Patent ID: 8978968
Filing Date: 2015-03-17
Classification: B07C,B60C

Abstract:
1. A tire sorting apparatus comprising: a mounting means for mounting a tire in a plane perpendicular to the center axis of the tire; a tire grip means for gripping the inner periphery of the tire and positioning the center axis of the tire; an identifier reading means for reading a tire identification marking formed on a surface of the tire; and a holding means for holding the identifier reading means, wherein the tire grip means further includes three grip arms arranged at the vertexes of a triangle within a plane perpendicular to the center axis of the tire and extending in a direction parallel to the center axis of the tire, and an arm opening and closing mechanism for opening the three grip arms concentrically around the circle circumscribing the triangle, wherein the holding means further includes a holding unit for holding the identifier reading means, and a rotation drive unit connected to the holding unit for rotating the holding means around a rotation axis parallel to the center axis of the tire, wherein the center of the circumscribing circle is aligned with the rotation axis of the holding unit, and wherein the identifier reading means is held by the holding unit in such a manner that a rotation center of the identifier reading means corresponds with a rotation center of the holding unit, rotates with respect to the tire, and reads the tire identification marking formed on the surface of the tire positioned by the tire grip means while the identifier reading means is rotating.