Tire bead soaper

An apparatus for lubricating beads of pneumatic tires prior to mounting the tires on wheels comprising:

• tire supporting means for supporting an unmounted tire in a substantially horizontal manner;
• at least one lubricating, liquid-applying, member mounted adjacent the tire supporting means;
• drive means connected to the member for revolving the member about a substantially vertical axis;
• support means for supporting the member for movement in the vertical direction;
• lubricating liquid supply means for supplying lubricating liquid to the member;
• and
• control means for controlling operation of the support means for inserting the member within the central opening of the tire supported on the tire supporting means and revolving the member about the substantially vertical axis whereby lubricating liquid is applied to the beads by the member as the member moves with respect to the tire.

An apparatus for lubricating beads of pneumatic tires prior to mounting the tires on wheels comprising:

• conveyor means for moving tires having different outside diameters, axial widths, and central opening diameters fed in random success ion along a fixed path through a lubrication station;
• intercept means positioned in proximity to the station and movable between a first position where tires delivered to the station by the conveyor means move freely through the station and a second position where tires delivered to the station by the conveyor means engage the intercept means to stop the tires on the conveyor means at the station, the intercept means for stopping successive tires of varying sizes to perform a lubrication operation on the tires of varying sizes when intermixed on the conveyor means in random order;
• means for moving the intercept means selectively between the first and second positions;
• and
• at least one longitudinally extending, lubricating member having a first axis, the lubricating member having an axis of revolution offset from the first axis, such that two times a distance between the axis of revolution and the first axis is at least as great as a central opening diameter of tires to be lubricated.