US-12618747-B2 - Modular mounting apparatus for determining vehicle vibrational anomalies

US12618747B2US 12618747 B2US12618747 B2US 12618747B2US-12618747-B2

Abstract

An apparatus configured to be removably attached to a vehicle includes a data collection device that is removably attachable to the vehicle. The data collection device includes an enclosure including a motion measurement sensor housed therein, and a mounting mechanism. The enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein is configured to measure parameters that are used for calculating vibrational anomalies of the vehicle. The mounting mechanism is removably attached to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein. The mounting mechanism has a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end of the mounting mechanism has a fixative for removably attaching the mounting mechanism to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein. The fixative is immobile with respect to the enclosure immediately upon attachment to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein. The fixative thereby does not require further movement with respect to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein immediately upon attachment to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein. The distal end of the mounting mechanism is a vehicle mounting interface configured to allow the data collection device to be removably attached to the vehicle.

Inventors

Stephen T. Buchanan
Saptak Das
Rishi Kumar
Raj Methi
Thomas S. Buchanan
Eric L. Canfield
Robert P. Alston
David A. FENIMORE

Assignees

NVH TECHNOLOGY LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20241227

Claims (5)

1 . An apparatus configured to be removably attached to a lug nut of a wheel of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising a data collection device that is removably attachable to the lug nut, the data collection device including: (a) an enclosure including a motion measurement sensor housed therein configured to measure parameters that are used for calculating vibrational anomalies of the vehicle; and (b) a mounting mechanism that is removably attached to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein, the mounting mechanism having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the mounting mechanism having a fixative for removably attaching the mounting mechanism to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein, wherein the fixative is immobile with respect to the enclosure immediately upon attachment to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein, the fixative thereby not requiring further movement with respect to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein immediately upon attachment to the enclosure including the motion measurement sensor housed therein, and the distal end of the mounting mechanism being a vehicle mounting interface configured to allow the data collection device to be removably attached to the lug nut, and wherein a longitudinal axis of the enclosure and a longitudinal axis of the mounting mechanism are both configured to be coincident with a longitudinal axis of the lug nut when the apparatus is removably attached to the lug nut.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the vehicle mounting interface of the mounting mechanism is a cup-shaped object that allows the data collection device to be removably attached to the lug nut, the cup-shaped object being hollow along at least a portion of its length, the hollow portion having a diameter that is larger than a diameter of the lug nut so as to allow the data collection object to be mounted to the wheel of the vehicle by fitting the cup-shaped object over the lug nut.
3 . The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the cup-shaped object has a shape that matches the lug nut so as to prohibit rotation of the apparatus with respect to the lug nut.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fixative is a magnet.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the motion measurement sensor is an inertial measurement unit (IMU).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 18/608,166 filed Mar. 18, 2024, which is incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION “Vibrational anomalies of a vehicle” refers to any repetitive motion of a vehicle or component or assembly of a vehicle that could cause either a quality-of-ride issue or wear on a part of the vehicle. Vibrational anomalies can be caused by a variety of issues such as, but not limited to, engine issues, drive chain issues, chassis or wheel issues, including tire balancing issues. Some of the most commonly occurring vibrational anomalies are present in vehicle tires and wheel assemblies. “Tire balance” refers to the distribution of mass within a vehicle tire or the entire wheel assembly, including the rim, on which the vehicle tire is mounted. Tire balance may also be referred to as “tire unbalance” or “tire imbalance.” As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,053 (Parker), which is incorporated by reference herein, the balancing of vehicle wheel assemblies is most often accomplished by removing the tire/wheel assemblies from the vehicle and mounting each of the assemblies on an off-car-balancer. One example of an off-car balancer is The Road Force® Elite wheel balancer, which is commercially available from Hunter Engineering Company, Bridgeton, Missouri. The off-car balancer rotates the tire/wheel assembly, measures the imbalance forces, and displays the amount and location of weight to add to the wheel to bring the tire/wheel assembly into a balanced condition. Most off-car balancers spin the wheel at a relatively low and fixed speed (the equivalent of 30 mph). However, many vibrational anomalies, such as tire eccentricity, only occur at high speeds. Off-car balancers will not detect most anomalies induced by high speeds, a change in vehicle weight which changes the applied road force, or anomalies caused by other systems of the vehicle. As also described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,053, a tire/wheel assembly may be balanced so that it produces negligible forces when rotated on the off-car balancer, but the same assembly may cause significant imbalance forces when mounted on the vehicle and rotated using the vehicle's bearings and axle. The imbalance forces of a tire/wheel assembly will remain constant between the off-car balancer and vehicle or truck, only if the relationship between the tire wheel assembly and the axis of rotation is the same for the two mountings. Achieving the desired on-car wheel balance with only an off-car balancer involves both accurately mounting the wheel on the balancer and then accurately mounting the tire/wheel assembly on the vehicle's hub. Along with the previously mentioned inability to detect high speed vibrational anomalies, there are additional limitations to off-car balancers. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,053 and further described in U.S. Pat. No. 11,480,491, on-car balancers can both help eliminate the mounting accuracy problems as well as operate at the high speeds of the vehicles. Although on-car balancers are available, they are not very popular because of setup difficulties, operational limitations, and safety issues. There are two aspects of on-car balancing. First, data must be collected. Second, the data must be analyzed to determine what, if any, action needs to be taken to correct any detected imbalance forces. Another possibility with on-car balancers is the addition of other types of vehicles that are not supported by off-car balancers, such as railcars which have railcar wheels that also experience imbalance forces. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In one preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a device configured to be removably attached to a vehicle for use in determining vibrational anomalies of the vehicle during motion of the vehicle. The device includes one or more motion measurement sensors, which in one preferred embodiment are one or more inertial measurement units (IMU's), configured to measure parameters that are used for calculating the vibrational signals during motion of the vehicles. The device includes an interchangeable module mounting interface (vehicle mounting interface) that allows the device to be attached to multiple different types of components within the vehicle. The device is interchangeably referred to herein as a “data collection device.” In one embodiment, the mounting interface is a cup-shaped module for mounting to a lug nut of a vehicle's wheel assembly. The cup-shaped module is interchangeably referred to herein as a “cup-shaped object.” The cup-shaped module is hollow along at least a portion of its length that is distal from the device. This hollow portion has a diameter that is larger than a diameter of the lug nuts of the vehicles tire/hub assembly so as to allow the device to be mounted to the vehicle's tire/hub assembly by fitting the cup-shaped module over the lug