JP2006247987A - Method and apparatus for manufacturing fiber reinforced rubber cord - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a wide fiber reinforced rubber cord having the stability of properties or quality withstanding a practical us by not causing or hardly causing the lowering of rubber supply pressure even if widened. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of the fiber reinforced rubber cord comprises a primary molding process for coating a plurality of core materials arranged in parallel to each other with a rubber 16 to form a wide belt-like unvulcanized cord body 1, and a secondary molding process for mutually arranging a plurality of the unvulcanized cord bodies 1 obtained in the primary molding process in series in a heated state without forming a gap in the width direction of the unvulcanized cord bodies 1 to bond them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced rubber cord in which a plurality of core members are embedded in a rubber layer in a parallel state. The fiber-reinforced rubber cord is suitable for forming a fiber-reinforced rubber hose by, for example, spirally winding a fiber-reinforced layer on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical rubber.

  The fiber reinforced rubber cord has a wide belt shape in which a plurality of core members are arranged in a row, that is, in a parallel state and covered with rubber. Fiber-reinforced rubber cords are used for rubber products and high-pressure hoses that require high-pressure reinforcement, and are used for pumping tubes of squeeze pumps by wrapping them around a cylindrical rubber and vulcanizing it. A reinforced rubber hose is also used. Since the pumping tube is required to have flexibility and strength that can withstand frequent deformation, the fiber-reinforced rubber cord that is a reinforcing layer in the fiber-reinforced rubber hose is required to have both high strength and excellent flexibility. . The fiber reinforced cord is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4 and the like.

  In general, fiber reinforced rubber cords are often used as reinforcing materials for rubber layers in such a manner that core materials (steel cords, synthetic fibers, etc.) are arranged in the longitudinal direction. Fiber reinforced rubber cords are created by supplying rubber by rubbing the rubber with a calender roll or the like while regulating the state and pulling with high tension, or by passing the rubber through an extrusion die. The

  In this case, the width of the fiber reinforced rubber cord and the supply pressure of the rubber are in an inversely proportional relationship. If the width is increased, the pressure of the supply rubber is reduced, and the coating pressure fluctuation of the core material is likely to occur. If the width is narrowed, the pressure of the supply rubber can be increased, and the coating pressure fluctuation of the core material is less likely to occur.

For example, when a fiber reinforced rubber cord is used as a small quantity of various product materials, it is desirable that the width is narrow so that various correspondences can be easily performed. When used as a seed product material, it is common sense to handle fiber-reinforced rubber cords that it is desirable to use wide products from the viewpoint of increasing production efficiency. That is, the width dimension of the fiber reinforced rubber cord is set in light of the actual condition of the product in which the fiber reinforced rubber cord is used. However, as described above, the wide width is likely to affect the performance and stability of the product. Therefore, in reality, it has been difficult to realize a fiber reinforced rubber cord having a desired wide width by, for example, using a large amount and a small amount of product material.
JP 2003-159909 A JP 2003-278086 A JP 7-237271 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-218099

  The purpose of the present invention is to realize a wide fiber-reinforced rubber cord having stability in performance and quality that can withstand practical use in such a manner that a decrease in rubber supply pressure does not occur or hardly occurs even when the width is widened. The manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus are provided.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a method for producing a fiber-reinforced rubber cord, wherein a plurality of core members 2 arranged in parallel are covered with rubber 16 to produce a wide belt-shaped unvulcanized cord body 1; A secondary molding step in which a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies 1 obtained by the primary molding step are joined in series in the width direction without gaps in a heated state. is there.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the fiber reinforced rubber cord manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the secondary molding step is performed immediately after the unvulcanized cord body is created by the primary molding step. It is a feature.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the fiber reinforced rubber cord manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the secondary molding step is a plurality of unvulcanized cords conveyed in a state of being aligned in series without a gap. It has a pressurizing step of drawing the body 1 between a pair of rotatable cylindrical rollers 17 and 18 while passing a force in a thickness decreasing direction.

  The invention according to claim 4 is a primary molding in which a wide belt-shaped unvulcanized cord body 1 formed by covering a plurality of core members 2 arranged in parallel with rubber 16 in a fiber-reinforced rubber cord manufacturing apparatus. A secondary molding machine b capable of joining a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies 1 created by the primary molding machine a in a heated state in series in the width direction with no gaps between them; , And is configured.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the fiber reinforced rubber cord manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the secondary molding machine b is located near the discharge portion 10 of the unvulcanized cord body 1 in the primary molding machine a. It is characterized by being arranged.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the fiber reinforced rubber cord manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the secondary molding machine b is arranged in a state where a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies 1 are arranged in series without gaps. In order to apply a force in the thickness decreasing direction to the transport mechanism 12 to be transported and to the plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies 1 transported by the transport mechanism 12, the plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies 1 are disposed in a state of being sandwiched. And a pair of freely rotatable cylindrical rollers 17 and 18.

  According to the invention of claim 1, a wide fiber-reinforced rubber is obtained by integrating a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies produced by the primary molding step in series in the secondary molding step, that is, by overlapping in the width direction. A means of creating code. That is, the unvulcanized cord body in the heated state is in a fluid state where the rubber layer is not yet cured, and the rubber layers can be easily joined to each other by pressing the end portions in the width direction. Is used, and a wide fiber-reinforced rubber cord having a desired width can be obtained.

  Since it is not necessary to widen the width in the primary molding machine, “If the width is narrowed, the pressure of the supplied rubber can be increased, the bonding force between the rubber and the core material is increased, and the coating pressure variation of the core material is While having the advantage that “it is difficult to occur”, it becomes possible to create a wide fiber-reinforced rubber cord that was impossible in the past. As a result, it was possible to realize a wide fiber-reinforced rubber cord having performance and quality stability that can withstand practical use in such a manner that the rubber supply pressure does not decrease or hardly occurs even when the width is widened.

  According to the invention of claim 2, it is means for performing the secondary molding step immediately after the primary molding step, and the process proceeds to the secondary molding step while maintaining the hot state of the rubber in the primary molding step. A heating means can be made unnecessary. Therefore, there is an advantage that the operation and effect of the invention of claim 1 can be obtained while reducing the cost and improving the production efficiency by eliminating the heating means and the heating step.

  According to the invention of claim 3, a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies arranged in series without gaps in the width direction are sandwiched between a pair of cylindrical rollers as means for pressing the end surfaces of the cords together. A pressurizing step is adopted. In other words, the action of trying to increase the width by applying a force to compress the thickness makes it possible to strongly press the end faces of adjacent unvulcanized cords in the width direction, thereby integrating the rubber layers of both. It is. In addition, since a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies are pressurized in the thickness direction at once, the thickness accuracy and thickness variation as the fiber reinforced rubber cord can be controlled, and the quality as a product can be improved. As a result, unvulcanized while improving the quality of the fiber reinforced rubber cord while making it a relatively simple and efficient means of sandwiching and pressing a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies with a pair of driven and rotated cylindrical rollers. There is an advantage that the code body can be well integrated.

  The invention of claim 4 is an apparatus of the invention of claim 1, and the same effect as that of the invention of claim 1 can be obtained.

  The invention of claim 5 is an apparatus of the invention of claim 2, and the same effect as that of the invention of claim 2 can be obtained.

  The invention of claim 6 is an apparatus of the invention of claim 3, and the same effect as that of the invention of claim 3 can be obtained.

  Embodiments of a method for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced rubber cord and a manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic overall system diagram showing a fiber-reinforced rubber cord manufacturing apparatus, FIGS. 2 to 5 are component diagrams and assembly diagrams showing the structure of a primary molding machine, and FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are secondary moldings. It is sectional drawing which shows the unification | combination effect | action of the three unvulcanized cord bodies by a machine.

[Example 1]
The manufacturing apparatus A for the fiber-reinforced rubber cord 21 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a fiber-reinforced rubber cord manufacturing apparatus A includes a wide belt-shaped unvulcanized cord body 1 formed by covering a plurality of steel cords (an example of a core material) 2 arranged in parallel with rubber. Three sets of primary molding machines a that can be made and three sheets (a plurality of examples) of unvulcanized cord bodies 1 produced by these primary molding machines a are connected in series in the width direction without any gaps. And a secondary molding machine b that can be joined together.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the primary molding machine a includes a die 4 in which a plurality of hole paths 3 through which the steel cord 2 passes is arranged in parallel, and left and right rubber guides 5 that are integrally disposed on the left and right sides of the die. , 6, and a die 7 and the rubber guides 5, 6 are held in a predetermined assembled state and have a substantially square cylindrical holder 7. Three sets of the primary molding machines a are prepared, and the primary molding machines a are arranged in series so as to be close to each other in the width direction so that the unvulcanized cord bodies 1 discharged downward from each other are in contact with each other. The unvulcanized cord body 1 is arranged in the front-rear direction (arrow arrow direction in FIG. 1) in a state shifted in the left-right direction (arrow honey direction in FIG. 1) by the width. In addition, a rubber feeder G that supplies rubber to each primary molding machine a through the holder 7 is prepared. Since the rubber feeder G is a known general one, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the die 4 has a constricted shape when viewed from the front so that the left and right side surfaces 4L and 4R are stepped, and the shape when viewed from the side is at the center of the lower end. It is made of a rectangular block material having a rubber flow notch 8. The above-described hole passage 3 penetrating vertically is formed such that the upper end thereof opens to the upper surface 4 a and the lower end thereof opens to the rubber flow notch 8. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, you may arrange | position the code guide for aligning the steel cord 2 just before supplying to the primary molding machine a.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rubber guides 5 and 6 have a symmetrical shape and will be described using the left rubber guide 5. In addition, the corresponding code | symbol shall be attached | subjected to the location which respond | corresponds in a guide on either side. A stepped inner surface 5a along the left side surface 4L of the die 4, an upper wall portion 5b covering the left end portion of the die upper surface 4a from above, a bottom wall portion 5c covering the left end portion of the die lower surface 4b from below, and a rubber supply path 9 is formed of a block material. The rubber supply path 9 receives and guides the rubber supplied from the rubber supply machine G through the transfer path 11 and leads to the rubber flow notch 8 of the die 4 in a state following the introduction path. The introduction channel 9 functions in cooperation with the inner surface of the holder 7, and the inner channel functions in cooperation with the left side surface 4 </ b> L of the die 4. Is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the holder 7 surrounds the three members 5, 6, 4 in the assembled state so as to hold the assembled state in which the die 4 is sandwiched between the left and right rubber guides 5, 6. It is formed of a cylindrical block body. In other words, it has a rectangular loop shape in plan view, and a shaping transfer path (an example of a discharge portion) 10 is formed in the lower part thereof. The shaping transfer path 10 is downward while shaping the unvulcanized cord body 1 discharged from the lower end of the die 4 (from the rubber flow notch 8) into a state where the cross-sectional shape is a flat rectangle. It has a function to transfer. In FIG. 1, for the sake of simplicity, the primary molding machine a is depicted with the holder 7 omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the secondary molding machine b is transported by a transport mechanism 12 that transports three unvulcanized cord bodies 1, 1, 1 in a state where they are arranged in series without a gap, and the transport mechanism 12. And a pressurizing mechanism 13 that applies a force in the thickness decreasing direction to the three unvulcanized cord bodies 1. Moreover, this secondary molding machine b is arrange | positioned in the lower vicinity of the discharge part 10 of the unvulcanized cord body 1 in a primary molding machine.

  The transport mechanism 12 includes a total of three direction conversion rollers 14 that are in contact with each unvulcanized code body 1 from above, and three unvulcanized code bodies 1, 1, 1 whose directions are unified by the direction conversion rollers 14. And a driving unit 20 for driving and conveying each unvulcanized cord body 1 in synchronism with each other. That is, the three unvulcanized cord bodies 1 discharged downward by the conveying mechanism 12 are aligned in the same direction by the direction changing roller 14 and then accurately aligned by the long alignment roller 15. The function of aligning and guiding the three unvulcanized cord bodies 1, 1, 1 so as to be aligned in series at the same height level is exhibited.

  The pressurizing mechanism 13 is a pair of upper and lower rotatable cylindrical rollers 17, 18 that are arranged in a state of sandwiching a total of three unvulcanized cord bodies 1, 1, 1 that are aligned and conveyed in series via an alignment roller 15. It is comprised. Both the upper cylindrical roller 17 and the lower cylindrical roller 18 are structured to be driven and rotated in the directions indicated by arrows H and F, respectively, or one of the cylindrical rollers 17 (18) is driven by the drive mechanism 19. It is also used for the part 20. Further, the interval between the upper and lower cylindrical rollers 17 and 18 is set to a value slightly narrower than the thickness of the unvulcanized cord body 1, and each vulcanized by passing between the upper and lower cylindrical rollers 17 and 18. The cord body 1 is compressed and pressurized in the thickness direction.

  At the pressurizing mechanism 13 site, the rubber layer 16 is still sufficiently hot and easy to flow, so that the three unvulcanized cord bodies 1, 1, 1 have the action of spreading in the left-right direction by pressing in the thickness direction. As a result, the end faces of the adjacent unvulcanized cord bodies 1 are pushed together to be integrated. That is, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the three unvulcanized cord bodies 1, 1, 1 that are conveyed in series with a boundary s pass through the upper and lower cylindrical rollers 17, 18. After that, the boundary s disappears and is formed into a wide single fiber-reinforced rubber cord 21.

  An example of the specific specification of the fiber reinforced cord 15 according to the first embodiment is as follows. In each primary molding machine a, 15 steel cords 2 having a diameter of 0.7 mm are used, and an unvulcanized cord body 1 having a width of 30 m is produced. The die 4 has a tip width of 30 mm, a thickness of 1.2 mm, a natural rubber 16 having a temperature of 70 ° C. and a pressure of 15 Mpa, and is supplied from each primary molding machine a to a width of 30 mm. An unvulcanized cord body 1 having a thickness of 1.2 mm is created. Three pieces of the unvulcanized cord body 1 are stacked and integrated in series in the secondary molding machine b, and a fiber-reinforced rubber cord 21 having a width of 90 mm in which 45 steel cords 2 are embedded is obtained. In addition, various fiber rubber coating processes are possible by changing the thickness of the die 4 or the tip of the die 4, and the temperature, pressure, and control of the take-up speed of the core material 2 are controlled because the processing is narrow. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the high-precision unvulcanized cord body 1 and the high-precision fiber-reinforced rubber cord 21.

  As described above, the manufacturing method of the fiber-reinforced rubber cord 21 by the manufacturing apparatus A is a primary molding in which a plurality of steel cords 2 arranged in parallel are covered with the rubber 16 to produce the unvulcanized cord body 1 having a wide belt shape. And a secondary molding step in which a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies 1 obtained by the primary molding step are joined in series in the width direction without gaps in the heated state, and secondary molding. The process is performed immediately after the unvulcanized cord body 1 is created by the primary molding process. In the secondary forming step, a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies 1, 1, 1 conveyed in a state of being aligned in series without a gap are drawn between a pair of rotatable cylindrical rollers to reduce the thickness. It has a pressurizing step of passing through while force is applied.

In general, the conventional means for producing the unvulcanized cord body 1 using an extruder as the primary molding machine a has the following characteristics (1) to (7).
(1): Since a certain number of core materials 2 are supplied at a constant width and taken up at a constant width, there is no fluctuation in the width.
(2): Since the take-up tension is large, it is suitable for the core material 2 having high strength such as steel and aramid and small elongation.
(3): Since the supply pressure of rubber is large, the adhesion between the core material 2 and the rubber 16 is high.
(4): The above characteristics 1 to 3 are better utilized when the overall width is smaller. Therefore, it is difficult to fit a wide width.
(5): Since the thickness of the rubber layer 16 is controlled by a narrow die, the thickness accuracy is high.
(6): Because of the extrusion type, it is difficult to increase the speed of covering the core material with rubber.
(7): The density stability of the core material is high.
(8): Suitable for production of various kinds of small quantities.

  In the manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus of the fiber reinforced cord according to the present invention, the above-described features 4 and 6 can be improved, and a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies 1 are connected in series and integrated. A wide fiber-reinforced rubber cord can be obtained without difficulty. As the rubber supply machine, the rubber supply pressure needs to be increased for the thickness of the rubber layer 16, so that a high discharge capacity is inevitably used. There is a margin, and even if the number of primary molding machines a (dies 4) to which rubber is supplied increases, it can function without inconvenience. Further, since the width of the fiber-reinforced rubber cord is widened, as a result, the amount of processing per unit time is increased, and thereby it is possible to satisfy high speed (improvement of productivity).

[Another Example]
For example, the fiber reinforced rubber cord 21 having a total width of 150 mm is prepared using five of the unvulcanized cord bodies 1 having a width of 30 mm. Two or four or more numbers can be combined in series. In addition to the steel cord, the core material 2 can be variously modified such as a carbon fiber and a polymer synthetic resin fiber.

Schematic overall system diagram showing fiber reinforced rubber cord manufacturing equipment Perspective view showing a die Perspective view showing dies and left and right rubber guides A perspective view showing the assembled state of the die and the left and right rubber guides Perspective view showing a set of primary molding machines (A), (b) is sectional drawing which shows the cross-sectional shape change of the unvulcanized cord body by a secondary forming process

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Unvulcanized cord body 2 Core material 10 Discharge part 12 Conveyance mechanism 13 Pressurization mechanism 16 Rubber (rubber layer)
17, 18 Tubular roller a Primary molding machine b Secondary molding machine A Fiber reinforced rubber cord manufacturing equipment

Claims (6)

  A primary molding step of creating a wide belt-shaped unvulcanized cord body by covering a plurality of core materials arranged in parallel with rubber, and a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies obtained by the primary molding step were heated. And a secondary molding step of joining them in series in the width direction without gaps in the state, and a method for producing a fiber-reinforced rubber cord.   The method for producing a fiber-reinforced rubber cord according to claim 1, wherein the secondary molding step is performed immediately after an unvulcanized cord body is created by the primary molding step.   In the secondary forming step, a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies conveyed in a state of being aligned in series without gaps are drawn between a pair of freely rotatable cylindrical rollers while passing a force in a thickness decreasing direction. The manufacturing method of the fiber reinforced rubber cord of Claim 1 or 2 which has a pressurizing process to make.   A primary molding machine capable of creating a wide belt-shaped unvulcanized cord body formed by covering a plurality of cores arranged in parallel with rubber, and a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies in a state created by the primary molding machine And a secondary molding machine that can be joined together in series in the width direction without gaps in a heated state.   The said secondary molding machine is a manufacturing apparatus of the fiber reinforced rubber cord of Claim 4 arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the discharge part of the unvulcanized cord body in the said primary molding machine. The secondary molding machine is configured to convey a plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies in a state in which the unvulcanized cord bodies are arranged in series without gaps, and to apply a force in a thickness decreasing direction to the plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies conveyed by the conveyance mechanism. A fiber-reinforced rubber cord according to claim 4 or 5, comprising a pair of rotatable cylindrical rollers provided in a state of sandwiching the plurality of unvulcanized cord bodies to be applied. Manufacturing equipment.

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