JP2002114178A - Kind of tire discriminating device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a kind of tire discriminating device capable of easily discriminating whether a tire has a wheel projected from a side face of a tire body or not. SOLUTION: A tire body detecting second plate 9 vertically moved by a second air cylinder 8 is mounted on a wheel detecting first plate 7 vertically moved by a first air cylinder 6, and further a proximity switch 11 for detecting the relative moving amount of both plates 7, 9 is mounted on the second air cylinder 8. The second plate 9 mounted on a lower face of the second plate 9 is abutted on the tire body T21 and pushed back prior to the abutting of the first plate 7 on a wheel T22 of a spare tire T2 to be discriminated. Here, whether the spare tire T2 is a type having the wheel T22 projected from the side face of the tire body T21 or not is discriminated on the basis of the on.off of the proximity switch 11 on the basis of the magnitude of the relative moving amount of both plates 7, 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tire type discriminating apparatus and a tire type discriminating method, and more particularly, to a tire type judging whether or not a wheel protrudes from a side surface of a tire body in a width direction of the tire. The present invention relates to a tire type determination device and a tire type determination method. Hereinafter, in the present specification, a type of tire in which the wheel protrudes from the side surface of the tire body is referred to as a type A tire, and a type other than that is referred to as a type B tire.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an automobile assembly line, a plurality of tires in a state where one spare tire is stacked (stacked) on a plurality of tires (hereinafter, referred to as normal tires) to be assembled in the automobile. There is an operation of transferring a set of spare tires from a normal tire transfer line to another transfer line (a line for transferring a spare tire to a station where the spare tire is loaded into a vehicle) during the transfer. In that case, the spare tire riding on the normal tire may be an emergency tire or a normal tire depending on the type of vehicle. Emergency tires are tires that are used for emergency purposes.The outer diameter and width of the tire are smaller than those of ordinary tires, and the wheels protrude from the side of the tire body in the tire width direction. Generally, and corresponds to a class A tire. On the other hand, ordinary tires generally correspond to Class B tires. Therefore, there is no problem when the spare tire is a Class B tire. However, in the case of a Class A tire, the wheels are made of metal in a stacked state, and may interfere with each other and be damaged. Therefore, the top spare tire is A
In the case of a seed tire, a rubber seat cover is interposed (laid) between the tire and a normal tire to prevent damage.

[0003] In such a case, after the spare tire is transferred, the unnecessary rubber sheet is removed from the normal tire, but before the removal operation is performed by a machine, the spare tire must be removed. It is necessary to determine whether the tire is a type A tire. Incidentally, as a tire discriminating apparatus for discriminating the type of a tire, for example, the one described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-20684 is known.
The tire discriminating device described in this publication measures the thickness and the outer diameter of the tire, respectively, and attempts to discriminate the type of the tire based on data obtained by the measurement.

[0004]

However, the tire discriminating device described in the above publication has a problem in that the entire device becomes extremely large due to the structure including the thickness measuring device and the outer diameter measuring device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to easily determine whether or not a wheel is a tire protruding from a side surface of a tire body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tire type discriminating apparatus and a tire type discriminating method capable of performing the above.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a configuration as described in each claim. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tire type determining device including a detecting device for detecting whether a wheel protrudes from a side surface of a tire main body. Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether the wheel is a tire protruding from the side surface of the tire body by directly detecting the presence or absence of the wheel protruding from the side surface of the tire body. Can be. Here, the tire refers to a tire fitted and integrated with a wheel, and a portion fitted to the wheel is referred to as a tire body.

[0007] In the invention according to claim 2,
A tire detector that can abut against the side of the tire body,
A wheel detection unit that can be brought into contact with the side surface of the wheel and that can move relative to the tire detection unit; and a protrusion that detects whether the wheel protrudes from the tire side surface based on the relative movement amount of the two detection units. And a presence / absence detection unit. Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the two detectors are brought into contact with the tire to be determined, the relative movement amount of the two detectors caused by the presence or absence of the protrusion of the wheel from the side surface of the tire body. Based on the size, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not the wheel is a tire protruding from the side surface of the tire body.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the tire type discriminating apparatus according to the first or second aspect allows the uppermost tire of the plurality of stacked tires to have the side face of the tire body. After determining whether or not the tire is of a type that has a wheel that protrudes from the tire, if it is determined that the tire is the tire, by outputting a start signal to the seat cover removal device, the tire is laid on the lower surface of the tire. Can be removed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tire type determining method for determining the type of a tire based on a detection signal indicating whether or not the wheel protrudes from a side surface of the tire body. According to the method, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the wheel is a tire protruding from the side surface of the tire main body.

Hereinafter, a tire type determining apparatus and a tire type determining method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, in an automobile assembly plant, the tire is installed on a transport line of normal stacked tires, and the uppermost tire is a tire whose wheels project from the side surface of the tire body, that is, a class A tire. This is applied to determine whether or not there is. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a tire transport line, FIGS. 2 and 3 are side views showing a tire type discriminating apparatus, respectively, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing a tire transfer apparatus and a seat cover removing apparatus arranged on the transport line. It is.

As shown in FIG. 1, a transfer station 1a for a spare tire T2 is set in the middle of a transport line (roller conveyor) 1 for transporting a normal tire T1 to a process of assembling the tire into an automobile. A spare tire transport line (roller conveyor) 2 that transports the spare tire T2 to the process of loading it into a car so that
Is arranged. As shown in FIG.
1 is transported on the transport line 1 in a three-tiered state with the spare tire T2 at the top, and the transfer station 1a
In this case, the stopper is temporarily stopped by a stopper not shown.

Above the transfer station 1a, a tire transfer device 3 schematically shown in FIG. 2 is disposed, and the type of the tire transfer device 3 is determined when the spare tire T2 is transferred. A tire type discriminating device 5 is provided. Further, a seat cover for removing a wheel cover 25 for preventing a wheel damage interposed between the spare tire T2 and the normal tire T1 only when the spare tire T2 is a class A tire is provided near the transfer station 1a. Removal device 1
4 are provided.

Hereinafter, each apparatus will be described. The tire transfer device 3 has a pair of clamp arms 4 that can grip the spare tire T2 from the radial direction. Although a specific structure is not shown, the tire transfer device 3 can perform a lifting operation and a horizontal movement operation. It has a configuration. And the tire transfer device 3
When the normal tire T1 and the spare tire T2 stacked in three stages in the transfer station 1a are carried in, the lowering operation is performed toward the normal tire T1 and the spare tire T2 is gripped by the clamp arm 4 to rise. Next, after moving horizontally to a position above the spare tire transport line 2, the clamp arm 4
And the spare tire T2 is transferred onto the spare tire transport line 2. In addition, the tire transfer device 3
Is performed during the temporary stop period by the stopper.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tire type discriminating device 5 includes a first plate 7 for wheel detection, which is supported by a first air cylinder 6 so as to be vertically movable;
A second plate 9 for tire body detection, which is supported by the second air cylinder 8 so as to be vertically movable. The first air cylinder 6 is vertically supported by the tire transfer device 3 via a bracket 10 as appropriate, and is disposed such that the first plate 7 is on the lower side. The first plate 7 has a horizontal length in the radial direction of the spare tire T2 that can abut on the side surfaces (the upper surface in a stacked state, the same applies hereinafter) of the tire body T21 and the wheel T22. The first plate 7 corresponds to the wheel detecting section of the present invention, and it is preferable that at least a surface facing the wheel T22 is provided with a cushion material such as rubber.

On the other hand, the second air cylinder 8 is vertically supported on the upper surface of the first plate 7, and the second plate 9 supported by the second air cylinder 8 is formed on the lower surface of the first plate 7. On the side of the spare tire T2, the spare tire T2 is disposed at a position where it can contact the side surface of the tire body T21. The second plate 9 corresponds to the tire detecting section according to the present invention. The first plate 7 has an opening 7a into which the second plate 9 can enter. Then, the first plate 7 waits with the solid line position drawn by the first air cylinder 6 as an initial position before detection, and the second plate 9 is placed below the first plate 7 by the second air cylinder 8. It is on standby with the illustrated solid line position lowered to the initial position.

The second air cylinder 8 is provided with a proximity switch 11 as a detector. The proximity switch 11 is configured such that the second plate 9 has an opening 7 a of the first plate 7.
In the initial state where the second plate 9 protrudes from the opening 7a, it is turned off when the piston 8a is separated, and is turned on when the second plate 9 is pushed into the opening 7a by facing the piston 8a. The proximity switch 11 corresponds to a protrusion presence / absence detection portion of the wheel T22 in the present invention,
The protrusion detection unit, the wheel detection unit, and the tire detection unit constitute a detection device according to the present invention.

The tire type discriminating device 5 configured as described above moves the spare tire T2 onto the spare tire transport line 2 after the tire transfer device 3 descends to a predetermined position in order to grip the spare tire T2. Perform discrimination work before loading. That is, after the lowering of the tire transfer device 3, FIG.
As shown by phantom lines in FIG. 3 and FIG.
It is lowered by the air cylinder 6 and hits the side surface of the tire body T21 or the wheel T22. At this time,
The second plate 9 lowered by the second air cylinder 8 below the first plate 7 abuts against the side surface of the tire body T21 and is pushed back. Then, there is a difference in the push-back amount between the case where the spare tire T2 is the class A tire and the case where the spare tire T2 is not the class B tire. That is, a difference occurs in the relative movement amount between the first plate 7 and the second plate 9, and the type of the spare tire T2 is determined based on the relative movement amount. Note that the pushing-up operation of the second plate 9 is performed while overcoming the pressing force of the second air cylinder 8. Therefore, the pressing force of the second air cylinder 8 is
Is set to be smaller than the pressing force.

FIG. 2 shows the case of type A, and FIG. 3 shows the case of type B. In the case of the Class A tire shown in FIG.
The second plate 9 remains at a position lower than the first plate 7, and the piston 8a does not face the proximity switch 11;
The off state of the proximity switch 11 is maintained. On the other hand, in the case of the class B tire shown in FIG. 3, the second plate 9 is pushed into the opening 7a of the first plate 7, and the first plate 7
, The piston 8a faces the proximity switch 11, and the proximity switch 11 switches to the ON state.
That is, the type of the spare tire T2 is determined based on the ON / OFF of the proximity switch 11 after the lowering operation of the first air cylinder 6. Each member of the tire type determination device 5 returns to the initial position after the determination operation.

As described above, the tire type discriminating apparatus 5
Is determined, the seat cover removal device 14 is controlled based on the determination result.
1 and 4, as shown in FIG.
Has a gantry 15. The gantry 15 has a lift table 1 which is raised and lowered by a pneumatic lift cylinder 17 as a driving device using a plurality of guide rods 16 as guide members.
8 are provided. A reach table 20 horizontally moved by a rodless pneumatic first reach cylinder 19 is mounted on the lift table 18, and a rodless pneumatic second reach cylinder 21 is mounted on the reach table 20. A take-out arm 22 that is moved horizontally is attached. That is, the take-out arm 22
Is operated in a two-stage manner by first and second two reach cylinders 19 and 21. At the tip of the take-out arm 22, a plurality of suction cups 23 for adsorbing the seat cover 25 are attached.
Is connected to a suction device such as a vacuum pump (not shown) by a hose, and its suction operation and release are controlled by a valve.

The seat cover take-out device 14 thus configured is on standby with the position shown in FIG. 4 as an initial position. Based on the result of the discrimination by the tire type discriminating device 5, the spare tire T2 is replaced with an A-class tire. If so, it is operated to take out the seat cover 25. The operation is executed after the tire transfer device 3 lifts the spare tire T2. That is, the take-out arm 22 provided with the suction cup 23 moves to just above the seat cover 25 by the sequential operation of the first reach cylinder 19 and the second reach cylinder 21, and then moves the suction cup 23 to the seat cover 25 by the lowering operation of the lift cylinder 17. It is pressed against 25 and adsorbed. Thereafter, the lift cylinder 17 returns to the original height by the lifting operation, and the seat cover 25 is lifted. This state is shown by a virtual line in FIG. Subsequently, with the take-out arm 22 returned to its original position and lowered to a predetermined height, the suction action of the suction cup 23 on the seat cover 25 is released. As a result, the seat cover 25 falls and is stored in the lower hopper 24. Then take out arm 2
2 returns to its original position and waits. On the other hand, when the spare tire T2 is a Class B tire, the seat cover removing device 14 does not start up and stands by at that location.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether the spare tire T2 stacked and transported on the transport line 1 is a type A tire or a type B tire. Seat cover removal device 1 only for tires
4, the seat cover 25 laid between the normal tire T1 and the spare tire T2 can be removed.

In this embodiment, the tire body T2
1 is detected by the first plate 7,
The height of the side surface of the wheel T22 is detected by the second plate 9, and the proximity switch 11 is turned on / off based on the relative movement amount due to the difference between the heights of the two plates 7, 9 at the time of the detection. The type of the spare tire T2 can be determined. For this reason, the spare tire T2 is a type A or B
Kind Code: A1 A tire type determination device and a tire type determination method capable of accurately determining whether a tire is a type are provided. By the way, the type A spare tire T2 is compared with the type B tire.
Small width. Accordingly, the tire upper surface height on the transfer station 1a is different between the type A and the type B, but in the present embodiment, the first plate 7 is detected by pressing the first plate 7 against the wheel T22 by the air cylinder 6. For configuration,
Appropriate discrimination can be performed by absorbing the difference in the upper surface height.

(Modification) A modification shown in FIG. 5 will be described.
In this modification, the type of the spare tire T2 is determined using a photoelectric detector in which the light emitter 27 and the light receiver 28 face each other as the tire type determination device 5 for the spare tire T2. In this modified example, when the light emitting device 27 and the light receiving device 28 are lowered toward the spare tire T2 by the air cylinders 29 and 30 and hit against the side surface of the tire main body T21, if the spare tire T2 is a Class A tire, The light of the light projector 27 is blocked by the wheel T22 protruding from the side surface of the tire main body T21. That is, it can be determined that the tire is a type A tire.

In the tire type discriminating apparatus 5 described in the embodiment, the second plate 9 is connected to the first plate 7.
The air cylinder 8 is employed as a means for holding the air cylinder 8 at a position protruding below the air cylinder.
As the downward force for holding the plate 9 at the initial position, a spring may be used instead of the air type. Also, the lowering operation of the first plate 7 by the first air cylinder 6 has been described as being performed after the tire transfer device 3 has been lowered to grip the spare tire T2. Alternatively, it may be performed. In that case, the pressing force of the first air cylinder 6, that is,
The downward force that holds the first plate 7 at the lowered position (the position where the rod of the first air cylinder 6 protrudes) can be changed from a pneumatic type to a spring type. Further, the tire type determination device 5 is provided in a form attached to the tire transfer device 3, but may be configured to be independent from the tire transfer device 3. In addition, the tire type determination device 5
This is applied to the case where the type of the uppermost spare tire T2 in a stacked state is determined in a tire transport line in an automobile assembly factory, but the application form is not limited to this.

Further, the above-described embodiment and modified examples are as follows.
It is assumed that the tire width of the Class A tire is smaller than that of the Class B tire. Therefore, the tire body T
Although the method of detecting and discriminating two points of the wheel T21 and the wheel T22 is adopted, if it is assumed that the tire widths of the type A and type B tire bodies T21 are the same, the wheel T22 is used. It is possible to adopt a one-point detection method for detecting one point at the upper end of the image.

[0026]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a tire type determination device and a tire type determination method that can easily determine whether a wheel is a tire protruding from a side surface of a tire body.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a tire transport line.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the tire type discriminating apparatus, and shows a state where a type A tire is detected.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the tire type discriminating apparatus, and shows a state when a type B tire is detected.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a tire transfer device and a seat cover removing device arranged on a transport line.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 Tire transfer device 5 Tire type discriminating device 6 First air cylinder 7 First plate (wheel detecting unit) 8 Second air cylinder 9 Second plate (tire detecting unit) 11 Proximity switch (wheel protrusion detecting unit) 14 Seat cover removal device T1 Normal tire T2 Spare tire T21 Tire body T22 Wheel

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A tire type discriminating device for discriminating a type of a tire, comprising a detecting device for detecting whether a wheel protrudes from a side surface of a tire body. 2. The tire type discriminating device according to claim 1, wherein the detecting device includes a tire detecting portion capable of contacting a side surface of a tire body, and the tire detecting portion capable of contacting a side surface of a wheel. A wheel detector that is relatively movable with respect to the unit, and a protrusion detection unit that detects the presence or absence of protrusion of the wheel from the side of the tire body based on the relative movement amount between the tire detection unit and the wheel detection unit. A tire type discriminating device. 3. The tire type discriminating device according to claim 1, wherein, for a plurality of stacked tires, the type of the tire at the uppermost stage is such that the wheel protrudes from the side of the tire body. When it is detected that
A tire type discriminating device for outputting a start-up signal to a seat cover removing device for removing a seat cover interposed between the tire and a tire thereunder. 4. A method for determining the type of a tire, comprising determining a type of a tire based on a detection signal indicating whether or not the wheel protrudes from a side surface of the tire body.