CN112549862A

CN112549862A - Non-pneumatic tire and method for manufacturing the same

Info

Publication number: CN112549862A
Application number: CN202011313208.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孙智勇
Original assignee: Guangdong Shunluchi Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Shunluchi Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-20
Filing date: 2020-11-20
Publication date: 2021-03-26

Abstract

The present invention relates to a non-pneumatic tire, comprising: the tyre comprises a tyre body, wherein a plurality of air bags distributed along the circumferential direction of the tyre body are arranged in the tyre body, and adjacent air bags are communicated along the circumferential direction of the tyre body. Above-mentioned exempt from pneumatic tire, inside sets up the gasbag for the comfort level of tire improves greatly and reaches furthest's lightweight, does benefit to scale popularization and application. A method of manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire is also provided.

Description

Non-pneumatic tire and method for manufacturing the same

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of tire manufacturing, in particular to a non-pneumatic tire and a manufacturing method thereof.

Background

With the rapid development of shared economy, the non-pneumatic tire is widely accepted by the industry due to the characteristics of maintenance free, puncture resistance and low maintenance cost, and is rapidly developed.

The current common non-pneumatic tires mainly comprise two main types, namely full solid tires and hollow tires. As shown in fig. 1, compared with a pneumatic tire, the pneumatic tire with a full solid structure has a heavier weight and a lower comfort level, which affects the popularization and use in a large area.

The cut-out tire generally includes two types. One type is a transverse honeycomb openwork structure as shown in fig. 2. The tire is characterized in that transverse hollows 1 are distributed on the side surface of the tire, and the transverse hollows 1 can be circular holes, elliptical holes, trapezoidal holes and the like or combinations of the holes. The depth of the hole will typically extend through the sidewall and to a depth within the cylindrical body of the tire. The holes have a symmetrical distribution and also have an asymmetrical distribution. This type of non-pneumatic tire is simple in structure and mature in design and manufacturing process. The manufacturing process is that the whole tire is made of only one material and is molded at one time. The indexes of all aspects of the non-pneumatic tire, such as wear resistance, fatigue, endurance, skid resistance, heat resistance and the like, can meet the requirements, the comfort degree is improved compared with that of a tire with a solid structure, but the tire is generally required to be made to be relatively harder, so that the comfort of the tire is greatly sacrificed, and the difference is larger compared with that of a pneumatic tire. The riding experience of the user is poor, and the individual user generally cannot select the type of inflation-free tire, which is also a main reason that the inflation-free tire cannot be popularized and applied on a large scale. For some sharing industries, such tires are used due to reduced operating costs. At present, the electric scooter is only applied to vehicles with low speed and low load on a small scale, such as an electric scooter, a swing car, a shared electric vehicle and the like. In addition, the tire of this type is prone to dust or other substances in the hollow positions of the tire surface, which affects the user experience and acceptance. On the other hand, as shown in fig. 2, considering the need of demolding during production, the aperture is generally smaller toward the inside of the tire, and the solid portion of the tire is thicker at the middle portion of the tire, i.e., the center portion of the ground contact surface, which results in relatively poor riding comfort.

The other type of hollow tire is a longitudinal hollow structure as shown in fig. 3, and the longitudinal hollow 2 surrounds a circle along the circumferential direction of the tire. The manufacturing process of the tire is complex, low in efficiency and large in energy consumption. Because of its special structure, to achieve an effective load support, the tire needs to be made harder, the hardness of which is 5-10 degrees (shore a) higher than that of the non-pneumatic tire with horizontal hollowing. In addition, the manufacturing process is complicated and the cost is relatively high. Compared with the weight of a transverse inflation-free tire, the weight of the tire with the same size is slightly heavier, and the weight of the tire does not meet the weight reduction requirement of a whole vehicle factory on a vehicle at present. Moreover, the tire has structural defects due to structural and technological problems, for example, the combination part of the two hollow ends is uneven compared with other parts of the tire, namely, the tire is usually prepared by adopting the bending butt joint of the tubular core body, so that the combination part of the two longitudinal hollow ends is uneven compared with other parts of the tire. In addition, in the circumferential direction of the tire, because a certain part in the middle of the hollow part is possibly sunken, the shape of the cut along each section of the tire is different, and thus the dynamic balance of the whole tire is not uniform; meanwhile, because some hidden troubles are in the tire, but the hidden troubles cannot be detected out from the appearance, the quality of the tire is easy to cause defects, and the service life is influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a non-pneumatic tire which is light in weight, comfortable and easy to popularize and apply in a large scale. In addition, a manufacturing method of the non-pneumatic tire is also provided.

An airless tire, comprising: the tyre comprises a tyre body, wherein a plurality of air bags distributed along the circumferential direction of the tyre body are arranged in the tyre body, and adjacent air bags are communicated along the circumferential direction of the tyre body.

Above-mentioned exempt from pneumatic tire, inside sets up the gasbag for the comfort level of tire improves greatly and reaches furthest's lightweight, does benefit to scale popularization and application.

In one embodiment, a plurality of air bags are uniformly distributed at intervals along the circumferential direction of the tire body, and connecting channels are arranged between the adjacent air bags.

In one embodiment, the plurality of air bags form two air bag layers arranged along the axial direction of the tire body, and the air bags of the two air bag layers are staggered along the circumferential direction of the tire body.

In one embodiment, all the connecting channels are distributed around the axis of the carcass and are located on the same circumference.

In one embodiment, the plurality of air bags form two air bag layers arranged along the axial direction of the tire body, the air bags of the two air bag layers are staggered along the circumferential direction of the tire body, and the adjacent two air bags are intersected.

In one embodiment, the inner circumferential surface of the carcass is provided with a vent hole, and the vent hole is communicated with the air bag.

A method of manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire, comprising the steps of:

providing an upper mold, a middle mold and a lower mold, wherein the upper mold has a shape corresponding to an upper half carcass formed by separating the carcass along an axial separation plane, the middle mold has a shape corresponding to an air bag part, and the lower mold has a shape corresponding to the remaining lower half carcass of the carcass;

positioning the middle die between an upper die and a lower die, and closing the upper die and the lower die;

injecting rubber into the upper die, the middle die and the lower die;

opening the die for the first time, so that the middle die is separated from the upper die, and the middle die and the lower die are removed together;

separating the middle die from the lower die;

closing the upper die and the lower die again, introducing dry gas into the tire body, wherein the gas pressure is not lower than the external gas pressure of the tire body, and the temperature difference between the dry gas and the external temperature of the tire body is within 10 ℃, and starting to vulcanize the tire body;

opening the mold for the second time, and taking out the vulcanized tire body.

In one embodiment, the step of closing the upper die and the lower die again, introducing a dry gas into the tire body, wherein the dry gas has a gas pressure not lower than the external gas pressure of the tire body and a temperature within 10 ℃ of the external temperature of the tire body, and starting the vulcanization treatment of the tire body comprises: and introducing 160-180 ℃ dry air into the matrix, wherein the air pressure is 2-3 times of standard atmospheric pressure, and simultaneously vulcanizing.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises the following steps: and after the first die opening, during the period from the second die opening to the second die closing of the upper die and the lower die, cooling the upper half tire body in the upper die in a water cooling mode, and cooling the lower half tire body in the lower die in a water cooling mode.

In one embodiment, the step of injecting rubber into the upper mold, the middle mold and the lower mold is finished 30 seconds before the next step is performed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a non-pneumatic tire of a full solid structure in the prior art.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a non-pneumatic tire with a transverse honeycomb hollow structure in the prior art.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a non-pneumatic tire with a longitudinal hollow structure in the prior art.

Fig. 4 is an external view of the non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a non-pneumatic tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is an axial cross-sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a radial cross-sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing another cross-sectional shape of the bladder in the non-pneumatic tire in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view showing still another cross-sectional shape of the bladder in the non-pneumatic tire in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing still another cross-sectional shape of an air bag in a non-pneumatic tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a non-pneumatic tire according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a perspective sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is an axial sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a radial cross-sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a non-pneumatic tire according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a perspective sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is an axial sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a radial sectional view of a non-pneumatic tire according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a schematic flow chart of a method for manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 21 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a mold used in the method for manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 22 is a schematic view of the mold after the initial mold clamping in the method for manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 23 is a schematic view of the first mold opening in the manufacturing method of the non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 24 is a schematic view showing the middle mold together with the lower mold removed from the upper mold in the method of manufacturing the non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a schematic view showing the middle mold removed from the lower mold in the method for manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiment of the present invention

Fig. 26 is a schematic view of the middle mold and the lower mold separated from each other in the method of manufacturing the non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 27 is a schematic view showing a state where the upper mold and the lower mold are again closed in the method for manufacturing the non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 28 is a schematic view of the second mold opening to remove the product in the method for manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The relevant elements in the figure are labeled as follows:

1. transversely hollowing out; 2, longitudinally hollowing out;

100. a non-pneumatic tire; 110. a carcass; 111. an inner ring surface, 112, an outer ring surface; 101. an upper half carcass; 102. a lower carcass half; 120. an air bag; 130. a connecting channel; 140. a vent hole;

200. a non-pneumatic tire; 210. a carcass; 211. an inner ring surface 212, an outer ring surface; 220. an air bag; 230. a connecting channel; 240. a vent hole;

300. a non-pneumatic tire; 310. a carcass; 311. an inner ring face, 312, an outer ring face; 320. an air bag; 340. a vent hole;

400. a mold; 410. an upper die; 420. a middle mold; 421. a guide post; 430. a lower die; 440. a support pillar; 450. a robot arm.

Detailed Description

To facilitate an understanding of the invention, the invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," and the like are used in the orientations and positional relationships indicated in the drawings for convenience in describing the invention and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the referenced device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and are not to be considered limiting of the invention.

Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means at least two, e.g., two, three, etc., unless specifically limited otherwise.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and can, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be directly connected or indirectly connected through intervening media, or they may be connected internally or in any other suitable relationship unless expressly stated otherwise. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the first feature "on" or "under" the second feature may be directly contacting the first and second features or indirectly contacting the first and second features through an intermediate. Also, a first feature "on," "over," and "above" a second feature may be directly or diagonally above the second feature, or may simply indicate that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature may be directly under or obliquely under the first feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and the like as used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not denote a unique embodiment. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.

Referring to fig. 4, the appearance of the non-pneumatic tire according to the embodiments of the present invention has the following features: the hollow parts penetrating through the side faces of the tire are not formed in the surface of the tire, the problem that the hollow tire hides dust, soil and the like is solved, the cleaning is easy, and the appearance is attractive and elegant and is easy to accept by users. The surface patterns of the non-pneumatic tire of the embodiments of the present invention can be set as required, which is similar to the conventional pneumatic tire.

Preferred embodiments of the non-pneumatic tire and the method for manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example 1

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a perspective view of a non-pneumatic tire 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein a bladder 120 inside the tire is shown in dashed lines for convenience of illustration. Fig. 6 to 8 show the arrangement of the inner airbag 120 in cross-section from different perspectives.

As shown in fig. 5 to 8, the non-pneumatic tire 100 includes a carcass 110, and a plurality of air bags 120 disposed in the carcass 110 and distributed along the circumferential direction of the carcass 110. The tire body 110 is a portion of the wheel sleeved on the hub, and has a cylindrical structure with a circular axial through hole at the center, and has an inner ring surface 111 for being sleeved on the hub and an outer ring surface 112 for contacting with the ground. The circumferential direction of the carcass 110 refers to the circumferential direction around the axis X of the carcass 110.

The plurality of air bags 120 are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the tire body 110 at intervals, and a connecting channel 130 is arranged between the adjacent air bags 120. The cross-section of the connecting channel 130 is particularly circular, but is not limited thereto. By the above means, the adjacent air cells 120 are communicated with each other, all the air cells 120 are sequentially communicated in the circumferential direction of the carcass 110, and a hollow structure is formed inside the carcass 110 along the circumferential direction of the carcass 110. The solid part around the air bag 120 plays a supporting role, and the air bag 120 plays a buffering role, so that the comfort level is greatly improved and is close to the pneumatic tire. In addition, the air bag 120 reduces the weight of the tire body 110, and meets the requirement of lightweight development of the tire. In general, the non-pneumatic tire 100 of the present embodiment has light weight, high comfort, and no through holes on the outer surface; is beneficial to large-scale popularization and application.

In this embodiment, the plurality of bladders 120 are evenly distributed at intervals in the circumferential direction of the carcass 110. Thus, as shown in fig. 8, the air bags 120 are symmetrically distributed about the center of the tire, and the tire has moderate comfort, proper weight and good load-carrying capacity. Of course, in other embodiments, the plurality of air bags 120 may be disposed unevenly on the basis of the plurality of air bags 120 spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the carcass 110.

The specific structure and shape and structure of the bladder 120 are not limiting. As shown in fig. 8, the cross-sectional shape of the bladder 120 is an ellipse in the radial cross-section of the carcass 110. As shown in fig. 9, the cross-sectional shape of the bladder 120 is an ellipse in the radial cross-section of the carcass 110, and the inner wall of the bladder 120 has a step. As also shown in fig. 10, the cross-sectional shape of the balloon 120 is circular. As also shown in fig. 11, the cross-sectional shape of the balloon 120 is a double row hole structure. It should be noted that the structure and shape of the airbag 120 are not limited to the above examples, and as for the sectional shape of the airbag 120 alone, it may be a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, a drop shape, etc., and may be an irregular shape.

Further, all the connecting channels 130 are distributed around the axis X of the carcass 110 and are located on the same circumference. With this arrangement, the positions of the respective connecting passages 130 in the axial direction of the carcass 110 are the same, which facilitates molding the connecting passages 130 by a simple mold structure design.

Further, the inner circumferential surface 111 of the carcass 110 is provided with a vent hole 140 for communicating the bladder 120 with the outside. The inner ring surface 111 of the tire body 110 is adhered to the hub, so the appearance effect and the mounting and using effect of the tire body 110 are not affected by the vent holes 140.

In addition, the non-pneumatic tire 100 of the present embodiment can be molded by injection, and the manufacturing process is relatively simple. In the injection molding process, when the air bag 120 is molded but the tire is not completely vulcanized, high-temperature and high-pressure dry gas can be introduced into the air bag 120 of the tire body 110 by using the vent holes 140, so that the inside and the outside of the tire are uniformly heated, and the vulcanization degree is uniform; and the gas can avoid the collapse of the air bag 120 in the manufacturing process, and ensure that the interior of the tire can form a stable cavity structure. By utilizing the vent holes 140, the produced tire has high success rate and high physical stability, and the product quality is ensured. The method of manufacturing the non-pneumatic tire 100 of the present invention will be further described with respect to the use of the vent hole 140.

In the non-pneumatic tire 100 of the present embodiment, the plurality of air bags 120 are uniformly distributed at intervals along the circumferential direction of the tire body 110, and only the connecting channels 130 are provided between the air bags 120, so that the tire has more solid parts, and is suitable for being applied to occasions with heavy loads.

Example 2

Referring to fig. 12, fig. 12 is a perspective view of a non-pneumatic tire 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein a bladder 220 inside the tire is shown in dashed lines for the convenience of illustration. Fig. 13 to 15 show the arrangement of the inner airbag 220 in cross-section from different perspectives. The tire body 210 is a portion of the wheel sleeved on the hub, and has a cylindrical structure with a circular axial through hole at the center, and has an inner ring surface 211 sleeved on the hub and an outer ring surface 212 contacting with the ground. The circumferential direction of the carcass 210 refers to a circumferential direction around the axis X of the carcass 210.

As shown in fig. 12, the plurality of air cells 220 in the carcass 210 form two air cell 220 layers, i.e., air cell layer a and air cell layer B, arranged in the axial direction of the carcass 210, the air cells 220 of the two air cell 220 layers are staggered in the circumferential direction of the carcass 210, and adjacent two air cells 220 are communicated with each other through a connecting passage 230. That is, all the air bags 220 are arranged in sequence along the circumferential direction of the carcass 210, and on the basis, two adjacent air bags 220 are staggered by a certain distance in the axial direction of the carcass 210, so as to form the staggered arrangement effect. The first of the two adjacent air cells 220 is the air cell 220 in air cell layer a, and the second is the air cell 220 in air cell layer B.

It should be noted that, the two adjacent air bags 220 are properly staggered by a certain distance in the axial direction of the carcass 210, which includes the following situations: first, two adjacent air bags 220 are overlapped in the axial direction, and at this time, in the axial section of the carcass 210, the projection of two adjacent air bags 220 is partially overlapped, namely, the situation shown in fig. 12; secondly, two adjacent air bags 220 are spaced in the axial direction, and at this time, on the axial section of the tire body 210, the projections of the two adjacent air bags 220 are staggered.

The specific structure and shape and structure of the airbag 220 in this embodiment are also not limited, similarly to embodiment 1. The cross-sectional shape of the balloon 220 is not limited to the oval shape shown in fig. 15, but may be a triangle, a quadrangle, a polygon, a hexagon, a drop shape, etc., and may be an irregular shape.

Referring to fig. 13 to 15, a connecting channel 230 is disposed between two adjacent air bags 220. The cross-section of the connecting channel 230 is particularly circular, but is not limited thereto. Further, similar to embodiment 1, all the connecting passages 230 are distributed around the axis of the carcass 210 and are located on the same circumference. With this arrangement, the positions of the respective connecting passages 230 in the axial direction of the carcass 210 are the same, which facilitates molding by the mold structure.

Further, the inner circumferential surface 211 of the carcass 210 is provided with a vent hole 240 for communicating the bladder 220 with the outside. The inner ring surface 211 of the tire body 210 is adhered to the hub, so the installation and use effects of the tire body 210 are not affected by the existence of the vent holes 240.

In the non-pneumatic tire 200 of the present embodiment, the air cells 220 are arranged in a staggered manner, so that the tire has a hollow structure inside and a solid part for supporting. Compared with the symmetrical arrangement mode of the embodiment 1, the combination area of the cavity structure and the solid part is increased, and the air bags 220 are arranged in a staggered mode, so that the air bags 220 are larger in distribution range in the tire body 210, higher in fusion degree with the tire body 210, capable of effectively avoiding the cracking problem, durable and good in pressure resistance.

Example 3

Referring to fig. 16, fig. 16 is a perspective view of a non-pneumatic tire 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the bladder 320 is shown in phantom for ease of illustration. Fig. 17 to 19 show the arrangement of the inner airbag 320 in cross-section from different perspectives. The tire body 310 is a portion of the wheel sleeved on the hub, and has a cylindrical structure with a circular axial through hole at the center, and has an inner ring surface 311 for being sleeved on the hub and an outer ring surface 312 for contacting with the ground. The circumferential direction of the carcass 310 refers to the circumferential direction about the axis X of the carcass 310.

In this embodiment, the air cells 320 are densely staggered. As shown in fig. 16, the plurality of air bags 320 in the carcass 310 form two air bag 320 layers, namely an air bag layer a and an air bag layer B, which are arranged along the axial direction of the carcass 310, the air bags 320 of the two air bag 320 layers are staggered along the circumferential direction of the carcass 310, and the adjacent two air bags 320 intersect. That is, the first of the two adjacent air cells 320 is the air cell 320 in the air cell layer a, and the second is the air cell 320 in the air cell layer B. The center of the first bladder 320 and the center of the second bladder 320 of the two adjacent bladders 320 are staggered in the circumferential direction of the carcass 310, and the intersecting part of the two bladders 320 is a cavity part shared by the two bladders.

By the above means, the adjacent two air bags 320 can communicate with each other without the aid of a connecting passage. In the circumferential direction of the tire body 310, the air bags 320 are arranged in a staggered mode and are communicated in sequence, the effect similar to that of the two layers of air bags 320 in the embodiment 2 is achieved, but compared with the two layers of air bags 320 in the embodiment 2, the air bags 320 in the embodiment are distributed more densely, the weight of the tire is lighter, the elasticity is good, and the comfort level is better.

The specific structure and shape and structure of the airbag 320 are not limited, similarly to embodiment 1. The cross-sectional shape of the bladder 320 is not limited to the oval shape shown in fig. 19, and may be a triangle, a quadrangle, a polygon, a hexagon, a drop shape, or the like, or may be an irregular shape.

Further, the inner circumferential surface 311 of the carcass 310 is provided with a vent hole 340 for communicating the bladder 320 with the outside. The inner ring surface 311 of the carcass 310 adheres to the hub, so the presence of the vent holes 340 does not affect the mounting and use effects of the carcass 310.

The inflation-free tire 300 of the embodiment has the advantages that the dense staggered cavity structure is formed in the tire body 310 along the circumferential direction of the tire body 310, the tire is light in weight, good in elasticity and better in comfort level, can be popularized and used easily in scale, and is suitable for being applied to occasions with low load requirements.

Above three embodiments exempt from pneumatic tire, the inside gasbag that sets up of matrix for the gasbag is the cavity structure for the comfort level of tire improves greatly and reaches furthest's lightweight, reduces normal quality. Through measurement and calculation, the weight of the tire can be reduced by about 20 percent at most compared with the solid tire of the same type, and the tire is close to the mass of the current pneumatic tire. Meanwhile, due to the arrangement of the air bag, materials are saved, and cost is reduced.

In addition, the non-pneumatic tires of the three embodiments can be molded by injection, and the tire structure is uniform and symmetrical inside and outside without weak points. Specifically, the transverse section (axial section) and the longitudinal section (radial section) of the tire are consistent at any part of the tire, so that the problem of poor dynamic balance of the conventional non-pneumatic tire is solved, and the tire is beneficial to popularization and application on higher-speed vehicles.

In addition, the above-mentioned three embodiments of the non-pneumatic tire are compared with each other, and under the same carcass specifications, the non-pneumatic tire of embodiment 1 has a middle comfort level and a middle load-carrying capacity. The load-carrying capacity of the non-pneumatic tire of example 2 is the best, and the non-pneumatic tire of example 3 has the most densely distributed air bags 320, the lightest tire, the best elasticity, the best comfort and the relatively small load-carrying capacity.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a manufacturing method of a non-pneumatic tire, which can be applied to manufacture the non-pneumatic tires of embodiments 1 to 3. As described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 20-28.

Referring to fig. 20, fig. 20 is a flow chart illustrating a method for manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 20, the method includes the following steps.

S100, providing an upper mold 410, a middle mold 420 and a lower mold 430, wherein the upper mold 410 has a shape corresponding to an upper half of a carcass formed by separating the carcass along a separation plane of the carcass in the axial direction, the middle mold 420 has a shape corresponding to an air bag part, and the lower mold 430 has a shape corresponding to the remaining lower half of the carcass.

In this embodiment, a multi-level mold opening process is used, and specifically, the mold 400 used includes a three-level mold 400, as shown in fig. 21, the first level is an upper mold 410, the second level is a middle mold 420, and the third level is a lower mold 430.

Wherein the upper mold 410 has a shape corresponding to an upper half of the carcass formed by separating the carcass along the separation plane in the axial direction. Generally, the separation plane is a central plane in the axial direction of the carcass. The upper mold 410 is used to form the upper half carcass, which has a shape for forming the upper half carcass. Accordingly, the lower mold 430 is used to mold the lower carcass half, which has a shape for molding the lower carcass half. When the inner rim surface of the carcass is provided with the vent hole, the upper mold 410 or the lower mold 430 may have a shape for forming the vent hole.

The middle mold 420 is used to form air cells communicating with each other. The upper and lower sides of the middle mold 420 are respectively used for forming half structures of the air bags in the upper half tire body and the lower half tire body. It is understood that when manufacturing the non-pneumatic tires of the above embodiments 1 to 3, only the matched middle mold 420 is required. In the method for manufacturing the non-pneumatic tire, the non-pneumatic tire 100 of example 1 is manufactured, the upper mold 410 is used for molding the upper half portion 101 of the carcass 10, and the lower mold 430 is used for molding the lower half portion 102 of the carcass 10.

And S200, positioning the middle mold 420 between the upper mold 410 and the lower mold 430, and closing the upper mold 410 and the lower mold 430.

As shown in fig. 22, the mold 400 is installed. Wherein the upper mold 410 is fixed on the top of the injection machine, the lower mold 430 is fixed on the lower part of the injection machine, and the mold is closed for the first time.

S300, injecting rubber into the upper mold 410, the middle mold 420, and the lower mold 430.

S400, the mold is opened for the first time, the middle mold 420 is released from the upper mold 410, and the middle mold 420 is removed together with the lower mold 430.

In practice, the upper mold 410 is opened, the middle mold 420 and the lower mold 430 are opened, the middle mold 420 is automatically separated from the upper mold 410, and the middle mold 420 falls down with the lower mold 430 as shown in fig. 23. After the middle mold 420 is lowered to the bottom position, the lower mold 430 and the middle mold 420 are moved together from the machine along the guide rails in the direction of the operator's standing position, i.e., in the direction of L in the drawing, until there is no obstruction at all above the middle mold 420, as shown in fig. 24. In the above process, the upper carcass half 101 in the upper mold 410 and the lower carcass half 102 in the lower mold 430 have been semi-completely vulcanized.

Specifically, the process proceeds to this step 30 seconds after the end of step S300. At this time, the rubber is initially vulcanized in the mold 400, the rubber becomes slightly harder and is not too sticky, and when the mold 400 is opened, the originally injected rubber cannot fall off from the cavities of the upper mold and the lower mold along with the opening of the mold 400, so that the inside of the tire is relatively complete and uniform after the subsequent mold closing.

As shown in fig. 23, the draft angle of the guide post 421 for forming the bladder on the middle mold 420 can be optimally designed so that the carcass does not adhere to the middle mold 420. As can be seen from fig. 25 and 26, the middle mold 420 is provided with guide posts 421 at both upper and lower sides thereof.

Further, the upper and lower sides of the middle mold 420 are coated with a mold adhesion preventing coating, such as a teflon coating, to facilitate separation of the middle mold 420 from the upper half carcass 101 and the lower half carcass 102.

And S500, separating the middle mold 420 from the lower mold 430.

As shown in fig. 25, in this step, the middle mold 420 may be lifted up in the direction of arrow M using a support column 440 of the injection molding machine, so that the middle mold 420 is separated from the lower mold 430. At this time, each of the upper mold 410 and the lower mold 430 has the upper carcass half 101 and the lower carcass half 102 half-vulcanized.

S600, the upper die 410 and the lower die 430 are closed again, dry gas with the air pressure not lower than the external air pressure of the tire body and the temperature within 10 ℃ of the external temperature of the tire body is introduced into the tire body, and the tire body is vulcanized.

As shown in fig. 26 and 27, the lower mold 430 is moved back into position in the direction of arrow N and re-clamped with the upper mold 410 without the middle mold 420 entering. Meanwhile, high-temperature and dry gas is injected into the tire body through the vent holes by using the gas injection holes designed on the mold 400.

The gas is used to prevent collapse of the cavity structure, i.e., the bladder, in the carcass, for which purpose the gas pressure is set to be not lower than the gas pressure outside the carcass. Because the adjacent air bags are communicated, high-pressure air can fill the interior of each air bag to play a role in supporting, and the originally injected rubber is prevented from collapsing without being supported due to the removal of the middle mold 420.

Further, when the pneumatic tire is specifically set, the upper limit of the air pressure can be properly controlled, namely, the air pressure does not need to be too large, the air entering at the fusion position of the upper half tire body and the lower half tire body is avoided, the bonding area is prevented from being influenced, the local fusion is prevented from being poor, and the product quality is ensured.

The temperature within the mold 400 cavity is set to enable the rubber to be fully cured, which cures the carcass from the exterior of the carcass. In this embodiment, the drying gas also has a higher temperature, and the effect of high temperature makes inside the tire start vulcanizing under the influence of temperature, makes the tire vulcanize evenly. More specifically, the injection of the high-temperature gas makes the temperature inside and outside the tire (the combination part of the outer tire body of the tire and the mold 400) relatively consistent, so that the temperature inside and outside the tire is approximately consistent, the vulcanization of the whole tire is relatively uniform, and the inner part of the tire is not just cured until the outer layer is burnt. In specific implementation, the temperature of the gas introduced into the tire is different according to different rubber types, and the difference between the temperature of the introduced gas and the external temperature of the tire body is usually within 10 ℃, so that the internal temperature and the external temperature of the tire are close to the same temperature.

The gas is a dry gas. Preferably, the dryness is more than 99 percent, so the influence of humidity factors is extremely small, the adhesion degree of the upper die and the lower die cannot be influenced by moisture in the air, the water mist generated in the tire is avoided, and the product quality is ensured.

In a preferred embodiment, the gas is air or the major component is air. The other dryness is 99.5%, the air pressure is 2-3 times of the standard atmospheric pressure, and the temperature is 160-180 ℃. Note that the gas is not limited to air.

And S700, opening the mold for the second time, and taking out the vulcanized tire body 110.

As shown in fig. 28, the mold is opened again, the lower mold 430 is withdrawn from the machine in the direction of arrow P, the machine hand takes out the product, and the product production is completed, so that the non-pneumatic tire 100 with the air bag inside is obtained.

The manufacturing method of the non-pneumatic tire of the embodiment of the invention adopts the injection mode to integrally form, and the tire is not different from the conventional pneumatic tire from the external view. In the manufacturing process, the tire body is molded by using a semi-vulcanization process and then vulcanized for the second time, so that the tire body is completely fused, the vulcanization is uniform, and the whole structure of the tire is stable. After the mold is closed again, high-temperature and dry gas is injected to prevent the air bag from collapsing, and the tire starts to be vulcanized under the influence of temperature under the action of high temperature, so that the tire is vulcanized uniformly and combined more tightly; meanwhile, water mist is prevented from being generated inside the tire, and defective tires are prevented from being produced.

The manufacturing method of the non-pneumatic tire provided by the embodiment of the invention adopts an injection process, is relatively simple and rapid, and the production cycle of the whole tire only needs about 400 seconds. The production personnel do not need too high requirements, so that the labor cost of enterprises is reduced, the energy consumption is reduced, the same tire is produced, the energy consumption is saved by more than 30% compared with that produced by using a mould pressing mode, the efficiency is improved by 35% -40%, and better return is brought to the enterprises. Is easy to form large-scale production and manufacture, and has remarkable social benefit.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the non-pneumatic tire provided by the embodiment of the invention can be realized by utilizing a full-automatic process from rubber injection to finished product completion, does not need to use a mold stripping mode such as prying and clamping, can be completed by a manipulator, belongs to the most advanced manufacturing process in the rubber industry, and is the intelligent manufacturing in the rubber field

In some embodiments, further comprising the step of: during the period from the first mold opening to the second mold closing of the upper mold 410 and the lower mold 430, the upper half tire body 101 in the upper mold 410 is cooled in a water cooling manner, and the lower half tire body 102 in the lower mold 430 is cooled in a water cooling manner.

During specific implementation, a water cooling channel can be arranged in the cavity of the upper die 410 around the upper half tire body 101, the water cooling channel comprises a water inlet and a water outlet, the upper half tire body 101 is cooled by a water cooling mode, and the upper half tire body 101 is prevented from being vulcanized in advance due to overhigh temperature. Similarly, lower mold 430 may have a water cooling channel, which includes a water inlet and a water outlet, and lower half casing 102 is cooled by water cooling to avoid that lower half casing 102 is vulcanized in advance due to an excessively high temperature. By the above means, after the upper mold 410 and the lower mold 430 are closed again, the upper half carcass 101 and the lower half carcass 102 can be normally vulcanized again and well fused together.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

The technical features of the above embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described, but should be considered as the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above examples only show some embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. An airless tire, comprising:

the tyre comprises a tyre body, wherein a plurality of air bags distributed along the circumferential direction of the tyre body are arranged in the tyre body, and adjacent air bags are communicated along the circumferential direction of the tyre body.

2. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 1, wherein a plurality of said air cells are uniformly spaced in the circumferential direction of said carcass, and a connecting passage is provided between adjacent air cells.

3. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 2, wherein the plurality of air cells form two air cell layers arranged in the axial direction of the carcass, and the air cells of the two air cell layers are staggered in the circumferential direction of the carcass.

4. An airless tire as in claim 2 or 3, wherein all the connecting channels are distributed around the axis of the carcass and are located on the same circumference.

5. The non-pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of air cells form two air cell layers arranged in the axial direction of the carcass, the air cells of the two air cell layers are staggered in the circumferential direction of the carcass, and the air cells of two adjacent air cell layers intersect.

6. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 1, wherein the inner circumferential surface of the carcass is provided with a vent hole, and the vent hole is communicated with the air bag.

7. A method of manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire, comprising the steps of:

injecting rubber into the upper die, the middle die and the lower die;

separating the middle die from the lower die;

opening the mold for the second time, and taking out the vulcanized tire body.

8. The method for manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to claim 7, wherein the step of closing the upper mold and the lower mold again, introducing a dry gas into the tire body, the dry gas having a pressure not lower than the pressure outside the tire body and having a temperature within 10 ℃ of the temperature outside the tire body, and starting the vulcanization process of the tire body comprises: and introducing 160-180 ℃ dry air into the matrix, wherein the air pressure is 2-3 times of standard atmospheric pressure, and simultaneously vulcanizing.

9. The method of manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of: and after the first die opening, during the period from the second die opening to the second die closing of the upper die and the lower die, cooling the upper half tire body in the upper die in a water cooling mode, and cooling the lower half tire body in the lower die in a water cooling mode.

10. A method for manufacturing a non-pneumatic tire according to claim 7, wherein the step of injecting the rubber into the upper mold, the middle mold, and the lower mold is performed 30 seconds after the end of the step and then the next step is performed.