TECHNICAL FIELD RELATED TO INVENTION

The invention relates to a system that includes a sensor and an electric motor that automatically performs the work of preparing the flat ground to make the wheel angle adjustments of land vehicles with three or more wheels and to measure the weight on each wheel in the most accurate way.

THE STATE OF ART RELATED TO THE INVENTION (PRIOR ART)

In the prior art, said flat ground preparation process is performed by manual labor by using a water level and a gauge or ribbon laser beam, by moving the gear leg shafts themselves or the nut thereon with a wrench.

The process, which is made completely by hand with the current technique, requires at least two mechanics and takes an average of one hour by intensive labor. Besides, the balance precision of the ground prepared cannot be at the required level despite the intense labor. Therefore, it is a serious problem for racing teams that such an important operation requires the intensive labor of at least two mechanics at a time, takes an average hour, and offers low precision. The current situation causes the need for more mechanics, too much labor, more time, low precision in automobile settings (wheel angle adjustments such as camber, caster, toe-in, toe-out; height adjustment of the car from the ground; suspension height adjustment to regulate the weight distribution of the car; distribution of car weight on each wheel, etc.). This situation causes inefficiency in the service area of the racing car, as well as adversely affecting the racing performance of the car as the dynamics of the car cannot be adjusted as desired.

In the state of the art, the German origin CP Autosport company has a product called Setup Wizzard. The product does not automatically perform the leveling process. It simply eliminates the need to use a water level with a common ribbon laser. The process of forming a common flat ground in the scales is also performed manually using this laser beam.

In the present art, the process is carried out by eyeball estimate by using a water level or ribbon laser beam by moving the gear shafts themselves or the nuts thereon with the wrench in the required directions. The leveling process is done for each bench first, and then independent benches are leveled using a long gauge or long water levels. In the process, a ribbon laser beam can be used as a balance measurement method instead of a water level or a gauge. Especially, the process of aligning and leveling independent benches requires intense manual labor and time.

SUMMARY AND AIMS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an automatic flat ground forming system that is on an equal balance of benches that are mechanically independent from each other, to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages and to bring new advantages to the relevant technical field. The invention will be used in the preparation of a balanced flat ground to make adjustments and measurements that determine the dynamics of the automobile, such as adjusting the wheel angle of land vehicles with three or more wheels and measuring the weight on each wheel in the most accurate way.

The application area of the invention is the automotive sector. It will be used in motorsports and automobile races. The solved problem is valid in every issue where automobile races are held.

Definitions of Figures Explaining the Invention

Below are the figures used to better explain the system to make the wheel angle adjustment of the land vehicles developed with this invention and to measure the weight on each wheel in the most accurate way.

Figure 1 View of the Gear Box Driven Bench

Figure 2 View of the Gear Box Driven Bench

Figure 3 View of Gear Box Driven Bench with Wheel on Top

Figure 4 View of Gear Box Driven Bench with Wheel on Top Figure 5 View of the Gear Box Driven Bench

Figure 6 View of the Gear Box Driven Bench

Figure 7 Detail View of Conical Gear Box

Figure 8 Closed View of Conical Gear Box Figure 9 Detail View of Worm Gear Box

Figure 10 Top Detail View of Worm Gear Box

Figure 11 View of Direct Drive Bench with Wheel

Figure 12 Detail View of Direct Drive System

Figure 13 Closed View of Direct Drive System

Figure 14 System View for Four Wheel Cars

Definitions of Elements and Parts Forming the Invention

The parts and elements included in the system of adjusting the wheel angle of land vehicles developed with this invention and measuring the weight on each wheel in the most accurate way are numbered separately and are given below.

1 Upper Cover

2 Lower Cover

3 Worm Gear Leg Shaft

4 Casing

5 Protective Casing

6 Leg Bearing

7 Laser Beam Sensor

8 Laser Beam Emitter

9 Limit Switch

10 Conical Gear Wheel

11 Conical Gear Box Upper Bearing

12 Female Worm Gear Shaft

13 Electric Motor

14 Conical Pinion Gear

15 Worm Pinion Gear

16 Worm Gear Box Pinion Lower Bearing

17 Worm Gear Wheel

18 Worm Gear Box Upper Bearing

19 Worm Gear Box Pinion Upper Bearing

20 Direct Drive System Protective Casing

21 Direct Drive Leg Bearing DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description, the innovation of the invention is explained with examples that will not have any limiting effect, for better understanding the subject matter.

Preparing a flat surface for adjustment and measurement, which determines the dynamics of the car, such as wheel angle adjustments, height adjustments, and the measurement of weight on the wheels is a critical process that has a significant impact on racing results in automobile racing.

The invention realizes the process of forming and leveling a flat ground without any manual effort. In contrast to the present system, in the invention, with the sensors and electric motors on the benches, firstly each bench takes itself on the scale, then the independent benches come to the same level with each other with the RF (radio frequency) communication protocol, wireless or wired communication, with the help of laser beam. The whole process takes less than 3 minutes in this way and is carried out with high precision without any manual labor under the supervision of only one mechanic.

With the invention, a mechanic gain in automobile races, approximately 57 minutes gain per operation, and high precision are provided. In this way, improvement in race results and higher work efficiency in the field of service are provided.

The invention makes use of a gyroscope sensor, electric motors, and a ribbon laser beam that measure the angle of inclination according to gravitational acceleration in solving the problem. Two different mechanisms can be used for the electric motors (9) to drive the benches. The first of these is the gearbox-driven mechanism shown in Figure-1. The purpose is to transfer the motion of the electric motor (13), which is embedded parallel to the ground, to the vertical axis by rotating it 90 degrees and at the same time to increase the momentum with the transfer ratio. There are two different mechanisms for the gearbox; conical gearbox and worm gearbox. Both gearbox mechanisms work within the protective casing (5) on the bench. Since there is no automatic drive mechanism in the prior art, there is no gearbox either. The movement of the electric motor (13) in both gearboxes performs the task of transferring the thread on the worm gear leg shafts (3) used as the legs of the benches to the worm gear shafts (12), thus the inclination angles and heights of the benches are manipulated. In the conical gearbox mechanism, smaller transfer ratios (1:2, 1:3, 1:4) are possible and the mechanical efficiency is relatively higher. Since the transfer rate is low, the operating speed of the system is relatively higher. For this reason, a conical gearbox is preferred in applications where heavy loads are not carried (20 - 100 kg) and faster operation is expected. In the worm gearbox, higher transmission ratios are used (1:30, 1:40, 1:50) and the mechanical efficiency is low, and also the operating speed of the system is relatively low due to the high transfer ratio. For this reason, the worm gearbox is preferred in applications where relatively heavier loads (in the range of 100 - 500 kg) are carried and where low operating speed is sufficient or necessary. The second system used for electric motors (9) to drive the benches is the direct drive mechanism (shown in Figure-11-12-13). This mechanism does not have a gearbox, so the protective casing (5) is hollow. Here, the electric motor (13) is embedded inside the protective casing (20) of the direct-drive system. The movement of the electric motor is transferred to the worm gear leg shaft (3) by the direct drive leg bearing (21) part. In this system, the transfer ratio is one to one and the direction of the movement is not changed. It is simpler as it does not require a gearbox. It is preferred in applications where relatively lighter loads (0 - 20 kg) are carried and even faster operation is required.

In any application, only one of the used benches has a laser beam emitter (8). The remaining benches have a laser beam sensor (7). The work of bringing the benches that are mechanically independent from each other to the same level is done by detecting the laser beam emitted by the laser beam emitter (8) by the other benches using laser beam sensors (7). The benches, which are aware of each other's position according to the laser beam, meet at an equal level and form the ground on a single scale.

In Figure- 1, benches with laser beam emitter (8) and laser beam sensor (7) are shown together.

In Figure-2, the reverse angle of the image in Figure- 1 is shown. In Figure-3, the system of Figure-1 and 2 is shown with the automobile wheels placed thereon.

In Figure-4, the front view of the image in Figure-3 is shown.

In Figure-5, a close-up view of the image in Figure-1 and 2 is shown.

In Figure-6, the top view of the image in Figure- 1 and 2 is shown. In Figure-7, the opened state of the conical gearbox is shown.

In Figure-8, the closed state of the conical gearbox is shown.

In Figure-9, the opened state of the worm gearbox is shown.

In Figure-10, the top view of the open state of the worm gearbox is shown.

In Figure-11, the view of the direct drive system with the automobile wheel is shown.

In Figure-12, the opened state of the direct drive system is shown.

In Figure-13, the closed (mounted) state of the direct drive system is shown.

In Figure- 14, the usage scheme of the general system for an automobile and a four-wheeled automobile is shown.

The system shown in Figure- 1 includes a laser beam emitter (8) and a sensor (7). As mentioned above, only one of the benches used in the application has a laser beam emitter (8) and the other benches have a laser beam sensor (7). On setup bench with laser beam emitter, the casing (4) forms the ground. The lower cover (2) snaps onto the case and together with the top cover (1) protects the laser emitter. The upper cover (1) forms the basic surface for the work to be done with the automobile on the bench and the automobile wheel is placed on this surface. The electric motor (13) is the driving source for the entire system. The worm gear leg shaft (3) forms the legs on which the bench stands on the ground. The worm gear leg shafts (3) sit on the ground with a structure similar to a ball joint. The male part in this joint has a hexagonal profile in the form of a ball head, the female side inside the leg bearing (6) is also suitable for this. Using this design, the worm gear leg shaft (3) cannot rotate around its axis but can make angular movement in two axes. Thus, the worm gear creates a reference to the gearbox on the leg shaft (2) and the driven gearbox moves on the worm gear leg shaft (3) through the female worm gear shaft (12) inside. Since it is connected to the gearbox, the casing (4) and all the systems connected thereon are driven in the same way by the movement of the gearbox on the worm gear leg shaft. The gearbox transfers the drive, which it receives from the electric motor (13), to the female worm gear shaft (12). For the conical gearbox, the conical gear wheel (10) is the gearbox element that transfers the motion coming from the electric motor (13) via the conical pinion gear (14) to the female worm gear shaft (12). The conical gearbox upper bearing (11) and the conical gear wheel (10) are embedded in the protective casing (5). For the worm gearbox, the motion of the electric motor (13) is transferred to the worm gear wheel (17) via the worm pinion gear (15). From here, the movement is transferred to the female worm gear shaft (12). The worm pinion gear (15) is embedded in the protective casing (5) with the worm gearbox pinion lower bearing (16) and the worm gearbox pinion upper bearing (19). The bearing of the worm gear wheel is made with the worm gearbox upper bearing (18). The protective casing (5) provides the system main bearing and protection system for both gearbox mechanisms.

No gearbox mechanism is used for the direct drive system. The movement of the electric motor (13), which is directly embedded in the drive system protective casing (20), is directly transferred to the worm gear leg shaft (3) over the drive leg bearing (21). Here, due to the structure of the mechanism, the worm gear leg shaft (3) itself is driven, in contrast to the gearbox mechanism. Thus, since the female worm gear shaft (12) is fixedly mounted in this system inside the casing, the bench is driven over the worm gear leg shafts (3) and the angle of inclination and height are manipulated in this way.

Since benches operate on inclined surfaces, the ball joint mechanism is required on the bench legs, and this is valid for both gearbox and direct drive mechanisms. Thus, the bench can come to a flat position on inclined surfaces on its legs. For the gearbox system, the worm gear shaft legs should not rotate around their axis with the gears in the gearbox, since the heights of the benches are manipulated by driving the gearbox. For this reason, it has a special ball joint design. Using this design, the worm gear leg shaft (3) that does not move around its axis but can move angularly in two axes has been developed. In the direct-drive mechanism, the electric motor (13) and the worm gear leg shaft (3) must move together, but the worm gear leg shaft must be able to make a ball joint movement independent of the electric motor. Therefore, the same special joint design is also used in the direct drive system.

The laser beam emitter (8) is a 360-degree laser beam emitter (8) and is located in only one of the benches and forms a reference to the other benches for the leveling process. Phototransistor or photodiode can be used in the system as the laser beam sensor (7). However, photodiode was preferred because photodiode is more advantageous due to its sensitivity and ease of operation. The emitted laser beam is detected by the used laser beam sensor (7) and the leveling process is performed.

In the invention, there are gyroscope sensors that measure the angle of inclination by using gravity acceleration. On the other hand, the ribbon laser beam emitter (8) provides height communication between independent benches together with the laser beam sensor (7). This communication is provided by radio frequency (RF) protocol. The angle of inclination is determined with a gyroscope.

The leveling process is achieved by detecting the ribbon laser beam emitted from one of the benches by the laser beam sensors on the other benches. The benches adjust the height according to the reference laser beam. The information (not started, started & continued, finished) on which bench and at what stage the balancing and leveling processes are shared between the benches via RF protocol.

The process steps in the invention are to calculate the angle by inserting the data from the gyroscope sensor into the Kalman filter, to provide the balance by driving the step motors with PID control to reset the calculated angle, then to turn on the laser beam by giving voltage to the laser beam module for the bench with laser beam emitter (8), for the benches with laser beam sensor (7), to lower the bench to the ground by driving all motors in equal speed and direction when the information showing that the leveling process of the bench with laser beam emitter (8) is completed and the laser beam is turned on is obtained via RF and to perform the same movement upwards for all the benches with the laser sensor if the laser beam is not encountered until the lower limit is reached, during this process, if the laser sensors detect the laser beam, there is a software that performs the tasks of fixing the position of the benches below or above as specified by calibration from the reference point where the detection takes place. During all operations, there is a limit switch (9) at the lowest section to prevent the benches from getting free from the leg shaft. When the bench comes to the lowest section, it is understood that the benches reach the lower limit when this switch is triggered. The upper limit of the benches is followed by counting the absolute number of steps of the electric motors (13), tracking the position, and continuously comparing the instantaneous position with the limit position. There is a control circuit board on each bench for the said electronic control.