US 2023/0364952 A1Published application

Method for verifying the execution of a procedure of mounting/demounting tires on/from respective rims of vehicle wheels using an apparatus for handling vehicle wheels, and apparatus therefor

AssigneeSnap-On Equipment Srl A Unico Socio

InventorsPaolo SOTGIU, Marco TRALLI, Andrea RICCHETTI

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Abstract

Apparatus and method for mounting a tire on a wheel rim and/or for removing a tire from a vehicle wheel rim. Such an apparatus is usually known as a tire changer. The tire changer of the present invention is capable of verifying that the position of the inflation valve and/or of the TPMS sensor of the wheel, relative to the position of the portions of tire most subject to stresses and/or relative to the position of the mounting/demounting tools, as well as the intensity of such stresses, lie within ranges defined as acceptable. The result of such verifications is then made available via a suitable report document.

Claims20

Dependent claims

Method for verifying the execution of a procedure of mounting/demounting a tire on/from a rim of a vehicle wheel, in the context of a process of wheel maintenance, comprising the steps of:

mounting a wheel on a rotary support of a vehicle wheel maintenance apparatus, said wheel comprising a respective rim, said apparatus comprising an electric motor for putting the rotary support into rotation and at least one tool for demounting a tire from the rim or for mounting the tire on the rim;
identifying a position of at least one reference point on the rim;
putting the rotary support into rotation to position the wheel in a position in which the at least one reference point on the rim is located at a predetermined distance from the at least one demounting or mounting tool;
and then
executing the procedure of demounting the tire from the rim or mounting the tire on the rim;
determining at least one position, and at least one respective value, of stress applied by the rim and/or by the demounting or mounting tool to the tire;
calculating an angular distance between the position of the at least one reference point on the rim and the at least one position of stress applied by the rim and/or by the demounting or mounting tool to the tire, characterized in that it comprises the steps of:
verifying that the angular distance between the position of the at least one reference point on the rim and the at least one position of stress applied by the rim and/or by the demounting or mounting tool to the tire lies within a predetermined range of acceptable distances, said range of acceptable distances being stored in memory mean accessible by a control unit associated with the vehicle wheel maintenance apparatus;
verifying that the at least one respective value of stress applied by the rim and/or by the demounting or mounting tool to the tire lies within a predetermined range of acceptable stress values, said range of acceptable stress values being stored in said memory means accessible by the control unit associated with the vehicle wheel maintenance apparatus, and
making the results of the preceding verification steps available.

7 more elements

Vehicle wheel maintenance apparatus, comprising:

a base;
a rotary support mounted on the base and capable of receiving and supporting a rim of a wheel of a vehicle, said rim having at least one reference point;
an electric motor, associated with the base, for putting the rotary support into rotation;
at least one tool for demounting a tire from the rim or for mounting the tire on the rim;
a control unit capable of actuating the electric motor for positioning the wheel in a position in which the at least one reference point on the rim is located at a predetermined distance from the at least one demounting or mounting tool, said control unit having access to memory means;
a rotation sensor, operationally connected to the control unit, for measuring the position and/or rotation speed and/or acceleration of the electric motor and/or of the rotary support and/or of the wheel;
detector means, operationally connected to the control unit, for measuring a resistive torque applied to the electric motor and/or a current draw of the electric motor;
the control unit being capable of identifying at least one position, and at least one respective value, of stress applied by the rim and/or by the demounting or mounting tool to the tire, and of calculating an angular distance between the position of the at least one reference point on the rim and the at least one position of stress applied by the rim and/or by the demounting or mounting tool to the tire,
characterized in that
the control unit is capable of verifying that the angular distance between the position of the at least one reference point on the rim and the at least one position of stress applied by the rim and/or by the demounting or mounting tool to the tire lies within a predetermined range of acceptable distances stored in said memory means, and that the at least one respective value of stress applied by the rim and/or by the demounting or mounting tool to the tire lies within a predetermined range of acceptable stress values stored in said memory means, and in that
the control unit is capable of making the results of said verifications available.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.