Adjustable Hub Adapter With Synchronized Lug Receivers for Brake Lathes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The automotive service industry faces a challenge in efficiently securing on-car brake lathes to various vehicle wheel hubs with different lug bolt patterns, as existing systems require multiple fixed adapters, which are costly and inconvenient to manage.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable hub adapter with an annular support frame, equidistantly spaced spokes, and pivotally coupled lug bolt receivers that can be adjusted to accommodate different lug bolt configurations, allowing synchronized radial displacement to match various wheel hub diameters and bolt counts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple fixed adapters are used to accommodate different lug bolt patterns, then compatibility with various wheel hubs is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hub adapter is designed with an adjustable bolt receiver assembly that can accommodate multiple lug bolt patterns (3-lug, 4-lug, 5-lug, 6-lug configurations) through a single device. The adjustable mechanism allows the bolt receivers to be repositioned along the annular support frame to match different wheel hub specifications, eliminating the need for multiple fixed adapters and reducing both device complexity and inventory requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The hub adapter incorporates movable bolt receiver assemblies that can be adjusted along the annular support frame to change the diameter and configuration of the lug bolt pattern. This dynamic adjustment capability allows a single adapter to adapt to various wheel hub types, resolving the contradiction between versatility and device complexity by replacing multiple static adapters with one dynamic, reconfigurable device.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple fixed adapters are maintained in inventory, then service capability across different vehicle types is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single hub adapter with adjustable bolt receivers can service multiple vehicle types and wheel hub configurations, replacing the need to maintain inventory of multiple fixed adapters. This universal design reduces the quantity of adapters required in service shops while maintaining full service capability across different lug bolt patterns.
3Manufacturing precision
If fixed adapters are used for each lug bolt pattern, then precise matching to wheel hub specifications is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable bolt receiver assemblies can be repositioned along the annular support frame to precisely match different lug bolt patterns and diameters. This dynamic adjustment mechanism maintains precise matching capability while eliminating the need for operators to select from multiple fixed adapters, significantly improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The bolt receiver assemblies are designed as separate, independently adjustable units that can be positioned along the annular support frame. This segmentation allows precise adjustment to match specific wheel hub specifications while simplifying the overall operation, as operators can directly adjust the receivers rather than selecting from pre-configured fixed adapters.
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable hub adapter for coupling an on-car brake lathe to a wheel hub. An annular support frame coaxially carries an axially bored and threaded central mounting hub with a set of equidistantly spaced spokes. A lug bolt receiver is associated with each spoke, and consists of a receiving tube, a lever arm pivotally coupled to the spoke at a pivot bolt in proximity to the annular support frame. An engagement pin on each lever arm is captured within a synchronizing ring carried on the annular support frame. The rotational movement of any lug bolt receiver about an axis of the pivot bolt imparts rotational movement to the synchronizing ring, and in turn, causes each remaining bolt receiver to rotate about an associated pivot bolt axis, maintaining the lug bolt receivers in a synchronized and symmetric radial displacement from the central mounting hub.