CAMBER ADJUSTING TOOL

TRADUCTION NON-DISPONIBLE

English Abstract

CAMBER ADJUSTING TOOL
Abstract
The tool disclosed includes a base for attach-
ment to the wheel suspension system. Upright arms
project from the tool base and carry an abutment
assembly which is adjustable to support the end of
different types of power cylinders in various oper-
ative relationships to the suspension system and
which cylinders impart corrective bending forces to
the suspension system.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an
exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined
as follows:
-1-
A tool for adjusting the camber of an automobile
wheel of an automobile having a strut type wheel
suspension system, said tool comprising,
a base for attachment to the wheel carring member
of the automobile suspension system, said base defining
an opening within which the spindle hub of the suspension
system may be received and which enables the temporary
attachment of a camber sight sauge to the spindle hub,
said base including upwardly and outwardly inclined arms,
an abutment assembly carried at the upper distal
ends of said arms and including a fitting having an
abutment surface thereon, fastener means extending
intermediate said arms and mounting said fitting there-
between and permitting rotational positioning and
locking of said fitting and the abutment surface thereon
about a horizontal axis to locate said surface normal
to the inclined axis of a portable hydraulic cylinder
locatable intermediate said abutment assembly and the
upper end of the strut associated with the wheel
regardless of variances in length of such struts utilized
on different makes and models of automobiles and
resulting cylinder inclination changing therebetween to
enable remedial bending of the strut for camber adjust-
ment.
-2-
The tool claimed in claim 1 wherein said fastener
means acts on said arms to close same into frictional

engagement with the fitting to lock the latter in a
selected position.

Description

'7~
Speci~lcation
The present invention relat~ generally to
automotive tools and specifically ~o a tool fox
attachment to an auto wheel assembly for purposes
of ca~ber adjustment.
~ Cnown to the art are var.ious types of tools
attachable ~o in~pendentl~T suspended wheels of an
2u-to to i~pa? t corrective fGrCes to a member or
members of the wheel suspension system to restore
10 desi~ed wheel camber~ Some of such tools impart
corrective bending forces to a suspen~ion member or
member~ by means o~ a powered ram or cylinder.
A p~oblem exists .in correcting camlber on au~os
; u tilizing a McPherson stru~ suspenslon member a~
found on the majority of foreign made autos. The
above mentioned strllt is wiflely used by both European
and uapan~se auto manufacturexs and serves to provide,
in one comp~nen-t~ both ~uspension and mo~iQn ~ampen-
ing ~unc tions. The lower erld of the above mentionecl
strut i5 somewhat suscep~ibl~ however to bencin$~ upon
~o.rceful impact o* the auto wheel wit.ll an obs~xuct.ion,
w~ich bendin~ results in incorrect wheel camber~ In
many instance~, frame dama~e i3 al~o incurred, con-
txibutlng ~o incorr~ct camker. While va.rious camber
adjusting tools ha~e been proposed, none are known to
be speci*ically directed toward camber ad~ustment of
a McPher~on suspension equipped auto nor can exist- -
ing tool~ be xeadily modi~i~d for such us~
The presen~ in~ention is embodîed in a tool ~or
attachment to the whe~l plate o~ a ~cPh~r~on s~ru-t
suspension e~uipped auto to enable the impar~ing ~f
,~

corrective bending forces ~o the s-trut lower end~
The tool includes a ~ase for a~*achment to the
wheel plate~ which base i~ apertured to xece.ive the
khreaded wheel lu~s or studs and also the pro~ecting
.spindle hub. The lug xeceiving apertures in ~he base
are sli~htly ovexsi~e to receive ~he most common lug
pattern~ to xender the tool u.sable on a wide ran~e o*
au~os. A base ex~ension ex~ends upwardly and outwar~ly
from the base and carr.ies an abutment a~sem~ly against
whic~ a powered component may be abutt.ed for the
application o~ bending forces ~o the whee~ plate and
associate~ ~usp~nsion components. ~he powered com-
ponent may utiliæe a ~txut mid poxtion as a support
po~nt when wheel cal~ber is to be incxeased while a
chai~ component p~rmits opposite pl~cement of the
power~d component relatiYe to the tool ~ase to enable
camber co~rection~ reducin~ wheel camber. The abut~
ment assembly include~ an adjustable fitting adjus~
able about a hori~ontal axis to be~t accommodate the
type o~ powered component us~d and its relationship
to the ~trut mid portion. Such powered components
m~y be hydxauli~ or pneu~atic cylinders or a mechan-
ical instrumentalit~ such as a jack.
The present invention is em~odi~d within a tQol
or adjusting the camber of an ~utomobile wheel o~
an automobile having a McPherson strut type suspen
sion, the tool comprisin~ a ba~e for at~achmellt to
the wheel carryin~ member of the automobile suspen
~ ~ion sys-~em, saifl base defining an opening within
~ 30- - which the ~pindle housing of th~ suspen~ion s~vste~
ma~ be received ~nd which enables the temporary

~.
attachment of a cambex sight gat.lge to the spi~dl~a
housincJy said base includincJ upward.l.y and outwardly
inclinecl arllls; ~n abutm0nt assemhl~ carrled at the
uppex clistal ends of said arms and includill~ a f-i.t-
~ting haviEIg an abutment surface thereon, fastener
me~Ils e~tending intermediate said arms and mountin~
said i.ittin~ thexebetween and permitting rotation~l
positioning and locking of sai~ ~ltting and the cibut- -
men~ sllr~aca thereon about a hori~ontal a~ris to loc~te
lG said surface normal to the inclined axis of a portable
hydraulic cylinder locatable interEnediate said abut-
men~ asse~bl~ and the upper end of ~he strut ~ssoci~
ated with the wheel regardless of vaxiances in len~th
such struts utili~ed on different makes and models of
~utomobiles and resulting cylinder inclination chang~
ing thereh2tweeEl to en~ble remedial bending o~ the
strut fcr camber adjustmen~
In the accompany.ing drawing.
Fi~ure 1 i9 a ~ront eleva~iona:l v.iew of a
20 McPherYoll st.rut suspension system with tlle present
~ool in place
Figure 2 i s a side ele~ational view of the .right
hand side ~f Figure l; and
Fiçlure 3 is a sec tional Yi0W taken alon~ line 3-3
o~ Figure 2 and sho~:incJ in }~roken lines optional
placement oE the power sour e or reducing wheel camber.
Re:~erens:~e numeral 1 of the drawing inc1icates
generally z, su~p~nsion ~ystem for an au ts~motive ~Jheel
assembly consis ~:ing of a ti~e and wheel which axe
30 normally carried by a wheel moutltin~ member or plate 2
by means o:~ lu~ s tud~; 3. Other con~Jerltional
.

7~
suspension system components include a disc ~ralce
unit 4t disc brake rotor 5, lower arm 5, ball joint 7
kIcPherson s~ut ~ F and knuckl~ 9 which carries th~
spindle hub H. The lower se~ment of said strllt at X is
susceptible to b~nd:ing orces imparted there-to from
impac~ oE ~he wheel ~ssembly against a road ob~s~ruc-
tion~ In most instances, da~age is sli~ht permitting
corxection by the applicat.ion o~ bendiny ~orce~ applied
with the present tool~ Corrections up to one and
one-hal-f de~rees o camber may be made without strut
impairment~
With attention now to the presen~ inventionO the
~ool includes a base at 12 which may be oE c~nnel
cons~ruction for purposes of strerlgth. The base web
13 is apertured at 13A to recelve spindle hub I-I of
the wheel suspension system and permit the moun~ing oE
a conventional sight ~au~e G theraon. Spaced about
aperture l3A is a series of lug receiving openin~s as
at 14 each somewhat oversi~e or lax~er than the diam~
eter of the lug stud to permi.-~, the xecep-tiorl of the
lu~ studs of d.iferent autos. As the SptlCing and size
o~ lu~ studs is ve.ry ~imilar in the majoxity of autos
m~nufactured outside of the United States the over~ize
apertures l~ accept mo~t all lug stud arrang~ment~ ~o
enable a single tool to be u~ed on all but a small
pQr~iOn of orelgn made autOS. S.pacers at .5 provide
desix~ clearance of base 12 ~Crom wheel mountlng
member 2~
; Exterding upwa.rdl~ from base l~ is a ~ase ex~ension
16 which is shown a~ comprising a pair of inclined
a~ms secured at the r lower ends to ba~ l2 with a

cJussek provided at 17. The ar~s 16 carry at their
outer ends an abutmentt assembly generally at 18,
which p~ovides an adjus-~able. abukment for the power
source selectecl. Said a~utmen'c assembly includes
lockincJ means 19 t ~hOWIl as a threacled fastenerJ which
enables s.licJIlt inwarcl displaoement o~ the arm encls at
16A to close frict1onally agains'c the opposite encl.s O-f
a ~ittincJ 20 ko prevenk rotac~.on o~ same~ In place
on said fik~ing is an a~utmenk 21 configul-etl for
abutting con-tact ~i th the power source selectedO Said
fitking may inclu~e a stud (not ~hown~ ~or engaC~emellt
with that type of portable hydraulic cylind~r having
a corresponding socket in khe cylincler base. An
abutting sur-~ace i5 indica-ted at 21A which may ~e
operatively adjusted by loosening lockin~ means 19~ The
outer or rod end o~ ~he power source, shown as a hydraulic
cylinder 22 is provided with a resilient pad 24 and abuts
the McPhexsQn stru~ at the inter~ec~ion of the strut
tuhular portion and a conical spring cJuide 7.3 of the
20 stru~, T'ne cylinder disposition in Fi~u:res 1 and 2 is
for increasing wheel camber ~hile in Fi~ure 3 the po~er
souxce 22 has been reorien tate~ on the tool to .im~a.rt
bendiny forces decreasing wheel camber. In -the latter
arrangement the power ~ource is coupled by means of a
chain loop 25 wrapped about the strut inters~c~ion with
chain runs passing above and below ~itting 20 and there-
past tQ enga~e '~he ~od end of cyl.inder T,/hile ~h~
oppo~ite or bass ~nd of cylinder 2~ reacts against
rep~sit~ oned abu~ment ~ haped. ~ittiIl~ 26 may
be utiliæed to assure chain~rocl engagement~

3'i~3~
~ i th ~he tt)ol in place, to adju~t camber the
operator notes the cam~er .readincJ on the hub attached
gaucJe and actuates the powe.r source v:La suitable
val~re oorltrols (not shown~ un~il the desired reading
i5 indicatedO In use the base o:E the tool is suppor ted
so as to permi t a portion o~ the au to ' ~; wei~ht approtc-
imatel~ ~ive pe.rcent to be supported b~ tlle baseO
Details of carn:ber ad justmen t are believed to bç~ appar -
ent to or~e skilled in the art ancl ac~ordin~ly are
10 super-fluous ~or present purpo~es~