Patent ID: 8613303

Claim:
A tire changer machine for changing a tire on a wheel rim of a wheel assembly, the machine comprising: a base; a drive assembly coupled to the base and configured to rotate a wheel rim and associated tire about a rotational axis; and a control system comprising: at least one component tool configured to engage said wheel assembly in a tire change procedure; an actuator configured to move said component tool in the tire change procedure; at least one sensor providing a feedback signal indicative of at least a measure of a varying amount of force applied by the at least one component tool to said wheel assembly during the tire change procedure; a controller operating at least one of said drive assembly and said actuator, in response to said feedback signal provided by the sensor during the tire change procedure, to alter a continued operation of either said actuator or said drive assembly; wherein said feedback signal is further indicative of a rate of change of said varying amount of force applied to said wheel assembly; and wherein said controller of said control system is further configured to alter operation of said drive assembly or said actuator responsive to a combination of said measure of, and said rate of change of, said varying amount of force.