JP2010274481A - Device and method for cleaning tire vulcanizing mold - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and method for cleaning a tire vulcanizing mold which can quickly clean the mold while minimizing the damage of its molding surface even when the molding surface is complicated in shape. <P>SOLUTION: A nozzle 6 of a wide specification in which a jet width is 5-900 times as wide as a jet clearance is made. By controlling the actions of a rotary table 3 on which the mold 11 is mounted and that of the moving mechanisms 7a and 7b and the oscillating mechanism 8 of the nozzle 6 by a controller 9, the nozzle 6 is set at a proper position and in a proper direction in accordance with the shape of the molding surface of the mold 11 to be cleaned. Slurry mixed with water W and an abrasive P sprayed on the molding surface while the nozzle 6 is moved to clean the entire molding surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  More particularly, the present invention relates to a tire vulcanizing mold cleaning apparatus and method, and more particularly, a tire vulcanizing system that can quickly clean a molded surface having a complicated shape even with a minimum damage to the molded surface. The present invention relates to a mold cleaning apparatus and method.

  As a method for cleaning a tire vulcanization mold, dry blast cleaning is known in which an abrasive is blown onto the molding surface of the mold with compressed air. Dry blast cleaning has the merit that dirt can be quickly removed, but has the demerit that the molding surface is easily damaged. On the molding surface of a mold for vulcanizing a tire with a complicated tread pattern, a complex groove forming projection is projected, and on the molding surface of a mold for vulcanizing a studless tire, a fine sipe molding projection is projected. Yes. These protrusions are particularly susceptible to deformation and damage due to the abrasive that is sprayed when cleaning the molding surface, so it was difficult to quickly clean the molding surface with minimal damage by dry blast cleaning. .

  As another cleaning method, there is known wet blast cleaning in which an abrasive is sprayed with compressed air together with water on a printed board or the like although the object to be cleaned is different (see Patent Document 1). According to the wet blast cleaning, it is possible to suppress damage to the cleaning object as compared with the dry blast cleaning. However, even if wet blast cleaning is simply applied to a tire vulcanization mold, the molding surface to be cleaned has a complicated shape, so cleaning irregularities are likely to occur, and damage to the molding surface is minimized and quick. It was difficult to clean.

JP 2007-152441 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for cleaning a tire vulcanization mold that can quickly clean even a mold having a molding surface having a complicated shape with minimal damage to the molding surface.

  In order to achieve the above object, a tire vulcanization mold cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes a rotary table on which a tire vulcanization mold is placed, a nozzle for injecting slurry mixed with water and an abrasive, and an arbitrary nozzle. A moving mechanism for moving the nozzle to a position, a swing mechanism for changing the nozzle injection direction, and a control device for controlling the operation of the rotary table, the moving mechanism and the swing mechanism, and the nozzle injection width is a gap between the nozzles. It is characterized in that it is 5 to 900 times.

  Here, for example, the mold is placed on the rotary table so that the molding surface of the mold is in an upright state. A sensor is provided for detecting the distance between the nozzle and the molding surface of the mold facing the nozzle. Based on the detection data of the sensor, the distance is controlled within a preset range, and the slurry is moved while moving the nozzle. It can also be set as the structure sprayed on the shaping | molding surface of a mold. Alternatively, the shape data of the molding surface of the mold to be cleaned is input in advance to the control device, and the distance between the nozzle and the molding surface of the mold facing the nozzle is determined in advance based on the previously input shape data. It is also possible to control the set range so that the slurry is sprayed onto the molding surface of the mold while moving the nozzle. For example, silicon carbide particles are used as the abrasive. The average particle diameter of the abrasive is, for example, 14 μm to 57 μm.

  The tire vulcanizing mold cleaning method of the present invention includes a rotating table on which a tire vulcanizing mold is placed, a nozzle for injecting slurry mixed with water and an abrasive, and a movement for moving the nozzle to an arbitrary position. A mechanism, a swing mechanism that changes the nozzle injection direction, and a control device that controls the operation of the rotary table, the moving mechanism, and the swing mechanism, and the injection width of the nozzle is 5 times to the injection gap A first step of performing wet blast cleaning for spraying the slurry on the molding surface of the mold using a 900 × tire vulcanizing mold cleaning device, and a second step of performing water cleaning using a water cleaning device. It is characterized by having.

  According to the cleaning apparatus for a tire vulcanization mold of the present invention, the operation of the rotary table on which the mold is placed, the movement mechanism of the nozzle for injecting slurry, and the swing mechanism is controlled by the control device. Even if the shape of the molding surface of the resulting mold is complex, the nozzle can be positioned and oriented according to the shape of the molding surface, and the slurry to be sprayed can be used for cleaning with minimal damage to the molding surface. Become. Further, since the nozzle injection width is 5 to 900 times wider than the injection gap, the entire molding surface can be quickly cleaned while suppressing uneven cleaning.

  According to the method for cleaning a tire vulcanizing mold of the present invention, water cleaning is performed using a water cleaning apparatus as a second step after the first step of performing wet blast cleaning for spraying slurry on the molding surface of the mold. It is possible to cleanly remove the remaining slurry of the slurry used in the first step and the remaining material of the dirt substance.

It is a front view which illustrates the washing device of the tire vulcanization mold of the present invention. It is a top view of FIG. It is a top view which illustrates the sector of a mold for tire vulcanization. FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3. It is a top view which illustrates the mold for tire vulcanization which assembled a plurality of sectors annularly. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the process of water-washing the tire vulcanization mold.

  A tire vulcanizing mold cleaning apparatus and cleaning method of the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5, this tire vulcanizing mold 11 (hereinafter, referred to as a mold 11) is configured such that each sector 12 assembled in an annular shape is installed in a vulcanizing device so as to be movable in the radial direction. It is a sectional type that expands and contracts. The C arrow, R arrow, and W arrow described in FIGS. 3 and 4 indicate the circumferential direction, radial direction, and width direction of the tire that is inserted into the mold 11 and vulcanized, respectively.

  Each sector 12 is configured by fixing a piece 13 to a fan-shaped back block 14, and an exposed inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 becomes a molding surface for molding a tire. Groove forming protrusions 15 and sipe forming protrusions 15 a are projected from the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13. The groove forming protrusion 15 is integrally cast with the piece 13, and the sipe forming protrusion 15a is provided on the piece 13 as a separate body. The material of the piece 13 and the groove forming protrusion 15 is mainly aluminum, and the material of the sipe forming protrusion 15a is steel or the like.

  The thickness of the sipe molding protrusion 15a is about 0.4 mm to 1.2 mm. The groove forming protrusion 15 may be thin due to the tread pattern of the tire, for example, in the case of a complicated tread pattern. For this reason, the sipe molding projection 15a and the thin groove molding projection 15 are easily damaged during mold cleaning.

  As the tire is vulcanized with the mold 11, the remaining rubber component (carbon, sulfur, zinc, etc.) becomes a dirt substance on the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13, so that the dirt becomes regular or severe. The inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 is cleaned. At that time, in the present invention, wet blast cleaning is performed on the molding surface of the mold 11 (the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13) in the first step, and then water cleaning is performed in the second step.

  In the first step, the wet blast cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used. The wet blast cleaning apparatus 1 includes a rotary table 3, a nozzle 6, a moving mechanism that moves the nozzle 6 to an arbitrary position, a swing mechanism 8 that changes the injection direction of the nozzle 6, and a control device 9. Yes.

  The turntable 3 on which the mold 11 is placed is disposed inside the cover body 4. The rotary table 3 rotates around the support shaft 3a. The cover body 4 has open / close doors 4a that move up and down at both ends.

  In this embodiment, the turntable 3 is disposed on the moving base 2. In addition, although the eight pieces 13 are arranged in a ring shape and placed on the turntable 3, the number of pieces 13 placed on the turntable 3 is not limited to eight, and the number of pieces 13 that can be cleaned efficiently. Can be placed.

  The nozzle 6 has a wide specification in which the injection width is 5 to 900 times the injection gap. The ejection width is, for example, about 5 mm to 900 mm.

  The gun unit 5 having the nozzle 6 is connected via a supply hose 5a to a slurry supply source in which the water W and the abrasive P are mixed at a predetermined ratio and a compressed air supply source for injecting the slurry. Yes. The gun unit 5 is attached to the lower end portion of the vertical movement arm 7 a via the swing mechanism 8. A plurality of gun units 5 can be provided. The head swing mechanism 8 changes the injection direction by changing the direction of the injection port of the nozzle 6 up and down. It is also possible to employ a swing mechanism 8 that changes the direction of the injection port of the nozzle 6 up and down and left and right.

  Since the vertical movement arm 7a is attached to the horizontal frame 7b so as to be movable horizontally and vertically, the nozzle 6 can be moved to an arbitrary position. That is, the vertical movement arm 7a and the horizontal frame 7b are moving mechanisms that move the nozzle 6 to an arbitrary position. The moving mechanism is not limited to this embodiment as long as the nozzle 6 can be moved to an arbitrary position.

  The control device 9 controls the rotation operation of the turntable 3, the operation of the moving mechanism that moves the nozzle 6 to an arbitrary position, and the operation of the swing mechanism 8. The nozzle 6 is provided with a sensor 10 that detects the distance between the nozzle 6 and the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 that faces the nozzle 6. The detection data of the sensor 10 is transmitted to the control device 9.

  From the nozzle 6, a slurry in which the water W and the abrasive material P are mixed with the compressed air is sprayed and sprayed onto the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13. The dirt P adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 is peeled off by the sprayed abrasive P. The injection speed of the slurry is about 80 m / s to 200 m / s, for example. In order to suppress cleaning unevenness, the injection speed is made as uniform as possible in the injection width direction.

  As the abrasive P, for example, silicon carbide particles or alumina particles are used. In particular, silicon carbide particles are suitable as the abrasive P because of their high hardness. The average particle diameter of the abrasive P is preferably about 14 μm (nominal size # 800) to 57 μm (nominal size # 240), for example. This is because if the particle size of the abrasive P is too small, the cleaning time becomes long, and if it is too large, damage to the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 becomes large. The mixing ratio of the abrasive P to the water W is determined as appropriate, and the volume ratio (abrasive P / water W) is, for example, 10% to 30%.

  When cleaning the mold 1, the position of the nozzle 6 is controlled by the control device 9, and the slurry is sprayed while moving so as to cover the entire range of the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 to be cleaned. For example, when the cleaning of the inner peripheral surface of one piece 13 is completed, the rotary table 3 is rotated so that the other piece 13 faces the injection port of the nozzle 6 and the inner peripheral surface of this piece 13 is cleaned. To do.

  In order to suppress cleaning unevenness, the movement of the nozzle 6 and the injection direction are controlled so that the distance between the injection port of the nozzle 6 and the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 facing the nozzle 6 is as constant as possible. For example, on the curved molding surface, the nozzle 6 is moved up and down, and the ejection direction of the nozzle 6 is moved along the curved molding surface at a constant interval by changing the injection direction with the swing mechanism 8. .

  In this embodiment, the distance between the nozzle 6 and the molding surface of the mold 11 facing the nozzle 6 is sequentially detected by the sensor 10. Based on this detection data, the distance between the nozzle 6 (the injection port of the nozzle 6) and the molding surface facing the nozzle 6 is controlled within a preset range, and the slurry is molded into the mold 11 while moving the nozzle 6. Spray on the surface. This distance is preset to, for example, 20 mm to 50 mm.

  Alternatively, the shape data of the molding surface of the mold 11 to be cleaned is input to the control device 9 in advance, and based on this shape data, the nozzle 6 (the nozzle 6 nozzle) and the molding surface facing the nozzle 6 Can be controlled within a preset range. As the shape data of the molding surface of the mold 11, CAD data and CAE data used when manufacturing the mold 11 are used.

  Since the molding surface of the tire vulcanizing mold 11 is curved, when the molding surface is placed on the rotary table 3 with the molding surface facing upward, the injected slurry is accumulated on the molding surface, but the molding surface is in an upright state. By mounting on the turntable 3 as described above, the injected slurry immediately flows down from the molding surface, so that the cleaning time can be shortened. For example, the molding surface may be in an upright state of 60 ° to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal.

  Since wet blast cleaning is performed in the first step, damage to the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 is reduced as compared with dry blast cleaning. In addition, even if the shape of the molding surface of the mold 11 to be cleaned is complicated by controlling the operations of the rotary table 3, the moving mechanism of the nozzle 6 and the swing mechanism 8 by the control device 9, Since the slurry can be sprayed with the nozzle 6 in an appropriate position and orientation according to the shape, cleaning can be performed with minimal damage to the molding surface. In addition, since the nozzle 6 has a wide width of 5 to 900 times the injection gap, the entire molding surface can be quickly cleaned while suppressing uneven cleaning.

  After cleaning the entire range to be cleaned of the mold 11, one of the opening / closing doors 4 a is opened, the moving base 2 is moved, and the mold 11 after the wet blast cleaning is moved to the outside of the cover body 4. Next, the other opening / closing door 4 a is opened, and a new mold 11 for performing wet blast cleaning is moved into the cover body 4 together with the moving base 2.

  The mold 11 that has been subjected to the wet blast cleaning in the first step is cleaned using the water cleaning device 16 illustrated in FIG. 6 in the second step. The water cleaning device 16 includes a bubble generator 18 in a water tank 17. The mold 11 is placed on a mounting table 19 inside the water tank 17, and the residual material of the dirt substance removed from the molding surface of the mold 11 in the first step by the bubbles generated by the bubble generator 18, The remaining material of the abrasive P used in the process is washed away from the mold 11.

  The water washing in the second step is not limited to the water washing illustrated in FIG. For example, a water cleaning device that sprays water from a nozzle and sprays it on the inner peripheral surface of the piece 13 can also be used.

  With only wet blast cleaning, the remaining material of the polishing material P may be generated at the corners of the vent holes of the mold 11 and the protrusions 15 (15a). This phenomenon is likely to occur in the mold 11 for vulcanizing a tire having a complicated tread pattern or a studless tire, but the remaining material can be removed cleanly by performing water washing as the second step.

  In the embodiment, the sectional type mold 11 is illustrated, but the present invention can also be applied to the two-divided mold 11.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wet blast washing | cleaning apparatus 2 Movement base 3 Rotary table 3a Support shaft 4 Cover body 4a Open / close door 5 Gun unit 5a Supply hose 6 Nozzle 7a Vertical movement arm 7b Horizontal frame 8 Swing mechanism 9 Control device 10 Sensor 11 Mold 12 Sector 13 Piece 14 Back block 15 Groove forming protrusion 15a Sipe forming protrusion 16 Water cleaning device 17 Water tank 18 Bubble generator 19 Mounting table

Claims (7)

  A rotating table on which a tire vulcanization mold is placed, a nozzle for injecting slurry mixed with water and abrasives, a moving mechanism for moving the nozzle to an arbitrary position, and a swing mechanism for changing the injection direction of the nozzle And a control device for controlling operations of the rotary table, the moving mechanism, and the swing mechanism, and a cleaning device for a tire vulcanization mold in which the injection width of the nozzle is 5 to 900 times the injection gap.   The tire vulcanization mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mold is placed on the rotary table so that a molding surface of the mold is in an upright state.   A sensor is provided for detecting the distance between the nozzle and the molding surface of the mold facing the nozzle. Based on the detection data of the sensor, the distance is controlled within a preset range, and the slurry is moved while moving the nozzle. The tire vulcanization mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tire vulcanization mold cleaning apparatus is configured to be sprayed onto a molding surface of the mold.   In the control device, the shape data of the molding surface of the mold to be cleaned is input in advance, and the distance between the nozzle and the molding surface of the mold facing the nozzle is set in advance based on the previously input shape data. The tire vulcanization mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slurry is sprayed onto the molding surface of the mold while the nozzle is moved while being controlled within a range.   The tire vulcanization mold cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein silicon carbide particles are used as the abrasive.   The tire vulcanization mold cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the abrasive has an average particle diameter of 14 m to 57 m.   A first step of performing wet blast cleaning in which the slurry is sprayed on the molding surface of the mold using the tire cleaning mold cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and a water cleaning device. A method for cleaning a tire vulcanization mold, comprising: a second step of performing water cleaning.

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