WO2008032345A1

WO2008032345A1 - Heel lifting device as an accessory for tyre disassembling machines

Info

Publication number: WO2008032345A1
Application number: PCT/IT2007/000607
Authority: WO
Inventors: Remo Corghi
Original assignee: Corghi S.P.A.
Priority date: 2006-09-11
Filing date: 2007-09-03
Publication date: 2008-03-20
Also published as: ITMC20060117A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an accessory device for tyre disassembling machines designed to simplify tyre disassembling, and more precisely the lifting of one of the heels after extracting the other heel from the rim; the heel- lifting device (11 ) of the invention is provided with means for removable fixing to the wheel-lifting tool (A) provided on modern tyre disassembling machines (1 ).

Description

HEEL LIFTING DEVICE AS AN ACCESSORY FOR TYRE DISASSEMBLING MACHINES

The present patent application for industrial invention relates to an accessory device for tyre disassembling machines designed to simplify tyre disassembling, in particular when lifting one of the heels after extracting the other heel from the rim. In order to understand better the disadvantages that are intended to be remedied by the device of the invention, reference must be made to the standard structural configuration and operating modes of modern tyre disassembling machines for vehicle wheels in general. This type of machines normally comprises a self-centring unit that rotates around a vertical axis designed to block the rim of the wheel, and a tyre disassembling/assembling tool that actuates between the rim border and the tyre heel, which is supported by a vertical rod mounted with possibility of sliding at the end of a horizontal arm that protrudes from the front of a column situated behind the self-centring unit. The said machines of known type are also provided with one or more heel- removing tools that are the first tools to actuate on the tyre during disassembling to detach the two lateral heels of the tyre from the corresponding rim borders in order to permit the insertion of the disassembling tool between the heel and the border, thus extracting the heel from the border following to the rotation of the self-centring unit.

The present invention intends to remedy some problems that occur during this operation.

Starting from the horizontal position of the wheel above the stop platform of the self-centring unit, an upper and a lower heel can be identified, as well as an upper and a lower border of the rim on which the tyre is mounted.

After extracting the upper heel of the rim, the operator must repeat the same operation with the lower heel, which must pass over the upper border of the rim, in such a way that the entire tyre can be removed upwards from the rim, which remains blocked on the platform of the self-centring unit. It appears evident that, after extracting the upper heel, the operator must lift the tyre until the lower heel touches the internal side of the upper border of the rim, where it can be reached by the heel-removing tool, which will complete the disassembling of the tyre as soon as the self-centring unit rotates again by 360°.

The manual lifting of the tyre is a difficult, uncomfortable operation, especially in case of large diameter, since a large diameter corresponds to a high weight of the tyre, making it difficult to hold the tyre and exercise a force on two diametrically opposite points.

The lifting effort must be higher than the weight of the tyre, since it is necessary to overcome the resistant force attributed to the adherence of the lower heel against the bottom of the internal channel of the rim. During the extraction of the upper heel, the tyre is subjected to stretch and inclination, which give the lower heel a strangulated position with respect to the internal channel, with consequent strong adherence between the parts in contact. In order to remedy this problem, the last generation machines have been provided with a device generally known as "heel-lifting device" designed to push and lift the lower heel to a suitable height to attach it to the extracting tool.

The presence of the said heel-lifting device inevitably results in a more complicated construction of the machine, with longer production time due to the time needed to purchase and connect the pneumatic actuator used in the heel-lifter.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a heel-lifter device designed to be installed as a simple mechanical accessory on a tyre disassembling machine of known type, which makes use of the power assisted mobile tools of the machine.

The present invention is based on the application of the said heel-lifting device to the lifting tool of the wheel, which is typically provided in most modern tyre disassembling machines.

The said wheel-lifting tool of known type is normally situated in lateral position on the support base of the self-centring unit and is designed to collect a wheel in vertical position from the ground and raise it to a certain height above the stop platform of the self-centring unit, leaving the comfortable task of putting it down on one side on the platform to the operator. The heel-lifting device of the invention consists in a bearing plate designed to be removably fixed to a wheel-lifting device of known type; the said bearing plate acts as support for an L-shaped shelf that can be overturned around an horizontal axis, whose vertical branch acts as heel-lifter during operation. The possibility to overturn the shelf allows to place the vertical branch in a vertical working position and a horizontal non-working position in which the entire heel-lifting device does not interfere with the collection of the wheel from the ground and the raising of the wheel by the wheel-lifting device. It must be noted that during the lifting of the lower heel by the heel-lifting device of the invention, the operator must actuate the ascending controls of the wheel-lifting tool.

For purposes of clarity, the description of the heel-lifting device of the invention continues with reference to the enclosed drawings, which are intended for purposes of illustration only and not in a limiting sense, whereby:

- fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a tyre disassembling machine equipped with the heel-lifting device of the invention, in non-working condition;

- figs. 2, 3 and 4 are basically identical and show all the machines of fig. 1 seen from a different angle, except for the fact that it shows the heel-lifting device in three different working conditions during the disassembling of the wheel;

- fig. 5 is a perspective view of the heel-lifting device of the invention in non- working condition; - fig. 5A is an enlarged view of a detail of fig. 5;

- fig. 6 is a perspective view of the heel-lifting device of the invention in working condition; - fig. 6A is an enlarged view of a detail of fig. 6;

- fig. 7 is a perspective view of the heel-lifting device of the invention in working condition at the end of the lifting travel.

As mentioned in the premise, the heel-lifting device of the invention is designed to be mounted on a tyre disassembling machine (1) of known type, which comprises a base (2), a heel-removing tool (3), a self-centring unit (4) designed to stop and drive into rotation the wheel during the assembling and disassembling operation of the tyre (P), a column (5) that supports a horizontal projecting arm (6), whose front end is fitted to a sliding rod (7) with vertical axis, with the base used to fit a tool (8) designed to assemble/disassemble the tyre (P) on/ from the corresponding rim (C). According to the current technique, a wheel-lifting tool (A) is provided on one side of the base (2) to collect the wheel in vertical position from the ground and raise it to a certain height above the stop platform of the self-centring unit (4) .

In particular, the wheel-lifting tool (A) is formed of a powered arm (9) that oscillates on a vertical plan from a ground position (see fig. 1) to a raised position at a certain height above the stop platform of the self-centring unit (4). The said arm (9) supports and actuates a bracket (9a) from which a parallel pair of horizontal rods (10a and 10b) externally protrudes, on which the wheel to be disassembled is placed in vertical position.

The heel-lifting device (11 ) of the invention comprises a bearing plate (12) provided with means (13 and 14) used to securely fix it to the wheel-lifting tool (A) of known type; more precisely, the first fixing means consists in a collar (13) with horizontal axis designed to be inserted into a horizontal support and guide bar (15) specifically mounted at the end of the bracket (9a), while the second fixing means consists in a notch (14) obtained on the bearing plate (12) designed to exactly house the most extreme rod (10b) of the two horizontal rods (10a and 10b) .

The coupling between rod (10b) and notch (14) prevents the free rotation of the plate (12) around the support bar (15), while it does not prevent the free sliding of the plate (12) along the same bar (15) under the guide of the collar (13), which is free to slide along the bar (15).

The plate (12) supports an L-shaped shelf (16) that can be overturned around a horizontal axis that coincides with the axis of the collar (13); the vertical branch (16a) of the shelf (16) acts as heel-lifter during the working phase (see figures 3 and 4), so that the same branch (16a) supports a roll (16b) that runs idle around a horizontal axis with basically radial direction with respect to the self-centring unit (4), when the vertical branch (16a) is in working vertical position, being self-stabilised by means of a suitable mechanism. The said mechanism comprises a mushroom pin (17) joined to the shelf (16) that slides inside a slot (12a) obtained on the plate (12) and shaped as a circle arch with centre on the axis of the collar (13).

The top of the slot (12a) is provided with a descending notch (12b), in which the pin (17) automatically falls by gravity when the vertical branch (16a) is in working vertical position (see fig. 6A); this fact ensures that the shelf (16) does not lose its correct working position under pressure (see fig. 4). In order to overturn the shelf (16) downwards starting from the working position, the shelf (16) must be raised to extract the pin (17) from the notch (12b), in such a way that the pin (17) is free to slide downwards inside the guide slot (12a).

In order to allow the shelf (16) to rotate and translate vertically with respect to the collar (13), the collar (13) is inserted into a slot (18) obtained on the shelf (16), as shown in fig. 6B. Attention is drawn on the fact that the bar (10b) is provided with a graduated scale (20) that allows the operator to rapidly choose the correct position of the plate (12) according to the diameter of the tyre to be disassembled, being evident that the larger the diameter, the farther the plate (12) will be from the self-centring unit (4) to allow the branch (16a) of the collapsible shelf (16) to be placed under the tyre (P). On the other hand, as mentioned above, the fixing means (13 and 14) allow the free sliding of the plate (12) both with respect to the bar (15) and the rod (10b). Numeral (21 ) refers to a roll made of a soft material positioned in lateral position to the vertical wing (16a); the function of the said roll is to stop the rising travel of the bracket (9) in order to prevent the bracket (9) from hitting and damaging the rim (C) during the use of the device (11 ) (see fig. 7).

Claims

1 ) Heel-lifting device for tyre disassembling machines, of the type comprising a base (2), at least one heel-removing tool, a self-centring unit (4) that rotates around a vertical axis, a tool (8) designed to assemble/disassemble the tyre (P) on/from the corresponding rim (C), a wheel-lifting tool (A) formed of a powered arm (9) that oscillates on a vertical plan provided with a bracket (9a), from which a parallel pair of horizontal rods (10a and 10b) externally protrudes, heel-lifting device characterised by the fact that it consists in a bearing plate (12) provided with means (13 and 14) used to be removably fixed to the wheel-lifting tool (A), supporting an L-shaped shelf (16), whose vertical branch (16a) operates as heel-lifter when the powered arm (9) makes an ascending travel.

2) Accessory device for tyre disassembling machines, as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the first fixing means consists in a collar (13) with horizontal axis designed to be inserted into a horizontal support and guide bar (15) specifically mounted at the end of the bracket (9a), while the second fixing means consists in a notch (14) obtained on the bearing plate (12) designed to exactly house the most extreme rod (10b) of the two horizontal rods (10a and 10b).

3) Accessory device for tyre disassembling machines, as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the shelf (16) can be overturned around a horizontal axis that coincides with the axis of the collar (13).

4) Accessory device for tyre disassembling machines as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the said plate (12) is provided with a slot (12a) shaped as a circle arch with centre on the axis of the collar (13), where a mushroom pin (17) is inserted and slides, being joined to the said shelf (16).

5) Accessory device for tyre disassembling machines, as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the slot (12a) is provided with a descending notch (12b), in which the pin (17) automatically falls by gravity when the vertical branch (16a) is in working vertical position. 6) Accessory device for tyre disassembling machines as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the shelf (16) has a slot (18) in which the collar (13) is inserted. 7) Accessory device for tyre disassembling machines as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the rod (10b) is provided with a graduated scale (20).

8) Accessory device for tyre disassembling machines as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the branch (16a) supports a roll (16b) that runs idle around a horizontal axis with basically radial direction with respect to the self-centring unit (4), when the vertical branch (16a) is in working vertical position.

9) Accessory device for tyre disassembling machines as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the vertical branch (16a) supports a roll (21 ) in lateral position.