Wheelwright machines – Rubber tire mounting and/or demounting apparatus – For collapsing or shifting tire axially
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-02
2001-08-14
Hail, III, Joseph J. (Department: 3723)
Wheelwright machines
Rubber tire mounting and/or demounting apparatus
For collapsing or shifting tire axially
C157S001300, C157S014000, C157S001240
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273171
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention is directed toward a device usable to break a bead of a tire from a rim of a wheel. More particularly, the present invention is directed toward a bead breaking device that breaks a tire bead through application of a rotational force. Specifically, the present invention is directed toward a bead breaking device usable for all types of wheels, including ATV wheels. The device is designed to apply a radial force to its own axis to provide the energy required to break the bead.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In breaking tire beads from wheels, prior art bead breakers generally utilize application of force in an axial plane, that is, in a plane that includes the axis of the wheel. While this method works acceptably for breaking tire beads from most types of wheels, breaking a tire bead from an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) wheel is more difficult due to certain features of ATV wheels and tires.
Balloon-like ATV tires have flexible walls that absorb much of the force applied during bead breaking with prior art devices. The flexible tire walls of ATV tires deflect through much of the range of motion of prior art bead breakers, thus absorbing most of the applied force and reducing the amount of force directed to the tire bead. In addition, ATV wheels include a safety rib adjacent to the wheel rim to retain the tire bead in place during normal tire usage. As compared with other types of wheels, breaking a tire bead from an ATV wheel takes additional force to push the tire bead over the safety rib. These two characteristics, flexible tire walls and the safety rib, together increase the difficulty of successful bead breaking utilizing many of the prior art bead breakers.
Several prior art bead breakers are directed toward ATV wheels and to overcoming the difficulty in breaking ATV tire beads. Each of these prior art bead breakers utilize application of bead-breaking force in an axial plane. Callas (U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,354), Sheets (U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,498), and Reeves (U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,257) each utilize a conventional lever-mounted design along with a specialized device intended to maintain engagement of a bead-breaking foot with a tire bead during bead breaking. Wicklund (U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,934) uses a rim-mounted device wherein a bead-breaking foot is forced downward by progression of a rigidly-mounted screw; a leading edge of the foot is offset from the rim to allow progression of the foot over an ATV safety rib.
Complete tire changing requires bead breaking followed by tire demounting and mounting on a wheel. Such complete tire changing is facilitated through use of a center-post tire changer with an included bead breaker, as exemplified in Beemer (U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,335). For reasons discussed above, however, breaking beads from ATV wheels is problematic in many such prior art devices. Moreover, rim-secured bead breakers such as the Wicklund device are not easily securable on a wheel secured to a center-post tire changer, and cannot fully exploit the ease of tool movement allowed by a center post.
While the prior art has progressed in providing devices capable of breaking ATV tire beads from wheels, there is a need for a bead breaker usable on a center-post tire changer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a bead breaking device suitable for breaking all types of tire beads, including ATV tire beads.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bead breaking device to break a tire bead through application of a force radial to the axis of the device to provide the energy required to break the bead.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a bead breaking device suitable for use on a center-post tire changer.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method to break a tire bead from an ATV wheel.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method to break a tire bead from a wheel through application of a force radial to the axis of the device to provide the energy required to break the bead.
At least one of the foregoing objects, together will the advantages thereof over the known art relating to bead breaking devices, which shall become apparent to one skilled in the art from the specification which follows, are accomplished by the invention as hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, the present invention provides a bead breaking device to break a bead from a rim of a wheel, comprising an assembly for mounting the device upon a wheel; a first arm pivotally connected to the assembly; means for rotating the first arm; and a breaking tool, carried at one end of the first arm and rotatable therewith relative to the assembly.
The present invention also provides a method for breaking a tire bead from a rim of a wheel, comprising the steps of mounting a wheel and a tire on a bead breaking machine; locating a bead breaking device on the machine, the device providing a bead breaking tool and at least a first arm carrying the tool at one end; forcing the bead breaking tool between the bead of the tire and the rim at one point on the circumference of the rim; and rotating the first arm and bead breaking tool sufficiently to cause the tool to separate the seal between the bead and the rim.
The present invention also provides a bead breaking device to break a bead from a rim of a wheel, comprising a mounting assembly for mounting the device upon a wheel; a first arm pivotally connected to the mounting assembly; and a breaking tool, carried at the one end of the first arm and rotatable therewith relative to the mounting assembly.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4461335 (1984-07-01), Beemer
patent: 4756354 (1988-07-01), Callas
patent: 4846239 (1989-07-01), Heller
patent: 4969498 (1990-11-01), Sheets
patent: 5009257 (1991-04-01), Reeves
patent: 5191934 (1993-03-01), Wicklund
patent: 5555922 (1996-09-01), Brunner
patent: 6024151 (2000-02-01), Ochoa
Hail III Joseph J.
Renner Kenner Greive Bobak Taylor & Weber
Shanley Daniel
Summit Tool Company
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