BEAD BREAKER

Abstract: A bead breaker to break and separate the bead of a tyre from the rim of a supporting wheel, the breaker having a pair of arms (1, 6) slidable relative to each other with each arm having at one of its ends a hook shaped member (2, 7) terminating in a point (3, 8) adapted to be inserted between the tyre bead and the rim of the wheel, and hydraulic means (11) or manual means for applying a force to said arms (1, 6) to move the hook shaped members (3, 8) toward each other to break and separate the bead from the rim.

Description: "BEAD BREAKER" This invention relates to a bead breaker, that is a mechanism whereby means are provided to break the seal and thus to remove the bead of 5. a tyre from the rim of a wheel. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In removing a tyre from a wheel rim one of the most difficult problems to be overcome is to initially break the tight seal between the bead 10. and the rim. this being difficult not only on auto¬ mobile tyres, particularly tubeless tyres, but also larger tyres on trucks, tractors and the like. While machines are available for doing this, these are relatively large machines which are operated 15. pneumatically or hydraulically and are installed in workshops, garages and the like so that the bead may be broken and the tyres readily changed or repaired. However it often occurs that tyre changes 20. and repairs are required to be carried out either on the road or in situations where the known bead breakers are not readily ' available. In order to do this great physical effort is required for example by hitting the tyre as close to the bead as possible 25. with a large sledge hammer or the like, but even this is not often successful particularly where large truck tyres or even tractor tyres are involved. Thus it is an object of this invention to provide a portable bead breaker which can be even OMPI carried on the vehicle or kept at some place for use, the bead breaker being easily carried and used wherever it is required. BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION 5. Thus there is provided according to this invention a bead breaker comprising a pair of arms slidable relative to each other, each arm having at one of its ends a hook shaped member terminating in a point adapted to be inserted between the tyre 10. bead and the rim of the wheel, and means for applying a force to at least one of the hook shaped members to insert its point between the bead and the rim. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig 1 is a view of one form of the invention, 15. Fig 2 is a view of a second embodiment, Fig 3 shows a third embodiment, Fig 4 is a fourth embodiment, Fig 5 is a still further embodiment, and Fig 6 is a further embodiment. 20. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the form of the invention as shown in Fig 1, there is provided an upper arm 1 having at one end a hook shaped member 2 terminating in a point 3, the arm 1 being provided at its other end 4 with 25. an upstanding reaction bracket 5. The breaker includes a second or lower arm 6 which is adapted to be positioned beneath the upper arm in sliding relationship thereto, the lower 3 - arm having at one end a hook shaped member 7 terminat¬ ing in a point 8, and on its other end an upstanding reaction bracket 9. The reaction bracket 9 on the lower arm 6 is adapted to pass through a slot 10 5. in the upper arm so that it will be seen that if means are provided to exert a force between the two upstanding brackets 5 and 9, that the arms would then be moved so that the hooks and the points are moved towards each other. 10. A conventional hydraulic jack 11 could then be positioned between the two upstanding brackets 5 and 9 and by operating the jack 11 the hooks 2 and 7 would be moved toward each other. Suitable handles 12 or the like can be provided 15. on the arms so that the breaker can be easily handled, and thus in use the breaker is positioned on the wheel and tyre so that the points are resting on the tyre adjacent the rim. When the points 3 and 8 are presented to the 20. tyre and the rim, the handles can be used to twist the hooked ends sideways to lever against the rim edge to enter slightly between the rim and bead of the tyre. The handles can be replaceable square tubes with a slot in the top face thereof. 25. The hydraulic jack 11 is then inserted between the two upstanding brackets 5 and 9 and actuated so that the jack forces the points between the bead and rim to force the bead away from the rim. •- - ■■ *■ *■ ■■ ■ : . • • -. -- • .Ln-.'order,.to-- maintain .the- two- arms- in- operative* ' • OMPI 4 . relationship, the upper arm 1 can be provided at its end 4 adjacent the upstanding bracket 5 thereon with a guide stud 13 having a flange, the stud extending through a slot in the lower arm 6, and 5. similarly the lower arm can be provided with an upstanding stud 14 and flange at its end to extend through the slot in the upper arm 10 to firmly locate the two arms in operative sliding relationship. Instead of the bracket 9 on the lower arm 10. 6 extending through the slot 10 in the upper arm 1, the bracket could be formed by two plates, one on each side of the lower arm 6 to extend upwardly past the sides of the upper arm 1 so that a reaction plate joining the two plates to form the upstanding 15. bracket would then locate the two arms together in sliding relationship. Similarly the bracket 5 on the upper arm 4 could have its sides extending downwardly and then be joined by a cross member beneath the lower arm 7 20. to hold the two arms in position, or alternatively rectangular tubing could be used as one arm, with a large slot milled down the centre of one face of the tube. As most vehicles carry a hydraulic jack, or 25. some other form of jacking mechanism, this can be readily utilized to act between the brackets to operate the breaker. The bead breaker by having this arrangement can thus be utilized on various size rims, such - -20. r - • as----13-- inch-rims,. -14- and 15 inch rims, or even up - to 16 inches or more, but it is to be realised that a larger unit could be provided to operate 5 . on larger truck tyres, or even large tractor tyres. In an alternative arrangement shown in Fig 2, one hooked member 15 is attached to a rod 16, while the other hooked member 17 is also attached 5. to a rod 18, a slotted tube 19 joining the two rods. One rod 18 has circumferential grooves 20 to engage with a lock pin 21 passing through the tube, so that adjustment is provided for various sized wheel rims. One abutment 22 for the jack 10.. is attached to the other rod 16, while the second abutment 23 for the jack is attached to the tube 19. Handles 12 are used for handling the breaker and twisting on hooks sideways " for insertion. In a further arrangement as shown in Fig 3 15. the force for breaking the bead can be provided manually instead of utilizing a hydraulic jack. In this embodiment the two arms are provided one being a square tube into which the square arm of the other member can slide. Adjustment means can 20. be provided within the two arms by a locating stud passing through one side of the square tube to engage in notches or recesses in the inner arm as shown in the previous embodiment. The square inner arm 24 is provided at its 25. end with a lever mechanism 25 to which the hook shaped member 26 is attached. At the end of the arm 24 there is attached by a pivot 27 a plate 28 having a downwardly extending portion 29 to which is attached the point 30 to - •■30. engage between the bead ' 31-and the rim 32. The • plate extends upwardly from the pivot portion to form a notched quadrant 33 in which a latch 34 attached to a lever 35 can be selectively located. The lever 35 is pivoted to the plate 28 by a separate pivot pin 36 spaced below the pivot 27 of the plate 28 5. to the extension arm 24. The plate 28 has pivoted thereto by pin 36 at the bottom of the downwardly extending portion and rearwardly of the point, a separate hook shaped member 37 having a point and an upwardly extending 10. portion 38 to extend upwardly outwardly of the plate. This upward extension has a contact area 39 which is adapted to be contacted by pivoting of the lever relative to the plate. Thus it will be seen that in this embodiment 15. there are two members having a point 30,37 which are situated in side by side relationship. In practice the lever 35 is latched to the plate 28, and the breaker is placed on the rim and tyre with both the points 30,37 aligned and 20. engaging the bead. The hooked shaped member which is rigidly attached to the other end (not shown) of the arm 24 is then forced into the rim and bead so that its point is engaged to some extent between the 25. rim and bead. The lever 35 being latched to the plate 28 is then operated to simultaneously force the dual .points 30,37 beneath the rim and bead on that side of the wheel. -gT3RE $ OMPI 7. When this has been done, the lever 35 is then unlatched from the plate 28 and then swung outwardly to engage on the engaging surface 39 of the upward portion 38 of the pivoted point 37, and by this 5. movement when force is applied to the lever 35 it will cause the two points 30,37 to separate, the movable point 37 moving upwardly to thus separate the rim and bead. When this has been done the unit is moved 10. around the wheel to a certain extent and the operation repeated to break the rim seal at this point. The pivoted point and its upward extension 38 is loaded by a spring 40 to the position where the points are in alignment, a stop 41 being provided 15. if necessary to limit this movement to ensure that the points are in alignment. Thus it will be seen tha " by having a lever of suitable length, that suitable forces can be manually applied to the rim and bead to separate 20. these by two points of the hook shaped member moving and spacing from each other to force the bead away from the rim. Fig 4 shows a further embodiment being a develop¬ ment of Fig 3. The cross shaft 42 can be adjustably 25. positioned and locked in a tube or sleeve 43 by lock screws 44, a fixed hook 45 being clamped by a further sleeve 46 and lock nut 47 to further adjust for further rim sizes. The cross shaft 42 "" " -- ' has " pivoted'"theretO ' by ' pin " 48 a quadrant " . 9 having 30. a hook 50. A handle 51 with latch 52 is pivoted by pin 53 to the quadrant, the handle having a 8 . further hook 54 formed integral therewith, the hook 54 being shown in dotted lines indicating the spread position, the two hooks 50,54 being side by side and aligned when the handle is in the position shown in 5. full lines. The latch 52 can latch in latches 55 as shown. A spring loaded pin 56 attached to the quadrant 49 is positioned to fall into a hole 57 in the cross shaft, so that the quadrant 49 and cross 10. shaft can be locked rigidly together. The spring loaded pin 56 can be manually released and held in the released position. In operation the pin 56 locks the assembly rigid and allows the unit to be positioned with 15. the correct ring diameter. After insertion the pin is released and the handle operated to break the bead and separate it from the rim. Fig 5 depicts a still further embodiment. A top plate 60 has at one end a sleeve to adjustably 20. receive a hook 62 having a point 63. A handle 64 is pivoted by pin 65 to the hook 62, a locking pin 66 releasably locking the handle 64 to the hook 62, the handle 64 having a point aligned with the point 63 of the hook 62. 25. The plate 60 has a slot 67 formed in its length, an abutment plate 68 passing through the slot 67 and is attached to a lower plate 69. A rivet 70 having a shoulder 71 passes through the slot 67 - - : • -to locate the plates 60,69 in-sliding relationship. 30. An abutment 72 is ' attached to the top plate, so that a jack or power pack can be inserted between the abutments 68,72. 9 . The lower plate 69 has a sleeve 73 to adjustably receive a further hook 74. Hence the bead.can be broken and separated from the rim by the use of the handle and the hydraulic jack or power pack. 5. Fig 6 shows a purely manual unit, the upper plate 75 being an adjustable sleeve 76, hook 77 and handle 78 as in the previous embodiments . The lower plate 79 also has an adjustable sleeve 80, hook 81 and handle 82. The upper plate 75 has a 10. slot through which passes an abutment member 83 attached to the lower plate 79, and a locating rivet 84 passing through the slot. The upper plate 75 carries a second abutment member 85 having a lever 86 pivoted thereto by 15. pivot pin 87. The lever has a contact end 88 adapted to contact abutment member 83 on operation of the lever 86. A spring loaded locking pin 89 can lock the lever to the abutment 85 for manipulation during the initial entry of the hooks between the bead 20. and rim. In any one of the embodiments above described, one or both hooks can have pivoted thereto a second hook and point, in the same plane as the first point. The second hook member has an upstanding 25. portion forming an anvil, which can be struck to cause the points to separate and thus force the bead downwardly into the well. A form of hammer having a head and vertical handle can be provided, the handle having a large inertia weight slidable • 30.- - thereon-,, so that-by hitting downwardly the hammer ■ - " ■ - ' ' ' - head ' will '" contact the " anvil with ' the sliding inertia weight providing an impact force to break and spread 10. the bead from the rim edge. Although various forms of the invention have been described in some detail it is to be realised that the invention is not to be limited thereto 5. but can include various modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. OMPI

Claims: 11. THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. A bead breaker to break and separate the bead of a tyre from the rim of a supporting wheel, the breaker comprising a pair of arms slidable relative to each other, each arm having at one of its ends 5. a hook shaped member terminating in a point adapted to be inserted between the tyre bead and the rim of the wheel, and means for applying a force to at least one of the hook shaped members to insert its point between the bead rim. 2. A bead breaker as defined in Claim 1 wherein abutment members are provided on each arm opposite to the ends carrying the hook shaped members, and hydraulic means engaging between said abutment 5. members to move said hook shaped members towards each other to break and separate the bead and rim. 3. A bead breaker as defined in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein said hook shaped members include upstanding handles to allow positioning of said breaker with the hook shaped members in position between said 5. bead and rim so that the handles may be manipulated to twist said hook shaped members to allow initial penetration. 4. A bead breaker as defined in Claim 2 or Claim 3 wherein said arms are engaged in a connecting sleeve, one said arm being adjustably fixed in position in said sleeve, said other arm being slidable relative 5. thereto, one abutment on said slidable arm passing ' " "" through a " slot in ' said sleeve and; the other, abutment . on said sleeve. 13 . 5. to the hook shaped member, one of said abutment members having a lever pivoted thereto, a contact portion on said lever adapted to contact said abutment member whereby operation of said lever causes said hook shaped members to move towards each other. 9. A bead breaker substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: WRIDE DONALD CHARLES, WRIDE, DONALD, CHARLES
Applicants: WRIDE DONALD CHARLES, WRIDE, DONALD, CHARLES
Application year: 1983
Main classification: B60C25
IPC codes: B60C25