Abstract:
A method and apparatus are provided for soaping a tire using an inflatable bladder. The inflatable bladder is extended through a center opening in a tire and inflated to cause soap on the surface of the bladder to soap the inner surface of the tire. The bladder is then deflated and removed from the opening in the tire so that the tire can be subsequently mounted to a wheel.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to apparatus for automated tire assembly and more particularly, to an inflatable tire soaper for use in an automated tire installation system.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    During assembly of a tire onto a wheel, the exterior surface of the tire that comes into contact with the outer flange of the wheel is often wetted or “soaped” in order to enhance the seal that is obtained between the outer surface of the tire and the wheel. In order to ensure a proper seal to allow inflation of the tire, it is desirable to provide a substantially evenly wetted surface around the inboard and outboard sides of the tire. Previously, the soaping of the tire has been achieved both manually and automatically. Manual application of the soap or other liquid can be achieved by use of a brush, sponge, or sprayer. Automated methods have also used wetted brushes and/or sprayers. It is desirable in the art to provide a tire soaper that functions automatically to evenly distribute the soap on the inboard and outboard sides of the tire and that is capable of containing the excess soap for re-use.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    These and other objects of the present invention are obtained by providing an inflatable bladder which can be wetted with a soap or other sealing enhancement material. The bladder can be inflated inside the opening in a tire so as to expand outward and contact the surface around the opening in the tire to evenly distribute the soap from the bladder onto the surface of the tire. The bladder can then be deflated and removed from the opening in the tire so that the tire can be subsequently mounted to a wheel in a manner as is known in the art.  
           [0004]    Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inflatable tire soaper according to the principles of the present invention;  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2A is a plan view of a tire soaper according to the principles of the present invention, with the inflatable bladder in a retracted uninflated position;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2B is a plan view similar to FIG. 2A with the inflatable bladder in an extended position inside an opening in a tire;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2C is a plan view of the inflatable tire soaper shown in FIG. 2B with the bladder in the extended position within the opening in the tire and being inflated so as to come into contact with the tire according to the principles of the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a side view of a conveyor system with an inflatable tire soaper according to the principles of the present invention; and  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the conveyor system with an inflatable tire soaper according to the principles of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0012]    The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.  
         [0013]    With reference to FIG. 1, an inflatable tire soaper  10  will now be described. The inflatable tire soaper  10  includes a bladder  12  which can be wetted with a liquid such as liquid soap or another sealing enhancement liquid material, hereinafter referred to as soap. The bladder  12  is inserted into an opening  14  in a tire  16  and is inflated, causing the bladder to expand outwardly and come into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the tire  16  that contacts the wheel when assembled. The liquid from the bladder  12  wets the surface around the opening  14  in the tire  16  in an evenly distributed manner without excess liquid being distributed. The tire  16  is then properly wetted and ready to be mounted to a wheel as is known in the art. With reference to the accompanying drawings, the inflatable tire soaper  10  according to the principles of the present invention will now be described in greater detail.  
         [0014]    The inflatable tire soaper  10  is disposed along a conveyer system  20  having a plurality of rollers  22  on which the tires  16  are conveyed along the conveyer system  20 . As shown in FIGS.  2 A- 2 C, the inflatable tire soaper  10  includes a soap tub  26  disposed beneath the bladder  12 . The bladder  12  is mounted to a central support column  28  having a telescoping section including an outer cylinder portion  28   a  supported on a fixed intermediate cylinder  28   b  for axial movement relative thereto. The outer cylinder  28   a  is supported by a plurality of rods  30  which are attached to a drive plate  32 . The drive plate  32  is connected to a slide actuator  34  for sliding the slide plate  32  in an axial direction along with the outer cylinder portion  28   a.  An extension arm  28   c  is slidably received in an inner cylinder  28   d  for axial movement relative thereto. A clamp plate  36  is mounted to an end of the extension arm  28   c.  The bladder  12  is connected at an upper end thereof to the clamp plate  36  and is connected to the outer cylinder portion  28   a  of the support column  28  by a retaining ring  38 .  
         [0015]    A pair of lift plates  40  are supported by the outer cylinder portion  28   a  of the support column  28  by a pair of bracket assemblies  42 . The inflatable tire soaper  10  includes a frame assembly  44  that supports the support column  28  and tub  26 . A pair of drive chains  46  are disposed on opposite sides of the support column  28 , as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.  
         [0016]    As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of pivot arms  48  are pivotally mounted to the frame  44 . An air cylinder actuator  50  is connected to each of the pivot arms  48 . Pivot arms  48  each include a plurality of rollers  51  mounted along a length thereof. The pivot arms  48  provide a stop and self-centering device for a tire  16  which is delivered along the conveyor system  20  and carried by the chain drive mechanisms  46  until the tire  16  engages the pivot arms  48 . The chain drives  46  force the tire  16  against the rollers  52  of the pivot arms  48  while the pivot arms  48  act as a wedge for properly centering the tire above the bladder  12 .  
         [0017]    When the tire  16  is properly located, the pneumatic lift mechanism  34  is activated to lift the drive plate  32  which lifts the outer cylinder  28   a  along with extension arm  28   c  and clamp plate  36  up through the center hole  14  in the tire  16 . As the outer cylinder portion  28   a  extends vertically, the lift plates  40  also move upward into contact with the lower surface of the tire  16  thereby lifting the tire  16  off of the drive chains  46 . The extension arm  28   c  is then extended by application of pressurized air to the inner cylinder portion  28   d  causing the extension arm to extend above the upper surface of the tire  16  and stretching the bladder  12  therewith (FIG. 2B). Pressurized air is then delivered to the interior surface of the bladder  12  causing the bladder to expand outward into contact with the inner peripheral surface around the opening  14  in the tire  16  (FIG. 2C). An air passage is provided through one of the rods  30  for providing air or vacuum to the bladder  12 . A fitting (not shown) is mounted to the rod  30  for attachment of an air vacuum supply hose.  
         [0018]    As best shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of spray jets  52  are provided for spraying soap onto the exterior surface of the bladder  12  while it is in the retracted position. Excess soap that drips from the bladder  12  is caught by the tub  26  and is then collected and re-supplied to the sprayers  52 .  
         [0019]    As the bladder  12  is inflated, the wet surface of the bladder  12  contacts the surface of the tire  16  at both the upper and lower openings in order to evenly distribute soap to the portion of the tire that engages the wheel when mounted. After the bladder  12  has been inflated, the bladder  12  is then deflated and the central support column  28  is retracted, thereby retracting the tire lift plates  40  which thereby lower the tire  16  onto the drive chain mechanism  46 . The pivot arms  48  are then retracted by the air cylinder actuators  50 . The drive chain mechanism  46  then drives the soaped tire  16  to the next stage of the tire mounting assembly process, as is known in the art.  
         [0020]    As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyer system  20  includes a waiting station  60  including a pair of stop arms  62  which stop the tires in the waiting station  60  until the previous tire has been properly soaped by the inflatable tire soaper  10 . When one tire rolls away from the inflatable tire soaper  10 , the stop arms  62  are retracted to the retracted position as illustrated in phantom, to allow the next tire  16  to move forward to the inflatable tire soaper  10 . Drive motors  64 ,  66  are provided for controlling operation of the rollers  22  of the conveyer system  20 .  
         [0021]    The inflatable tire soaper  10  is provided with a control system which controls the air cylinder actuators  34 ,  29 , and  50  and controls the drive motors  64 ,  66  for driving the rollers  22  of the conveyer  20  as well as the chain drive mechanism  46 .  
         [0022]    The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.