The present invention pertains the field of the testing of vehicle motor rotary accessory devices, such as for example, alternators and/or starter motors. More particularly, the invention relates to mounting and/or belt tensioning with respect to bench testing (or off-vehicle testing) of such rotary devices.
It is well known in the vehicle industry that certain rotary accessory devices are often used in connection with vehicle motors. Two such well known accessory devices are alternators and starter motors. Alternators are used in connection with an engine, typically by being driven by a belt that is driven by the engine. Alternators have internal components which when rotated supply electrical power which may be used in the vehicle and/or engine. Alternators are typically removably but rigidly mounted via a bracket to the engine block or the chassis of the vehicle. In many cases, where a standard type of alternating mounting arrangement is used, the alternator has “ears” with holes that are mounted onto a post or belt attached to the vehicle permitting pivoting of the alternator so that the alternator can be pivoted around the post against the belt tension in order to install and remove belts, and provide a suitable tension when the belt is installed.
Starter motors are electrical motors which are typically removably but rigidly mounted to an engine or transmission casing and which have an electrically driven pinion gear extending from the starter motor that engages a component, typically gears on the flywheel of the engine, in order to be able to rotate the crank shaft of the engine to start it. There are a wide range of attachment mechanisms for attaching such a starter motor.
It is often desirable to test alternators and/or starter motors at locations where they have been removed from the vehicle, e.g. on a test bench. For example, such testing may be desirable before installing a new alternator or starter or may be desirable for removing an existing alternator or starter for testing when diagnosing vehicle problems.
When testing an alternator, it is desirable to be able to attach a belt to the pulley of the alternator and drive the alternator belt with a motor. This situation requires both (1) a way to securely but removably mount the alternator, and (2) a way to provide the belt tensioning. It would be desirable to have an apparatus and method that is able to conveniently mount the alternator to the overall testing apparatus so that it can be quickly, conveniently, safely, and easily installed and/or removed with respect to the testing apparatus. It would also be desirable to have an apparatus and method that can quickly, conveniently, safely and easily provide tension to a belt that is used to drive the alternator via a motor associated with the testing apparatus.
When testing starter motors, the starter motor is typically connected to a device that provides power to the starter motor so the motor is selectively operated. In such a situation, it is desirable to be able to hold the starter motor in place in a convention location during testing. Thus, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that can quickly, conveniently, safely and easily provide a mount for a starter motor in a testing apparatus.
In one aspect, an embodiment of the invention provides an apparatus for supporting an alternator for testing, comprising, a supporting pin mounted to extend in a first direction relative to the alternator, a first holding pin extending in a second direction relative to the alternator, and having two ends with a first end having a bore therethrough sized to receive the first holding pin to pivot about the supporting pin and a second end having a threaded portion, with a first shoulder being disposed on the first holding pin between the first end and the second end, and a first nut adapted to engage the threaded portion to trap the alternator between the shoulder and the first nut when the nut is tightened.
In another aspect, an embodiment of the invention provides an apparatus for supporting an alternator for testing, comprising, supporting means extending in a first direction relative to the alternator, first holding means extending in a second direction relative to the alternator, and having two ends with a first end having a bore therethrough sized to receive the first holding means to pivot about the supporting means and a second end, with a first shoulder being disposed on the first holding means between the first end and the second end, and securing means for engaging the second end to trap the alternator between the shoulder and the securing means when the securing means is tightened.
In another aspect, an embodiment of the invention provides a method for supporting an alternator for testing, comprising, installing a supporting pin in a first direction relative to the alternator, installing a first holding pin extending in a second direction relative to the alternator, and having two ends with a first end having a bore therethrough sized to receive the first holding means to pivot about the supporting means and a second end, with a first shoulder being disposed on the first holding means between the first end and the second end, and installing a first nut onto the holding pin to engage the second end to trap the alternator between the shoulder and the securing means when the securing means is tightened.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The invention in some preferred embodiments provides a belt tensioning apparatus and method for alternator testing, as well as an alternator mounting apparatus and method, and also a starter motor holding apparatus and method for starter motor testing. Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.
The testing device 10 also includes an alternator belt tensioning arrangement generally designated 16, an alternator mounting arrangement generally designated 18, and a starter holder arrangement generally designated 20. Each of the belt tensioning arrangement 16, the alternator mounting arrangement 18, and the starter motor holder arrangement 20 are mounted directly to the base plate 14. A resilient pad 21, associated with the starter motor holder 20, and illustrated in
Turning to
The pulley 24 is a preferred embodiment that has a dual pulley, with two adjacent grooves, e.g. a V-belt type groove and a multi-groove (serpentine) belt type groove. The alternator mounting arrangement 18 provides some lateral adjustment of the alternator, so that the alternator mounting is flexible enough to allow the alternator to be positioned relative to the motor to allow either belt type to have proper alignment between the pulley 24 groove in use and the alternator pulley. Alternatively, a single pulley of any type may be used.
Turning to
Turning now to
As will also be described in more detail below, the alternator tensioning arrangement 16 includes the pivoting idler arm 26, the idler pulley 28 and the idler arm support 30. From
The lever configuration of the pivoting idler arm 26 provides a lever arm movement advantage, so that a user can by operating the handle 38 manually provide a desired degree of belt tension, which will permit the alternator A to be driven by the motor 22 and facilitate testing of the alternator A.
In a preferred embodiment, a forcing device 40 such as a nitrogen gas cylinder 40 is attached at one end to the pivoting idler arm 38 and at its other end via a bracket 42 is attached to the base plate 14. The forcing device 40 is configured to apply an expansion force that tends to urge the idler arm 26 into the tighten direction T. In one example, the forcing device can be a gas strut cylinder providing approximately # pounds of linear force in the extension direction. It will be appreciated that a benefit of the use of the forcing device 40 is that it assists the user in providing tensioning force. In some embodiments, this arrangement may be designed so that when the operator releases the handle 38 the forcing device 40 will provide all or substantially all of the desired belt tension force. In such an embodiment, a user can simply release the handle 38, and the force applied to the idler arm 26 by the forcing device 40 will maintain the system with the desired belt tension. In such a situation, the operator would perform the tensioned testing in the testing configuration shown in
It will be appreciated that in such an arrangement, forcing devices 40 having different preload tension can be readily and conveniently substituted for each other, thereby adapting the overall tension arrangement 16 to be able to provide different belt tension as maybe desired for different belt and pulley shapes and sizes, alternator sizes, and/or motor sizes.
Turning to
Turning now especially to
Turning to
The alternator A shown in
The present invention provides embodiments where alternators A1 having this mounting boss arrangement 68 can be tested using the mounting arrangement 18 with vertical holding pins 58. As shown in
In some embodiments, a conventional nut can be used. However, in some embodiments faster installation may be achieved using a speed nut 74.
In order to use the speed nut 74, the operator can hold the speed nut 74 at an angle as shown in
It will be appreciated that the speed nut 74 provides an advantage where the user does not have to spin the nut 74 over what may be relatively long length of exposed threads 72. This provides another benefit of the invention, wherein different lengths of bosses 69 in the vertical direction can be quickly accommodated without the user needing to spin the nut 74 over a long thread length in the case of a short boss 68. Also, the vertical holding pins 68 can be selected from different interchangeable lengths and/or diameters.
Further details of the starter holder 20 will now be described with reference to
Further, the arm 32 also includes a handle portion 98 which has a grippable cover 100 slideable thereover. A ratchet release arm or handle 102 which may feature an extension 88 having a grippable cover 104 is pivotally mounted to the hold down arm 32 by a pin 106. The handle 102 has an extension 108 that permits the pin 106 to provide the pivotal mounting. The handle 102 further has a return spring 110 that biases the handle 102 in the direction E shown in
Turning now to
In order release the starter, the user urges the handle 102 manually in the direction towards the handle 98 so as to retract the pawl 94 and permit manual raising of the hold down arm 32 to release the starter S. Releasing the handle 102 will permit the hold down arm 32 to be held in an upward non-engaging position such as shown in
The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
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