Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus and method for facilitating the installation of balance correction weights on a wheel or a tire/wheel assebly that includes a tire handling mechanism that is operative to move a wheel or tire/wheel assembly along a path from a wheel receiving position to a wheel presenting position where a balance correcting weight is installed at a predetermined location on the wheel. An operator station supports an operator in a confronting relationship with the wheel as it is conveyed by the handling mechanism. The operator station is arranged such that when an operator is facing a wheel located at the tire presenting position, the operator is generally located in a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the path of travel of the wheel as it moves from the receiving position to the presenting position. A tire/wheel handling mechanism includes a pair of grippers for engaging the wheel (or the tire in a tire/wheel assembly) and is rotatable about a lateral axis. The handling mechanism also includes a tire rotating device for rotating the tire within the grippers about its rotational axis. The apparatus and method enables a wheel or tire/wheel assembly to be presented to a weight installing operator in a preferred orientation and to present a location on the wheel where a corrective weight is to be installed in close proximity to the operator whereby installation of a corrective weight is greatly facilitated. Preferences for a given operator can be stored so that when the wheel is at the tire presenting position it is oriented and positioned in accordance with the operator's preferences. A light source is used to illuminate or indicate a location on the wheel where the corrective weight is to be installed.

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First Claim