Abstract:
A complete wheel assembly is provided for connecting to a modular base assembly for vehicle modular making. The complete wheel assembly includes a wheel guide assembly fixedly attachable to the modular base assembly and a wheel bracket attachable to a wheel hub and wheel. The wheel bracket provides a quick connection to the wheel guide assembly. The wheel bracket includes adjustable plates to move the wheel horizontally and vertically relative to the modular base assembly for correct positioning of the wheel. The wheel bracket also includes a pin for maintaining the wheel hub and wheel in proper horizontal alignment.

Description:
This application claims priority of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/976,160 filed on Sep. 28, 2007, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the invention is a complete wheel assembly for a modular base assembly used for vehicle model making. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Model making is often used in vehicle industries like the automotive industry. In that industry, designers make full-scale automobile models out of a suitable clay to get a general look and feel of their design before the automobile is produced and sold. Designers also make full-scale, life-like models from a suitable foam for showing off future automobile designs at trade shows. In both cases, a modular base assembly is commonly used as a sort of a pedestal for the models. 
     In the prior art, wheel assemblies can be fixedly attached to the base assembly. If alignment of the wheel hub and wheel is required, the entire wheel assembly must be disassembled. If this procedure is required for all of the four wheels, then the assembly of the entire modular base assembly for the vehicle model become labor extensive and cost ineffective. Therefore, it is advantageous to have a wheel assembly that can be easily assembled and aligned at a location remote from the modular base assembly. Further, if it is preferred to fine tune any adjustment or alignment of the wheel assembly once the wheel assembly is installed on the modular base assembly, it is advantageous to provide accessible means to the adjustable components of the wheel assembly. 
     SUMMARY 
     A complete wheel assembly is disclosed herein for a modular base assembly having a frame formed with a plurality of linearly orientated apertures therethrough wherein the model base assembly is used for vehicle model making. The complete wheel assembly comprises a wheel guide assembly fixedly attachable to the modular base assembly and a wheel bracket assembly fixedly attachable to a wheel hub. The wheel bracket assembly includes an inner platen plate with an arm extending from one surface of the inner platen plate. The wheel guide assembly has a cavity configured for receiving and frictionally holding the arm of the inner platen plate for connecting the wheel bracket assembly to the wheel guide assembly. The wheel bracket assembly further has a mid platen plate and an outer platen plate. The mid platen plate is connected to and horizontally movable relative to the inner platen plate. The mid platen plate is also connected to and vertically movable relative to the outer platen plate. The outer platen plate is fixedly connectable to the wheel hub. 
     In another aspect of the invention, the complete wheel assembly further includes an adjustment screw secured to the mid platen plate for maintaining the wheel hub in proper alignment. 
     In another aspect of the invention, the wheel guide assembly has an essentially rectangular configuration but an elongate cavity and access thereto for receiving the arm from the inner platen plate. The wheel guide assembly includes a top guide plate, a bottom guide plate and a pair of side guide plates, the bottom guide plate and pair of side guide plates are welded along peripheral edges. The top guide plate is welded over the pair five guide plates and has a flange extending beyond the peripheral edge of one of the side guide plates. The flange has a plurality of through apertures extending therethrough for receiving bolts for connection to the frame without interfering with the aperture that receives the inner platen arm. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a skeleton of an automobile formed from a plurality of model-making components; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a rear section of the skeleton illustrating a complete wheel assembly for a wheel according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the wheel guide assembly and wheel bracket assembly for connection to a modular base assembly; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a wheel guide assembly for the complete wheel assembly; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the wheel guide assembly shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an inner platen assembly for the wheel bracket complete assembly; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the inner platen assembly shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a mid-platen assembly for the wheel bracket assembly; 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the mid-platen assembly shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an outer platen assembly for the wheel bracket assembly; 
         FIG. 11  is an exploded view of the outer platen assembly shown in  FIG. 10 ; and 
         FIG. 12  is an exploded view of the wheel bracket assembly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A modular base assembly for vehicle model making is shown in  FIG. 1 . Generally, the modular base assembly will support automobile models weighing about 3,000 to 4,000 pounds, and is made to support up to 10,000 pounds. The base assembly  10  has numerous model making components  12  attached together that form the skeleton of an automobile. The components  12  can be configured to skeleton different sized automobiles. The base assembly further has a frame  14 , four leveler assemblies  16  attached around the frame, a pair of couplers/bulkheads  18  attached on opposite ends of the frames  14 . The leveler assembly  16  is made of several parts including a base that carries a jack assembly and also carries a complete wheel assembly with a hub. 
     The frame  14  generally has rectangular shape forming the base for the vehicle. The rectangular shape is derived from four frame segments that are attached end to end and includes a front frame segment  24 , a rear frame segment  26  and two intermediate frame segments  28 ,  30  that are bolted together. The frame segments allow the user to disassemble and reassemble the base assemblies in manageable parts for handling. The leveler assemblies  16  include the complete wheel assemblies  40  and separate leveler components. The modular base assembly and the leveler components were previously discussed in Ser. No. 11/334,035 filed on Jan. 18, 2006 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. An improved complete wheel assembly  40  is now discussed hereinafter. 
     Looking at  FIGS. 2-12 , the complete wheel assembly  40  is configured for bolting to the front and rear frame segment  24 ,  26 . Although the complete wheel assembly  40  can be connected on both sides of the front and rear frames  24 ,  26 , only the connection to rear frame  26  will be discussed. The connection to the other three positions will be the same as the connection to the left rear frame  26 . The complete wheel assembly  40  includes a pair of wheel guide assemblies  42  and a wheel bracket assembly  44 .  FIGS. 2 and 3  illustrate the left wheel guide assembly  42  in which the right wheel guild assembly is a mirror image. The wheel guide assembly  42  includes a wheel guide top  52 , a wheel guide bottom  54  and a pair of wheel guide sides  56 . The wheel guide sides  56  and bottom  54  are welded together along their peripheral edges to the wheel guide top  52  forming a through aperture  58  therebetween. The aperture  58  is sized for receiving the wheel bracket inner platen  60  as will be discussed hereinafter. The wheel guide top  52  has a flange  62  extended beyond one longitudinal edge. The flange  62  has a plurality of through apertures extending through raised nubs  64  for providing access to bolt the wheel guide assembly  42  to the rear section  26  without interfering with the aperture  58  for the inner platen arms  60 . The apertures through the raised nubs  64  are linearly aligned and spaced for disposition to corresponding underside holes of the rear section  26 . The apertures  64  received bolts  55 . Adjacent the aperture  64  may be closed raised nubs  66  parallel to the aperture  64 . The closed nubs  66  facilitate the correct orientation of the wheel guide assembly  42  relative to the rear section  26 . 
     A nut strip  72  may be provided for disposition within the front or rear section  26  into which the bolts  55  are further secured thereto. The nut strip  72  can have various lengths. However, the apertures  73  through the nut strip  72  should coincide with the number of apertures  64  in the wheel guide assembly. 
     The bottom wheel guide  54  includes a plurality of spaced linearly aligned through apertures  68 . The apertures  68  provide an access for a Viler ball plunger  69  that acts as a positive stop to frictionally secure against the inner platen arms  60  after the inner platen arms  60  are positioned within apertures  58 . Each of the side wheel guides  56  have through apertures  70  aligned with each other to provide proper lateral alignment of the inner platen arms  60  in the apertures  58  and prevent the wheel bracket assembly from inadvertently dislodging from the wheel guide assembly  42 . 
     Looking at  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the wheel bracket assembly  44  is connected to the frame  26  via the pair of wheel inner platen arms  60  disposed in apertures  58 . The inner platen arms  60  are connected to an inner platen plate  76  which comprises a portion of the wheel bracket assembly. The inner platen arms  60  have first ends  78  with an arcuate configuration so that sharp corners do not catch onto the wheel guide during insertion into the apertures  58 . The opposing ends have flanges  80  centrally disposed on a rear face  82  of the opposing end. 
     The inner platen plate  76  of the wheel bracket assembly  44  is rectangular and has parallel opposing planar surfaces. The inner platen plate  76  has a plurality of through slotted apertures  84   a, b  extending through to the opposing planar surfaces. The vertical slotted apertures  84   a , are aligned to have an opposing aperture near the opposing peripheral edge of the inner platen plate  76 . This arrangement provides a symmetrical plate configuration. The apertures  84   a  are configured for receiving the flanges  80 . The flanges  80  of the inner platen arms  60  are welded within apertures  84   a . The horizontally orientated apertures  84   b  receive bolts for the wheel bracket assembly  44 . The slotted apertures  84   b  allow the inner platen plate  76  to be aligned and moved in a fore and aft direction (x direction) toward the front or back of the vehicle frame structure. 
     Looking at  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  12 , the mid platen plate  86  is rectangular with planar opposing sides and having through apertures  88   a,b  positioned adjacent each corner of the plate  86 . The apertures  88   a  are positioned for receiving a bolt  89  extending through the inner platen plate  76  via through apertures  84   b . The apertures  88   b  are positioned for receiving the bolt  91  extending through the outer platen plate  106  via through apertures  108  which will be discussed further. The mid platen plate  86  can move laterally relative to the inner platen plate  76 . The mid platen plate  86  further includes means for connection to a mid platen adjustment screw  90 . The adjustment screw  90  is held or secured to the mid platen plate  86  by means of a bracket  92  threadably screwed to the center apertures  94  in the mid platen plate  86 . The adjustment screw  90  is sized for fitting through a through aperture  96  in the bracket  92 . The adjustment screw  90  has a reduced neck portion  98  near the top end of the adjustment screw  90 . A keeper plate  100  has an arcuate aperture/notch  102  sized for slipping around the neck  98 . Therefore, the radius of the arcuate aperture  102  is smaller than the radius of the through aperture  96  in the bracket  92 , The keeper plate  100  and bracket  92  are secured together via conventional threading means. The keeper plate  100  prevents vertical movement of the screw  90  relative to the bracket  92 . A conventional nut  104  is secured to the top of the screw  90 . The adjustment screw  90  has a length such that it extends to the bottom surface of the mid platen plate when installed thereon. The screw  90  maintains a wheel hub  124  in proper horizontal alignment. 
     Looking at  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the wheel bracket assembly  44  further includes an outer plate assembly having a rectangular outer plate  106 . The outer plate  106  has vertically orientated slots  108 . The slotted apertures  108  allow relative vertical movement of the outer plate  106  relative to the wheel guide assembly  42 . The outer plate  106  further has a central slot  110  opened to the upper peripheral edge. The upper slot  110  accommodates the position of the mid platen bracket  92  and nut  104  and the adjustment screw  90  on the mid platen plate  86 . A pair of angle brackets  112  are welded along each vertical edge of the upper slot  110 . The angle brackets  112  enclose around the mid platen bracket  92  and keeper plate  100 , as well as the adjustment screw  90  as shown in  FIG. 3 . The forward surfaces  116  of the angle brackets are welded to the back plate surface  118  of the hub mount  124 . The bottom surfaces  120  of the angle brackets  112  are welded to rest on the upper ledge  122  of the hub mount  124 . A center aperture  114  is positioned below the upper slot  1 . 10 . The center aperture  114  is positioned for welding the back surface  118  of a conventional hub mount  124  therein. 
     The complete wheel assembly  40  is assembled to the modular base assembly  26  by first assembling the wheel bracket assembly  44  as disclosed supra. The wheel guide assembly  42  is assembled onto the base assembly  26 . The inner platen arms  60  are inserted into the apertures  58  of the wheel guide assembly  42 . The Viler plunger  69  is installed into the apertures  68  of the wheel guide bottom  54  with set screws (not shown) to frictionally maintain the arms  60  in position within the apertures  58  and to prevent the wheel bracket assembly  44  from disengaging from the wheel guide assembly  42 . Although only one Vlier plunger  69  is shown in  FIG. 5 , it is envisioned that each aperture  68  will have a Vlier ball plunger  69  disposed therein. 
     Adjustments can be made to the wheel bracket assembly  44  with the slotted apertures  84   b  allowing for horizontal (x direction) adjustment of the wheel bracket assembly  44  and slotted apertures  108  allowing for vertical (y direction) adjustment of the wheel bracket assembly  44 . Once the complete wheel assembly  40  is correctly positioned, a wheel  130  can be installed on the hub mount  124 . If additional adjustment is required after the wheel bracket assembly  44  is installed on the wheel guide assembly  42 , the slotted apertures  84   b  and  108  of the inner and outer platen plates, respectively, are visible with their associated connections to the mid platen plate  86 . Therefore, easy access is provided for adjustment to the wheel assembly  40 . 
     While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law.