Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Assembling or joining
Patent
1989-04-24
1991-09-17
Gorski, Joseph A.
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Assembling or joining
29235, 2924356, 29283, 292835, 29453, 29525, 29789, B23P 1102, B23P 2100
Patent
active
050481738
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to automatic weight application machines for applying correcting weights to rotary elements once the amounts and locations of weight required to correct imbalance existing in such rotary elements are determined. The invention is disclosed in the context of a machine for automatically applying balance correcting weights to vehicle wheel-and-tire assemblies. However it is believed that the invention is useful in other applications in which balance correcting weights are to be applied to other types of rotary elements as well.
American style single component balance correcting weights include selected different mass value portions, typically of lead, with a molded-in-place, spring steel clip to retain the lead mass on the wheel rim flange. Customarily, these balance-correcting weights have been manually selected, positioned on the flange at the point where correction is to be applied, and installed by driving the clip portion onto the flange with a hammer.
Techniques and apparatus for applying balance correcting weights to vehicle wheel-and-tire assemblies are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,208 describes a machine which utilizes the European-style two-part weight-and-clip correction scheme. In this machine, the tire is temporarily pressed away from the wheel flange. The retaining clip is slipped into place over a dummy weight form. The tire is then released. The dummy weight form is removed and the clip is held in place, sandwiched between the wheel flange and the tire. The proper correction weight is then inserted under the clip to complete the balance correction process. The mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,208 only achieves the installation of the retaining clip. The actual correcting weight is manually inserted later.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,734 a means for handling the European-style weights is described along with a simplified installation technique in which the temporary use of the dummy weight form is not necessary. The actual balance-correcting weight is placed on the wheel and the retaining clip is then pushed onto the wheel rim flange by another mechanism, avoiding the need to press the tire away from the wheel flange. The mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,734 achieves the complete installation of the European two-piece correction weights, but would not accommodate the American-style weights due to their changing and irregular shapes.
In German Patent Specification No. 941,956, a mechanism is described to install an American-style one piece correction weight with a molded-in retaining clip. This mechanism retains the weight in a pressure pad with a spring and pushes the assembly onto the wheel flange using a C-clamp arrangement manually actuated through a mechanical linkage. The mechanism of German Patent Specification No. 941,956 employs a form-fitting pressure pad and spring retainer to install the American-style one-piece weight-and-clip-assembly manually, but makes no provision for handling the weight and would be difficult to automate.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is readily adaptable to a system for automatically applying American-style, single component, balance-correcting weights to vehicle wheel-and-tire assemblies.
The present invention eliminates the need to depress the sidewall of the tire away from the wheel rim, provides a mechanism by which irregularly-shaped, American-style weights can be manipulated by their common features, and transported to an application station in the proper orientation for application, and provides a mechanism by which the weights can be installed automatically.
According to the present invention, preparation for the application of a balance-correcting weight-and-clip assembly to a vehicle wheel-and-tire assembly comprises conveying the wheel-and-tire assembly into a known position in the application machine, orienting the location on the wheel-and-tire assembly to which balance-correcting weight is to be applied in a known position, and bringing the balance-correcting weight-and-clip ass
REFERENCES:
patent: 3623208 (1971-11-01), Hofmann
Gorski Joseph A.
Ransburg Corporation
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