wheel aligner is at the predetermined angle. A transducer output signal is then checked to determine if the transducer output signal accurately corresponds to the predetermined angle.

A wheel alignment apparatus and method are provided for use in aligning the front wheels of a vehicle. The wheel alignment apparatus includes a dynamic wheel aligner which determines the dynamic toe angle and dynamic camber angle of a wheel using the axial displacement of rolls upon which each front wheel is rotatable. The wheel alignment apparatus stores these dynamically determined values and stops the rotation of the rolls. After predetermined time delays, an alignment operator makes adjustments to the toe and camber angles of the wheel so that these angles are within a desired range. The changes in the toe angle and camber angle during alignment are determined by the apparatus and combined with the dynamically determined toe and camber angles. As a result, the alignment operator continuously has a visual indication of the toe and camber angles during alignment. The wheel alignment apparatus also removes unwanted changes in the tow angle which occur during the predetermined time delays so that the visual indication accurately reflects the dynamic toe angle.

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Denver, CO, United States of America

Marcellus S Merrill