Abstract:
A portable universal apparatus for seating a bead of a wide range of tire sizes onto a rim. An upright support frame includes a rim support surface and a rim retainer for securing the rim in a generally horizontal position atop the rim support surface. A tubular air ring includes an air inlet port connectable to an air tank and is vertically adjustably supportable on the support frame. A plurality of inwardly oriented air discharge tubes connectable to the air ring and selectable from different sets of lengths thereof cooperate with the vertical adjustability of the air ring to position the distal end of each of discharge tube in close proximity between a lower rim seal and a lower sealing bead of the tire to force the lower sealing downwardly into sealing engagement with the lower rim seal when compressed air is released from the air tank into the air ring and air discharge tubes.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not applicable 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not applicable 
   INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
   Not applicable 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates generally to the installation of tubeless tires onto a rim and more particularly to an apparatus for effectively and quickly seating the sealing bead of larger sized tubeless tires. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Tubeless tires for automotive use have been used exclusively for perhaps several decades. With the advent of new rim design and mating sealing beads of tubeless tires, the need for preventing air leaks from the interior of the tire by the use of an inner tube has long since gone by the wayside. However, once the tubeless tire has been manipulated onto the rim of the wheel assembly, depending upon the overall rim width and overall size and stiffness of the tire, the minimal sealing of both beads in order to begin the process of air pressurization to fully seat the beads on the rim can be difficult. 
   With respect to more conventionally sized automotive tires, a number of prior art apparatus and devices are known to applicant to aid in this process. U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,547 to Van De Sype discloses a method and apparatus for inflating tubeless tires on a vehicle wheel with adjustable rim-engaging saddles. An inflation apparatus which is expandable radially to accommodate different sizes of tires is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,456 to Bonko, et al. 
   Corless has invented methods and apparatus for inflating tubeless tires in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,552,469, 3,677,320, 3,805,871 and 4,263,958. The &#39;320 patent teaches providing air simultaneously into the tire from the bead seating apparatus and through the conventional tire valve. 
   An adjustable bead seater for inflating tubeless tires is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,163 to Charles, et al. The apparatus comprises tire bead setting apparatus which includes a pair of oppositely disposed adjustable tubular segments. A newly-issued patent to Gonzaga describes a rapid inflation device for tubeless tires in U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,518. 
   Other patents of lesser interest are listed herebelow:
         U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,654 to Duquesne   U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,975 to Strang, et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,716 to Hawk   U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,801 to Ellis   U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,780 to Biruk   U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,188 to Pellerin, et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,402 to Cunningham, et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,982 to Doan   U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,733 to Desparois, et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,892 to Koerner, et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,288 to Kane, et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,269 to Skoff, et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,982 to Miller       

   Use of these tubeless designed tires and rims have also expanded into virtually all larger size tires including those of larger rim diameter and width in the range of up to 20″ in rim width and tire diameters which can extend well above 30″. The tubeless tires associated with these larger rims are extremely heavy and difficult to manipulate after they have been wrestled onto the rim in loosely fitting fashion. Typically one of the two beads will easily seat itself sufficiently against the corresponding rim seal while the other tire bead will remain displaced from the opposite side of rim seal. To establish a seal sufficient to trap air being introduced into the valve stem of the rim which will thereafter begin the inflation process, some means must be exerted on the tire to partially or temporarily seal the other bead. Again, because larger tires are substantially heavier and stiffer and, when being installed on wider rims, pose a particular challenge which none of the above recited prior art seem to have an answer to this initial sealing problem. 
   Other more radical means for manipulating the sidewall of the large tire into bead sealing engagement with the rim seats have been relied upon to establish this initial tire bead seal on both sides of the tire. An extreme example is in the form of directing a quantity of ether into the interior of the tire and then igniting that gas causing a mild explosion sufficient to drive the second tire wall and bead into initial sealing engagement with the rim seal. 
   The present invention provides an apparatus which (in prototype form substantially as shown herebelow) easily and quickly seats virtually any sized tubeless tire onto any corresponding rim, regardless of rim width or diameter. Once this apparatus easily establishes initial sealing contact between the rim seal and both beads of the tire, final inflation and full bead seating are quickly established thereafter. 
   Moreover, the present invention in preferably in the form of an apparatus which is portable and may be deployed on site where the need for heavy truck tire service would be most useful. Other available equipment which is intended but falls short of this process capability is typically far too large to be remotely deployed and therefore the tires to be repaired or replaced must be hauled along with the rim to the work warehouse or garage. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is directed to a portable universal apparatus for seating a bead of a wide range of tire sizes onto a rim. An upright support frame includes a rim support surface and a rim retainer for securing the rim in a generally horizontal position atop the rim support surface. A tubular air ring includes an air inlet port connectable to an air tank and is vertically adjustably supportable on the support frame. A plurality of inwardly oriented air discharge tubes connectable to the air ring and selectable from different sets of lengths thereof cooperate with the vertical adjustability of the air ring to position the distal end of each of discharge tube in close proximity between a lower rim seal and a lower sealing bead of the tire to force the lower sealing downwardly into sealing engagement with the lower rim seal when compressed air is released from the air tank into the air ring and air discharge tubes. 
   It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a portable apparatus which will easily and effectively establish the required bead sealing of tubeless tires onto tire rims quickly and reliably and requiring only minimal additional manual effort. 
   Yet another object of this invention is to provide a portable apparatus for sealing the bead of larger heavy equipment and off-road vehicles which incorporate large diameter rims and those of extreme width in conjunction with correspondingly larger tubeless tires. 
   Still another object of this invention is to provide a portable apparatus for establishing the required bead sealing of tubeless tires and which is easily and quickly adjustable to accommodate a broad range of rim diameters and widths and tire sizes. 
   In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the invention in a stored configuration with the pull handle deployed ready for transport. 
       FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of  FIG. 1  with the air chamber removed. 
       FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of one of the air ring locking pin release levers. 
       FIG. 5  is a view of  FIG. 4  in the released mode. 
       FIG. 6  is a plan view of the air ring assembly of the invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of the main support frame assembly. 
       FIG. 8  is a right side perspective view of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is an enlarged perspective view of the temporary air ring positioning rods facilitating vertical adjustability of the air ring assembly. 
       FIG. 10  is a rear perspective view of the ring assembly releasably connected to the main support frame assembly. 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the invention deployed ready for use. 
       FIG. 12  is a broken perspective view of the invention in use. 
       FIG. 13  is an enlarged rear perspective view of  FIG. 12 . 
       FIG. 14  is a simplified schematic view of the invention in use with respect to a large diameter narrower rim and tire. 
       FIG. 15  is a view similar to  FIG. 14  showing the invention in use in conjunction with a smaller diameter wider rim and demonstrating the adjustability of the invention to various rim diameters and widths. 
   

   
     
       
             
           
             
             
             
           
         
             
                 
             
             
               LIST OF COMPONENTS 
             
             
                 
             
           
           
             
                 
             
           
        
         
             
                 
               10. 
               portable tire bead seating apparatus 
             
             
                 
               12. 
               main support frame assembly 
             
             
                 
               14. 
               air ring assembly 
             
             
                 
               16. 
               compressed air tank assembly 
             
             
                 
               18. 
               support frame 
             
             
                 
               20. 
               air ring 
             
             
                 
               22. 
               air ring outlet ports 
             
             
                 
               22a. 
               alternate angle air ring outlet ports 
             
             
                 
               24. 
               support wheel 
             
             
                 
               26. 
               removable handle 
             
             
                 
               28. 
               air tank assembly supports 
             
             
                 
               30. 
               air ring inlet port 
             
             
                 
               32. 
               compressed air tank 
             
             
                 
               34. 
               air tank outlet 
             
             
                 
               36. 
               lever arm 
             
             
                 
               38. 
               foot pedal 
             
             
                 
               40. 
               air release valve 
             
             
                 
               42. 
               air pressure monitor 
             
             
                 
               44. 
               air ring locking member 
             
             
                 
               46. 
               Upright storage tube 
             
             
                 
               48. 
               air discharge tube 
             
             
                 
               50. 
               wheel rim retainer 
             
             
                 
               52. 
               rim lock 
             
             
                 
               54. 
               locking pin release lever 
             
             
                 
               54a. 
               outward lever arm 
             
             
                 
               56. 
               air ring mounting plate 
             
             
                 
               58. 
               air ring locking pins 
             
             
                 
               60. 
               pivot pin 
             
             
                 
               62. 
               handle support tube 
             
             
                 
               64. 
               locking pin aperture 
             
             
                 
               66. 
               air ring alignment surface 
             
             
                 
               68. 
               center foot hold down support tube 
             
             
                 
               70. 
               wheel mounting shaft 
             
             
                 
               72. 
               wheel support surface 
             
             
                 
               74. 
               positioning rod receiving hole 
             
             
                 
               76. 
               positioning rod receiving hole 
             
             
                 
               78. 
               air ring positioning rod 
             
             
                 
               80. 
               flexible air conduit 
             
             
                 
               82. 
               foot hold down member 
             
             
                 
               84. 
               air ring guide plates 
             
             
                 
               86. 
               frame corner angle 
             
             
                 
               88. 
               frame corner angle 
             
             
                 
               90. 
               foot hold down member support tube 
             
             
                 
               92. 
               storage receptacle 
             
             
                 
               94. 
               stops 
             
             
                 
               W 
               wheel 
             
             
                 
               R 1   
               rim 
             
             
                 
               R 2   
               rim 
             
             
                 
               S 
               open sector 
             
             
                 
               T 
               tire 
             
             
                 
               A 
               tire sealing bead 
             
             
                 
               B 
               tire sealing bead 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring now to the drawings, and firstly to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the invention is there shown generally at numeral  10  in  FIG. 1  in a compact, stored configuration ready for portable movement. The invention  10  generally includes an upright rigid metal support frame assembly  12 , a generally circular air ring assembly  14  and a compressed air tank assembly  16 . The compact portability demonstrated in these figures is achieved by the storage of the air ring assembly  14  in a vertical orientation on the support frame assembly  12  and support of the air tank assembly  16  on horizontally extending air tank assembly supports  28  which are, as best seen in  FIG. 3 , rigidly connected to and horizontally extending just above the ground. 
   A wheel rim retainer  50  nests securely within the central opening of a flat wheel support surface  72  of the support frame  18  and is held in place by the threadable engagement of the rim lock  52  threaded onto the upright central threaded shaft  70 . The removable handle  26  is held for use in handle support tube  62  and storable in the upright storage tube  46  attached as a part of the upright support frame  18 . Spaced apart rear support wheels  24  connected as shown to the lower portion of the support frame  18  facilitate the transportability of the stored invention  10  or the support frame assembly  12  utilizing the releasable handle  26  in a conventional manner. 
   To begin to deploy the apparatus  10 , after the air tank assembly  16  is removed and positioned for use adjacent to the support frame assembly  12 , the air ring assembly  14  is removed from stored releasable attachment on the support frame  18  by the squeezing together both of the locking pin release levers  54  of each air ring locking member  44  as best seen in  FIGS. 4 to 6 . By squeezing the air ring locking member  44  together as shown in  FIG. 5 , the outward lever arms  54   a  pivot about pin attachment points  60  so as to retract air ring locking pins  58  connected to each lever arm  54   a  and orthogonally disposed adjacent each end of each lever arm  54   a  from mating apertures  64  formed through an air ring mounting plate  56  of the air ring  20 . Referring also to  FIG. 8 , each of the upright frame corner angles  86  and  88  on each side of the support frame  18  include a series or column of closely spaced positioning rod receiving holes  74  and  76 , respectively. To retain the air ring assembly  14  in the stored position shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , each pair of air ring locking pins  58  engage into two of the correspondingly spaced receiving holes  74  or  76 , the vertical positioning of which is established by the supportive contact of surface  66  atop the corners of the wheel support surface  72 . To effect release of the air ring assembly  14 , both of the locking members  44  are squeezed and the air ring assembly  14  may then be lifted free. 
   Referring particularly to  FIG. 6 , the air ring assembly  14  includes an elongated circular air ring  20  which extends through a substantial portion of a 360° arc reduced by the angular or arcuate sector S which is about 90°. Therefore, the preferred embodiment of the air ring  20  extends through approximately 370° of arcuate sector angle. The tubular material utilized to form the air ring  20  is approximately 1½″ I.D. and includes an air ring inlet port  30  of a conventional design. The previously described air ring locking members  44  include stops  94  which prevent over squeezing of the air ring locking members  44  together. The open arcuate sector S defined by air ring guide plates  84  extend inwardly toward one another to air ring mounting plates  56  which are spaced apart to slidably engage along the outwardly facing side surfaces of the support frame  18  as best seen in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . 
   As also best seen in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , two air ring positioning rods  78  are provided for the temporary trial placement of the air ring  20  around the support frame  18 . By “guestimating” a desired vertical positioning of the air ring  20  (as will be described in detail herebelow), each of the positioning rods  78  is slid through two vertically aligned pairs of receiving holes  74  and  76 , after which the air ring assembly  14 , being grasped as shown in  FIG. 5 , may be released from the stored position on the support frame  18  and repositioned to rest atop the positioning rods  78  as seen in  FIG. 10 . Thereafter, the locking members  44  are manually released, whereupon the locking pins  58  engage into one of the vertically aligned hole pairs  74  and  76  to secure the air ring assembly  14  in proper horizontal position for use. 
   As seen in  FIG. 11 , a final step before operation is to connect the air tank outlet  34  to the air ring inlet port  30  via a flexible air conduit  80 . At a prescribed moment described herebelow, at least a portion of the compressed air volume held within the compressed air tank  32  is released by downward foot actuation of foot pedal  38  in the direction of the arrow shown in  FIGS. 1 and 11 . This causes the lever arm  36  to pivot downwardly and to open an air release valve  40  causing a large quantity of compressed air (up to about 120 p.s.i.) to be released into the air ring  20 . Valve/gauge assembly  42  monitors both progress of filling and emptying of the air tank  32 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 12 and 13 , a conventional wheel rim W is there shown secured in place atop the wheel support surface  72  (not seen in these figures) by the tightening of the wheel rim retainer  50  onto the threaded upright mounting shaft  70 . Because the preferred embodiment of this invention is portable, to prevent movement of the apparatus during use, three separate foot hold-down members  82  are provided. One of these hold-down members  82  may be inserted into and be positioned against the ground or support surface through each and any of a center foot hold-down support tube  68 , and/or through rearwardly extending foot hold-down member support tubes  90   r . Alternately, one or both of the hold-down members  82  may be inserted into the forwardly end  90   f  of the support tubes  90 . 
   Referring also to  FIGS. 14 and 15 , once the tire T has been manipulated onto the wheel rim W in loosely fitted fashion, the air ring assembly  14  is vertically readjusted if necessary through the use of air ring positioning rods  78  and then lockably secured in the new position by the release of the locking members  44  to obtain best alignment of the distal ends of a plurality of air discharge tubes generally referred to at  48 . As determined by the diameter of the wheel rim W, the best lengths for a set of the air discharge tubes  48  stored in upright fashion as best seen in  FIGS. 8 and 13  are selected and threadably engaged into female threaded air ring outlet ports  22  which are in fluid communication with the hollow interior of the air ring  20  and the inlet port  30 . By proper vertical positioning of the air ring  20  in the appropriate pairs of receiving holes  74  and  76 , the best positioning for the distal open ends of each of the (preferably four) air discharge tubes  48   a  is established. 
   When the compressed air charged within the air tank assembly  16  is released by downward actuation of the foot pedal  38 , a very large high pressure volume of compressed air is released from the discharge tubes  48   a  collectively so as to be forced into the interior of the tire T through the gap in the direction of arrow C and then downwardly in the direction of arrow D to force the lower sidewall of the tire T into sealing engagement of the bead B against the lower rim seal R 1 . Simultaneously, air is fed into the tire T through an air fill valve (not shown), the tire T is manually lifted slightly (by preferably two persons where the tire is large and heavy to establish a temporary sealing engagement of tire bead A against rim seal R 2  to quickly establish a sealed relationship for further pressurized filling of the interior of the tire T through the fill valve. With both tire beads A and B now temporarily sealed, the interior of the tire T is fully pressurized to complete the bead engagement. 
   As seen in  FIG. 15 , a rim W′ of smaller diameter and larger width may also be easily accommodated by the present invention by the utilization of a longer series or set of air discharge tubes  48   b , in combination with the lowering of the air ring  20  on support frame assembly  12  and locked into the position selected within receiving holes  74  and  76  as previously described. Again, the distal open end of these discharge tubes  48   b  are ideally positionable to direct the discharging air in the direction of arrows against the interior surface of the wheel rim W′ just above the lower seal of the rim W′ as previously described. 
   In an extreme situation where the combination of variables shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15  will not achieve an ideal location of the distal discharge ends of the discharge tubes  48 , a second set of outlet ports  22   a  best seen in the various figures formed into the inner arcuate surface of the air ring  20  are provided. These alternate outlet ports  22   a  are oriented at an angle of approximately 30° with respect to the vertical axis of the apparatus rather than at approximately 45° for the outlet ports  22  previously described. These alternate outlet ports  22   a  are kept plugged so as to maintain the sealing engagement within the air ring  20  until such time as the alternate orientation of one of the series of selected lengths of air discharge tubes  48   a, b  . . . is selected for use. 
   While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be afforded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.