Patent ID: 6125904
Filing Date: 2000-10-03
Classification: B60C

Abstract:
A tire mounting apparatus for mounting a flexible tire on a rim, the apparatus comprising:a robot having at least one articulated joint and a wrist, the robot moveable with at least three degrees of freedom along a selectable one of a plurality of programmable predetermined paths;a central processing unit for selectively executing any one of the plurality of programmable predetermined paths storable in memory;a bead mounting tool attachable to the wrist of the robot for movement along the selected one of the plurality of programmable predetermined paths of the robot, the tool orientatable with at least three degrees of freedom independent of the selected one of the plurality of programmable predetermined paths;a workpiece support for positioning the rim in a predetermined location with respect to the robot and for positioning the tire in a predetermined orientation with respect to the rim; andmeans for generating a signal to the robot corresponding to a size of the rim and tire, wherein the central processing unit selects one of the plurality of programmable predetermined paths corresponding to the rim and tire size.