TURN PLATE ASSEMBLY AND TRANSLATION MAT

Abstract

A turn plate assembly for support of the steered wheels of a vehicle on a precision planar surface. The assembly includes an approach plate establishing a planar surface to within an established measurement tolerance. The approach plate is coupled to a base plate underlying a bearing assembly consisting of a plurality of ball bearings retained between the base plate and an underside of a rotating support disc. An upper surface of the rotating support disc is coplanar with an upper surface of the approach plate. Resting on the upper surface of the rotating support surface, a translational surface or mat is temporarily secured in place by magnetic adhesion. During use, translational forces exerted on the translation surface or mat by a vehicle wheel assembly may overcome the magnetic adhesion, enabling the translational surface or mat to translate relative to the underlying rotating support disc.

Claims

1. A turn plate assembly, comprising: a base plate; a bearing assembly supported on said base plate, said bearing assembly including a plurality of rolling elements; a rotating support disc supported on said bearing assembly for rotation movement about a fixed axis; and a translational mat releasably secured to the upper surface of said rotating support disc, said translational mat having freedom for translational movement relative to said support disc in response to an applied translational force.

2. The turn plate assembly of claim 1 further including an approach plate, with said base plate coupled to a longitudinal end of said approach plate.

3. The turn plate assembly of claim 2 wherein said approach plate includes at least one handle to facilitate transport of the turn plate assembly.

4. The turn plate assembly of claim 2 wherein an upper surface of said translational mat is coplanar with an upper surface of said approach plate.

5. The turn plate assembly of claim 2 wherein said approach plate is a unitary body, where said upper surface of said approach plate is flat to within a defined tolerance, and wherein said upper surface of said approach plate further includes a recessed region adjacent to said translational mat.

6. The turn plate assembly of claim 2 wherein said base plate includes a peripheral tab, and wherein said peripheral tab is seated within a matching recess within an underside surface of said approach plate.

7. The turn plate assembly of claim 6 wherein said peripheral tab is coupled to said approach plate by a plurality of bolts.

8. The turn plate assembly of claim 1 wherein said base plate includes a plurality of concentric annular channels, and wherein said plurality of rolling elements are disposed to roll within said concentric annular channels.

9. The turn plate assembly of claim 1 wherein said plurality of rolling elements are ball bearings.

10. The turn plate assembly of claim 1 further including a cage assembly configured to retain said rolling elements in a spaced arrangement between said base plate and said rotating support disc.

11. The turn plate assembly of claim 1 wherein said translational mat is releasably secured to the upper surface of said rotating support disc by magnetic adhesion.

12. The turn plate assembly of claim 11 further including one or more magnetic elements disposed within said translational mat, and one or more magnetic elements disposed within said rotating support disc, said magnetic elements within said translational mat and said rotating support disc aligned to cooperatively exert a magnetic attraction therebetween when said translational mat is disposed on said rotating support disc in a first position.

13. The turn plate assembly of claim 12 wherein said translational mat in said first position is coaxially aligned with said rotating support disc and is rotationally oriented at a predetermined relative rotational to said rotating support disc.

13. The turn plate assembly of claim 1 wherein said translational mat is composed of polyethylene.

14. The turn plate assembly of claim 1 wherein said translational mat is resiliently flexible.

15. A method for using a turn plate assembly of claim 1 to relieve translational forces exerted between a vehicle wheel assembly and a supporting surface during steering movement, comprising: positioning the vehicle wheel assembly on a translational mat of the turn plate assembly of claim 1 while said translational mat is positioned on an upper surface of a rotating support disc; exerting a steering force on said vehicle wheel assembly, said steering force having a rotational component and a translational component; responsive to said rotational component of said steering force, rotating the rotating support disc about said rotational axis; and responsive to said translational component of said steering force exceeding a limit, translating said translational mat across said upper surface of said rotating support disc.

16. A translational mat for overlay on a turn plate assembly configured to support a vehicle wheel assembly for at least rotational movement about a fixed axis, the translational mat comprising: a resiliently flexible sheet having peripheral dimensions substantially identical to an upper surface of a rotating component of said turn plate assembly; and wherein said resiliently flexible sheet includes an attachment means for temporary adhesion to said upper surface.

17. The translational mat of claim 16 wherein said attachment means includes a set of magnetic elements disposed within said translational mat and a corresponding set of attracting magnetic elements disposed within said upper surface.

18. The translational mat of claim 16 wherein said sheet is composed of polyethylene.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification:

[0014] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a heavy duty turn plate assembly and translational mat of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the heavy duty turn plate assembly and translational mat of FIG. 1, see from above; and

[0016] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the heavy duty turn plate assembly and translational mat of FIG. 1, see from below.

[0017] Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings. It is to be understood that the drawings are for illustrating the concepts set forth in the present disclosure and are not to scale.

[0018] Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. The description enables one skilled in the art to make and use the present disclosure, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives, and uses of the present disclosure, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the present disclosure.

[0020] Turning to the Figures, and to FIG. 1 first, a turn plate assembly of the present disclosure is shown generally at 100. The turn plate assembly 100 is designed with the understanding that it can be transported to various vehicle service locations as needed without disassembly or detachment from any underlying structures. The turn plate assembly 100 includes an approach plate 102, providing a flat and uniform surface over which a vehicle approaching a rotating component assembly 104 can drive, thereby minimizing the effects of suspension bounce or jostle caused by transitioning over excessively uneven surfaces or gaps. Preferably, the approach plate is a rigid unitary body, such as a plate of thick steel which is flat to within a desired tolerance, and which incorporates one or more handles 106 to facilitate transport of the turn plate assembly 100 as needed.

[0021] The rotating component assembly 104 is secured to a longitudinal end of the approach plate 102, and consists of a base plate 108, a bearing assembly 110 supported on the base plate, and a rotating support disc 112 supported on the bearing assembly for rotation about a fixed vertical axis X. To secure the rotating component assembly 104 to the approach plate 102, a peripheral tab 114 extends from the base plate 108, and seats within a matching recess 116 on the underside of the approach plate. A set of bolts 118 or other suitable fasteners are employed to rigidly couple the base plate to the approach plate via the peripheral tab 114 and matching recess 116.

[0022] The bearing assembly 110 is disposed on an upper surface of the base plate 108, supporting the rotating support disc 112 for rotation about the fixed axis X. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the bearing assembly 110 may consist of a variety of rolling elements, such as roller bearings, ball bearings, needle bearings, and associated retaining cages or structures without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bearing assembly 110 is shown to consist of a plurality of ball bearings rolling within a plurality of annular and concentric grooves or channels in the upper surface of the base plate and lower surface of the rotating support plate. Essentially, the bearing assembly 110 permits the rotating support disc 112 to rotate freely about the rotational axis X in response to rotational forces applied to the upper surface.

[0023] When a vehicle is driven onto the turn plate assembly 100, and a wheel assembly comes to rest on the rotating component assembly 104, steering movement of the wheel assembly will exert a rotational force and a translational force on the supporting surfaces due to the design of the vehicle suspension geometry. Since the rotating support disc 112 is secured against any translational movement, and only configured to provide rotational movement about the fixed axis X, a translational mat 120 is releasably secured to the upper surface of said rotating support disc 112. The vertical dimensions of the base plate, bearing assembly, rotating support disc 112, and translational mat 120 are selected such that an upper surface of the translational mat 120 is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the approach plate 102. The translational mat, upon which the vehicle wheel assembly actually rests, is configured with freedom for translational movement relative to said rotating support disc 112 in response to an applied translational force such as during steering of the wheel assembly. The approach plate 102 includes a recessed region 119 of the upper surface adjacent to the rotating support disc 112, into which the translation mat 120 may move without interference during translational movement.

[0024] Preferably, magnetic adhesion is utilized to releasably secure the translational mat 120 to the upper surface of the rotating support disc 112. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first set of magnetic elements, such as magnets or ferrous metal discs 122a-d are disposed within said translational mat 120, and a second set of magnetic elements 124a-d are disposed within said rotating support disc 112. The first and second sets of magnetic elements (magnets and ferrous metal discs) are aligned to exert a magnetic attraction when the translational mat 120 is coaxially positioned on the rotating support disc 112, in at least one relative rotational position about the fixed rotational axis X. Those of ordinary skill will recognize that the function of the sets of magnetic elements is merely to retain the translational mat 120 in place when it is not subject to translational forces from a vehicle wheel assembly, and as such, any of a variety of configuration of magnetic elements may be utilized. Alternative means of temporary adhesion, such as high friction surfaces, Velcro-type surfaces, etc. may be utilized if they provide the requisite degree of adhesion forces and have sufficient durability to withstand repeated coupling and uncoupling.

[0025] The translation mat 120 is intended to be a semi-consumable component of the turn plate assembly, and as such, preferably comprises a thick disc of polyethylene material, such as ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene. The translation mat 120 is preferably resiliently flexible in order to accommodate deformations which may result from a translational movement off an adjacent edge of the underlying rotating support disc while under load from a vehicle wheel assembly. If the translation mat 120 becomes damaged, degraded, or worn, it may simply be discarded and replaced with a new translation mat without requiring any disassembly of the turn plate 100.

[0026] As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the disclosure, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.