Method of removing puncture sealing means from tyre and apparatus for carrying out the method

Abstract: A method and apparatus for removing puncture sealing compositions from a tyre, characterised by allowing air pressure to flow out of the tyre via the valve, removing the tyre valve, introducing a hose into the tyre through the valve bore until the introduced hose end dips deeply into the sealing preparation contained in the tyre and generating a pressure differential so that the sealing preparation is removed through the hose.

Description: The present invention relates to a method of removing puncture sealing preparations from tyres and also to apparatus for carrying out the method. Sealing preparations are increasingly being used for tyres with punctures. They mainly contain colloidal dispersions of polymers in aqueous media. Thus, by way of example, polystyrene butadiene latexes, polyvinylacetate latexes and rubber latexes are used. Such a sealing preparation is described in the German patent application 195 45 935.0, which contains natural rubber latex and an adhesive resin. Following a tyre puncture the sealing preparation is sprayed into the tyre via the tyre valve and the tyre is pumped up to a specific pressure by means of a propellant gas or compressor. The tyre is then run for a few kilometres, depending on the nature of the defect to distribute the sealing preparation within the interior of the tyre and to seal the defect. Thereafter the tyre may be fully inflated to its desired pressure. The so-sealed tyre must be later removed from the rim in a car repair workshop or at a tyre fitters. A considerable proportion of the sprayed-in sealing preparation is present in a liquid form within the interior of the tyre and can run out from the rim during the removal of the tyre. The sealing preparation is sticky, unpleasant and also smells of ammonia and contains natural rubber latex. Contamination of the workshop with the sealing preparation thus should be avoided as far as possible. Accordingly, it is desirable to remove the sealing preparation from the tyre prior to removal of the tyre from the rim. In the tyre art it is known (US 2 222 047) to remove liquid ballast from tyres for farm tractors by blowing it out through an evacuator tube. The object of the present invention is to make available methods for removing puncture sealing preparations from tyres and also apparatus for carrying out the method. According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of removing puncture sealing compositions from a tyre characterised by allowing air pressure to flow out of the tyre via the valve, removing the tyre valve, introducing a hose into the tyre through the valve bore until the introduced hose end dips deeply into the sealing preparation contained in the tyre and generating a depression in a container which is connected to the other hose end whereby the sealing preparation is sucked out of the tyre into the container. This procedure can be repeated several times. One expediently arranges the container to be low down beneath the sealing preparation which has to be sucked out of the tyre. In this embodiment a compressible container, for example a bottle of soft plastic is used, having an opening to which a hose can be attached in an air-tight manner. In this case the same container can be used as that from which the sealing preparation was sprayed into the tyre following a puncture, via a hose pushed onto the tyre valve, by compression of the container. It is also possible to use a container with a second opening, to which a lowered pressure or suction is applied. Before the tyre valve is removed, the tyre should be left to stand for a period of time on its tread with the valve in the six o'clock position and in a slightly inclined position in which the tyre side with the valve is somewhat higher than the side of the tyre remote from the valve. The free sealing preparation then collects during this time in the bottom of the tyre. With full metal valves, the locking nut is removed and the valve is pushed into the tyre. With part metallic valves the valve is cut off above the rim with a knife and the remainder of the valve is pressed into the tyre, or the whole valve is removed with a dismantling lever. The hose is then introduced into the valve bore. The hose can be provided at the inserted end with a short metal tube in order to make the end heavier, and thus to guarantee that the hose end dips deeply into the sealing preparation. The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the invention in a schematic illustration; In Figure 1 a part of a cut-away tyre is shown. The tyre 1 is positioned with a slight inclination on a support 2 so that the sealing preparation 3 collects at the bottom of the tyre towards the wall 4 of the tyre remote from the valve. The tyre valve has already been removed in Figure 1. The hose 6 is introduced into the tyre via the valve bore 5 so that the hose end dips deeply into the sealing preparation 3. The hose 6 is connected at its other end 8 in an air-tight manner to the bottle 9. The bottle 9 consists of soft plastic. When the bottle 9 is compressed by hand (illustrated by the arrows) and released so that it expands again, the sealing preparation is sucked out of the tyre through the hose 6 into the bottle 9 by the depression in the bottle 9. The bottle 9 can be compressed several times in succession. It is held at least 20 cm beneath the support 2. When the sealing preparation 3 has been sucked out of the tyre, the tyre can be removed from the rim. A defoaming or anti-foaming agent, for example on a silicon basis, may be introduced into the tyre. The introduction of the defoaming agent takes place after the valve has been removed or prior to the suction process.

Claims: A method of removing puncture sealing preparations from a tyre, characterised by allowing air to flow out of the tyre via the valve, removing the tyre valve, introducing a hose into the tyre through the valve bore until the introduced hose end dips deeply into the sealing preparation contained in the tyre, and generating a depression in a container which is connected to the other hose end whereby the sealing preparation is sucked out of the tyre into the container. A method in accordance with claim 1, characterised by generating the depression by compression and subsequent expansion of the container. A method in accordance with claim 2, characterised by compressing the container and allowing it to expand several times in series. A method in accordance with claim 2 or claim 3, characterised by arranging the container lower than the sealing preparation in the tyre which is to be sucked away. A method in accordance with any of claims 1 to 4, characterised by firstly allowing the tyre to stand on its tread for a period of time with the valve in approximately the six o'clock position. An apparatus for removing puncture sealing preparations from a tyre by generation of a depression in a container according to the method of one of the claims 1 to 5, characterised by a compressible container (9) and a hose (6), one hose end being connected in an air-tight manner with the container (9) and the other hose end being introduced through valve bore (5) of the tyre (1) into the sealing preparation (3) contained in the tyre (1). An apparatus in accordance with claim 6, characterised in that the container (9) consists of soft plastic.

Inventors: FUCHS HANS-BERND, GERRESHEIM MANFRED, HUBERT HANS, STEINBRECHT ULRICH, FUCHS, HANS-BERND, GERRESHEIM, MANFRED, HUBERT, HANS, STEINBRECHT, ULRICH
Applicants: SUMITOMO RUBBER IND, SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LIMITED
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B60C19
IPC codes: B60C25, B60C29, B29C73, B60C17, B60C19