DE102022111930A1 - Vehicle tires with a vehicle tire marking - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle tire with a vehicle tire identification that has a code symbol (5). According to the invention, the code symbol (5) is formed by at least one colorant application (15) which is applied to an identification surface provided by the vehicle tire (3).

Description

The invention relates to a vehicle tire according to the preamble of claim 1, an arrangement for creating a vehicle tire marking according to claim 5, a method for creating a vehicle tire marking according to claim 9 and a marking device according to claim 10.

The DE 10 2017 207 921 A1 discloses a generic vehicle tire with a plurality of identification bodies. The marking bodies are prefabricated in a prefabrication process and glued to the vehicle tire in an adhesive process using an adhesion promoter. The vehicle tire labeling of the vehicle tire therefore requires numerous process steps, particularly due to the prefabrication process. A marking process that consists of prefabrication and gluing is cost- and time-intensive.

From the DE 10 2010 016 069 A1 a method for producing a reflective or fluorescent layer on a sidewall of a pneumatic vehicle tire is known.

The object of the invention is to provide a vehicle tire with a vehicle identification that can be created quickly and inexpensively compared to the prior art. A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement by means of which the vehicle tire marking can be applied to the vehicle tire quickly and cost-effectively. Another object is to provide a method with which the vehicle tire marking can be applied to the vehicle tire quickly and inexpensively.

The tasks are each solved by the features of claims 1, 5, 9 or 10. Preferred developments of the invention are disclosed in the subclaims.

The invention is based on a vehicle tire with a vehicle tire identification that has a code symbol. According to the invention and in departure from the prior art, the code symbol is formed by at least one colorant application which is applied to an identification surface provided by the vehicle tire. The colorant application can preferably be applied or printed directly on the marking surface, that is to say without an intermediate layer of, for example, an adhesion promoter application. Because the colorant is applied or printed directly onto the marking surface, a cost- and time-intensive prefabrication process is unnecessary. The code symbol can be created in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Particularly preferably, the colorant of the colorant application can be luminescent, in particular fluorescent and/or phosphorescent. Alternatively or additionally, the colorant can have at least partially luminescent, in particular fluorescent and/or phosphorescent, components. The components can preferably be formed by pigments. Alternatively or additionally, the colorant can be designed such that the colorant emits light that is visible to the human eye when illuminated with UV-A light. The luminescence, preferably fluorescence or phosphorescence, can be present not only in the colorant itself, but also in the colorant application formed from it. The code symbol can be designed in such a way that it is not visible to the human eye without the influence of UV-A light. In this case, the appearance of the vehicle tire is not changed by the application of the code symbol. Another advantage of luminescence is that the code symbol has a high contrast when illuminated with UV-A light and can therefore be reliably detected by a camera scanner. Alternatively or in addition to the luminescence properties, the colorant can be selected so that the colorant application on the vehicle tire is abrasion-resistant.

In a specific embodiment, the colorant application can, preferably directly, adjoin or rest on the identification surface of the vehicle tire or lie against it. In a preferred embodiment, the colorant application can be printed, preferably directly, onto the marking surface. As already described above, a time-consuming and cost-intensive prefabrication process can be saved.

The code symbol can preferably be a code symbol of a machine-readable code. The machine-readable code can be a two-dimensional code. Preferably, the machine-readable code or the two-dimensional code can be a data matrix code or a QR code. These codes are widely used, with the data matrix code in particular having the advantage that it can be recorded reliably even under unfavorable conditions, such as parallax occurring on the part of the camera scanner. The code symbol of a data matrix code can also still be detected if there is only a low contrast between individual area segments of the code symbol, with a contrast of between 20% and 40% already being sufficient for process-reliable detection.

Particularly preferably, the marking surface can be formed by a side wall of the vehicle tire, in particular by an outer side wall surface of the vehicle tire. The code symbol can be located on the surface of the vehicle tire, on which, for example, tire labeling regarding the vehicle tire size is also provided. Existing systems that record tire labeling can therefore easily be converted to record the code symbol, as they are already designed to record information on the outer surface of the sidewall.

In a specific embodiment, the side wall, in particular the side wall outer surface, can have a code symbol area. The code symbol can preferably correspond to a segment pattern which is composed of several individual segment areas. Preferably, first individual segment areas of the code symbol can be formed by the colorant applications on the side wall, preferably the outer side surface, in or within the code symbol area. Preferably, second individual segment areas of the code symbol can be formed by areas of the side wall that are not provided with colorant applications, preferably by areas of the side wall outer surface that are not provided with colorant applications, in or within the code symbol area.

Also according to the invention is an arrangement for creating a vehicle tire marking on a vehicle tire, with a vehicle tire and a marking device. The marking device has a metering unit for applying colorant to the marking surface of the vehicle tire. The colorant can therefore be applied directly or immediately to the marking surface, which eliminates the need for a time-consuming and cost-intensive prefabrication process.

The dosing unit can preferably have a dosing head, a dosing needle and a colorant container, wherein in particular the dosing needle can be mechanically connected to the dosing head. Alternatively or additionally, the metering needle can be in fluid communication with the colorant container, so that colorant can flow into the metering needle, in particular starting from the colorant container, and can be applied to the vehicle tire by the metering needle.

Particularly preferably, the dosing needle can be formed by a tube, wherein the tube can in particular be a rectangular tube or a square tube. Alternatively or in addition to the rectangular or square tube, a cross section of the tube can be small, in particular in comparison to the area of the code symbol area. This means that the dispensing needle can also be understood technically in the sense of a, preferably blunt, needle. This means that the dispensing needle can be formed by a thin tube. The colorant can therefore be applied in a precise position and in exactly the right amount. The larger the cross-section of the pipe is, the larger the area of the code symbol produced with it will be.

In a specific embodiment, the marking device can have a counter-holding device, in particular fixedly attached to the marking device. The counter-holding device can in particular be contour-adapted to an inner side wall surface of the vehicle tire. The vehicle tire resting or clamped on the counter-holding device is thus held in a predefined position. In combination with the precise application of the colorant described above, the result is a code symbol that has sharp contours and can be reliably detected by the camera scanner. The reliable identification of the vehicle tire based on the code symbol is therefore possible in a process-reliable manner.

An adjustment unit, preferably designed as a linear unit, to which the metering unit can be mechanically connected can preferably be provided. The adjustment unit can in particular be designed in such a way that the dosing unit can be adjusted in all three spatial directions relative to the marking surface and/or to the counter-holding device by means of the adjustment unit, in particular manually or using an industrial robot, or fully automated using an industrial robot. This makes it possible to create the colorant applications one after the other. The design effort for the device is therefore limited to exactly one dosing needle, which means that the arrangement can be produced cost-effectively.

Of course, the arrangement or the marking device can also be provided with more than one dosing needle. In this way, the code symbol can be applied or printed on the vehicle tire in less time than with just a dispensing needle.

According to the invention, there is also a method for creating a vehicle tire identification on a vehicle tire with the arrangement described above. The metering unit is adjusted by means of the adjustment unit into a predefined relative position to the vehicle tire, in which the metering needle is positioned at a distance from the outer side wall surface of the vehicle tire. Using the adjustment unit the dosing needle or an end face of a tube wall of the dosing needle is placed on the side wall, preferably on the side wall outer surface of the vehicle tire and / or pressed against the side wall, preferably on the side wall outer surface, and / or into the side wall, preferably into the side wall -Outer surface, dented. The tube wall of the dosing needle delimits the first individual segment area on the outer side wall surface, preferably radially outwards with respect to a longitudinal axis of the dosing needle. The colorant is applied to the first individual segment area delimited by the tube wall of the dosing needle. The code symbol is created piece by piece by applying colorant segment by segment to the first individual segment areas. Because the code symbol is created segment by segment, any code symbol can be created using the same arrangement.

The front side of the dosing needle or the pipe wall can be placed, pressed or pressed onto or into the outer surface of the side wall under the influence of a pressing force. The front side of the dosing needle or the pipe wall can be pressed into the outer surface of the side wall with a penetration depth of between 0.1 µm and 10 µm, preferably between 3 µm and 6 µm.

Due to the composition of the colorant, there is a high contrast between the colorant application on the first individual segment area and the outer side wall surface of the second individual segment area that is not covered with a colorant application. With the help of the camera scanner, a distinction can be made between colorant applications or first individual segment areas on the one hand and second individual segment areas on the other hand under illumination with UV-A light based on the contrast. The UV-A light may have a wavelength in a range from 315 nm to 380 nm, preferably in a range from 350 nm to 370 nm.

The code symbol can be a character string in which information is encoded. The information may concern information about an EU tire label, a dimension of the vehicle tire, a production date of the vehicle tire, data from the manufacturer of the vehicle tire or DOT information.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the attached figures.

• 1 in einer Seitenansicht einen Fahrzeugreifen mit einem Codesymbol;
• 2 in einer Schnittansicht eine Seitenwand-Außenfläche des Fahrzeugreifens gemäß 1;
• 3 in einer schematischen Darstellung eine Anordnung zum Erstellen einer Fahrzeugreifen-Kennzeichnung;
• 4 in einer Querschnittsansicht eine Dosiernadel der Kennzeichnungsvorrichtung, und
• 5 bis 8 anhand einzelner Schnittansichten ein mit der Anordnung gemäß 3 durchgeführtes Verfahren.

Show it:

• 1 in a side view a vehicle tire with a code symbol;
• 2 in a sectional view of a sidewall outer surface of the vehicle tire 1 ;
• 3 in a schematic representation an arrangement for creating a vehicle tire label;
• 4 in a cross-sectional view a dosing needle of the marking device, and
• 5 until 8th based on individual sectional views with the arrangement according to 3 procedure carried out.

In 1 a sidewall outer surface 1 of a vehicle tire 3 is shown. A code symbol 5 is provided in a code symbol area formed by the side wall outer surface 1. The code symbol 5, together with a vehicle tire label 7, forms a vehicle tire identification 9. The code symbol 5 is a code symbol of a machine-readable code, namely a data matrix code (DMC code).

The code symbol area is rectangular and divided into several, each rectangular, individual segment areas. Like in the 2 shown is a first individual segment area 11 (in 2 For example, only one of several first individual segment areas 11 is shown) is formed by a colorant application 15. On the other hand, a second individual segment area 17 is formed by an area of the outer side wall surface that lies within the code symbol area and on which no colorant application 15 is applied. The code symbol 5 corresponds to the segment pattern resulting from the first individual segment areas 11 and the second individual segment areas 17.

The colorant 13 has fluorescent properties. When illuminated by UV-A light, the colorant 13 emits light that is visible to the human eye without any additional aids. In normal daylight, however, the colorant 13 is invisible to the human eye.

There is a high contrast between the first individual segment areas 11 and the second individual segment areas 17 when the code symbol 5 is illuminated with UV-A light. The colorant applications 15 of the first individual segment areas 11 emit light that is visible to the human eye when illuminated with UV-A light, whereas the second individual segment areas 17 do not emit any light, in particular no light visible to the human eye, when illuminated with UV-A light .

In 3 an arrangement 19 is shown, by means of which the code symbol 5 can be printed on the outer side wall surface 1. The arrangement Voltage 19 has a dosing unit 25 formed from a dosing needle 21 and a dosing head 23. The metering unit 25 is in fluid communication with a colorant container 27, in which the colorant 13 for producing the colorant application 15 is stored. The metering unit 25, in particular the metering needle 21, is in fluid communication with the colorant container 27 via a colorant line 29, so that the colorant 13 is conveyed from the colorant container 27 into the metering needle 21 by means of a conveyor (not shown) and also with regard to the for the amount of colorant required for the colorant application 15 is dosed.

The arrangement 19 has a counter-holder 31 on which the vehicle tire 3 rests when the colorant 13 is applied. A support surface 31 of the counter-holder 31, on which the vehicle tire 3 rests, is contour-adapted to a side wall inner surface 35 of the vehicle tire 3.

The arrangement 19 has one in the 3 only indicated adjustment unit 37. By means of the adjustment unit 37, the metering head 23 can be adjusted relative to the vehicle tire 3 and thus also relative to the counterholder 31. The dosing head 23 can be adjusted in all three spatial directions, with the 3 only the two spatial directions x and y are shown. The third spatial direction runs orthogonally to the plane of the drawing sheet.

In the 4 the dosing needle 21 is shown in a cross-sectional view. The dosing needle 21 is formed by a tube with a square cross-section and a tube wall 39.

The following is based on the illustrations in the 5 until 8th explains a method with which the code symbol 5 is created on the outer side wall surface 1. According to the 5 the dosing head 23 with the dosing needle 21 attached to it is positioned into a predefined relative position I to the outer side wall surface 1 by means of the adjusting unit 37. In the predefined relative position I, the metering needle 21 is spaced from the outer side wall surface 1. The predefined relative position I is further selected so that the dosing needle 21 is positioned above the first individual segment region 11 with respect to the y-direction.

The dosing head 23 including the dosing needle 21 is then lowered onto the outer side wall surface 1. An end face 41 of the dosing needle 21 formed by the tube wall 39 is brought into pressing contact with the outer side wall surface 1 under the action of a pressing force F, as shown in FIG 6 is shown. The side wall of the vehicle tire is slightly deformed under the action of the pressing force F, so that the end face of the metering needle 21 is pressed into the vehicle tire 3 by a few micrometers compared to the remaining, undeformed side wall. The tube wall 39 of the dosing needle 21 delimits the second individual segment area 17, with respect to a longitudinal axis of the dosing needle 21, radially outwards and seals the second individual segment area 17 against that which rests on the end face of the tube wall 39 and, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the dosing needle 21, Side wall outer surface 1 lying radially outside the pipe wall 39.

In a further process step as shown in the 7 the colorant 13 is printed onto the second individual segment area 17 while it is still liquid, forming a colorant application 15. The colorant 13 is printed directly, that is to say without an intermediate layer such as an adhesion promoter, onto the second individual segment area 17 and thus onto the outer side wall surface 1.

The dosing needle 21 is then adjusted by means of the adjustment unit 37 into a relative position II spaced from the outer side wall surface 1. The colorant application 15 remains on the second individual segment area 17 and hardens.

The method described above is repeated to produce each additional, first individual segment area 11 until all of the colorant applications 15 required to create the code symbol 5 have been produced.

The code symbol 5 can be detected with a camera scanner. For this purpose, the code symbol 5 is illuminated with UV-A light. The colorant applications 15 then emit light in a wavelength range for which the camera scanner has sensitivity.

Reference symbol list

1

Sidewall exterior surface

3

Vehicle tires

5

Code symbol

7

Vehicle tire lettering

9

Vehicle tire marking

11

first individual segment area

13

colorants

15

Colorant application

17

second single segment area

19

arrangement

21

Dosing needle

23

Dosing head

25

Dosing unit

27

Colorant container

29

Colorant line

31

Counterholder

33

Support surface

35

Sidewall inner surface

37

Adjustment unit

39

pipe wall

41

front side

I

predefined relative position

II

spaced relative position

F

pressing force

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102017207921 A1 [0002]
• DE 102010016069 A1 [0003]

Claims (10)

Vehicle tire with a vehicle tire identification which has a code symbol (5), characterized in that the code symbol (5) is formed by at least one colorant application (15) which is applied to an identification surface provided by the vehicle tire (3). vehicle tires Claim 1 , characterized in that the colorant (13) of the colorant applications (15) is luminescent, in particular fluorescent and/or phosphorescent, and/or that the colorant (13) has at least partially luminescent, in particular fluorescent and/or phosphorescent, components, wherein the Components are formed in particular by pigments, and / or that the colorant (13) is designed such that the colorant (13) emits light that is visible to the human eye when illuminated with UV-A light. vehicle tires Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the colorant application (15), preferably directly, adjoins or rests on the identification surface of the vehicle tire (3), and / or that the colorant application (15), preferably directly, is printed on the identification area. Vehicle tire according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the code symbol (5) is a code symbol of a machine-readable code, the machine-readable code being a data matrix code or a QR code, and/or that the identification area is formed by a side wall of the Vehicle tire (3), in particular by a sidewall outer surface (1) of the vehicle tire (3), and / or that the sidewall, in particular the sidewall outer surface (1) has a code symbol area, it is preferably provided that the code symbol (5) corresponds to a segment pattern which is composed of several individual segment areas, with particularly preferably first individual segment areas (11) of the code symbol (5) being formed by the colorant applications (15) on the side wall, preferably the outer surface of the side wall, in or within of the code symbol area and / or that second individual segment areas (17) of the code symbol (5) are formed by areas of the side wall that are not provided with colorant applications (15), preferably by areas of the side wall outer surface (1) that are not provided with colorant applications (15), are formed in or within the code symbol area. Arrangement for creating a vehicle tire marking (9) on a vehicle tire (3), with a vehicle tire (3) and a marking device, characterized in that the marking device has a metering unit (25) for applying colorant (13) to the marking surface of the vehicle tire (3). Arrangement according to Claim 5 , characterized in that the dosing unit (25) has a dosing head (23), a dosing needle (21) and a colorant container (27), in particular the dosing needle (21) being mechanically connected to the dosing head (23) and/or In particular, the metering needle (21) is in fluid communication with the colorant container (27), so that colorant (13) can flow into the metering needle (21) in particular starting from the colorant container (27) and from the metering needle (21) onto the vehicle tire (3) can be assigned. Arrangement according to Claim 6 , characterized in that the dosing needle (21) is formed by a tube, the tube being in particular a rectangular tube or a square tube and/or in particular a cross section of the tube in particular in comparison to the area of a predefined code symbol area of a code symbol (5). Vehicle tire marking (9), is small. Arrangement according to one of the Claims 5 until 7 , characterized in that the marking device has a counter-holding device, in particular fixedly attached to the marking device, which is contour-adapted in particular to a side wall inner surface of the vehicle tire (3), and / or that in particular an adjustment unit (37) is provided on which the Dosing unit (25) is mechanically connected, in particular the adjusting unit (37) being designed such that the dosing unit (25) is partially automated or fully automated by means of the adjusting unit (37), in particular manually or using an industrial robot, in all three spatial directions relative to the marking surface and/or is adjustable to the counter-holding device. Method for creating a vehicle tire marking (9) on a vehicle tire (3) with an arrangement according to one of the claims, characterized in that - the metering unit (25) is moved into a predefined relative position (I) to the vehicle tire (by means of the adjusting unit (37). 3) is adjusted, in which the dosing needle (21) is positioned at a distance from the outer side wall surface (1) of the vehicle tire (3), - that the dosing needle (21) is connected to the outer side wall surface (1) of the vehicle tire (3) by means of the adjustment unit (37). Vehicle tire (3) is created so that the Tube wall (39) delimits the first individual segment area (11) on the side wall outer surface (1), and - that the colorant (13) is applied to the first individual segment area (11) delimited by the tube wall (39) of the dosing needle (21). Identification device according to one of the Claims 5 until 8th .

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