Apparatus and method for seating a tire bead on a wheel rim

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10495540-B2
Application number	US-201715793821-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 25, 2017
Priority date	Oct 28, 2016
Publication date	Dec 3, 2019
Grant date	Dec 3, 2019

Abstract

A wheel balancer incorporates tire bead manipulating tools under control of a processing system to apply a clamping pressure to tire sidewall surfaces of a wheel assembly secured to a spindle shaft, facilitating the proper seating of tire beads to the wheel rim. The spindle shaft is operatively coupled to a drive motor and transmission system under control of the processing system, capable of operating in both a high speed, low torque regime and a low speed, high torque regime to rotate the wheel assembly during either an imbalance measurement procedure or a tire bead adjustment procedure. A load roller assembly, under control of the processing system, is disposed to selectively apply a radial force at a tire circumferential tread surface as the wheel assembly is rotated about the spindle axis, further facilitating the proper seating of the tire beads.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method to reduce force variation in a wheel assembly consisting of a rim and a tire mounted thereon, the tire including a circumferential tread surface disposed between inner and outer sidewalls, each sidewall supporting a tire bead radially inward from said tread surface for establishing seals with corresponding bead seat surfaces of the wheel rim, and the wheel rim mounted for rotation about a spindle axis on a wheel balancer having bead breaker tools disposed on a movable assembly and a controller, the method comprising:
operating the movable assembly to position the bead breaker tools on opposite axial sides of the wheel assembly;
operating each bead breaker tool while the wheel assembly is rotating about said spindle axis to engage and apply controlled compression forces to the rotating sidewalls of the tire; and
regulating, with said controller, said engagement between said bead breaker tools and said sidewalls of the tire to maintain said applied compression forces below a level of force required to break said tire bead free from said bead seat surface of the wheel rim during said rotation.

2. The method of claim 1 , the wheel balancer also having a load roller assembly, the method further comprising:
engaging the load roller with the circumferential tread surface of the tire, to apply a generally radial force to said tread surface perpendicular to said spindle axis of rotation while the tire is rotating and while the bead breaker tools are in engagement with, and applying said compression forces to, the sidewalls of the tire;
monitoring, with said controller, a signal indicative of one of a uniformity parameter of the tire while the bead breaker tools are engaged with the tire sidewalls and the load roller is engaged with the circumferential tread surface of the tire; and
responsive to said monitoring of said signal indicating a change in said uniformity parameter, sustaining engagement between the tire surfaces and each of the bead breaker tools and the load roller for at least one additional rotation of the wheel assembly about said spindle axis.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said uniformity parameter is either a tire radial force or a radial runout of the tire; and wherein engagement of the bead breaker tools and the load roller is sustained while said monitoring of said signal indicates said uniformity parameter is decreasing.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step of inflating the tire prior to engaging the load roller.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein said uniformity parameter of the tire is at least one of a radial force parameter, a radial runout parameter, a lateral force parameter, and a lateral runout value for the tire.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein in response to said monitoring indicating a magnitude of the measured uniformity parameter is decreasing, maintaining application of said compressive force to said tire sidewall surfaces and said radial force to said tire tread surface together with said driven rotation.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising altering an inflation pressure of the tire.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising inflating the tire to a maximum allowable inflation pressure therefor, and thereafter lowering the inflation pressure from the maximum allowable inflation pressure to a lower desired inflation pressure.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein movement of the bead breaker tools is regulated to automatically apply said compression forces to the inner and outer sidewalls of the tire.

Assignees

• Hunter Eng Co

Inventors

• Clasquin Joel A
• Olsen Michael
• Polster Charles

Classifications

• G01M1/045 Primary

  the body being a vehicle wheel · CPC title

• G01M1/225 Primary

  for vehicle wheels (in situ G01M1/28) · CPC title

• G01M17/022

  the tyre co-operating with rotatable rolls · CPC title