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An apparatus and method uses a pair of transducers, such as lasers, mounted on the tire/wheel assembly of a mowing vehicle for measuring the actual angles of camber experienced by the vehicle tire as the vehicle moves along an actual road surface. The pair of lasers are mounted in a predetermined ho

An apparatus and method uses a pair of transducers, such as lasers, mounted on the tire/wheel assembly of a mowing vehicle for measuring the actual angles of camber experienced by the vehicle tire as the vehicle moves along an actual road surface. The pair of lasers are mounted in a predetermined horizontal spaced relationship on a bracket mounted on and extending perpendicularly outwardly from a non-rotating hub mounted on the tire/wheel assembly. The reflected laser beams from the pair of lasers are continually measured as the vehicle moves along the road surface. The reflected beams determine the change in spacings of the two lasers above the road surface from which can be calculated the angles of camber continuously imparted on the tire/wheel assembly. This data is collected and stored in a computer located in the vehicle and captures the tire\s operating camber angles with respect to an actual road surface when used on a particular vehicle. The stored data is later supplied to tire test equipment at a remote test facility to duplicate the actual road camber experienced on the test tire on other test tires at the test facility to simulate the real-world environment for a particular tire on a particular vehicle without repeating the more costly tests on the actual moving vehicle at a remote test track.

대표청구항 ▼

An apparatus for measuring the dynamic angle of camber of a tire of a moving vehicle, including: a) a bracket; b) non-rotating hub means for mounting the bracket on a hub of a tire/wheel assembly of the vehicle, said bracket adapted to extend substantially perpendicularly outwardly from the tire/whe

An apparatus for measuring the dynamic angle of camber of a tire of a moving vehicle, including: a) a bracket; b) non-rotating hub means for mounting the bracket on a hub of a tire/wheel assembly of the vehicle, said bracket adapted to extend substantially perpendicularly outwardly from the tire/wheel assembly above a road surface; c) stabilizing means operatively connected to the bracket for maintaining said bracket in a fixed position free of movement with respect to the tire/wheel assembly; d) a pair of transducers mounted in a predetermined spaced relationship on the bracket above the road surface and outwardly of the hub means for transmitting beams of energy against the road surface; e) detector means for detecting energy reflected off the road surface from the transmitted beams of energy, said detector means producing signals, the magnitudes of said signals representing the distances between the transducers and the road surface at a specific instance of time; f) signal processing means coupled with the detector means for receiving the signals from the detector means and converting said signals into output data representing the angles of camber of the tire for specific instances of time; and g) memory means for storing the output data.