Patent ID: 8578824

Claim:
A wheel lathe for cutting or grinding wheels by raising the wheels, matching a wheelset center to a spindle center, and fixing the wheels; the wheel lathe comprising: a lifter device for raising the wheels; and a lifter control device for operating the lifter device to raise the wheels over a distance equal to a lifter-required displacement up to a height at which the wheelset center of the wheels is aligned with the spindle center; wherein the lifter control device includes: external-edge position meters for measuring a point on an external edge of the wheel; and a lifter-required displacement calculator for computing the lifter-required displacement from the measured value of the external-edge position meter and from a known dimensional value needed in order to compute the outside diameter of the wheel or the height of the wheelset center of the wheel, wherein the external-edge position meter is constructed of a measurement device for detecting both the height of a measurement position on a lateral external edge at a point away from the topmost of the wheel, and the horizontal distance from the wheelset center of the wheel, or a measurement device for detecting, while any of the height of the measurement position of the external-edge position meter and the horizontal distance from the wheelset center is set as the known dimensional value, the other of the height of the measurement position and the horizontal distance from the wheelset center.