Compact Tire Uniformity Testing Machine Footprint Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tire uniformity testing machines occupy significant floor space due to their complex design and large footprint, making them inefficient in facilities where space is limited.
Innovation Solution
A compact tire uniformity testing machine design featuring a base, upper cross frame, vertical support structures, and a load wheel carriage with triangular vertical supports and a movable load wheel, allowing for precise measurements while reducing the machine's footprint to fit within a standard shipping container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a rigid frame structure with many components is used to support testing components, then measurement precision is improved, but the machine footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The machine is divided into modular components: a base structure, a separate load wheel carriage assembly that moves along rails, and an upper cross frame. This segmentation allows the testing components to be supported rigidly when needed while reducing the overall footprint when the carriage is retracted.
Solution Approach 2:
The load wheel carriage assembly moves along horizontal rails, utilizing horizontal space rather than expanding the vertical or lateral footprint. When retracted, the carriage positions the load wheel away from the testing area, minimizing the machine's effective footprint while maintaining measurement precision during operation.
2Area of stationary object
If a compact design is used to reduce footprint, then space efficiency is improved, but structural rigidity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The load wheel and its supporting carriage assembly are extracted as a separate movable unit from the main frame structure. This allows the main frame to remain compact while the carriage provides rigid support when positioned at the testing location, moving along precision rails to maintain stability during measurement.
3Measurement precision
If complex components are used to ensure precise measurement, then measurement capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The load wheel carriage assembly serves multiple functions: it positions the load wheel for testing, supports the load wheel during measurement, and can be retracted to minimize footprint. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate complex components for each function, simplifying the overall device while maintaining measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A tire uniformity testing machine that includes a base, a pair of vertical spaced apart columns supporting an upper cross frame member. The base carries a load wheel carriage movable towards and away from a testing station. The vertical uprights establish a peripheral footprint plane that does not extend beyond a plane that is tangent to an outer rolling surface of the load wheel when it is redirected. The upper frame member includes clearance spaces and cutouts that enable at least a portion of an upper chuck to move into the upper frame member and a super structure mounted to a top of the cross member that mounts at least a portion of an actuator for translating the upper chuck. The configuration establishes a machine height that enables the machine to be loaded into a standard shipping container and reduces the overall footprint of the tire uniformity machine without compromising its ability to precisely sense tire uniformity parameters.