US 9,283,820 B1Granted

Wheel assembly service machine with back cone center clamp mechanism

AssigneeHunter Engineering Company

InventorDouglas S. Hanneken

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A center clamping mechanism for a wheel assembly service machine such as a tire changer machine includes a back cone centering element projecting outwardly from a platen and configured to engage a center bore of the wheel rim hub mount pad from an inner side of the hub mount pad. The centering element may include a compliant element configured to at least partially support the weight of the wheel rim and tire when being clamped. A pivot arm defines a contact surface for the inner side of the wheel rim hub mount pad, and when the tire is rotated by an operator with the inner side in contact with the contact surface, an anti-rotate pin carried on the pivot arm may be adjusted in radial position relative to the drive axis to accommodate different lug holes at varying lug bolt circle diameters.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A tire changer machine for changing a tire on a wheel rim, the wheel rim including a hub mount pad having an inner side, an outer side and a center bore extending between said inner side and said outer side, and the tire changing machine comprising:

a base;
a drive assembly coupled to the base and configured to rotate a wheel rim and associated tire about a rotational axis;
and
a center clamp mechanism coupled to the drive assembly said center clamp mechanism including
an adjustable anti-rotate pin;
a platen having a bearing surface configured to support the inner side of the hub mount pad;
and
a centering element projecting coaxially away from the platen bearing surface along said rotational axis, said centering element having a lower base adjacent said platen bearing surface, and an upper base axially displaced away from said platen bearing surface, said lower base having greater radial dimension than said upper base, such that said centering element tapers from said lower base to said upper base and inwardly towards said rotational axis from to engage the wheel rim hub mount pad center bore from the inner side of the hub mount pad;
and
wherein said lower base includes an indented region with a concave curvature providing clearance for said adjustable anti-rotate pin.

7 more elements

A method of changing a tire on a wheel rim utilizing a tire changer machine, the wheel rim including a hub mount pad having an axial inner side, an axial outer side, and a plurality of lug holes and a center bore passing each extending from the axial inner side to the axial outer side;

and the tire changing machine including a base, a drive assembly coupled to the base, and a center clamp mechanism coupled to the drive assembly, the center clamp mechanism including a platen, an adjustable anti-rotate pin, and a centering element having an indented region having a concave curvature providing clearance for said adjustable anti-rotate pin;
the method comprising:
engaging the centering element with the center bore of the hub mount pad from the axial inner side of the hub mount pad;
engaging the adjustable anti-rotate in with one of said plurality of lug holes from the axial inner side of the hub mount pad;
positioning the axial inner side of the hub mount pad on the platen while the the centering element engages the center bore of the hub mount pad;
clamping the hub mount pad to the drive assembly by urging the hub mount pad into engagement with the platen with the center clamp mechanism;
and
rotating, with the drive assembly, the wheel rim and associated tire about a rotational axis coaxial with said centering element of said center clamp mechanism.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.