JP2010241017A - Method and apparatus for post-cure inflation of tire - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for post-cure inflation of tire capable of cooling a tire without causing extension of a spew and heat shrinkage of an auxiliary cord by controlling a cooling temperature. <P>SOLUTION: The method for post-cure inflation comprises: a tire retention process; a gas supply process; a tire immersion process for immersing the tire into a cooling liquid stored in a liquid tank; a cooling process for cooling the tire T while rotatively driving a rotation shaft 7, thereby, rotating the tire T retained by the rotation shaft 7 together with a plug B and controlling the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank 40 in which the tire T is immersed, within the prescribed temperature range; a tire pulling up process of stopping the rotative driving of the rotation shaft 7 and pulling up the tire T from the cooling liquid stored in the liquid tank 30; and a tire removal process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire post-cure inflation method and apparatus for cooling a tire vulcanized by a tire vulcanizer while applying an internal pressure.

  For tires that use heat-shrinkable nylon or polyester as reinforcement cords for mainly passenger car radial tires and bias-ply tires, the reinforced cords will shrink if they are allowed to cool naturally after vulcanization in the mold. The predetermined shape as a tire cannot be maintained.

  Therefore, post-cure inflation is performed in which a tire vulcanized by a mold is attached to a post-cure inflator and the tire is cooled while applying internal pressure from the inside to suppress shrinkage of the reinforcing cord and preventing deformation of the tire. .

  In post-cure inflation, if the tire is cooled simply by contact with air, the reinforcing cord will heat shrink due to the temperature of the inner surface of the tire, and it takes too much cooling time and is inefficient. Various examples of forced cooling have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 50-39778 A

  In Patent Document 1, a tire after mold vulcanization is rotated at high speed on its own, cooling water is sprayed on the outer surface and inner surface of the tire, and a post-cure inflation equivalent pressure is applied to the tire by centrifugal force of cooling water put inside. A method of performing cooling at the same time is disclosed.

The water cooling method disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not manage cooling temperature by spraying cooling water on the tire and cooling it by accumulating cooling water inside.
In addition, it is difficult to control the cooling temperature with this water cooling method.

If the tire cooling temperature is too low during the post-cure inflation process, the temperature of the metal rim that supports the tire will decrease, and the vulcanization around the rim will be delayed during the next tire vulcanization using the rim. This slows the curing of the tire, and the spew (rubber protrusion generated in the gap between the vulcanization molds) that protrudes from the tire surface extends for a long time. Since spews are sandwiched between them, it is necessary to remove spews in the subsequent process.
Moreover, if the cooling temperature of the tire is too high, thermal shrinkage of the auxiliary cords such as embedded nylon and polyester will occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the object of the present invention is to control the cooling temperature of the tire that can cool the tire without causing the extension of the spew and the thermal contraction of the auxiliary cord. The point is to provide a post-cure inflation method and apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a tire holding system in which a pair of rims engage a pair of bead portions of a tire vulcanized by a tire vulcanizer, and a rotating shaft holds the tire. A gas supply step of expanding the bladder by supplying gas into the bladder that is sealed in a bag-like shape that is provided between the pair of rims inside the tire and that can be expanded and contracted, and cooling stored in the liquid tank A tire immersing step of immersing the tire in a liquid; and a coolant in the liquid tank in which the tire is immersed while rotating the tire held on the rotation shaft by rotating the rotation shaft together with a bladder at a predetermined temperature. A cooling step of cooling the tire by controlling the liquid temperature within a range, a tire extracting step of stopping the rotational drive of the rotating shaft and extracting the tire from the cooling liquid stored in the liquid tank;
A tire post-cure inflation method including a tire removing step of removing the tire from the rotating shaft.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the tire post-cure inflation method according to the first aspect, the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank in the cooling step is set within a predetermined temperature range of 40 ° C to 60 ° C. It is characterized by controlling.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the tire post-cure inflation method according to the first or second aspect, the rotating shaft is oriented horizontally to hold the tire in a vertical posture. Is immersed in a cooling liquid in a liquid tank in a vertical posture to rotate and cool.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the tire post-cure inflation method according to any one of the first to third aspects, the liquid temperature control of the cooling liquid in the cooling step is supplied into the liquid tank. It is made by adjusting the ratio of the cold liquid and the warm liquid.

  The invention according to claim 5 is provided between the pair of rims on the inner side of the tire and a rotating shaft that holds and holds the pair of bead portions of the tire vulcanized by the tire vulcanizer. A sealed bag-like bladder that can be expanded and contracted, a drive mechanism that rotationally drives the rotary shaft together with the bladder, a gas supply mechanism that supplies gas to the inside of the bladder inside the tire, and a coolant A liquid tank, a liquid temperature control mechanism for controlling the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank within a predetermined temperature range, and an immersion / extraction mechanism for immersing and extracting the tire in the cooling liquid in the liquid tank; , A tire post-cure inflation device.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the tire post-cure inflation device according to the fifth aspect, wherein the liquid temperature control mechanism sets the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank to a predetermined temperature range of 40 ° C to 60 ° C. The liquid temperature is controlled inside.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the tire post-cure inflation device according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the rotating shaft is oriented in the horizontal direction to hold and rotate the tire in a vertical posture. .

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the tire post-cure inflation device according to any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, the liquid temperature control mechanism is a cooling unit that supplies a cold liquid into the liquid tank. Liquid supply means, warm liquid supply means for supplying warm liquid into the liquid tank, cooling liquid discharge means for discharging the cooling liquid in the liquid tank, and liquid for detecting the temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank A ratio of the cold liquid and the hot liquid supplied to the liquid tank by controlling the cold liquid supply means and the hot liquid supply means based on the temperature of the cooling liquid detected by the liquid temperature detection means. The liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank is controlled within a predetermined temperature range by adjusting.

  According to the tire post-cure inflation method according to claim 1, the gas is supplied to the inside of the bladder inside the tire to inflate the bladder, thereby preventing the reinforcement cord embedded in the tire from contracting and preventing the deformation of the tire. However, since the tire rotates while being immersed in the cooling liquid in the liquid tank and is cooled by the liquid temperature controlled cooling liquid within a predetermined temperature range in the liquid tank, the tire cooling temperature should not be too low. This prevents the spews that protrude from the tire surface from extending for a long time, maintains a good appearance, and prevents the auxiliary cords that are buried so that the cooling temperature of the tires is not too high from causing thermal contraction. The shape can be maintained.

  According to the tire post-cure inflation method according to claim 2, since the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank is controlled within a predetermined temperature range of 40 ° C. to 60 ° C. in the cooling step, the liquid temperature is 40 It is possible to prevent the spew from elongating at a temperature lower than 0 ° C., and to prevent the auxiliary cord from being thermally contracted when the liquid temperature exceeds 60 ° C.

  According to the tire post-cure inflation method according to claim 3, the rotating shaft is oriented horizontally to hold the tire in a vertical posture, and in the cooling step, the tire is immersed in the coolant in the liquid tank in the vertical posture. And rotating and cooling, the cooling liquid can cool the entire tire uniformly.

  According to the tire post-cure inflation method according to claim 4, the liquid temperature control of the cooling liquid in the cooling step is performed by adjusting the ratio of the cold liquid and the hot liquid supplied into the liquid tank. The temperature of the coolant can be controlled with good accuracy.

  According to the tire post-cure inflation device according to claim 5, the gas is supplied to the inside of the bladder inside the tire by the gas supply mechanism to inflate the bladder, thereby suppressing the shrinkage of the reinforcing cord embedded in the tire. The tire is cooled by the coolant whose temperature is controlled within a predetermined temperature range in the liquid tank while rotating by the drive mechanism while being immersed in the cooling liquid in the liquid tank by the immersion / extraction mechanism. Therefore, the tire cooling temperature should not be too low to prevent the spews that protrude from the tire surface from extending for a long time to maintain a good appearance, and the tire cooling temperature should not be too high. The shape can be maintained by preventing the thermal contraction of the cord.

  According to the tire post-cure inflation device according to claim 6, the liquid temperature control mechanism controls the liquid temperature of the coolant in the liquid tank within a predetermined temperature range of 40 ° C to 60 ° C. When the temperature is lower than 40 ° C., it is possible to prevent the spew from extending for a long time, and when the liquid temperature exceeds 60 ° C., the thermal contraction of the auxiliary cord can be prevented.

  According to the tire post-cure inflation device according to claim 7, since the rotating shaft is oriented horizontally and the tire is held and rotated in a vertical posture, the tire is immersed in the coolant in the liquid tank in the vertical posture. Since it rotates and cools, the cooling liquid can cool the whole tire uniformly.

  According to the tire post-cure inflation device according to claim 8, the cold liquid supplied to the liquid tank by controlling the cold liquid supply means and the hot liquid supply means based on the temperature of the cooling liquid detected by the liquid temperature detection means; Since the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank is controlled within a predetermined temperature range by adjusting the ratio of the hot liquid, the temperature of the cooling liquid can be controlled with high responsiveness and high accuracy.

It is a schematic structure sectional view of a post cure inflator concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is another sectional drawing.

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a post-cure inflator 1 that is a post-cure inflation device according to the present embodiment.

A bottomed inner cylinder 4 protrudes in a horizontal direction from a housing 3 provided on the base 2, and a bottomed outer cylinder 7 that is a horizontal rotation shaft rotates through the bearing 5 on the inner cylinder 4. Freely fitted.
A seal member 6 is interposed between the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 7 outside the bearing 5 in the axial direction.
A lock member 8 can be fitted to the bottom of the outer cylinder 7.

A tire T vulcanized by a vulcanizer is mounted on the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 7 in a state in which the shape is maintained from the inside due to the expansion of the bladder B.
In the tire T, the inner and outer bead portions Tb are locked by the inner rim 10 and the outer rim 11, and the cylindrical connecting member 12 that connects the inner rim 10 and the outer rim 11 connects the inner and outer edges of the bladder B to the inner rim 10. The bladder B is fixed by being sandwiched between the outer rim 11, closed by the connecting member 12, and the bladder B is inflated while maintaining the internal pressure inside the bladder B to be in pressure contact with the inner surface of the tire T.

The connecting member 12 that supports the tire T via the inner rim 10 and the outer rim 11 has an inner diameter equal to that of the outer cylinder 7 and is fitted to the outer cylinder 7 with its relative rotation being restricted. Together with the bladder B, the outer cylinder 7 and the outer cylinder 7 are rotatably mounted.
The tire T is attached to the outer cylinder 7 at a position where the outer rim 11 is engaged with the lock member 8.

A driven gear 17 is fitted inside the inner rim 10 attached to the outer cylinder 7, and a drive gear 16 fitted to a drive shaft of a motor 15 arranged on the base 2 is engaged with the driven gear 17. ing.
Therefore, the outer cylinder 7 is rotated by the drive of the motor 15 through the meshing of the drive gear 16 and the driven gear 17.

  A communication space 20 is formed between the bottom of the inner cylinder 4 inserted into the outer cylinder 7 and rotatably supporting the outer cylinder 7 and the outer rim 11, and the communication space 20 and the inside of the bladder B are connected to each other. A plurality of communication holes 21 communicating with each other are formed in the circumferential direction by drilling the outer cylinder 7 and the connecting member 12.

A circular hole 4 a is formed at the bottom of the tip of the inner cylinder 4, and a pipe 23 having a tip connected to the circular hole 4 a is disposed in the inner cylinder 4.
A switching valve 24 is provided at the other end of the pipe 23.

A circular hole 4 a is formed at the bottom of the tip of the inner cylinder 4, and a pipe 23 having a tip connected to the circular hole 4 a is disposed in the inner cylinder 4.
A pneumatic supply / discharge mechanism 30 is provided in the housing 3, and the pipe 23 is connected to the pneumatic intake / exhaust mechanism 30.

  Therefore, the air pressure supply / discharge mechanism 30 can supply air pressure to the inside of the bladder B through the pipe 23, the communication space 20, and the communication hole 21, and the air pressure inside the bladder B can be discharged.

The tire T that is pivotally supported integrally with the outer cylinder 7 is rotatably supported in a vertical posture with the inner cylinder 4 oriented in the horizontal direction as a spindle.
Below the tire T supported in this manner, a water tank 40 in which cooling water is stored is provided so as to be movable up and down by a lift mechanism 50.
The lift mechanism 50 can move the water tank 40 up and down by expanding and contracting a plurality of rods 51 that support the bottom plate of the water tank 40 simultaneously.

As shown in FIG. 2, the water tank 40 is partitioned into a large-capacity cooling tank 40a and a small-capacity drain tank 40b by a partition plate 41. The cooling tank 40a is connected to the cooling tank 40a from a cold water supply mechanism 42 through a water supply pipe 42p. Cold water is supplied, and hot water is supplied from the hot water supply mechanism 43 through the water supply pipe 43p.
Excess cooling water is discharged from the drain tank 40b through the drain pipe 44p by the drain mechanism 44.
A water temperature sensor 45 is fixed to the partition plate 41 in the cooling tank 40a of the water tank 40.

The cold water supply mechanism 42 and the hot water supply mechanism 43 are controlled based on the temperature of the cooling water in the cooling tank 40a detected by the water temperature sensor 45 and adjusted to a predetermined temperature.
When the water tank 40 is lifted by the lift mechanism 50, the lower part of the tire T pivotally supported on the outer cylinder 7 in a vertical posture is immersed in the cooling tank 40a.
It is immersed in cooling water to the lowest position of the bead part Tb of the tire T in a vertical posture.

  The partition plate 41 has a predetermined height from the bottom surface. When the cooling tank 40a is full and overflows, the overflowing cooling water moves over the partition plate 41 to the drain tank 40b and is appropriately discharged by the drain mechanism 44. Therefore, as long as water is supplied by the cold water supply mechanism 42 and the hot water supply mechanism 43, the cooling water in the cooling tank 40a is maintained at a certain depth defined by the partition plate 41.

In the present embodiment, the cold water supply mechanism 42 and the hot water supply mechanism 43 are controlled so that the cooling water in the cooling bath 40a is maintained at a temperature of approximately 50 ° C.
That is, the cold water supply mechanism 42 that supplies cold water having a constant temperature below 50 ° C. and the hot water supply mechanism 43 that supplies hot water having a constant temperature above 50 ° C. are feedback-controlled based on the temperature detected by the water temperature sensor 45, and the cooling tank The water temperature is maintained at about 50 ° C. by adjusting the ratio of cold water and hot water supplied into 40a.

The post-cure inflator 1 has a structure as described above, and the operation procedure will be described below with reference to FIGS.
The water tank 40 that has been filled with the cooling water previously maintained at about 50 ° C. is kept in the lower position by the lift mechanism 50 (the water tank 40 is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1).

Then, the tire T that has entered the tire holding step and is vulcanized by the vulcanizer is attached to the outer cylinder 7 as described above in a state where the connecting member 12 supports the inner rim 10 and the outer rim 11. The lock member 8 is fitted and fixed.
As shown in FIG. 2, the tire T is held on the outer cylinder 7 in a vertical posture.

  Next, in the gas supply process, air pressure is supplied to the inside of the bladder B through the pipe 23, the communication space 20, and the communication hole 21 by the air pressure intake / exhaust mechanism 30, and the internal pressure of the bladder B is increased to a predetermined pressure. Is pressed against the inner surface of the tire T over the entire surface to suppress the shrinkage of the reinforcing cord and prevent deformation of the tire.

Next, in the tire dipping process, the water tank 40 is raised by the lift mechanism 50, and the lower part of the tire T in the vertical posture is dipped in the cooling tank 40a.
Then, the cooling process is started, the motor 15 is driven, the outer cylinder 7 is rotated, the bladder B and the tire T in the vertical posture are rotated together with the outer cylinder 7, and the tire T immersed in the cooling water in the cooling tank 40a The entire tire T is uniformly cooled by changing the part.

  During this cooling process, feedback control of the cold water supply mechanism 42 and the hot water supply mechanism 43 is executed, the temperature of the cooling water in the cooling tank 40a is maintained at approximately 50 ° C., and the tire T is cooled by approximately 50 ° C. cooling water. It is cooled and post-cure inflation is done.

  Initially, since the vulcanized tire T is at a high temperature, the temperature of the cooling water in the cooling tank 40a is maintained at about 50 ° C., so that the ratio of cold water is higher than that of hot water, and then the ratio of cold water Will decrease.

  After a certain amount of time, the ratio of cold water and hot water supplied by the cold water supply mechanism 42 and the hot water supply mechanism 43 stabilizes at a constant level. The driving of the motor 15 is stopped to stop the rotation of the tire T, the cooling process is terminated, the water tank 40 is lowered by the lift mechanism 50, and the tire T is extracted from the cooling water in the cooling tank 40a (tire extracting process) ).

  The water attached to the extracted tire T is blown off by air blow, the air pressure inside the bladder B is released by the air pressure supply / discharge mechanism 30, the lock member 8 is removed, and the tire T is removed together with the bladder B and the connecting member 12 ( Tire removal step), the post-cure inflation of the next tire T will be prepared.

  As described above, in the post-cure inflation method, the vulcanized tire T is cooled by the cooling water whose water temperature is controlled to approximately 50 ° C., so that the spew near the rim due to the tire cooling temperature being too low. It is possible to maintain the shape by suppressing the expansion of the auxiliary cord embedded in the tire T due to restraining the elongation and keeping the appearance good, and conversely being too high.

  That is, since the water temperature is controlled to approximately 50 ° C., the rims 10 and 11 are also maintained at approximately 50 ° C., and the spew extends long in the vicinity of the rims 10 and 11 during the next tire vulcanization using the rims 10 and 11. This is preferable in terms of appearance, and since a spew is not caught between the tire and the rim when a new rim is assembled, a spew removing operation is not necessarily required in a subsequent process.

In the present embodiment, the tire T is cooled by cooling water whose water temperature is controlled to approximately 50 ° C., but may be cooled by cooling water whose water temperature is controlled within a temperature range of 40 ° C. to 60 ° C.
That is, it is possible to prevent the spew from being elongated for a long time when the liquid temperature is lower than 40 ° C., and to prevent the auxiliary cord from being thermally contracted when the liquid temperature exceeds 60 ° C.

  The outer cylinder 7 is oriented in the horizontal direction to hold the tire T in a vertical posture. In the cooling step, the tire T is immersed in the coolant in the water tank 40 in the vertical posture to rotate and cool. The whole can be cooled uniformly.

  The cooling water temperature control in the cooling process is performed by adjusting the ratio of the cooling water and hot water supplied into the liquid tank, so that the temperature of the cooling liquid can be controlled with high responsiveness and accuracy, and the tire can be efficiently used. T can be cooled.

T ... tire, Tb ... bead part, B ... bladder
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Post cure inflator, 2 ... Base, 3 ... Housing, 4 ... Inner cylinder, 5 ... Bearing, 6 ... Seal member, 7 ... Outer cylinder, 8 ... Lock member, 10 ... Inner rim, 11 ... Outer rim, 12 ... Connecting member, 15 ... Motor, 16 ... Drive gear, 17 ... Driven gear, 20 ... Communication space, 21 ... Communication hole, 23 ... Pipe, 30 ... Pneumatic supply / discharge mechanism,
40 ... Water tank, 40a ... Cooling tank, 40b ... Drain tank, 41 ... Partition plate, 42 ... Cold water supply mechanism, 43 ... Hot water supply mechanism, 44 ... Drain mechanism, 45 ... Water temperature sensor,
50 ... lift mechanism, 51 ... rod.

Claims (8)

A tire holding step in which a pair of rims engage a pair of bead portions of a tire vulcanized by a tire vulcanizer, and a rotating shaft holds the tire; and
A gas supply step of expanding the bladder by supplying gas to the inside of the bladder, which is sealed in a bag-like shape that is provided between the pair of rims on the inner side of the tire;
A tire immersing step of immersing the tire in a coolant stored in a liquid tank;
The tire is cooled by controlling the liquid temperature in the liquid tank within which the tire is immersed while rotating the tire held on the rotation shaft by rotating the rotation shaft together with a bladder within a predetermined temperature range. Cooling process to
A tire extracting step of stopping the rotational drive of the rotating shaft and extracting the tire from the coolant stored in the liquid tank;
A tire removing step of removing the tire from the rotating shaft;
Tire post cure cure method.   2. The tire post-cure inflation method according to claim 1, wherein in the cooling step, the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank is controlled within a predetermined temperature range of 40 ° C. to 60 ° C. 3.   The rotating shaft is oriented in a horizontal direction to hold the tire in a vertical posture, and in the cooling step, the tire is immersed in a cooling liquid in a liquid tank in a vertical posture to rotate and cool. Alternatively, the tire post-cure inflation method according to claim 2.   The liquid temperature control of the cooling liquid in the cooling step is performed by adjusting the ratio of the cold liquid and the hot liquid supplied into the liquid tank. The post-cure inflation method for a tire according to item. A rotating shaft that holds and holds a pair of bead portions of a tire vulcanized by a tire vulcanizer by a pair of rims;
A bladder that is sealed in a bag shape and stretchable between the pair of rims inside the tire; and
A drive mechanism for rotating the rotating shaft together with the bladder;
A gas supply mechanism for supplying gas into the bladder inside the tire;
A liquid tank for storing the cooling liquid;
A liquid temperature control mechanism for controlling the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank within a predetermined temperature range;
Immersion / extraction mechanism for immersing and extracting the tire in the coolant in the liquid tank;
A post-cure inflation device for a tire, comprising:   The tire post-cure inflation according to claim 5, wherein the liquid temperature control mechanism controls the liquid temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank within a predetermined temperature range of 40 ° C to 60 ° C. apparatus.   7. The tire post-cure inflation device according to claim 5, wherein the rotation shaft is oriented in a horizontal direction to hold and rotate the tire in a vertical posture. The liquid temperature control mechanism is
Cold liquid supply means for supplying a cold liquid into the liquid tank;
Hot liquid supply means for supplying a hot liquid into the liquid tank;
A coolant discharge means for discharging the coolant in the liquid tank;
Liquid temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the cooling liquid in the liquid tank,
By controlling the cold liquid supply means and the hot liquid supply means based on the temperature of the cooling liquid detected by the liquid temperature detection means, the ratio of the cold liquid and the hot liquid supplied into the liquid tank is adjusted. The tire post-cure inflation device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the temperature of the coolant in the tank is controlled within a predetermined temperature range.

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