JP2011174839A - Device and method for exchanging rim of tire testing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and method for exchanging rims of a tire testing machine, capable of easily and automatically exchanging rims, without using any rim palettes and attachments. <P>SOLUTION: The tire testing machine includes: a lower spindle 22B installed at the lower part of a tire conveyance line; an elevatable belt conveyor 27 for allowing a lower pseudo rim 26B fittingly mounted into a lower spindle to hold a tire T to be tested; a rim elevator 30 that can be elevated while gripping an upper spindle 22A to which the upper pseudo rim 26A has been fitted; and a rim stocker 50 for carrying the upper and lower pseudo rims into and out of a spindle axial core position. In the tire testing machine, the rim stocker includes stocker frames 55A-55C that load the upper pseudo rim onto seat plates 58A, 58B and hold the lower pseudo rim in a form of suspension at the lower side of the seat plates concentric with the upper pseudo rim. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rim replacement apparatus and a rim replacement method in a tire testing machine such as a tire uniformity machine that measures tire non-uniformity.

  In this type of tire testing machine, there are roughly two methods for fitting the upper and lower pseudo rims with the tire under test.

  One of them is, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an upper spindle fixed above a tire conveying means constituted by a roller conveyor for carrying in and out a tire under test, and a lower position of the tire conveying means ( When the rim moving means is installed below the tire conveying means, a lower spindle that moves up and down between a lowered position that is a lower position of the rim moving means) and an elevated position that is a connecting position of the upper spindle; And a lifting means for driving the spindle up and down.

The rim replacement in the tire testing machine is automatically performed according to the following procedure.
(A) First, the upper and lower rims are loaded together (stacked) on the rim pallet of the rim moving means installed below the tire conveying means and prepared in advance. The rim pallet has a holding hole, and the lower rim is centered and held there.
(B) Next, after moving the rim pallet to the axis position of the spindle, the elevating means waiting under the rim moving means is driven upward to raise the upper and lower rims together, and the upper rim Are connected and fixed to the upper spindle and the lower rim to the lower spindle.
(C) Finally, the lower spindle, to which the lower rim is connected and fixed, is lowered to below the tire conveying means, and the rim pallet is moved outward from the spindle center position by the rim moving means.
This completes the installation of the upper and lower rims when the rim is replaced. Since the removal of the upper and lower rims is the reverse operation, the description is omitted.

  The other is, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, a spindle installed below a tire transport line (transport roller) and a test tire are mounted on a lower rim fixed to the spindle. For this purpose, there is a roller frame that descends through the spindle from the conveying means position, a chuck that grips the upper rim, and a lifting housing that lifts and lowers the chuck.

And the measurement in this tire testing machine is performed in the following procedure.
(A) First, the tire to be tested is carried to the spindle center position by the conveyance roller. At this time, the tire under test is positioned on the roller frame.
(B) Next, the roller frame is lowered and the test tire is seated on the lower rim.
(C) Finally, the elevating housing is lowered to hold the tire under test, and the upper rim is fixed to the spindle via the lock shaft.
Thus, the tire under test is held on the upper and lower rims, and the required measurement can be performed by rotating the spindle.

On the other hand, rim replacement is performed according to the following procedure.
(A) First, the upper and lower rims are integrated (stacked) and loaded in advance on a seat plate (no need for a holding hole) such as the pallet described above. In addition, it is necessary to hold the outer peripheral portions of the upper and lower rims with a substantially channel-shaped attachment that is divided into two in the circumferential direction so that the upper and lower rim groups can be lifted simultaneously.
(B) Next, after moving the upper and lower rim assemblies loaded on the seat plate to the spindle axis position, the elevator housing is lowered to chuck the upper rim, and then the upper and lower rim assemblies are slightly raised. Let the seat plate be removed.
(C) Finally, the elevating housing is lowered, the lower rim is seated on the spindle, and the attachment is removed.
This completes the installation of the upper and lower rims when the rim is replaced. Since the removal of the upper and lower rims is the reverse operation, the description is omitted.

JP-A-3-110138 JP 2000-329658 A Japanese Patent No. 3904319

  By the way, in the tire testing machine as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the rim replacement method itself is also a well-known technique, but the so-called tire conveying means disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 ( In a tire testing machine in which the upper and lower rims are fitted to the tire under test by lowering the upper rim to the lower rim position while keeping the tire under test on the lower rim by lowering the transport roller) In the case of rim replacement, an attachment that transports the upper and lower rims together becomes indispensable, and this is a factor that hinders automatic rim replacement.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rim changing device and a rim changing method for a tire testing machine that can automatically change a rim easily without using a rim pallet or an attachment.

A rim exchanging device for a tire testing machine according to the present invention for achieving such an object,
A lower spindle installed below the tire conveying line;
A tire conveyor that can be moved up and down to hold a tire under test on a lower pseudo rim fitted to the lower spindle,
An elevating device capable of moving up and down by gripping the upper spindle on which the upper pseudo rim is mounted;
A rim stocker that carries the upper and lower pseudo rims into and out of the spindle axis;
In a tire testing machine equipped with
The rim stocker is provided with a stocker frame for loading the upper pseudo rim on the seat plate and holding the lower pseudo rim in a form that is concentric with the upper pseudo rim and suspended below the seat plate. .

Also,
The upper pseudo rim is mounted on the seat plate in a state of being mounted on an upper spindle that passes through a through hole of the seat plate.

Also,
A U-shaped plate is attached to the lower side of the seat plate, a cylindrical hook adapter is integrally connected to the upper portion of the lower pseudo rim, and the hook adapter enters the U-shaped plate from the side. The lower pseudo rim is suspended below the seat plate.

Also,
The rim stocker is characterized in that a plurality of stocker frames are supported so as to be pivotable radially about a pivot axis.

In order to achieve such an object, a rim replacement method for a tire testing machine according to the present invention is as follows:
The upper pseudo rim is loaded on the seat plate of the rim stocker, and the lower pseudo rim is concentric with the upper pseudo rim and is suspended below the seat plate. The lower pseudo rim is supported and supported by the tire conveyor at the same time as being gripped / raised by the apparatus, and the rim replacement is performed by lowering the tire conveyor after the rim stocker is retracted from the spindle axis position.

  According to the rim exchanging device and the rim exchanging method of the tire testing machine according to the present invention, the upper and lower pseudo rims are transported as one body by transporting the lower pseudo rims in a form of being suspended from the lower surface side of the seat plate in the rim stocker. In addition, the necessary rim pallet and attachment are not required, and the existing tire conveyor is used for lower pseudo rim replacement when replacing the rim, so that additional equipment to support and raise the lower pseudo rim from below the rim is added. The rim replacement can be automated easily and inexpensively.

1 is an overall plan view of a tire testing machine showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. It is the BB sectional drawing similarly of FIG. It is a top view of a rim stocker. It is a side view of a rim stocker. It is a rear view of a rim stocker. It is a top view of the seat board part of a rim stocker similarly. It is a sectional side view of the seat board part of a rim stocker. It is a front sectional view of the seat plate portion of the rim stocker. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the rim replacement operation. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the rim replacement operation.

  Hereinafter, a rim exchanging device and a rim exchanging method for a tire testing machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is an overall plan view of a tire testing machine showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4B is a side view of the rim stocker, FIG. 4C is a rear view of the rim stocker, FIG. 5A is a plan view of a seat plate portion of the rim stocker, and FIG. 5B is a seat plate of the rim stocker. FIG. 5C is a front sectional view of the seat plate portion of the rim stocker, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams of the rim replacement operation.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the tire uniformity machine as a tire testing machine sequentially includes a bead lubrication unit 10 as a front device and a measurement device as a measurement device sequentially from the upstream side in the tire conveyance direction (tire flow direction). A rim stocker 50 as a rim exchange device is disposed opposite to the measurement unit 20 while a marking unit 40 as a rear device is disposed.

  The bead lubrication unit 10 is a station that includes the centering of the tire T to be tested and applies lubricant to the lower bead portions Ta and Tb (see FIG. 3).

  The measuring unit 20 is arranged to face a test tire T supported on the testing machine main body 21 via upper and lower spindles 22A and 22B, which will be described later, in a direction perpendicular to the tire conveying direction. This is a station for measuring the non-uniformity with the road wheel 23 (see FIG. 3) and a dimension measurement sensor (not shown). The upper spindle 22A is also referred to as an upper rim shaft or a lock shaft, but here the upper spindle 22A is unified.

  The marking unit 40 is a station that performs marking on a required portion of the tire T to be tested for which non-uniformity is measured by the measuring unit 20.

  The rim stocker 50 is a station that corresponds to various sizes of the tire T to be tested and stocks the lower pseudo rims 26A and 26B and replaces the rim every time the size of the tire T to be tested changes.

  The lower spindle 22B of the measuring unit 20 is rotationally driven on a base 21a of the test machine body 21 by a driving means such as a servo motor 24 via a winding transmission such as a belt 25. Yes. The lower spindle 22B is fitted with a lower pseudo rim 26B that holds the lower bead portion Tb of the tire T to be tested.

  Further, on the lower frame 21b of the test machine main body 21, a belt conveyor (tire transport conveyor) 27 constituting a part of the tire transport line is lifted and lowered by a servo motor or the like (not shown) via a guide means such as a linear guide 28. By means of the device (lifter) 29, the position of the ascending limit (the position of the chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2) that is the tire conveyance line and the position of the descending limit that is further below the position where the tested tire T is deposited in the lower pseudo rim 26B (see FIG. 1 and a solid line position in FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the belt conveyor 27 has a pair of belts 27a and 27b spaced apart by a predetermined distance so that the distance between the belts 27a and 27b can be adjusted by a known opening / closing mechanism 28. The lower spindle 22B and the lower pseudo rim 26B can be inserted between the belts 27a and 27b.

  On the other hand, on the upper frame 21 c of the test machine main body 21, a rim elevator (lifting device) 30 is driven by a guide means such as a linear guide 31, a winding transmission device such as a belt 32, and a servo motor 34 or the like via a ball screw 33. The upper spindle 22A in which the upper pseudo rim 26A is fitted in advance is supported by the rim elevator 30 by a known chuck mechanism including a chuck claw 35, a chuck opening / closing cylinder 36, and the like. ing.

  Therefore, the rim elevator 30 moves up and down with the axis of the upper spindle 22A aligned with the axis of the lower spindle 22B. As a result, when the rim elevator 30 is lowered, the lower part of the upper spindle 22A is inserted into the lower spindle 22 and connected (locked) at a predetermined insertion position by a known locking mechanism (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the rim stocker 50 is provided with a swivel base 53 capable of moving back and forth in a direction perpendicular to the tire conveyance line on a pair of travel rails 52 laid on a base 51. A plurality of stocker frames 55 </ b> A to 55 </ b> C are fixed to the upper end of the swivel shaft 54 in the swivel base 53. The turning shaft 54 is driven to turn by a turning servo motor 57 via a winding transmission such as a chain 56.

  The forward limit position on the swivel base 53 is the upper spindle 22A supported by one of the three stocker frames 55A to 55C (or the upper spindles of a pair of upper and lower seat plates 58A and 58B described later). The axial center of the through holes 58a, 58b) coincides with the axial center of the lower spindle 22 (chain line position in FIG. 3), and the reverse position is the standby position (solid line position in FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the stocker frames 55A to 55C are formed in a square frame shape with a hollow pipe and a thin plate, and have upper spindle through holes 58a and 58b at the center thereof. The lower pair of seat plates 58A and 58B are arranged via a plurality of (six in the illustrated example) adjustment bolts 66 that also serve as a horizontal surface. The upper spindle through hole 58a of the upper seat plate 58A is set to a hole diameter without play with a boss, and the upper spindle through hole 58b of the lower seat plate 58B is set to a hole diameter having some play. A plurality of (six in the illustrated example) sliders 59 are interposed between the pair of upper and lower seat plates 58A and 58B, so that the misalignment of the upper spindle 22A can be adjusted.

  On the upper surface of the upper seat plate 58A, a plurality (six in the illustrated example) of seat plate bars 60 are fixed radially around the upper spindle through hole 58a. The pseudo rim 26A is placed with being bolted to the upper spindle 22A.

  On the other hand, on the lower surface side of the stocker frames 55A to 55C, a U-shaped plate 61 having an arc-shaped portion of a semicircle concentric with the upper spindle through holes 58a and 58b in the most part of the inner peripheral surface 61a serves as a horizontal projection. A plurality of (four in the illustrated example) adjustment bolts 65 are attached, and a stepped portion 62 is formed on the upper surface of the U-shaped plate 61. The stepped portion 62 is depressed at a predetermined depth along the inner peripheral surface 61a. .

  The lower pseudo rim 26B of a predetermined size is suspended by the hook adapter 63 so as to be detachable from the lower surfaces of the stocker frames 55A to 55C via the U-shaped plate 61. That is, a cylindrical hook adapter 63 with an outward flange portion 63a is integrally connected to the upper portion of the lower pseudo rim 26B, and the half peripheral portion of the upper outer peripheral surface of the hook adapter 63 is the inner peripheral surface of the U-shaped plate 61. The hook adapter 63 and the U-shaped plate 61 are vertically moved by closely fitting with the arc-shaped portion of 61a and the substantially half-circumferential portion of the outward flange portion 63a closely fitting with the stepped portion 62 of the U-shaped plate 61. Thus, the lower pseudo rim 26B is suspended from the lower surface side of the stocker frames 55A to 55C.

  Further, a short cylindrical support adapter 64 is integrally connected to the tire holding portion of the lower pseudo rim 26B, and the lower pseudo rim 26B is loaded on the belt conveyor 27 (27a, 27b) via the support adapter 64. It has come to be.

  Since it is configured as described above, the operation when the size of the tire T to be tested is changed and the upper and lower pseudo rims 26A and 26B are replaced correspondingly will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. In this operation, the new replacement upper and lower pseudo rims 26A and 26B are attached to the upper rim elevator 30 and the lower spindle 22B from which the old replacement upper and lower pseudo rims 26A and 26B have been removed. It is obvious that the operation for removing the old replacement upper and lower pseudo rims 26A and 26B is the reverse of the operation for attaching the new replacement upper and lower pseudo rims 26A and 26B, which will be described later. Is omitted.

  First, on the rim stocker 50, an arbitrary stocker frame 55A (˜55C) is prepared by mounting lower pseudo rims 26A and 26B having a predetermined size (see (1) in FIG. 6A).

  Next, the rim elevator 30 and the belt conveyor 27 (27a, 27b) are put on standby at predetermined positions. That is, the chuck pawl 35 of the rim elevator 30 is opened, the belt conveyor 27 (27a, 27b) is lowered to the lower limit, and the distance between the pair of belts 27a, 27b is reduced ((2 in FIG. 6A). )reference).

  Next, after rotating an arbitrary stocker frame 55A (˜55C), the rim stocker 50 is advanced to a forward limit position, and the axis of the upper spindle 22A of the optional stocker frame 55A (˜55C) is moved to the lower spindle 22B. (Refer to (2) in FIG. 6A).

  Next, after the rim elevator 30 is lowered and the upper spindle 22A is chucked by the chuck claws 35, the rim elevator 30 is raised again to lift the upper pseudo rim 26A to a predetermined position, and the belt conveyor 27 (27a, 27b). Is raised to lift the lower pseudo rim 26B and float above the U-shaped plate 61 of any stocker frame 55A (˜55C) (see (2) in FIG. 6A).

  Next, the rim stocker 50 is moved backward to the position of the rearward limit and waited (see (5) in FIG. 6B).

  Next, the rim elevator 30 is raised to raise the upper pseudo rim 26A to the receiving position of the tire T to be tested, and the belt conveyor 27 (27a, 27b) is lowered to attach the lower pseudo rim 26B to the lower spindle 22B. Next, the distance between the pair of belts 27a and 27b is widened to raise the belt conveyor 27 (27a and 27b) to the position of the ascending limit of the tire conveyance line, and the tire T to be tested is carried in (see (6) in FIG. 6B). ).

  Finally, the belt conveyor 27 (27a, 27b) is lowered to hold the test tire T on the lower pseudo rim 26B at the measurement position, and then the rim elevator 30 is lowered to insert the upper spindle 22A into the lower spindle 22B. At the same time, the tire T to be tested is held by the upper pseudo rim to chuck the tire T to be tested (see (7) in FIG. 6B).

  The rim exchanging operation is completed as described above. After that, air is blown between the upper and lower pseudo rims 26A and 26B to inflate the test tire T, and then the upper and lower spindles 22A and 22B are rotated. The required measurement processing in the tire uniformity machine is possible.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the upper and lower pseudo rims 26B are transported in a form suspended from the lower surfaces of the seat plates 58A and 58B of the rim stocker 50 via the U-shaped plate 61. Rim pallets and attachments that are necessary for the method of transporting 26A and 26B as a unit are not required.

  Further, since the existing belt conveyor 27 that can be raised and lowered and the distance between the pair of belts 27a and 27b can be adjusted is used for replacing the lower pseudo rim 26B at the time of rim replacement, the lower pseudo rim 26 is supported and raised from below the rim. There is no need to install dedicated equipment.

  As a result, rim replacement can be automated easily and inexpensively.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the tire testing machine is not limited to a tire uniformity machine, but can be applied to a test apparatus that measures a finished tire by fitting it into a pseudo rim, for example, a dynamic balancing machine that measures tire unbalance.

  The rim exchanging apparatus and the rim exchanging method for a tire testing machine according to the present invention are preferably used for a pneumatic tire testing machine such as an automobile.

  10 bead lubrication section, 20 measurement section, 21 tester body, 21a base, 21b lower frame, 21c upper frame, 22A upper spindle, 22B lower spindle, 23 load wheel, 24 servo motor, 25 belt, 26A upper pseudo rim, 26B Lower pseudo rim, 27 Belt conveyor, 28 Linear guide, 29 Lifting device (lifter), 30 Rim elevator, 31 Linear guide, 32 Belt, 33 Ball screw, 34 Servo motor, 35 Chuck claw, 36 Chuck opening / closing cylinder, 40 Marking Part, 50 rim stocker, 51 base, 52 traveling rail, 53 swivel base, 54 swivel shaft, 55A-55C stocker frame, 56 chain, 57 swivel servomotor, 58A, 58B seat plate, 58a, 58b upper spin Through hole, 59 Slider, 60 Seat plate, 61 U-shaped plate, 61a Inner peripheral surface, 62 Stepped portion, 63 Hook adapter, 63a Outward flange portion, 64 Support adapter, 65 Adjusting bolt for leveling, 66 Adjustment bolt T that also serves as leveling Tire under test, Ta Upper bead part, Tb Lower bead part.

Claims (5)

A lower spindle installed below the tire conveying line;
A tire conveyor that can be moved up and down to hold a tire under test on a lower pseudo rim fitted to the lower spindle,
An elevating device capable of moving up and down by gripping the upper spindle on which the upper pseudo rim is mounted;
A rim stocker that carries the upper and lower pseudo rims into and out of the spindle axis;
In a tire testing machine equipped with
The rim stocker is provided with a stocker frame for loading the upper pseudo rim on the seat plate and holding the lower pseudo rim in a form that is concentric with the upper pseudo rim and suspended below the seat plate. Rim exchange device for tire testing machines.   2. The rim exchanging device for a tire testing machine according to claim 1, wherein the upper pseudo rim is loaded on the seat plate in a state of being mounted on an upper spindle that penetrates a through hole of the seat plate.   A U-shaped plate is attached to the lower side of the seat plate, a cylindrical hook adapter is integrally connected to the upper portion of the lower pseudo rim, and the hook adapter enters the U-shaped plate from the side. The rim changing device for a tire testing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lower pseudo rim is suspended below the seat plate.   4. The tire testing machine rim changing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rim stocker is configured to support a plurality of stocker frames so as to be rotatable about a turning axis.   The upper pseudo rim is loaded on the seat plate of the rim stocker, and the lower pseudo rim is concentric with the upper pseudo rim and is suspended below the seat plate. The tire is characterized in that the rim replacement is performed by lowering the tire conveyance conveyor after the rim stocker is retracted from the spindle axis position while the lower pseudo rim is supported and supported by the tire conveyance conveyor at the same time as being gripped and raised by the apparatus. How to replace the test machine rim.

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