Abstract:
A tire changing machine comprises a chassis base and a rotatable wheel holder configured to retain a wheel rim. A tower, carrying a mount/demount head movable toward and away from the wheel rim, extends upward from the chassis base. An inflation cage is fixed with respect to the chassis base. The inflation cage defines an interior accessible through a first opening for ingress and egress of a vehicle wheel. Preferably, the inflation cage may be located at a back of the tire changer to rest on a common floor surface with the chassis base.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/105,681, filed Oct. 15, 2008, which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to tire changers. 
     Tire changers are utilized by employees of a vehicle service center when it is necessary to remove a tire from its rim and replace it with a new one. After the tire is replaced, the wheel is inflated by the operator. Some manufacturers of tire changers have devised various means to restrain the tire during inflation. 
     For example, some rim holding tire changers include swing over arm devices to help in restraining the tire/rim assembly. In other cases, a separate mechanical device has been utilized that the user inserts through the center hole of the wheel and locks into a mechanical system on the tire changer machine. Other manufacturers have provided systems in which the operator is located behind bars for the inflation stage of tire service. This system has had limited success as the operators do not want to move to a different location for tire inflation. Also, during a tire explosion, a tire and rim can be propelled upward and can do other damage. 
     A different way to handle tire inflation and provide more positive protection to the user is to have a 4-Bar cage or similar device. Such an arrangement will contain a tire failure or explosion. These devices, however, have drawbacks in that many times the cage devices are not firmly and structurally attached to the floor. As a result, they may become a flying object in the event of a tire explosion. Another drawback is the productivity lost when the operator moves from the tire changing machine to place the tire to be inflated in the 4-Bar cage arrangement. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention recognizes and addresses the foregoing disadvantages, and others, of prior art constructions and methods. 
     In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides a tire changing machine comprising a chassis base and a rotatable wheel holder (e.g., turntable) configured to retain a wheel rim. A tower carrying a mount/demount head movable toward and away from the wheel rim, extends upward from the chassis base. An inflation cage is fixed with respect to the chassis base. The inflation cage defines an interior accessible through a first opening for ingress and egress of a vehicle wheel. 
     Preferably, the inflation cage may be located at a back of the tire changer to rest on a common floor surface with the chassis base. For example, the inflation cage may be attached to the tower such as by a plurality of U-bolts extending around the tower. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, the inflation cage may have first and second openings at opposite ends thereof for ingress and egress of the vehicle wheel. Such embodiments may utilize first and second wheel ramps at the first and second openings, respectively. The first and second wheel ramps may be in alignment but have a gap defined therebetween to provide a rest position for the wheel. 
     It will often be desirable to form the inflation cage by a plurality (e.g., four) of vertical bars spaced apart from one another. Such vertical bars, for example, may have a generally rectangular C-shaped configuration and may be attached to a back panel to define the cage interior. 
     Embodiments are contemplated in which the tire changing machine further comprises an automatic inflation device. For example, the automatic inflation device may be attached to the inflation cage. 
     In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a tire inflation cage comprising a cage structure defining an interior in which a vehicle wheel is located during inflation. The interior is accessible through a first opening for ingress and egress of the vehicle wheel. An attachment mechanism by which the cage structure is attached to the tire changer is also provided. 
     Other objects, features and aspects of the present invention are provided by various combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed elements, as well as methods of utilizing same, which are discussed in greater detail below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof to one skilled in the art, is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, including reference to the accompanying figures, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a left side perspective view of a tire changer with attached inflation cage in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of the tire changer of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the tire changer of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a right side perspective view of the inflation cage showing a shelf arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view showing the manner in which a wheel can be inserted into the interior of the inflation cage; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged front view of an automatic inflation device that may be used with the tire changer; and 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged back view of the automatic inflation device of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elements of the invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the present invention, which broader aspects are included in the exemplary embodiments. 
     The preferred embodiment will be described in relation to a rim holding style tire changer. In this regard, the structure and operation of a rim holding style tire changer device is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,736 to Cunningham et al., incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. One skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that aspects of the present invention may be applicable to various other types of tire changers as well. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-3 , a rim holding style tire changer  10  including an attached inflation cage  12  in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. Tire changer  10  includes a base  14  in which a variety of internal mechanisms are located. A rotatable wheel holder, here in the form of a turntable  16 , is located above the top of base  14  for supporting a vehicle wheel in a horizontal position for the tire changing operation. In this case, a pneumatic motor located inside of base  14  functions to rotate turntable  16 . 
     Turntable  16  includes a plurality of jaws  18  that move radially into and out of engagement with the wheel rim. A series of foot pedals  20   a - c  ( FIG. 3 ) are provided at the front of base  14  for use by the operator. Foot pedals  20   a - c  perform various functions, such as controlling rotation of turntable  16  and movement of jaws  18 . 
     A vertical tower  22  extends up from the back of base  14 . As shown, a mount/demount assembly  24  is located at the upper end of tower  22 . Assembly  24  includes a pivotal swing arm  26  carrying a vertically movable toolhead  28  at its distal end. As a result, toolhead  28  may be moved from a position away from the wheel rim to a position adjacent to the wheel rim. 
     Referring now also to  FIGS. 4-6 , inflation cage  12  is mechanically attached to, and maintained in position by, tire changer  10 . In this case, a plurality of U-bolts  30  are used to connect cage  12  to tower  22  ( FIG. 5 ). As one skilled in the art will appreciate, attaching cage  12  to tire changer  10  precludes the need to bolt the cage to a floor. This is because the weight of tire changer  10  prevents cage  12  from moving in the event of a tire explosion. Advantageously, inflation cage  12  can be attached to machines already in service as a retrofit. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , cage  12  in this embodiment includes a back panel (wall)  32  located adjacent to tower  22 . A pair of spaced-apart rail structures  34  extend horizontally along back panel  32  as shown. Rail structures  34  assist in guiding a wheel  36  into the interior of cage  12  and also provides clearance for the ends of U-bolts  30 . In this regard, apertures (not shown) may be defined in rail structures  34  to provide clearance for tightening U-bolts  30 . 
     As shown, a plurality of bars  38  having a generally rectangular C-shape (i.e., the shape of a rectangle without one of the long sides) are attached to back panel  32  in a vertical orientation. In this embodiment, four such bars  38  are situated in a spaced apart arrangement to define the cage interior. Bars  38  may be attached to back panel  32  by welding or any other suitable technique. One or more spacer elements  40  may be attached across bars  38  in a horizontal orientation. A corner piece  42  may be attached at the outside bottom corner of cage  12  to provide a planar surface adjacent to the floor on which cage  12  rests. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, more or fewer vertical bars may be provided as necessary or desired. In addition, other suitable box-like structures may be used. All of these arrangements would be considered “cages” as that term is used in the present application. 
     Each open end of cage  12  is equipped with a ramp  44  to facilitate ingress and egress of wheel  36 . Preferably, a gap  46  ( FIG. 1 ) will be provided between ramps  44  in the middle of the cage interior to assure wheel  36  stays in this position when not being moved by the operator. Gap  46  will thus provide a detent between the ramps. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, an automatic inflation device  48  is also provided. As shown, the inflation device may be mounted to one of the bars  38  in a location convenient to the operator. Inflation device  48 , which includes an inflation hose  50 , automatically inflates wheel  36  to a pressure selectable by the operator. 
     As shown, a shelf arrangement  52  may be incorporated into cage  12  to provide additional storage for the operator. In this case, for example, a plurality of shelves are located on the side of back panel  32  opposite bars  38 . 
     Because the inflation cage  12  is adjacent the tire changer, the operator can seal the tire on the machine using the bead sealing feature of the tire changer machine. Then, the tire can be placed in the inflation cage whereupon the automatic inflation device is attached to the tire valve for bead seating and final inflation. While the tire in the cage is being inflated, the operator has the opportunity to service a second tire. This flow of processes facilitates improved operator productivity. 
     Because the bars in the disclosed cage are vertical whereas inflation cages of the prior art had horizontal bars, it is assured that the tire will be at rest in the middle of the cage for inflation. This feature negates the need for other systems that require the operator to roll the tire up a ram system when near the middle of the cage. In addition, the described device is more economical than many of the existing products available to the trade. 
     It can be seen that the present invention provides a tire changer having an attached inflation cage. While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, modifications and variations may be made thereto by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims. In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the various embodiments may be interchanged both in whole or in part. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the present invention. Therefore, it is contemplated that any and all such modifications are included in the present invention as may fall within the literal and equivalent scope of the appended claims.