JP2006188143A - Pneumatic tire equipped with electronic device and manufacturing method for pneumatic tire - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pneumatic tire capable of suppressing damage to a built-in electronic device, and manufacturing method for a pneumatic tire. <P>SOLUTION: This pneumatic tire 1 includes: a pair of bead portions 11 including at least a bead core 11a; a carcass layer 12 folded back from the inside to the outside in the tread width direction around the bead core 11a; and the electronic device capable of writing or reading information through a wireless communication. The pneumatic tire 1, with an electronic device housed therein, includes a protective member 23 for protecting the electronic device against vibrations and impacts, and the protective member 23 is embedded in the bead section 11 outside in the tread width direction of the carcass layer 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire provided with an electronic device capable of writing or reading information by wireless communication, and a pneumatic tire manufacturing method for manufacturing the pneumatic tire.

  Conventionally, a pneumatic tire incorporating an electronic device such as an IC chip for storing tire information (for example, name, date of manufacture, manufacturing factory) input by a manufacturer of the pneumatic tire is known.

  For example, the above-described electronic device is mounted between an inner liner located on the inner side in the tire radial direction of the belt layer and the belt layer (for example, Patent Document 1).

By the way, when a failure (including defective manufacturing) occurs in a pneumatic tire, the pneumatic tire may be collected by a producer (such as a tire factory). At this time, since the tire information is stored in the electronic device described above, the same lot on the producer side (information on the same product as a unit of production and shipment) can be searched, so the material of the pneumatic tire And shipping destination can be easily known.
JP 2004-148953 A (page 5-7, FIG. 1)

  However, in the conventional pneumatic tire described above, when the pneumatic tire fails (particularly, puncture), the load of the vehicle must be supported by the tread portion and the sidewall of the pneumatic tire. There was a risk that the electronic device built in between would be damaged.

  Then, it is made | formed in view of such a condition, and provides the pneumatic tire manufacturing method which manufactures the pneumatic tire which can suppress the damage of the built-in electronic device, and the said pneumatic tire. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention has the following features. First, a first feature of the present invention is a pair of bead portions (bead portions 11) including at least a bead core (bead core 11a), and a carcass layer folded around the bead core from the tread width direction inner side to the tread width direction outer side ( A pneumatic tire (pneumatic tire 1) provided with a carcass layer 12) and an electronic device (electronic device substrate 20) capable of writing or reading information by wireless communication, and containing the electronic device; The gist is that the pneumatic tire includes a protective member (protective member 23) that protects vibrations and shocks applied to the electronic device, and the protective member is embedded in the bead portion on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer.

  According to such a feature, the pneumatic tire is accommodated by a protective member that accommodates the electronic device and protects the vibration and shock applied to the electronic device embedded in the bead portion on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer. In the event of a failure (particularly puncture), a protective member is embedded at a position where the load of the vehicle is not applied to the tread and sidewall of the pneumatic tire. Damage can be suppressed.

  In addition, because it is embedded in the bead part away from the maximum tire width, compared to the sidewall near the maximum tire width, rocks and rubble are less likely to come in contact, and damage to the electronic devices built into the pneumatic tire Can be suppressed.

  Further, since the electronic device is accommodated (protected) by the protective member, damage to the electronic device can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the electronic device is mounted on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer, compared with the conventional electronic device provided between the inner liner and the belt layer, the obstacle (when performing wireless communication) For example, the number of belt layers and carcass layers is reduced, and the quality of electronic devices (such as wireless communication) can be improved.

  The second feature of the present invention is related to the first feature, and is characterized by comprising a reference value (for example, a marker) indicating a position where the protective member is embedded.

  According to this feature, since the reference value indicating the position where the protection member is embedded is provided, the position where the protection member (electronic device) is mounted can be easily grasped.

  A third feature of the present invention relates to the first feature, wherein the pneumatic tire includes at least a barcode (barcode 18) provided on the pneumatic tire, or a stamped pattern stamped on the pneumatic tire, The gist is that the protective member is embedded at a position spaced apart from the barcode or the stamped pattern by a predetermined distance (α).

  According to such a feature, the position where the protection member (electronic device) is mounted can be easily grasped by embedding the protection member at a position spaced apart from the barcode or the stamp pattern by a predetermined distance.

  The fourth feature of the present invention relates to the first to third features of the present invention, and is summarized in that the protective member has a truncated cone shape.

  According to this feature, since the protective member has a truncated conical shape, the angular region can be reduced, and the occurrence of rubber cracks around the protective member can be suppressed. The protective member is more preferably rounded at the corner of the truncated cone shape.

  The fifth feature of the present invention relates to the fourth feature of the present invention and is summarized in that a groove (groove 25) is formed on the outer peripheral surface (outer peripheral surface 23a) of the protective member.

  According to this feature, since the groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the protective member, the portion where the groove is formed and the rubber around the protective member can be easily bitten, and the protective member is protected from the pneumatic tire. (Electronic device) can be further prevented from coming off.

  The sixth feature of the present invention is that, in the raw tire before vulcanization, step A for forming a depression (depression 16) in the bead portion on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer, and writing or reading of information by wireless communication Step B for embedding an electronic device (electronic device substrate 20) that can be used and protecting a vibration or impact applied to the electronic device (protection member 23) in the recess, and a protection member embedded in the recess The gist of the invention includes the step C of covering a predetermined rubber sheet (rubber seed 30) from the outside of the raw tire and the step D of vulcanizing the raw tire having the protective member covered with the predetermined rubber sheet.

  According to such a feature, in the raw tire before vulcanization, the step A for forming a hollow portion in the bead portion on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer and the electronic device capable of writing or reading information by wireless communication are accommodated. Step B for embedding a protective member for protecting the vibration and impact applied to the electronic device in the recess, Step C for covering the protective member embedded in the recess with a predetermined rubber sheet from the outside of the raw tire, and the protection member By including the step D of vulcanizing a raw tire covered with a predetermined rubber sheet, a pneumatic tire capable of suppressing damage to the built-in electronic device can be manufactured.

  A seventh feature of the present invention relates to the sixth feature of the present invention, and includes a step E in which an adhesive (adhesive 24a) is previously applied to the protective member, and step B is a protective member to which the adhesive is applied. The gist is to embed in the recess.

  According to such a feature, step E includes applying an adhesive to the protective member in advance, and step B includes protecting the protective member (electronic device) from the pneumatic tire by embedding the protective member applied with the adhesive in the recess. It is possible to manufacture a pneumatic tire that can make it difficult to come off.

  An eighth feature of the present invention relates to the sixth feature of the present invention, and includes a step F in which a predetermined metal (predetermined metal 24b) is formed in advance on a protective member by a sputtering process, and step B includes a predetermined The gist is to embed a protective member on which a metal film is formed in the recess.

  According to such a feature, the step F includes forming a predetermined metal on the protective member in advance by sputtering, and the step B includes embedding the protective portion film material on which the predetermined metal is formed in the recess. Since the strength of the protective member increases, vibrations and impacts applied to the electronic device can be suppressed, and the protective member (electronic device) can be made difficult to come off from the pneumatic tire.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the pneumatic tire manufacturing method which manufactures the pneumatic tire which can suppress the damage of the built-in electronic device, and the said pneumatic tire can be provided.

  Next, an example of a pneumatic tire according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and ratios of dimensions are different from actual ones. Accordingly, specific dimensions and the like should be determined in consideration of the following description. Moreover, it is a matter of course that portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios are included between the drawings.

(Composition of pneumatic tire)
FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a pneumatic tire 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the pneumatic tire 1 has a pair of bead portions 11 including at least a bead core 11a and a bead filler 11b. Specifically, a steel cord or the like is used for the bead core 11a constituting the bead unit 11.

  The pneumatic tire 1 has a carcass layer 12 that is a skeleton of the pneumatic tire 1. On the outer side of the carcass layer 12 in the tire radial direction, a first belt layer 13 and a second belt layer 14 are disposed so as to overlap each other.

  A tread portion 15 that is in contact with the road surface is disposed on the outer side in the tire radial direction of the first belt layer 13 and the second belt layer 14. Moreover, the barcode 18 provided in the pneumatic tire is arrange | positioned at the tread width direction outer side of the bead part 11 mentioned above.

  An electronic device substrate 20 (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 2) is placed on the bead portion 11 on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer 12 at a predetermined distance α (for example, 1 cm) from the barcode 18. A protective member 23 that houses and protects the vibration and impact applied to the electronic device substrate 20 is disposed.

  The protective member 23 is not necessarily arranged at a position spaced apart from the barcode 18 by a predetermined distance, and is separated from the stamped pattern (for example, tire name or company name) stamped on the pneumatic tire 1 by a predetermined distance α. It may be arranged at a different position. Further, a reference value (for example, a marker) indicating the position where the protection member 23 is embedded may be provided.

  Next, the protection member 23 that houses the electronic device substrate 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the protective member 23 that houses the electronic device substrate 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the protection member 23 accommodates the electronic device substrate 20 and protects vibrations and impacts applied to the electronic device substrate 20. Further, the protective member 23 preferably has a bending strength (JIS K69) larger than that of rubber (for example, rubber of the sidewall SW) disposed around the protective member 23, and for example, epoxy resin is used.

  The electronic device substrate 20 measures the air pressure (internal pressure) of the compressed air filled in the pneumatic tire 1 and is input by a sensor that transmits the measurement result to the vehicle side by wireless communication or a pneumatic tire manufacturer. It is configured by RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) such as an IC chip for storing tire information (for example, name, date of manufacture, manufacturing factory).

  The protective member 23 has a truncated conical shape having a surface substantially parallel to the conical bottom surface. Moreover, the protection member 23 is the shape rounded to the corner | corner of the truncated cone shape.

(Action / Effect)
According to the pneumatic tire 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the protective member 23 that houses the electronic device substrate 20 and protects the vibration and impact applied to the electronic device substrate 20 is provided in the tread width direction of the carcass layer 12. When the pneumatic tire 1 breaks down (especially, puncture) by being embedded in the outer bead portion 11, the load of the vehicle is not applied more than the tread portion 15 and the sidewall SW of the pneumatic tire 1. Since the protective member 23 is embedded in the position, damage to the electronic device substrate 20 (protective member 23) incorporated in the pneumatic tire 1 can be suppressed.

  Moreover, since it is embedded in the bead part 11 away from the maximum tire width, compared to the sidewall SW in the vicinity of the maximum tire width, rocks and rubble are less likely to come into contact, and the electronic device built in the pneumatic tire 1 Damage to the substrate 20 can be suppressed.

  Further, since the electronic device substrate 20 is accommodated (protected) by the protective member 23, damage to the electronic device substrate 20 can be reduced.

  Further, since the electronic device substrate 20 is mounted on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer 12, wireless communication is performed as compared with the electronic device substrate provided between the conventional inner liner and the belt layer 13. Obstacles (eg, the carcass layer 12, the first belt layer 13, and the second belt layer 14) are reduced, and the quality of the electronic device substrate 20 (such as wireless communication) can be improved.

  Further, the reference value indicating the position where the protective member is embedded is provided, or the protective member 23 is embedded at a position spaced apart from the barcode 18 or the stamped pattern by a predetermined distance α. The position where the member 23 (electronic device board | substrate 20) was mounted | worn can be grasped | ascertained easily.

  In addition, since the protective member 23 has a truncated conical shape, an angular region can be reduced, and the occurrence of rubber cracks around the protective member 23 can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the groove 25 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 23 a of the protective member 23, the portion where the groove 25 is formed and the rubber around the protective member 23 can be easily bitten. The protective member 23 (electronic device substrate 20) can be further prevented from coming off.

(Electronic device mounting method)
Next, an electronic device mounting method for mounting (embedding) the above-described protective member 23 (electronic device substrate 20) on the pneumatic tire 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views in the tread width direction of the pneumatic tire 1 (raw tire before vulcanization) to which the protective member 23 (electronic device substrate 20) is attached.

  First, as shown to Fig.3 (a), in the raw tire before a vulcanization | cure, the hollow part 16 is formed in the bead part 11 of the tread width direction outer side of the carcass layer 12 (step A).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the protection member 23 (electronic device substrate 20) is embedded in the recess 16 (step B).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), it is preferable to embed a protective member 23 previously coated with an adhesive 24a in the recessed portion 16, and a predetermined metal 24b (for example, cobalt or copper) is previously formed by sputtering. The filmed protective member 23 is preferably embedded in the recess 16. Accordingly, the protective member 23 (electronic device substrate 20) can be further prevented from coming off from the pneumatic tire 1.

  5B, a groove 25 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 23a of the protective member 23 (formed by knurling or groove processing), and the protective member 23 is embedded in the recess 16. preferable. Accordingly, rubber around the protective member enters the groove 25 of the outer peripheral surface 23a of the protective member 23 during vulcanization, and the protective member 23 (electronic device substrate 20) can be further prevented from coming off from the pneumatic tire 1. .

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4A, a rubber sheet 30 (predetermined rubber sheet) is formed on the protective member 23 (electronic device substrate 20) embedded in the recess 16 from the outside of the raw tire (pneumatic tire 1). ) (Step C). The rubber sheet 30 is preferably the same as the rubber component such as the sidewall SW in order to easily adhere to the rubber of the sidewall SW during vulcanization.

  Next, as shown in FIG.4 (b), the raw tire which covered the rubber sheet 30 on the protection member 23 is vulcanized with a vulcanizer (step D). As a result, the protective member 23 (electronic device substrate 20) is embedded in the bead portion 11 outside the carcass layer 12 in the tread width direction.

(Action / Effect)
According to the electronic device mounting method according to the present embodiment described above, in the raw tire before vulcanization, the step A for forming the recess in the bead portion 11 on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer 12 and the protective member 23 ( Step B for embedding the electronic device substrate 20) in the recess 16, Step C for covering the protective member 23 embedded in the recess 16 from the outside of the raw tire, and the rubber sheet 30 for covering the protective member 23 By including the step D of vulcanizing the raw tire, the pneumatic tire 1 capable of suppressing damage to the built-in electronic device substrate 20 can be manufactured.

  Although the contents of the present invention have been disclosed through the embodiments of the present invention as described above, it should not be understood that the descriptions and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention.

  From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a pneumatic tire 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the protection member 23 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the electronic device mounting method which mounts the protection member 23 on the pneumatic tire 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the electronic device mounting method which mounts the protection member 23 on the pneumatic tire 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the protection member 23 which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pneumatic tire, 11 ... Bead part, 11a ... Bead core, 11b ... Bead filler, 12 ... Carcass layer, 13 ... 1st belt layer, 14 ... 2nd belt layer, 15 ... Tread part, 16 ... Depression part, 20 ... Electronic device substrate, 23 ... Protective member, 23a ... Outer peripheral surface, 24a ... Adhesive, 24b ... Predetermined metal, 25 ... Groove, 30 ... Rubber seed

Claims (8)

A pair of bead portions including at least a bead core, a carcass layer folded from the inner side of the tread width direction to the outer side of the tread width around the bead core, and an electronic device capable of writing or reading information by wireless communication are provided A pneumatic tire,
A protective member that houses the electronic device and protects vibrations and shocks applied to the electronic device;
The pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is embedded in the bead portion on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer.   The pneumatic tire according to claim 1, further comprising a reference value indicating a position where the protective member is embedded. At least a barcode provided on the pneumatic tire, or a stamp pattern stamped on the pneumatic tire,
The pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the protection member is embedded at a position spaced apart from the barcode or the stamp pattern by a predetermined distance.   The pneumatic tire according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protection member has a truncated cone shape.   The pneumatic tire according to claim 4, wherein a groove is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the protection member. In the raw tire before vulcanization, step A for forming a depression in the bead portion on the outer side in the tread width direction of the carcass layer;
Step B that houses an electronic device capable of writing or reading information by wireless communication, and embeds a protective member that protects against vibrations and shocks applied to the electronic device in the recess,
Step C for covering the protective member embedded in the recess from a predetermined rubber sheet from the outside of the raw tire;
The pneumatic tire manufacturing method which manufactures the pneumatic tire in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 including the step D which vulcanizes the said raw tire with which the said protection member covered the predetermined | prescribed rubber sheet. Including a step E of previously applying an adhesive to the protective member;
The pneumatic tire manufacturing method according to claim 6, wherein the step B includes embedding the protective member to which the adhesive is applied in the recess. Including a step F in which a predetermined metal is formed on the protective member in advance by sputtering.
The pneumatic tire manufacturing method according to claim 6, wherein in the step B, the protective member on which the predetermined metal is formed is embedded in the recess.

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