Method and apparatus for determining imbalance correction weight amounts for application during vehicle wheel balancing

摘要

A method for reducing imbalance correction weight usage during a balancing operation of a vehicle wheel assembly. An imbalance of the vehicle wheel assembly is initially determined and utilized together with an established acceptable threshold of imbalance for the vehicle wheel assembly to compute a reduced imbalance value having a magnitude less than the determined imbalance. Using the reduced imbalance value, correction weight amounts and placement locations for application to the vehicle wheel assembly are identified. Determined differences between the identified correction weight amount using the reduced imbalance value and a convention correction weight amount are identified as imbalance correction weight savings.

主权项

1. A vehicle wheel balancer for saving a quantity of correction weight used in performing a balancing operation on a vehicle wheel, the balancer comprising:
at least one force sensor used for determining a magnitude of imbalance associated with an imbalance characteristic in the vehicle wheel; and a central processing unit coupled to said at least one force sensor, said central processing unit configured with program instructions to calculate an amount of correction weight required to correct said determined magnitude of imbalance to within a tolerance of a non-zero residual imbalance goal, said calculated amount of correction weight being sufficient to correct the determined magnitude of imbalance to an acceptable level which is selected to be less than an imbalance correction threshold and greater than a permitted residual imbalance associated with a zero imbalance goal, said amount of correction weight being materially less than an amount of correction weight calculated by an imbalance correction method seeking to achieve said zero imbalance goal said determined magnitude of imbalance, whereby a quantity of correction weight is saved in performing the balancing operation.