Method and apparatus for integrated tire mounting and inflating performed at a single station

A tire mounting and inflating station for mounting a tire onto a wheel and for inflating said tire after said tire has been mounted onto said wheel, wherein the term "mounting" is defined as the process of slipping both beads of a tire over at least one rim of a wheel to thereby trap both beads of the tire between the rims of the wheel, said tire being married to said wheel before said tire is mounted onto said wheel by said tire mounting and inflating station, said tire mounting and inflating station comprising:

• a main frame;
• pallet means located on said main frame for supporting said married tire and wheel;
• nest means on said pallet means for supporting said wheel on said pallet means and for selectively providing an air tight seal with respect to said tire;
• gripper means connected with said main frame for selectively holding said wheel relative to said nest means;
• a head;
• bridge means adjacent said main frame for reciprocably supporting said head, said nest means being selectively located below said head;
• reciprocation means connected with said head and said bridge means for selectively reciprocating said head relative to said nest means;
• mounting means connected with said head and cooperating with said reciprocation means for selectively applying force to said tire to thereby cause the beads of said tire to be slipped over a rim of said wheel thereby mounting said tire onto said wheel;
• said mounting means comprising a cylinder having a closed end, said closed end of said cylinder being connected with said head, said cylinder having an opposite open end;
• annular rim means located at said open end of said cylinder for contacting said tire;
• and
• inflation means connected with said cylinder for selectively supplying air under pressure to said cylinder, said inflation means cooperating with said reciprocation means to inflate said tire while said annular rim means sealably contacts said tire.

A swash plate system tire mounting and inflating station for mounting a tire onto a wheel and for inflating said tire after said tire has been mounted onto said wheel, wherein the term "mounting" is defined as the process of slipping both beads of a tire over at least one rim of a wheel to thereby trap both beads of the tire between the rims of the wheel, said tire being married to said wheel before said tire is mounted onto said wheel by said swash plate system tire mounting and inflating station, said swash plate system tire mounting and inflating station comprising:

• a main frame;
• pallet means located on said main frame for supporting said married tire and wheel;
• nest means on said pallet means for supporting said wheel on said pallet means and for selectively providing an air tight seal with respect to said tire;
• gripper means connected with said main frame for selectively holding said wheel with respect to said nest means;
• a head;
• bridge means adjacent said main frame for reciprocably supporting said head, said nest means being selectively located below said head;
• reciprocation means connected with said head and said bridge means for selectively recriprocating said head relative to said nest means;
• mounting means connected with said head and cooperating with said reciprocation means for selectively applying force to said tire to thereby cause the beads of said tire to be slipped over a rim of said wheel thereby mounting said tire onto said wheel;
• said mounting means comprising a cylinder having a closed end, said closed end of said cylinder being connected to said head, said cylinder having an opposite open end;
• rotary actuation means connected with said head and said cylinder for selectively causing said cylinder to rotate with respect to said head about a central axis oriented perpendicular with respect to said nest means;
• annular rim means located at said open end of said cylinder for selectively contacting said tire;
• inflation means connected with said cylinder for selectively supplying air under pressure to said cylinder;
• and
• actuation means connected with said head for selectively tilting said cylinder with respect to said central axis;
• said actuation means cooperating with said reciprocation means and said rotary actuation means for selectively tilting said cylinder off axis with respect to said central axis, selectively rotating said cylinder about said central axis and selectively moving said cylinder with respect to said married tire and wheel so that said annular rim means of said cylinder selectively contacts said tire thereby applying force on said tire to cause the beads of said tire to be slipped over a rim of said wheel thereby mounting said tire onto said wheel, and further cooperating with said reciprocation means and said inflation means for tilting said cylinder on axis with respect to said central axis and selectively moving said cylinder relative to said married tire and wheel so that said annular rim means of said cylinder contacts said tire to permit said tire to be inflated on said wheel by said inflation means.