Method for mounting a pneumatic tire

1. A method for mounting a pneumatic tire on a well base rim of a motor vehicle wheel comprising the steps of:

providing a robotic manipulator having an articulated arm movable in at least three spatial directions and a gripper mounted to the arm so as to be rotatable about at least two axes, the gripper comprising a support and a plurality of gripper fingers mounted on the support;

controlling the movement of said gripper;

providing a mounting station placed in the working range of said robotic manipulator;

conveying a well base rim to said mounting station and fixing said rim in said mounting station by a clamping device;

conveying a pneumatic tire associated with said rim into the working range of said robotic manipulator, the pneumatic tire having a first tire bead and a second tire bead;

grasping said pneumatic tire at its outer tread using said gripper; and

wherein the tire is held at the outer tread by said gripper accomplishing only by controlled movement of said gripper holding said pneumatic tire the steps of moving said gripper to said mounting station and swiveling said gripper relative to the articulated arm thereby moving said pneumatic tire into an oblique position inclined relative to said rim, advancing said gripper to said rim fixed in said mounting station, and lowering said pneumatic tire onto the rim so that one rim flange penetrates partly into an opening of at least the first tire bead facing said rim, swiveling said gripper so as to reduce the inclination of the tire relative to said rim and further advancing said gripper to said rim thereby slipping at least the first tire bead completely over the one rim flange; and

mounting the second tire bead over the one rim flange.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the pneumatic tire is placed onto the rim by the manipulator in a position inclined relative to the rim, in which the axis of rotation of the pneumatic tire forms an angle with the axis of rotation of the rim, in such a way that a portion of the rim flange penetrates into the opening of the tire bead and the tire bead comes to rest against a point of the well base of the rim in the region of this portion of the rim flange and wherein the tire bead is then slipped over the rim flange by reducing the inclination of the pneumatic tire relative to the rim.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the pneumatic tire is turned, on reduction of its inclination relative to the rim, about the point of contact between the well base and the tire bead.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the pneumatic tire is held during mounting by the manipulator in such a way that the tire bead to be mounted adopts an oval shape.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the pneumatic tire delivered for mounting is grasped by the manipulator using the gripper in its delivery position and is held continuously by the gripper until mounting of at least one tire bead has been completed.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the pneumatic tire is transported using the manipulator to a soaping station and is moved along in the soaping station with the tire beads against a lubricant applicator.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein matching of pneumatic tire and rim takes place during mounting.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the pneumatic tire is brought once again into an oblique position inclined relative to the rim by the manipulator after mounting of the first tire bead and moved in such a way relative to the rim that a portion of the rim flange penetrates into the opening of the second tire bead and the second tire bead comes into contact with the well base of the rim in the region of this portion of the rim flange, and wherein then the second tire bead is slipped over the rim flange by lowering the tire onto the rim and reducing the inclination of the tire relative to the rim.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein mounting of the first tire bead is effected in a first mounting station using the manipulator and mounting of the second tire bead is effected in a second mounting station downstream of the first mounting station using mounting tools passed along the rim flange.

10. The method according to claim 1 , comprising a further step of matching said pneumatic tire and said rim by rotating said gripper to align corresponding matching points on the tire and the rim.