US1992264A - Vehicle-wheel alignment indicator - Google Patents

Description

Feb 26, 1935 4 WEAVER 1,992,264

VEHICLE WHEEL ALIGNMENT INDICATOR.

Filed March 30, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w a WWII! (d HIIIIIIIHIIHIIIII lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIHHIIIIIIIIIIIHIIHII lIlIll[I[Illllllllllllllilllllllll F A. WEAVER 1,992,264

VEHICLE WHEEL ALIGNMENT INDICATOR Filed March 50, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 26, 1935 1,992,264 VEHICLE-WHEEL ALIGNMENT INDICATOR Ira A. Weaver, Springfield, 111., assignor to Weaver Manufacturing Company, Springfield, Ill., .a

corporation of Illino' Application March 30, 1931, SerialNo. 526,385

1 claim. (01. 33-203) My invention pertains to certain structural Ibetterments, with resulting, functional advan-- "tages, in. appliances'for indicating the alignment of vehicle-wheels, whereby their condition, as

to in or out toe may be ascertained with facility,

rapidity, and accuracy.

One object of the invention is the provision' of an apparatus of this kind-which is so con- :structed. that it is capable. of withstanding the f passage over it of the-heaviest type of motor-,

vehicles while their wheels are undergoing test. Another feature of the invention resides in the improved and novel means for p roducing the.

sidewise motion of the traction-plate with which the vehicle-wheel contacts, and'a similar 'motion for the rollers of the roller-bearings which carry or support such plate. A further characteristic of the new construction is the means for securing such cover or traction-plate in place. a An added purpose of theinvention is to provide a construction oflthis character in which the pointer or index moves in the direct-ion in which the wheel is out of. line.

Still a supplemental aim of the invention is to supply an appliance of this general style in whichthe cover or'traction-plate is locked against movement by friction until the vehicle- I {wheel has its weight properlyximposed on the bearings which support the plate,

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification andto which reference should be'had, apresent, preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in detail and, for simplicity, like reference numerals have been employed .to designate the same structural views;

1 .In these drawings:-

Figure 1 is a plan view of the vehicle-wheel alignment indicator;

Figures 2, 3, and 4 are enlarged cross-sections through the appliance on lines 2-2, 33, and 4-4, respectively, of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan-view of the base portion of the structure with the top or cover-plate removed; and f Figure 6 is a view of the underside of the cover or traction-plate.

Referring to theseldrawings, it will be perceived that the apparatus includes a fiat, metal base-plate 11 adapted to rest on the floor or ground and equipped with a carrying-handle 12 along the middle portion of one of its sides by means of which the whole appliance may be readily carried about, whereby the apparatus may be properly characterized as easily portable.

Securedto the top face of such base-plate 11 are a plurality of parallel, transverse, flat track- bars 13, 13, conveniently or desirably in any other suitable manner.

parts throughout the several fastened or secured in place by rivets 14, 14 or In the present instance, four long anti-:friction rollers 15, 1'5 bear and roll on such crosstracksl3, 13, andthe two ends of such rollers are maintained properly spaced apart by two end- bars 16, 16 in which such rollers have bearmgs.

A lever :17 is fulcru med at its center on the base-plate 11 on an upstanding stud 18, and a corresponding lever 19 of equal length is similarlyrockingly mounted midway its length on the'baseplatefl by meansof a stud 20.

'One end of lever 19 is longitudinally slotted at 21 to rockingly receive an adjacent, rounded end 22 of the other lever 17, the part 22 snugly or accurately fitting in the slot, whereby when one lever is rockedlo'r turned on its fulcrum, the associated or companion lever will rock in like manner and in equal degree.

A metal plate 23, positioned crosswise the structure, bears on the upper surfaceof the baseplate and is adapted toslide thereon; its central part 24 being elevated to extend over the lever 19 to which it is pivoted at its middle at Y25, and the other or lower portionsof thebar 23 have pairs of upstanding lugs 26, 26 on opposite sides of and incontact with the four bearing-rollers 15, Y

Thus,as lever 19 rocks, theset or group of rollers is correspondingly shifted laterally of the appliance by reason of the mechanical connection '23 -between the lever and the rollers.

In like orsimilar manner, lever' 17 has a connection 23 with the other-end portions of the rollers. 7

Metal loops 2'7 fastened to the base-plate and through which the two levers extend, as isclearly shown, constitute stops for limiting or restricting the extent of rocking or swinging movement of the two levers.

Near one end of the base-plate 11, a bracket 28 is secured by screws or rivets29, and, inasmuch as the lower edge portion of the adjacent bar 16 slides crosswise the apparatus between the edge 'of theneighboring track-plate 13 and the bracket 28, the rollers and their cage construction 'canoperates with a sca1e'33 on a plate 34 secured to the base-plate; beyond the end of the cover-plate described below, such scale being desirably graduated in feet per mile.

'- From an understanding of the construction so far as now described, it will be obvious that the pointer will move over the scale an amount proportional to the extent of the lateraltravel of the rollers and their associated cage construction, and'in a direction opposite to the movement of such rollers. V

The companion traction or cover plate 35, which has a downturned flange around its margin, has cross track bars or plates 36, 36 fastened to its underside, and these bear or rest on the tops of the several rollers 15 directly above the lower track-bars 13, so that theweight iniposed on such top plate by the vehicle-wheel undergoing test is transmitted directly to such track bars and the intervening rollers of the anti-friction construction, whereby the cover-plate can readily shift sidewise if the wheel is out of line.

Cover-plate 35' has two depending, threaded studs 37, 37, one of which occupies-slot 3G and the other of which is in a similar slot 38 in the outer end of lever 19, whereby any sidewise move- 'mentof such plate is transmitted through the studs 37 to the two connected levers, and these in turn-shift the rollers and. theircage sidewise an amount one-half of the cross travel of the plate, the connections 25 of the members 23 being'located halfway between the outer ends of the levers andtheir fulcrums Thusa proper and positive movement is im-' parted to the rollers through their cage construc tion assuring that all positions of each roller are parallel to one another, and the extent of such transverse travel of the cover-plate will be indicated by the pointer on the scale, the indexendof the pointer traveling over the scale in a direction opposite to that of the movement of the tractionsplate. 1 7

Owing to the specifiedconnections of the cover- 7 "plate with the two levers and the rocking union of the adjacent ends of the levers with one another, the structure represents a mechanism 'which requires the'cover-pla-te' to move bodily and equally throughout its length and with all of its positions parallel to one another,- thus assuring that the action of the pointer will be'correct under all circumstances. r In order to hold or keep the cover or top plate appropriately in place on the device, the baseplate is equipped with a pair of brackets 39, 39 near the middle of the length of the apparatus, and the top platehas a correlated or companion pair of oppositely-facing brackets 41, 41 secured to its under surface. 7

When the coverplate is in place, portions of its brackets underlie or interlock with parts of the base-plate brackets and thus prevent improper displacement of the movable, upper plate or its separation from the tester as a whole. As isindicated in Figures 1 and 6, the front end of the top plateslopes or inclines down at 42 to facilitate therunning of the wheel up onto the main portion of the plate, and, while the wheel is rollingup such incline, the plate flexes or bends downwardly suificiently to allow the edge of its dependingflange to bear on the base-plate, thus precluding side movement of the plate until the wheel is in proper and suitable position thereon.

rection or the other an amount corresponding to the degree of in-toe or out-toe of'the wheel.

Such lateral movement of the plate is facili.

.- the plate and of the rollers and their cage construction is maintained in perfect parallelism,

.thus assuring that both ends of the plate will move in equal degrees.

The index'end of the pointer or hand 32 will swing in the opposite direction an amount proportional to the travel of the plate, which, of

course, is in due degree to the angularity of the wheel, whereby the scale reading indicated by the pointer will show the extent of in orout toe of the wheel, and suchreading will specify whether or not such deviation from the exact, straight-ahead position is proper or excessive.

It will be noted that the .wheel in traveling over the full, or any certain portion of the,

7 length of the tester covers a definite and predetermined distance, and in so doing it will force the top plate laterally or sidewise an amount corresponding to its degree of in or out toe.

Accordingly, such scale may conveniently be graduated in feet per mile or in any 'other'desired way. I

The wheel having been driven oif of the plate, the reading of the pointer on thescale may be ascertained, whereupon the platemay then be replaced to its central or neutral position ready for further service. 1

, As is indicated in the'drawings, the upper surface of the top plate with which the wheel coacts .;is desirably made rough,- preferably by slight, longitudinal elevations, so that there is no tendency for the wheel to slip sidewise on the plate while a is pushed laterally. i

It will be understood that since the rollers extend substantially the full length of the movable plate, theysupport the latter in an anti-friction manner in aparticularly effective way, so that the apparatus, even though very thin in structure, can support the heaviest type of vehicles without danger of injury to itself.

Those acquainted with this art will readily understand that the'invention as presented in the appended claim is not 'iindispensably or essentially 'confined to the strict struotural'details presented in the drawings and referred to in the specification, and that manyjchanges or modifications may be incorporated in the construction Without deviation from the fundamentals of the invention and withou-t the forfeiture of any of its important structural or functional superior characteristics.

Iclaim: r In a vehicle-wheel alignment indicator, the

hicle-wheel to be tested is adapted to roll, and

antifriction bearing means between said plates 1 and on which said top plate is designed to travel sidewise, said top plate having an inclined end up which the vehicle-wheel is adapted to roll, said end being flexible to frictio'nally contact with said base-plate when said end flexes as a wheel rolls up such inclined end, the friction preventing sidewise travel of the top plate until the wheel is properly located on the plate.

IRA A. WEAVER.

combination of a base-plate, an elongated top 560 plate over said base-plate and on which the ve-

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