Tire bead setting apparatus and related methods
OwnerGerald A. Rudebeckinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tire seating apparatus has an air chamber with a sealing edge. A compression device is capable of reciprocating through the air chamber, a wheel, and a tire to seat the tire on the wheel. The air chamber receives the wheel's distal flange and the sealing edge receives the tire's distal surface. The compression device is operable to resiliently compress the wheel's proximal flange against the tire and seat the tire's proximal bead in the proximal flange and to compress the tire against the sealing edge to seal the air chamber. The compression device controls wheel and tire movement away from the air chamber as the air chamber and tire are filled with compressed air through the wheel to seat the tire's distal bead in the wheel's distal flange.
Claims20
A tire seating apparatus comprising:
- an air chamber having a sidewall terminating in a cylindrical sealing edge;
- and
- an elongate compression device configured to receive and reciprocate through the air chamber, a wheel, and a tire to seat the tire on the wheel;
- the air chamber configured to receive a distal flange of the wheel in the air chamber and to receive a distal surface of the tire on the sealing edge;
- the compression device operable to resiliently compress a proximal flange of the wheel against the tire and seat a proximal bead of the tire in the proximal flange and to resiliently compress the distal surface of the tire against the air chamber sealing edge to substantially seal the air chamber;
- the compression device further configured to resiliently control movement of the wheel and tire away from the air chamber as the air chamber and tire are filled with compressed air through the wheel to seat a distal bead of the tire in the distal flange of the wheel.
A method of seating a tire on a wheel, the method comprising:
- placing the tire and wheel onto a proximal portion of an elongate compression device of a tire seating apparatus, the compression device extending through an air chamber of the apparatus, the placing performed to position a distal side of the tire onto a proximal sealing edge of the air chamber and to allow a distal flange of the wheel in the tire to be received in the air chamber;
- operating the compression device to resiliently press the wheel against the tire, to compress the tire against the air chamber, and to seat a proximal bead of the tire in a proximal flange of the wheel;
- and
- filling the air chamber and compressed tire with compressed air, the filling performed to seat the distal bead of the tire in the distal flange of the wheel as the wheel is moved resiliently on the compression device.
A tire seating apparatus comprising:
- a compression rod movable relative to a housing, the compression rod and housing configured to receive an air chamber having a sidewall terminating in a cylindrical proximal sealing edge, the compression rod having a proximal portion configured to extend through and beyond the received air chamber, the housing configured to support the air chamber when a wheel and tire are positioned onto the compression rod to allow a distal flange of the wheel to enter the air chamber and to position a distal surface of the tire on the air chamber sealing edge;
- and
- a lockdown assembly adjustably attachable to and movable with the compression rod toward the air chamber to resiliently compress a proximal flange of the wheel against the tire and seat a proximal bead of the tire in the proximal flange, and to resiliently compress a distal surface of the tire against the air chamber sealing edge to substantially seal the air chamber;
- the lockdown assembly further configured to resiliently control movement of the wheel and tire on the compression rod away from the air chamber as the air chamber and tire are filled with compressed air through a valve in the wheel to seat a distal bead of the tire in the distal flange of the wheel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.