1. A digital protractor for measuring an angular displacement from a reference surface, said protractor comprising:
a substantially congruent pair of pivotally interconnected upper and lower arms, which arms are superposable upon one another, each arm having a pair of substantially parallel engagement edges extending longitudinally of said arm, one of said arms being engagable along an engagement edge thereof with the reference surface;
an electronic sensor secured to said lower arm; and
a digital readout device secured to said upper arm for operatively cooperating with said electronic sensor to measure and display the angular displacement from the arm engaging the reference surface to the other arm.
2. The device of claim 1 in which said digital readout includes a calibration switch that is engaged for said readout to display an angular displacement of zero degrees regardless of the angular displacement between said arms.
3. The device of claim 1 in which said arms comprise respective extruded components.
4. The device of claim 1 in which each engagement edge carries a magnetic element for adhering to a magnetically attracted material carried by the reference surface.
5. The device of claim 4 in which each engagement edge includes a longitudinal channel for receiving a respective magnetic element.
6. The device of claim 1 in which said sensor includes a capacitive sensor disk fixed to said lower arm and said readout includes a signal generating circuit attached to said upper arm for operatively cooperating with said capacitive sensor to measure an angular displacement between said arms and a display device connected to said signal generating circuit for displaying the measured angular displacement between said arms.
7. The device of claim 1 further including a locking apparatus for holding said arms together to maintain a selected angular displacement between said arms.
8. The device of claim 7 in which said arms are pivotally connected by a pivot pin and said locking apparatus includes a lock plate secured to said upper arm and having a locking engagement surface and central opening through which said pivot pin extends and a locking lever connected pivotally to said pin, and extending outwardly of said upper arm and carrying a bearing for interengaging said locking engagement surface of said lock plate when said lock lever is rotated about said pivot pin in a selected direction to tighten interengagement between said arms and hold said arms with a selected angular displacement therebetween.
9. The device of claim 8 in which said locking engagement surface includes a tapered groove formed in said locking plate and said bearing includes a ball bearing carried by said locking lever and received in said tapered groove whereby rotating said lever directs said ball bearing into a shallow portion of said groove to tighten interengagement between said upper and lower arms and hold said arms at the selected angular displacement.
10. The device of claim 6 in which said upper arm includes a longitudinal central channel for accommodating said signal generating circuit therein.
11. The device of claim 8 in which said sensor includes an annular disk disposed about said pivot pin for operatively cooperating with said digital readout.
12. The device of claim 6 in which said arms are connected by a pivot pin and said annular disk is disposed about said pin.
13. The device of claim 1 in which said upper and lower arms comprise a respective pair of superposable plates interconnected by a pivot pin that extends transversely through superposed, generally flat surfaces of said plates.
14. The device of claim 6 in which said annular disk and said signal generating circuit are enclosed by a housing from which said display is exposed.
15. The device of claim 13 in which said plates are pivotable relative to one another in a generally laminar manner with a substantially flat bottom surface of said upper arm being substantially parallel to an opposing flat top surface of said lower arm.
16. A digital protractor for measuring an angular displacement from a reference surface, said protractor comprising:
a pair of pivotally interconnected and generally planar upper and lower arms, which arms are superposable and pivotable in a laminar manner relative to one another, each arm having a pair of substantially parallel engagement edges extending longitudinally of said arm, one of said arms being engagable along an engagement edge thereof with the reference surface, at least one said engagement edge carrying a magnetic element for adhering to a magnetically attracted material carried by the reference surface;
an electronic sensor secured to said lower arm; and
a digital readout device secured to said upper arm for operatively cooperating with said electronic sensor to measure and display the angular displacement from the arm engaging the reference surface to the other arm.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An automotive vehicle wheel bearing assembly comprising
a wheel mounting component defining an axis;
a non-rotating component fixed with respect to a vehicle suspension structure; and
bearing elements rotatably coupling the wheel mounting component to the non-rotating component to allow the wheel mounting component to rotate relative to the non-rotating component about the axis;
wherein the bearing elements include a first outer raceway and a first inner raceway, the first outer raceway and the first inner raceway rollably retaining a plurality of first rolling elements,
wherein an inboard face of the wheel mounting component is spaced axially from an outboard face of a non-rotating component fixed with respect to the vehicle suspension structure in an outboard direction by an axial clearance, so that a side impact displacing the inboard face of the wheel mounting component in the inboard direction by a distance equal to the axial clearance does not cause an impact indentation from the first rolling elements in the first outer raceway or the first inner raceway deeper than about 3 microns, to avoid a noise or vibration condition when the wheel mounting component rotates relative to the non-rotating component during continued operation of the wheel bearing assembly,
wherein a radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component is spaced from a non-rotating radial-impact supporting contact surface fixed with respect to the vehicle suspension structure by a radial clearance, so that a radial impact displacing the radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component in a radial direction toward the non-rotating radial-impact supporting contact surface by a distance equal to the radial clearance does not cause an impact indentation from the first rolling elements in the first outer raceway or the first inner raceway deeper than about 3 microns, to avoid a noise or vibration condition when the wheel mounting component rotates relative to the non-rotating component during continued operation of the wheel bearing assembly,
wherein displacement of the inboard face of the wheel mounting component in the inboard direction by a distance greater than the axial clearance is inhibited by the inboard face of the wheel mounting component contacting and transmitting a load to the vehicle suspension structure through the outboard face of a non-rotating component, to inhibit deepening of any impact indentation from the first rolling elements in the first outer raceway or the first inner raceway, and
wherein displacement of the radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component in said radial direction by a distance greater than the radial clearance is inhibited by the radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component contacting and transmitting a load to the vehicle suspension structure through the non-rotating radial-impact supporting contact surface, to inhibit deepening of any impact indentation from the first rolling elements in the first outer raceway or the first inner raceway.
2. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, said axial clearance being no more than about 0.30 mm.
3. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, said axial clearance being at least about 0.040 mm.
4. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, said radial clearance being at least about 0.040 mm.
5. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, said radial clearance being no more than about 0.15 mm.
6. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, the inboard face of the wheel mounting component being configured to contact the outboard face of the non-rotating component at a contact area having a radial width of from about 2 millimeters to about 5 millimeters.
7. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, the radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component being configured to contact the non-rotating radial-impact supporting contact surface at a contact area having an axial width of from about 2 millimeters to about 5 millimeters.
8. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the inboard face of the wheel mounting component is an annular surface inclined with respect to the wheel mounting component axis, and the outboard face of the non-rotating component is inclined with respect to the wheel mounting component axis, both surfaces being symmetric about the axis of the wheel mounting component and inclined with respect to the axis at approximately the same oblique angle.
9. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, further comprising a curved surface connecting the outboard face of the non-rotating component and the non-rotating radial-impact supporting contact surface, at least a portion of said curved surface facing in a direction having a radial component and an axial component.
10. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein said non-rotating radial-impact supporting contact surface comprises a surface of the non-rotating component.
11. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the first outer raceway and the first inner raceway are outboard raceways, the first rolling elements are outboard rolling elements, and the vehicle wheel bearing assembly further comprises an inboard outer raceway and an inboard inner raceway displaced from the outboard raceway in the inboard direction, the inboard raceways rollably retaining a plurality of inboard rolling elements;
wherein the axial and radial clearances of the wheel mounting component from the respective outboard face of the non-rotating component and non-rotating radial-impact supporting contact surface are sized so that a side or radial impact displacing the wheel mounting component in the inboard or a radial direction by a distance equal to the respective clearance does not cause an impact indentation from the inboard rolling elements in the inboard outer raceway or the inboard inner raceway deep enough to result in a noise or vibration condition when the wheel mounting component rotates relative to the non-rotating component during continued operation of the wheel bearing assembly.
12. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the first outer raceway is fixed with respect to the non-rotating component and the first inner raceway is fixed with respect to the wheel mounting component.
13. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the first outer raceway is fixed with respect to the wheel mounting component and the first inner raceway is fixed with respect to the non-rotating component.
14. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the first rolling elements are balls.
15. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 14, wherein the first outer raceway and the first inner raceway each have a shoulder height of from about 30% to about 40% of the diameter of the balls.
16. The wheel bearing assembly of claim 1, wherein the wheel mounting component comprises a flange having a thickness of about 8-12 mm.
17. An automotive vehicle wheel bearing assembly comprising
a wheel mounting component defining an axis;
a non-rotating component fixed with respect to a vehicle suspension structure; and
bearing elements rotatably coupling the wheel mounting component to the non-rotating component to allow the wheel mounting component to rotate relative to the non-rotating component about the axis;
wherein the bearing elements include a first outer raceway and a first inner raceway, the first outer raceway and the first inner raceway rollably retaining a plurality of first rolling elements,
wherein an inboard face of the wheel mounting component is spaced axially from an outboard face of a non-rotating component fixed with respect to the vehicle suspension structure in an outboard direction by an axial clearance, so that a side impact having a resultant load offset from the wheel mounting component axis by a radial distance of from about 150 to about 200 millimeters, and displacing the inboard face of the wheel mounting component in the inboard direction by a distance equal to the axial clearance, does not cause an impact indentation from the first rolling elements in the first outer raceway or the first inner raceway deeper than about 3 microns, to avoid a noise or vibration condition when the wheel mounting component rotates relative to the non-rotating component during continued operation of the wheel bearing assembly,
wherein displacement of the inboard face of the wheel mounting component in the inboard direction by a distance greater than the axial clearance is inhibited by the inboard face of the wheel mounting component contacting and transmitting a load to the vehicle suspension structure through the non-rotating surface, to inhibit deepening of any impact indentation from the first rolling elements in the first outer raceway or the first inner raceway, and
wherein the inboard face of the wheel mounting component is an annular surface inclined with respect to the wheel mounting component axis, and the generally axially facing non-rotating surface is inclined with respect to the wheel mounting component axis, both surfaces being symmetric about the axis of the wheel mounting component and inclined with respect to the axis at approximately the same oblique angle.
18. An automotive vehicle wheel bearing assembly comprising
a wheel mounting component defining an axis;
a non-rotating component fixed with respect to a vehicle suspension structure; and
bearing elements rotatably coupling the wheel mounting component to the non-rotating component to allow the wheel mounting component to rotate relative to the non-rotating component about the axis;
wherein the bearing elements include a first outer raceway and a first inner raceway, the first outer raceway and the first inner raceway rollably retaining a plurality of first rolling elements,
wherein a radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component is spaced from a generally radially-facing non-rotating surface fixed with respect to the vehicle suspension structure by a radial clearance, so that a radial impact displacing the radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component in a radial direction toward the generally radially-facing non-rotating surface by a distance equal to the radial clearance does not cause an impact indentation from the first rolling elements in the first outer raceway or the first inner raceway deeper than about 3 microns, to avoid a noise or vibration condition when the wheel mounting component rotates relative to the non-rotating component during continued operation of the wheel bearing assembly,
wherein displacement of the radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component in said radial direction by a distance greater than the radial clearance is inhibited by the inboard face of the wheel mounting component contacting and transmitting a load to the vehicle suspension structure through the non-rotating surface, to inhibit deepening of any impact indentation from the first rolling elements in the first outer raceway or the first inner raceway.
19. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 18, wherein said radial clearance is no more than about 0.15 millimeter.
20. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 19, wherein said radial clearance is at least about 0.040 millimeter.
21. The vehicle wheel bearing assembly of claim 18, the radial-impact supporting contact surface of the wheel mounting component being configured to contact the generally radially-facing non-rotating surface at a contact area having an axial width of from about 2 millimeters to about 5 millimeters.