초록 ▼

Proposed in accordance with the invention is a method of measuring the camber, KPI and caster wheel alignment angles in the front axle and suspension assembly of a motor vehicle without the need for recourse to a levelled surface or to any gravitation-sensing instruments for the purpose of the measu

Proposed in accordance with the invention is a method of measuring the camber, KPI and caster wheel alignment angles in the front axle and suspension assembly of a motor vehicle without the need for recourse to a levelled surface or to any gravitation-sensing instruments for the purpose of the measurements. One front wheel at a time is measured, for which purpose the wheel is fitted with a projecting pin parallel to the wheel axle intended to support a laser beam machine which emits a beam perpendicular to the wheel axle. A screen marked with reference lines is positioned at a certain distance away from the wheel, initially in front of, and then alongside the wheel, with the direction of the reference lines corresponding to the direction of the reference plane of the vehicle. By causing the laser to rotate about the pin, and by causing the wheel to execute steering movements with the laser fixed to the pin, the laser beam can be made to “draw”lines on the screen, which lines produce angles with the reference lines of the screen in accordance with the camber, KPI and caster angles of the wheel. In order to be able to carry out the measurements rapidly and accurately, and at the same time to have the results of measurement recorded, the use of a special design of the aforementioned screen is proposed, more specifically in the form of a measurement panel (60) equipped with a pointer (80), to which panel a sheet of paper bearing a scale (90) can be secured. The results of measurement are recorded on this automatically by the operator making a mark with a pen in an opening (81) in the pointer (82) after every measurement adjustment.

대표청구항 ▼

A method for measuring the standard characteristic angles of camber, king pin inclination, and caster for one of first and second steerable wheels of a front axle and suspension assembly of a vehicle in relation to mutually perpendicular reference planes containing longitudinal, transverse and verti

A method for measuring the standard characteristic angles of camber, king pin inclination, and caster for one of first and second steerable wheels of a front axle and suspension assembly of a vehicle in relation to mutually perpendicular reference planes containing longitudinal, transverse and vertical axes of the vehicle, the method being carried out with the wheels installed on the vehicle and independently of whether the vehicle is on a level surface which is horizontal in a true sense, comprising the steps of: installing on the first wheel an elongation pin so that a lengthwise axis of the pin extends parallel to an axis of rotation of the first wheel; locating a friction-reducing device beneath the first wheel for the purpose of facilitating steering movements thereof during the measurements; providing a beam projector having holding means for supporting the projector on the elongation pin so that the projector can pivot about the axis of the pin while the emitted beam remains perpendicular to the axis of the pin and to the axis of the first wheel; placing a screen provided with a reference line a predetermined distance in front of and facing the first wheel; orienting the screen so that the reference line thereon coincides with the reference planes of the vehicle by temporarily pivotally supporting the projector by the holding means on a bar supported adjacent the first and second wheels and parallel to a line extending through two points respectively equally situated on the first and second wheels while adjusting the position of the screen in its own plane until the beam emitted when the projector is pivoted about the lengthwise axis of the bar defines a line across the screen which is parallel to the reference line on the screen; thereafter supporting the projector on the elongation pin using the holding means; thereafter pivoting the projector about the axis of the elongation pin so that its beam sweeps across the screen and defines a camber line; and recording the angular position of the camber line in relationship to the reference line of the screen as the camber angle.