Balancing device

Measuring and testing – Rotor unbalance – Dynamic

Reexamination Certificate

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Reexamination Certificate

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06688173

ABSTRACT:

The invention relates to a balancing device including a balancer provided with a shaft for clamping a wheel and a support structure with a bearing surface. The invention further relates to a balancing and inflation station having a balancing device of the type indicated and tire-changing apparatus with a bead breaking mechanism, a tire-changing mechanism and a balancing and inflation station of the type indicated.
The invention relates to a balancing device in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. The invention further relates to a balancing and inflation station having a balancing device of the type indicated and tire-changing apparatus with a bead breaking mechanism, a tire-changing mechanism and a balancing and inflation station of the type indicated.
A balancing device as indicated above is already known from EP 0 557 240 B1. The known balancing device represents an improvement over those devices in which the balancer cannot be pivoted and is only horizontally disposed, in that the occurrence of centering errors while the wheel is being clamped to the shaft of the balancer are precluded.
In practice, however, the known balancing device presents a number of disadvantages that can be attributed to the fact that, in the vertical centering position, the upper extremity of the balancer shaft projects relatively far over the bearing surface of the supporting structure. In order to mount a wheel on the balancer when it is pivoted into the centering position, the operator must lift the wheel relatively high, an operation associated with some difficulty, especially if the operator is not tall and the wheel rim is heavy.
Balancing devices of the type indicated above may also constitute a part of a balancing and inflation station and tire-changing equipment. A tire-changing device known in the art has the following functional units arranged sequentially:
1. a wheel elevator
2. a storage bench for multiple wheels
3. a bead breaker with turntable
4. a tire-changing device
5. an inflation station with inflation bench
6. a wheel-rotating system
7. a wheel hoist and
8. a balancing device.
With the known tire-changing equipment, the tire is changed in such a manner that the operator first drives the vehicle to the work area, where the vehicle is lifted; the wheels are then removed from the vehicle and are placed on the wheel elevator, which automatically lifts the wheels onto the storage bench. Once on the storage bench, the wheels are moved along the bench by tilting and rolling. A second operator changes the tire after releasing the rim bead with the bead breaker. To this end, the wheel is simply rolled from the storage bench to the bead breaker and then tipped onto the tire-changing machine. The wheel is then transported to the inflation station and inflated until a prescribed overpressure is reached. The tire is then deflated to achieve the correct final pressure. After inflation, the wheel is removed from the inflation bench by a further operator. To this end, the wheel is tilted onto the wheel hoist by a wheel rotating system situated adjacent to the inflation station. Here, the wheel is raised so that it can be clamped to the shaft of the balancer, which faces the inflation station, and the wheel is balanced thereupon.
Operation of the tire-changing equipment described above, in which a multiplicity of devices are combined, requires quite a large expenditure of effort, and, above all, the device itself takes up a great deal of space. The known tire-changing device is not suitable for use in smaller workshops.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide a balancing device of the type described in the introduction, which simplifies handling while a wheel is being clamped. If the balancing device is used in conjunction with a balancing and inflation station or tire-changing equipment, the object of the invention is also to provide a balancing and inflation station with the simplest and most compact design possible.
The objects described above with respect to a balancing device of the kind described in the introduction are essentially met according to the invention, in that the balancer is provided with a height adjustment mechanism so that the balancer can be lowered from the centering position into the supporting structure to the extent that the distal extremity of the shaft does not project above the bearing surface. The lowering capability of the balancer provided in accordance with the invention presents a number of significant advantages. First, it allows the balancer to be lowered completely, so that a wheel can be placed on the bearing surface or bench of the balancing device and then repositioned on the bearing surface or bench to assure the central opening of the wheel or rim is precisely centered on the shaft of the balancer. Appropriate centering means or devices may be provided on the bearing surface for this purpose. When the wheel has been positioned accordingly on the bearing surface of the balancing device, the balancer may be elevated from its lowered or retracted position, this operation causes the shaft to project through the rim opening and the wheel is consequently lifted. In any case, the wheel no longer has to be raised manually to the height of the balancer's centering position.
The configuration according to the invention presents the further significant advantage that it is possible to integrate the balancing device in a combination balancing and inflation station. Besides the balancing device of the kind described, this station is also furnished with equipment for the supply of pressurized air and an inflation bench, wherein the bearing surface constitutes the inflation bench or the inflation bench serves as the bearing surface. The station according to the invention combines two distinct apparatuses of the known art, that is to say the inflation station and the balancing device, while rendering a wheel rotating system and a wheel hoist unnecessary, since inflation and balancing are performed at one and the same station. Thus, the space requirement of the balancing and inflation station and tire-changing equipment provided with such a station is also considerably reduced.
According to the invention, the tire of a wheel is changed in such a manner that when the old tire has been replaced by a new tire, the wheel is transported to the balancing and inflation station, and the wheel is placed on the inflation bench of the balancing and inflation station with the rim well facing downwards. The tire is inflated with air at a preset pressure. The wheel on the inflation bench is then clamped to the balancer shaft of the balancing and inflation station. For this purpose, the shaft is moved upwards with the balancer and into the centering position out of the balancing and inflation station. The balancer is then pivoted 90° into the horizontal measuring position together with the wheel that is clamped to the shaft for the performance of the balancing measurement cycle. As can be seen, this method of inflation and balancing a wheel according to the invention differs markedly from the method known in the art.
The balancing device according to the invention is preferably furnished with at least one carriage guided by a guide, opposite which the balancer is pivotably arranged to allow rotation from the centering position to the measuring position and vice versa. In order to achieve uniform height adjustment, it may also be provided that the height adjustment mechanism is furnished with one guide having a carriage on each of the opposing sides, and the balancer is disposed between the carriages. The carriages are preferably connected to each other by means of a cross member, on which the balancer is pivotably disposed. Height adjustment of the balancer may be assured in all cases by electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic adjusting drives, such as electric motors as well as pneumatic or hydraulic cams.
In order to achieve a defined motion when pivoting the balancer, and to delimit the rotational travel, a preferred embodiment of the invention provides for pivotin

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