METHOD FOR MOUNTING A PNEUMATIC TIRE ON A RIM

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for mounting a pneumatic tire on a rim using a handling robot that guides the pneumatic tire during mounting. Furthermore, a device for carrying out the method is described.

[0002] In the industrial production of vehicle wheels, the corresponding rims and tires are first brought in separately and then processed one after the other in various production stations until the finished complete wheel is formed. The rims and tires must be identified by type, soaped, and mounted. The assembled wheels are then usually automatically inflated with air pressure and balanced before being attached to the car. This type of wheel production is subject to strict quality control, as a poorly manufactured vehicle wheel represents a safety risk, particularly at high speeds, and can significantly impact a vehicle's handling. Since the individual production stages are partly interdependent, an error in a preliminary stage could result in the finished wheel exceeding the required quality tolerances, rendering it unusable.Each production station in this production line is therefore designed in such a way that the permissible manufacturing tolerance is maintained as far as possible.

[0003] In a method for the mechanical mounting of vehicle wheels, the rim is held in a horizontal position with the rim dish facing up or down by means of a clamping device. The pneumatic tire is placed diagonally on the rim and pushed close enough to the rim that the lower section of the lower tire bead is pressed into the rim's drop center, while its upper section protrudes beyond the upper rim flange. Mounting tools are then lowered onto the tire and rim from above, pressing the tire sidewall down to the level of the rim's drop center. By rotating the mounting tools around the rim's axis of rotation, the tire bead is continuously pulled over the upper rim flange.

[0004] US 5,170,828 A discloses a method for mounting a pneumatic tire on a drop-center rim. According to this method, the pneumatic tire is placed from above onto a rim held in a clamping device by means of a conveyor device and then conveyed together with the rim to a mounting and filling station. There, the tire is slipped over the rim by means of a filling bell, which is moved by a handling device and acts on the tire beads, and then inflated with the aid of the filling bell.

[0005] From US 4,621,671 A, a system for mounting pneumatic tires on drop-center rims is known, in which the rims are conveyed on pallets at a predetermined distance along a conveyor line to two tire mounting devices arranged one behind the other.

[0006] Furthermore, from WO99 / 42309 A1 a device for mounting a pneumatic tire on a rim is known, which device comprises a robot with an articulated arm movable in three directions, which is movable along a movement path that can be selected from a plurality of programmable, predetermined movement paths stored in the memory of a central unit.

[0007] DE 10 2006 0571 71 A1 discloses a device for mounting a pneumatic tire on a rim of a vehicle wheel using a handling robot. The robot has a robot hand movable about several axes and a rotationally driven flange, and a gripper attached to the robot hand. The gripper has a base body and gripper arms movable radially to the center axis of the gripper. The gripper arms are coupled to a synchronization device that synchronizes the radial movement of the gripper arms. The synchronization device has a disk rotatably mounted on the base body and rotatably driven by a motor, and coupling elements that are attached to the disk and the gripper arms by means of joints and cause a synchronous, radial movement of the gripper arms when the disk rotates.

[0008] DE 10 2005 030 692 A1 discloses a handling robot for the automatic mounting of pneumatic tires on rims. The handling and mounting of the pneumatic tires is carried out with the aid of a gripper attached to the swivel arm or robot hand of the handling robot, which can grip and hold the pneumatic tires in a suitable manner. The pneumatic tires are gripped by the gripper at the outer circumference in the area of the tread. Furthermore, the gripper fingers or arms, which grip the pneumatic tires, are moved synchronously relative to each other and apart, so that the gripped pneumatic tires always reach a defined central position relative to the gripper and thus also relative to the robot hand.

[0009] DE 20 2018 106 191 discloses a device for gripping and holding a tire by its outer circumference, comprising a handling device with an articulated arm movable in multiple spatial directions, which has a gripper with two gripper arms at its free end. The multi-link gripper arms consist of segments that are in operative contact with one another via synchronization means such that the movement of one gripper segment leads to the movement of another gripper segment, and the gripping movement of the gripper arms occurs in a plane transverse to the tire axis, so that the gripper segments can be brought into contact with the outer circumference of the tire with their contact surfaces. Thus, tires with different outer diameters can be gripped by the outer circumference without blocking the side surfaces of the tires for further processing, with the gripper arms, or their gripper segments, moving radially in a synchronized manner.

[0010] WO 2008 / 063212 A2 describes a tire assembly system in which several robots work together and perform defined tasks. For example, a rim robot moves the rim to a soaping station and deposits it after soaping, while a tire robot performs the same process with the tire. An assembly robot is used for wheel assembly, where the tire and rim are mounted.

[0011] DE 10 2011 002 180 B3 discloses a method for mounting a pneumatic tire on a drop-center rim. The pneumatic tire is gripped at the tread by a gripper mounted on a handling device, and the first tire bead is pulled over the rim by a controlled movement of the gripper. The gripper is then released from the pneumatic tire, and the tire is moved by actuators into a starting position for the mounting of the second tire bead. A rotational movement of the gripper around the axis of the rim guides mounting tools mounted on the gripper along the rim, causing the second tire bead to be pulled over the rim.

[0012] EP 2 388 155 A1 describes a device for changing the rotational angle of a pneumatic tire relative to a rim. A handling device with a gripper rotatable by a positionable rotary drive can convey a wheel to a clamping device, whereby, after the tire beads have been removed from the clamped rim, the pneumatic tire can be rotated relative to the rim by a calculated differential angle of rotation.

[0013] DE 10 2005 001 212 A1 discloses a method for mounting a pneumatic tire on a drop center rim of a vehicle wheel, in which the pneumatic tire is received in a clamping device and pressed into an oval shape by adjusting the clamping device.

[0014] The problem with the known devices is that several assembly stations with several handling devices are necessary, which is particularly cost-intensive and makes the maintenance of the systems complicated.

[0015] The invention is based on the object of providing a method for the automatic assembly of pneumatic tires in which the number of handling devices is reduced without negatively influencing the automation.

[0016] The object is achieved by the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0017] The object is achieved according to the invention in that a method for mounting a pneumatic tire on a drop-center rim of a vehicle wheel is provided, in which the pneumatic tire is gripped on the tread in a ready position by means of a gripper arranged on an articulated arm of a handling robot that can be moved in three directions, the tire is brought to the rim held in a clamping device and, by a controlled movement of the gripper holding the pneumatic tire, is slipped over a rim flange of the rim with the first tire bead facing the rim, that the mounting of the second tire bead is carried out with the aid of a handling device having a mounting tool, which guides the mounting tool along a circular path on the rim flange during the movement of the handling robot, in particular along a circular path, and as a result, the second tire bead is completely slipped over the rim flange,The movement of the handling robot is coordinated with that of the handling device. The handling robot can perform a predetermined or freely programmable positioning and movement of the tire, wherein this positioning and movement is coordinated, particularly during the mounting of the second tire bead, with the movement of the handling device and the mounting tool, so that the movements are coordinated. For example, the tire held by the handling robot can be tilted in such a way that the task or activity performed by the mounting tool of the handling device is simpler or easier and can be performed faster, safer, and more efficiently.

[0018] The method according to the invention has the advantage that, due to the coordinated movement of the handling robot and the handling device, numerous tools are eliminated, and the mounting, i.e., the handling of the tire, can essentially be performed by a single handling robot. This means that the handling robot takes on the role of all tire mounting tools from the conventional mounting machine, eliminating tools such as front / rear tire levers, tire pushers, and hold-down devices, and providing a simple mounting system. Advantageously, the handling robot thus takes over the function of all tire manipulation tools not located on the mounting head. Above all, the tire is held by its tread by the handling robot throughout the entire mounting process.This enables high conveyor speeds and correspondingly short cycle times, preventing tire mispositioning during transfer from one conveyor to the next. Expanding the assembly system is also easy, as additional stations can be added.

[0019] For certain tire types, it may be advantageous to coat the pneumatic tire with a lubricant before mounting to simplify mounting.In this regard, it may be advantageous if a pneumatic tire already moistened with lubricant is provided, in particular in a ready position, and is grasped at the tread by the gripper arranged on the articulated arm of the handling robot and brought towards the rim held in a clamping device and, by a controlled movement of the gripper holding the pneumatic tire, is brushed over a rim flange of the rim with the first tire bead facing the rim, that the mounting of the second tire bead takes place with the aid of a handling device having a mounting tool, which guides the mounting tool along a circular path on the rim flange during the movement of the handling robot, in particular along a circular path, and as a result the second tire bead is completely slipped over the rim flange, wherein the movement of the handling robot is coordinated with that of the handling device.

[0020] It may further be preferred that the soaping of the pneumatic tire, in particular its rim bead, is also carried out by the handling robot, specifically after the handling robot has removed the pneumatic tire from the ready position and before the pneumatic tire, moistened with lubricant, is brought to the clamping device. Thus, a method for mounting a pneumatic tire on a drop-center rim of a vehicle wheel is preferred, in which the pneumatic tire is grasped at the tread in a ready position by means of a gripper arranged on a three-way movable articulated arm of a handling robot. is conveyed by the handling robot to a wetting station for wetting the tire beads with lubricant and is moved in the wetting station with the tire beads along an application device for the lubricant, the tire wetted with lubricant is then brought by the handling robot to the rim held in a clamping device and, by a controlled movement of the gripper holding the pneumatic tire, is brushed over a rim flange of the rim with the first tire bead facing the rim, that the mounting of the second tire bead takes place with the aid of a handling device having a mounting tool which, during the movement of the handling robot, in particular along a circular path, guides the mounting tool along a circular path on the rim flange and as a result the second tire bead is completely slipped over the rim flange, wherein the movement of the handling robot is coordinated with that of the handling device.The method according to the invention makes it possible for additional process steps, which were previously performed by separate handling devices or manually, to be carried out by the handling robot and integrated into the process. This simplifies tire assembly systems, reduces costs and maintenance effort, and shortens cycle times.

[0021] In one embodiment, the handling robot places the pneumatic tire on the rim in a position inclined relative to the rim, in which the rotational axis of the pneumatic tire forms an angle with the rotational axis of the rim, for mounting the first tire bead. This position is such that a portion of the rim flange penetrates the opening of the first tire bead and the tire bead, in the region of this portion of the rim flange, comes to rest against a point on the rim's drop center. Subsequently, by reducing the inclination of the pneumatic tire relative to the rim, the tire bead is slipped over the rim flange. This allows for simple mounting of the first bead using only the handling robot, which is associated with lower costs and shorter cycle times.

[0022] It is preferred that the first tire bead is mounted using a handling device having a mounting tool, the movement of which is coordinated with that of the handling robot, so that during the movement of the handling robot, the mounting tool is guided along a circular path on the rim flange, thereby completely slipping the first tire bead over the rim flange. For certain tire types, it is advantageous to use a mounting tool for mounting the first bead. However, this step can also be performed by a coordinated movement of the handling robot and the mounting head. In this case, it has proven advantageous if the inclination of the pneumatic tire by the handling robot also occurs along a circular path, wherein this circular path has a larger radius than that of the mounting head or the mounting tool.As a result, the mounting tool and the tire's inclination, in particular the tire's lowest point, move synchronously along their circular paths and are located radially one behind the other relative to the rim's longitudinal axis. The mounting tool and the tire's inclination, in particular the tire's lowest point, are thus advantageously located radially one behind the other on their circular paths.

[0023] It may be advantageous if the application device comprises a rod-shaped, stationary brush device that can be wetted with lubricant, and the handling robot pivots the tire around the brush device. Applying the lubricant using a brush around which the pneumatic tire is pivoted has proven to be an efficient and cost-effective wetting method.

[0024] According to a further proposal of the invention, the pneumatic tire can be deformed during assembly by the assembly robot or the handling device in such a way that the tire bead to be mounted assumes an oval shape. To achieve this, the gripper holding the pneumatic tire can be controlled in such a way that the gripper executes a defined asynchronous clamping movement. Alternatively, the oval shape of the pneumatic tire can be achieved by a radial movement of the assembly head, in particular its tool.

[0025] A device for carrying out the method comprises a handling robot with an articulated arm movable in three directions, which carries a gripper at its free end for gripping and holding pneumatic tires, and with an assembly station with a clamping device for releasably holding a rim. The assembly station comprises a handling device with an assembly head equipped with assembly tools that can be guided between the tire bead and the rim flange. The assembly station is arranged in the working area of the handling robot. The handling robot can receive pneumatic tires already coated with lubricant. Alternatively, the handling robot can move the pneumatic tire to a conventional wetting station, where the pneumatic tire is coated with lubricant, for example, by hand.In a preferred embodiment, a wetting station with a lubricant-wettable application device is provided, particularly in the working area of the handling robot, wherein the handling robot moves the tire to be wetted to the application device. The handling robot also handles the soaping of the tire by taking the tire from a loading station, performing a coordinated soaping movement in the wetting station, and then moving the wetted tire to the rim held in an assembly station.

[0026] The handling robot, which can also be referred to as an assembly robot within the meaning of the invention, comprises an articulated arm movable in three directions, which carries at its free end a gripper for gripping and holding pneumatic tires, preferably movable relative to the articulated arm. The gripper is designed such that the tires can be gripped at their outer circumference and held force-fittingly by radial clamping. Preferably, the tire is held at three or more points distributed around the circumference, which lie on the tire tread. The device according to the invention comprises an assembly station with a clamping device for holding the rim during tire assembly. Furthermore, in one embodiment, a wetting station with an application device, in particular a brush, for wetting the tire beads with a lubricant can be arranged in the working area of the handling robot.Preferably, the wetting station is located directly at the end of a conveyor system for feeding the tires to be mounted. It may also be provided to integrate the wetting station into the end section of the conveyor line of said conveyor system.

[0027] The handling robot advantageously takes over the task of the usual tire mounting tools, whereby it can be advantageous if the gripper of the handling robot comprises at least one hold-down device which presses the upper tire bead substantially to the level of the drop center of the rim.

[0028] To coordinate or synchronize the control of the handling robot and the handling device, in particular the assembly head, a synchronization device can be provided, which can, for example, be a component of the program-controlled handling robot and the handling device and is controlled by a control unit connected to them for data exchange. Relevant data such as tire types, etc., can be input via the control unit, and the device according to the invention can be controlled. For this purpose, the control unit can have input means, such as a touchscreen.

[0029] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in the drawing. Figure 1 shows a handling robot with pneumatic tires at the wetting station, Figure 2 shows a handling robot with wetted pneumatic tires at the assembly station, Figure 3 shows the assembly of the first bead, Figures 4-6 show the assembly of the first bead using the assembly head, Figures 7 and 8 show the assembly of the second bead using the assembly head, and Figure 9 shows the further transport of the assembled wheel.

[0030] Figure 1shows a handling robot with pneumatic tires at the wetting station. The handling robot 1 has a gripper 2, which is attached to the free arm of an industrial robot, with an articulated arm 3 having multiple axes of movement, by means of which the gripper 2 can be moved in three spatial directions. Such a gripper 2 is known, for example, from DE 20 2018 106 191 U1, the content of which is explicitly included. However, the method according to the invention is not limited to specific configurations of a gripper 2. Rather, the grippers known from the prior art, with the aid of which a pneumatic tire can be held by its tread, are suitable for the method according to the invention. Grippers 3 that allow synchronous movement of the gripper elements are preferred. As an alternative to synchronous movement of the gripper elements, asynchronous movement can also be provided, for example if the tire is to be pressed into an oval shape by the gripper.In this case too, the movement of the gripper elements should be center-oriented so that the center of the tire oval is in the center of the gripper.

[0031] In addition, the gripper 2 is connected to the articulated arm 3 so that it can rotate about two axes. The handling robot 1, which is also referred to as an assembly robot in the sense of the invention, has several independent drives that can be controlled by a programmable control device and enable a positionally accurate movement of the gripper 2. The gripper 2 grips a pneumatic tire 4 to be mounted, e.g. from a Figure 1 shown conveyor device on its outer circumference, whereby the pneumatic tire 4 is radially tensioned and held in place with a force fit. The conveyor device for feeding the pneumatic tire 4 to be mounted is preferably located in the working area of the handling robot 1.

[0032] In one embodiment, a wetting station 5 can be located in the working area of the handling robot 1. This station serves to wet the tire beads, namely the lower and upper beads 6, 7, with a lubricant prior to assembly, thereby facilitating the mounting process. This means that the process of soaping the pneumatic tire 4 can easily be incorporated into the method according to the invention as an embodiment. Here, too, the pneumatic tire 4 is held or moved by the handling robot 1, so that the pneumatic tire 4 is held by its tread during the entire assembly process and additionally during the soaping process.Alternatively, the handling robot 1 can take a soaped pneumatic tire 4, that is, a pneumatic tire 4 wetted with lubricant, from a supply position and feed it to the further assembly process, wherein the soaping of the pneumatic tire 4 is carried out by means of conventional means, such as manually or a separate device.

[0033] The wetting station 5 comprises an application device 8 for applying the lubricant, which can be designed, for example, as a brush. The wetting station 5 can comprise a table with a flat tub, in the center of which the cylindrical, stationary brush is arranged. Alternatively, a spray nozzle can be provided as an application station 8. The application of lubricant will be illustrated below using the brush as the application device 8. Liquid lubricant, for example, soap solution, is pumped from the tub to the top of the brush through a supply line in the center of the brush by means of a pump arranged below the tub, whereby the brush is impregnated with lubricant.The pneumatic tire 4, held by the gripper 2 at its tread, is moved with the aid of the handling robot 1 over the application device 8, in particular the brush of the wetting station 5, and then lowered until the brush penetrates the openings of the two tire beads 6, 7. During this process, the tire 4 is essentially aligned centrally with the brush, the diameter of which, in the case shown here, is smaller than the inner diameter of the beads 6, 7. The pneumatic tire 4 is then moved until the beads 6, 7 touch the brush at one point. The pneumatic tire 4 and gripper 2 are then moved one or more times in a circular path around the axis of the brush, with the brush sliding along the tire beads 6, 7 and completely wetting them with lubricant. After wetting, the pneumatic tire 4 is centered again with respect to the brush and then removed upwards from the wetting station 5.

[0034] Figure 2shows a handling robot with wetted pneumatic tyre at the assembly station and Figure 3 The assembly of the first bead. An assembly station 9 is located in the work area of the handling robot 1. In the assembly station 9, the pneumatic tire 4, coated with lubricant, is mounted onto a clamped rim 10 with the aid of the handling robot 1. The rim 10, which fits the tire 4, is fixed in a horizontal position by means of a suitable clamping device 11.

[0035] The handling robot 1 moves the pneumatic tire 4 from its original horizontal position into an inclined position relative to the horizontal position. The pneumatic tire 4 is then lowered onto the rim 10 and, with the lowest point first, is slipped essentially in a radial direction with the lower bead 6 over the upper rim flange 12, whereby the bead partially penetrates the opening of the tire bead 6 and the tire bead 6 rests with its lowest point against the drop center 13 of the rim 10. Once this state is reached, i.e., the pneumatic tire 4 reduces its inclination relative to the rim 10, the radial movement of the tire 4 relative to the rim 10 is terminated and the tire 4 is rotated about the point of contact between the tire bead 6 and the drop center 13 such that the tire 4 returns to an approximately horizontal position. The tire bead 6 is completely pulled over the rim flange 12.

[0036] Figure 4-6show the assembly of the first bead using the assembly head. For certain pneumatic tires 4, assembly using an assembly tool is advantageous and possibly simpler. For such a tire assembly, the first bead 6 can be assembled using the assembly head 14 according to one embodiment. The assembly head 14 is arranged above the rim 10 and in particular coaxially to the axis of the rim 10 and can be moved in different directions via a handling device (not shown). The handling device can be designed as a simple assembly station with linear drives and rotary drives. However, it can also be provided that the handling device is designed as an industrial robot, at the free end of which the assembly head with tool is arranged.

[0037] Mounting tools 15 are movably mounted on the mounting head 14 and include, in particular, a bead deflector and a mounting roller. The position of the mounting tools 15 is radially adjustable for adaptation to different rim and tire diameters. Additional elements, such as a trailing roller, can also be provided. It may also be advantageous to arrange a second set of mounting tools diametrically opposite the first.

[0038] To start the assembly of the first bead 6, the tool 15 is moved through the opening of the upper bead 7 into the working position at the edge of the rim 10. As soon as the tool 15 has reached the Figure 4Once the tire has reached the position shown, the mounting head 14 is rotated clockwise around the axis of the rim 10. The tool 15 moves along the edge of the rim 10, with its bead deflector continuously sweeping the lower bead 6 over the edge of the rim 10, and the pressure roller following the bead deflector presses the bead 6 downwards toward the center of the rim 10. At the same time, the handling robot 1 tilts the held pneumatic tire 4 synchronously with the rotation of the mounting head 14.Because the radius of the circular path of the mounting tool 15 is smaller than the radius of the circular path followed by the inclination of the pneumatic tire 4, the inclined pneumatic tire 4, in particular the lowest point of the pneumatic tire 4, is located close to the mounting tool 15. Thus, the mounting tool 15 and the inclination of the pneumatic tire 4 performed by the handling robot 1, in particular the lowest point of the pneumatic tire 4, essentially move radially to the longitudinal axis of the rim 10 and synchronously along their respective circular paths. This significantly simplifies the mounting of the pneumatic tire 4. The movement of the mounting head 14 and that of the handling robot 1 are coordinated with one another - both perform a synchronized movement along a circular path, with the handling robot 1 supporting the activity of the mounting head 14, or rather its tool 15, through the quasi-wandering inclination of the pneumatic tire 4.A correspondingly programmable control unit can be connected for data exchange with the control of the mounting head 14, or its synchronization device, and the control of the handling robot 1, or its synchronization device. Based on the data for the size and position of the rim 10 or the pneumatic tire 4 input via the control unit, the control of the handling robot 1 can precisely control the movement of the gripper 2 with the pneumatic tire 4 and coordinate it with the movement of the mounting head 14. The mounting of the first tire bead 6 is essentially completed when either the mounting head 14 has reached a previously defined point on the circular path, corresponding sensors detect the complete mounting of the first bead 6, or the pneumatic tire 4 is again in a horizontal position.

[0039] For the assembly of the second, upper tire bead 7, the assembly tool 15 can be brought into a starting position after the assembly of the first tire bead 6, where it is positioned close to the edge of the rim 10. By further lowering the assembly tool 15, the second bead 7 is pressed over the upper rim flange 12 at a point and comes into contact with the drop center 13 of the rim 10. The lowering of the assembly tool 15 is accompanied by an inclination of the pneumatic tire 4 by the gripper 2 of the assembly robot 1. The inclination occurs only to the extent that the lower bead 6 is prevented from slipping out of the drop center 13 of the rim 10 on the opposite side of the tire 4. The inclination of the tire 4 then occurs along a circular path, just as the movement of the assembly head 14, or the assembly tool 15, also occurs along a circular path.Here, too, the movements of the pneumatic tire 4, i.e., its quasi-wandering inclination, and those of the mounting head 14, or its tool 15, are synchronized. Because the radii of the circular paths are different, the lowest point of the pneumatic tire 4 and the tool 15 can be guided close to each other, so that both are radially aligned with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rim.

[0040] The mounting of the second tire bead 7 is only completed when the tool 15 has returned to its starting position, particularly after a nearly complete or full circular movement. The clamping device 11 then releases the rim 10, so that the handling robot 1 can convey the assembled wheel 16, consisting of the rim 10 and tire 4, to a subsequent processing station, for example, a tire filling station.

[0041] Advantages of the method and device according to the invention include, among other things, that the assembly robot 1 holds the tire 4 throughout the entire assembly process, thus eliminating errors during tire transfer. Assembly is simplified and cycle times are reduced.

Claims

1. Method for mounting a pneumatic tire (4) on a well-base rim (10) of a vehicle wheel (16), in which the pneumatic tire (4) is gripped in a holding position by means of a gripper (2) arranged on a jointed arm (3) of a handling robot (1) which is movable in three directions, the tire (4) is guided toward the rim (10) held in a clamping device ( 11) and, by a controlled movement of the gripper (2) holding the pneumatic tire (4) with the first tire bead (6) facing the rim (10) via a rim flange (12) of the rim (10) in such a way that the second tire bead (7) is mounted with the aid of a handling device comprising an assembly tool ( 15) which, during the movement of the handling robot ( 1), guides the assembly tool (15) along a circular path on the rim flange (12) during the movement of the handling robot (1), thereby completely pulling the second tire bead (7) over the rim flange (12), wherein the movement of the handling robot (1) is coordinated with that of the handling device and the pneumatic tire (4) is held by the handling robot (1) on its tread during the entire assembly process.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the pneumatic tire is conveyed by the handling robot (1) into a wetting station (5) for wetting the tire beads (6, 7) with lubricant and is moved in the wetting station (5) with the tire beads (6, 7) along an application device (8) for the lubricant.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pneumatic tire (4) is moved by the handling robot (1) for mounting the first tire bead (6) in a position inclined toward the rim (10) in which the axis of rotation of the pneumatic tire (4) forms an angle with the axis of rotation of the rim (10), onto the rim (10) in such a way that a section of the rim flange (12) penetrates into the opening of the first tire bead (6) and the tire bead (6) comes into contact with the rim flange (12) in the area of this section of the rim flange (12) at a point on the drop center (13) of the rim (10) and that, subsequently, by reducing the inclination of the pneumatic tire (4) relative to the rim (10), the tire bead (6) is stripped over the rim flange (12).

4. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first tire bead (6) is mounted with the aid of a handling device comprising an assembly tool (15), the movement of which is coordinated with that of the handling robot (1) so that during the movement of the handling robot (1), the assembly tool (15) is guided along a circular path on the rim flange (12) and the first tire bead (6) is thereby completely placed over the rim flange (12).

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the application device (8) comprises a rod-shaped, stationary brushing device which can be wetted with lubricant, and the handling robot (1) swivels the tyre (4) around the brushing device.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when the angle of inclination of the pneumatic tire (4) relative to the rim (10) is reduced, the handling robot (1) rotates the tire about the point of contact between the drop center (13) and the tire bead (6, 7).

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pneumatic tire (4) is deformed during assembly by the handling robot (1) or the handling device in such a way that the tire bead (6, 7) to be assembled assumes an oval shape.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after mounting the pneumatic tire (4) on the rim (10), the handling robot (1) transfers the mounted wheel (16) to a conveyor device that transports the wheel (16) away.

9. Device for carrying out the method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 8, characterized by a handling robot (1) with an jointed arm (3) movable in three directions, which carries a gripper (2) at its free end for gripping and holding pneumatic tires (4) and is equipped with an assembly station (9) with a clamping device (11) for releasably holding a rim (10), which comprises a handling device with an assembly head (14) that can be guided along a tire bead (6, 7) and the rim flange (12), wherein the assembly station (9) is arranged in the working area of the handling robot (1).

10. Device according to claim 9, characterized by a wetting station (5) arranged in the working area of the handling robot (1) with an application device (8) that can be wetted with a lubricant, wherein the handling robot (1) moves the pneumatic tire (4) to be wetted toward the application device (8).

11. Device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the gripper (2) of the handling robot (1) comprises at least one hold-down device which presses the upper tire bead (7) substantially at the level of the drop center (13) of the rim flange (12).

12. Device according to one of the preceding claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the handling device and the handling robot (1) are coupled to a synchronization device which synchronizes their movements.