Title

Bead Breaker Device

The invention relates to a bead breaker device for removing a tyre from a rim of a wheel.

State of the Art

Bead breaker devices comprising a pivotable bead breaker arm for removing a tyre from a rim of a wheel are known in the art. These bead breaker devices, however, are not well suited for all kinds of wheels. Their performance depends on the width of the wheel and they are usually not optimal for removing tyres from very big/wide or small/narrow rims.

Disclosure of the Invention

It an object of the invention to provide an improved bead breaker device, in particular a bead breaker device, which is more effective in removing big/wide and small/narrow tyres.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a bead breaker device for removing a tyre from a rim of a wheel comprises a support structure and a bead breaker arm, which is pivotably fixed to the support structure by means of a joint. Said joint is linearly movable with respect to the support structure.

Allowing a linear movement of the joint with respect to the support structure adds an additional degree of freedom to the bead breaker arm providing more flexibility. Said additional flexibility allows adjusting the bead breaker arm better to different kinds of wheels, in particular to different sizes and shapes of wheels, tyres and/or rims.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the bead breaker device has a first end and an opposing second end, and the bead breaker arm is pivotable between a closed position, in which the second end of the bead breaker arm is arranged close to the support structure, and an open position, in which the second end of the bead breaker arm is arranged in more distance from the support structure.

The open position of the bead breaker arm allows mounting / dismounting a wheel to/from the bead breaker device.

When arranged in the closed position, the bead breaker arm is in a position close to the wheel in order to remove the tyre from the rim.

According to an embodiment, linear movement of the joint allows modifying the distance between the second end of the bead breaker arm and the support structure in the open and/or in the closed position of the bead breaker arm. This allows adjusting the position of the bead breaker arm to different sizes, in particular to different widths, of the rim.

According to an embodiment, the bead breaker device comprises a rotatable reception or hub, which is configured for receiving and supporting a rim of a wheel. The reception or hub is rotatable so that the wheel, when mounted to the reception or hub, is rotatable around a rotational axis, which is coaxial with the axis of the wheel. This allows removing a tyre from a rim of the wheel by means of the bead breaker arm.

According to an embodiment, the joint is slidable in a direction which is oriented parallel to the rotational axis. This allows adjusting the minimum distance and/or the angle between the second end of the bead breaker arm and the wheel.

According to an embodiment the joint is a first joint and the bead breaker device additionally comprises a second joint pivotably connecting an actuating rod to the bead breaker arm. The second joint in particular is connected to the bead breaker arm at a location between the first and second ends of the bead breaker arm.

According to an embodiment, the bead breaker device further comprises an actuator, which is configured for moving the actuation rod in order to move the bead breaker arm between its closed and open positions. The actuator may be an electromagnetic, pneumatic or hydraulic actuator. An actuator allows conveniently removing the tyre from the rim of the wheel by moving the bead breaker arm by means of the actuator. According to an embodiment, the bead breaker arm comprises a bead breaker pad which is provided at the second end of the bead breaker arm and which is configured for interacting with the tyre in order to remove the tyre from the rim. A bead breaker pad allows removing the tyre from the rim conveniently, reliably and securely without damaging the tyre and/or the rim.

According to an embodiment, a linear movement of the first joint allows adjusting the angle between the bead breaker pad and the wheel. Adjusting the angle between the bead breaker pad and the wheel allows optimising the orientation of the bead breaker pad with respect to the wheel in order to remove the tyre from the rim most efficiently without causing damage to the tyre and/or to the rim.

In the following an exemplary embodiment of the invention is described with respect to the enclosed figures.

Short Description of the Figures

Figure 1 shows a perspective front view of a bead breaker device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the bead breaker device shown in Figure 1 from the top.

Figure 3 shows a perspective partial view of the functional parts of a bead breaker device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Figures 4 to 7 depict different top views respectively illustrating one of a plurality of configurations of the bead breaker arm.

Description of the Figures

Figure 1 shows a perspective front view of a bead breaker device 2 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention together with a wheel 4. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the bead breaker device 2 from the top.

Figure 3 shows a perspective partial view of the functional parts of a bead breaker device 2 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention including the bead breaker arm 12, and Figures 4 to 7 depict top views respectively corresponding to a different configuration / orientation of the bead breaker arm 12. For reasons of clarity, the wheel 4 is not shown in Figures 3 to 7.

The bead breaker device 2 comprises a support structure 10 supporting a rotatable reception or hub, which is not visible in the figures. The reception or hub is configured for receiving and supporting a rim 8 of a wheel 4. The reception or hub is rotatable so that the wheel 4, when mounted to the reception or hub, is rotatable around a rotational axis, which is coaxial with the axis of the wheel 4. In the embodiment shown in the figures the rotational axis is oriented horizontally.

A bead breaker arm 12 comprises a first arm portion 13 including a first end 14 and a second arm portion 15 including an opposing second 16. The first and second arm portions 13, 15 are connected to each other at an obtuse angle, e.g. at an angle of 140° to 160°, in particular at an angle of 150°.

The first end 14 is mounted to a rod 24 of the support structure 10 by means of a first joint 20 so that it is rotatable around a vertical axis, i.e. an axis which is oriented orthogonally with respect to the plane of Figures 4 to 7.

The first joint 20 is supported by a carriage 22, which is slidably mounted to the rod 24. The slidable carriage 22 allows the first joint 20 to move linearly in a direction, which is oriented basically parallel to the rotational axis. As a result, the distance of the first joint 20 from the support structure 10 may be adjusted by moving the carriage 22 along the rod 24 in a direction, which is oriented basically parallel to the rotational axis.

A bead breaker pad 18 is mounted to the second end 16 of the bead breaker arm 12. The bead breaker pad 18 is configured to interact with the wheel 4 in order to separate the tyre 6 from the rim 8 of the wheel 4.

The bead breaker pad 18 comprises a handle 19, which allows for a manual movement of the bead breaker pad 18.

The bead breaker arm 12 further comprises a third arm portion 21 extending from the first arm portion 13 towards the support structure 10. The third arm portion 21 in particular may extend basically at an angle of 90° with respect to the second arm portion 15. A second joint 28 is provided at a distal end of the third arm portion 21 facing towards the support structure 10. An actuating rod 26 is pivotably connected to the third arm portion 21 by means of the second joint 28.

An opposing end of the actuating rod 26 facing away from the bead breaker arm 12 interacts with an actuator 30 provided within or at the support structure 10. This configuration allows the actuator 30 to move the bead breaker arm 12 by actuating the actuating rod 26.

The actuator 30 may be an electromagnetic, pneumatic or hydraulic actuator 30.

Figures 4 and 5 depict a first configuration, in which the carriage 22 is arranged in a first position, in which the first joint 20 is arranged close to support structure 10.

In Figure 4, the bead breaker arm 12 is pivoted into an "open position", in which the second end 14 of the breaker arm 12 supporting the bead breaker pad 18 is arranged in a large distance Di from the support structure 10. This position allows mounting/dismounting a wheel 4 (not shown in Figs. 4 to 7) to/from the reception/hub.

In Figure 5, the bead breaker arm 12 is pivoted into a "closed position", in which the second end 14 of the breaker arm 12 supporting the bead breaker pad 18 is arranged in a small distance di from the support structure 10.

The minimum distance di between the tip of the bead breaker pad 18 and the support structure 10 may be e.g. 60 mm.

In this position, the bead breaker pad 18 interacts with a wheel 4 (not shown in Figs. 4 to 7) mounted to the reception/hub in order to separate the tyre 6 from the rim 8 of the wheel 4. In this position, the bead breaker pad 18 is oriented in an angle ai with respect to the front face of the support structure 10, which is parallel to the plane of rotation of the wheel 4.

Figures 6 and 7 depict a second configuration, in which the carriage 22 is in a second, extended position, in which the first joint 20 is arranged in a larger distance form the support structure 10 than in the first position. In Figure 6, the bead breaker arm 12 is pivoted into an "open position", in which the second end 14 of the breaker arm 12 supporting the bead breaker pad 18 is arranged in a larger distance D2 from the support structure 10. This position allows mounting/dismounting a wheel 4 (not shown in Figure 4) to/from the reception. The distance D2 is larger than the distance Di in the configuration shown in Figure 4. Thus, in this configuration, wider wheels 4 may be mounted to the reception.

In Figure 7, the bead breaker arm 12 is pivoted into a "closed position", in which the second end 14 of the breaker arm 12 supporting the bead breaker pad 18 is arranged in a small distance d2 from the support structure 10. In this position, the bead breaker pad 18 interacts with a wheel 4 (not shown) mounted to the reception/hub in order to separate the tyre 6 from the rim 8 of the wheel 4.

Due to the extended position of the carriage 22, in this configuration the distance d2 is smaller than the distance di in the configuration shown in Figure 5. The minimum distance d2 between the tip of the breaker pad 18 and the support structure 10 may be reduced to e.g. 10 mm. The distance d2 even may be zero.

Additionally, the orientation of the bead breaker pad 18 with respect to the front face of the support structure 10 may change to a larger angle 02.

The reduction of the minimum distance di/2 and the change of the angle αι/2 increase the performance penetration of the bead breaker pad 18 into the gap between the rim 8 and the tyre 6.

This enhances the performance of the bead breaker arm 12 in particular for small or wet tyres 6 and special shapes of the rim 8. It further reduced the risk of damaging sensors (TMPS) provided inside the tyre 6.