Patent ID: 6813979
Filing Date: 2004-11-09
Classification: B23B,B23Q,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
An on-car, brake lathe system for resurfacing a brake disk of a vehicle brake assembly, the on-car brake lathe system comprising:a support structure securing a drive motor; an adjustable cutting head; a mounting chuck rotationally driven about a drive axis by the drive motor; a sensor secured to said support structure, said sensor configured to produce a signal indicative of movement of said support structure relative to a fixed reference; a microprocessor configured to receive said signal and to produce a control signal using said received signal; an aligning joint secured to said mounting chuck concentric to said drive axis, said aligning joint including: a front mounting flange secured coaxially to said mounting chuck; a rear mounting flange adjustably secured coaxially to said front mounting flange at an adjustable inclination; and at least one adjustment element disposed between said front and rear mounting flanges radially outward from said drive axis, said at least one adjustment element configured to alter an inclination between said front and rear mounting flanges, said at least one adjustment element having an adjustment axis parallel to said drive axis; and an adjustment mechanism connected to receive said control signal from said electronic controller and configured to engage in a first position, said at least one adjustment mechanism to rotate said at least one adjustment element about said adjustment axis in response to said control signal; said at least one adjustment element including: a pin secured between said front and rear mounting flanges for rotational movement about said adjustment axis; a gear secured about said pin, said gear having a first face disposed adjacent to said front mounting flange, and a second face disposed adjacent to said rear mounting flange, said second face including a screw defining a first helical channel concentric with said pin; a second helical channel disposed on said rear mounting flange, said second helical channel axially aligned with said first helical channel, said first and second helical channels defining a helical passage; a plurality of ball bearings disposed within said helical passage; and wherein said plurality of ball bearings define an wedge between said first and second helical channels such that rotation of said screw about said pin alters a separation distance between said front and rear mounting flanges.