JP2012196929A - Tire printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tire printer that is inexpensive and easily handled without needing a complex work when printing on the tires of different sizes.SOLUTION: The tire printer 1 includes: tire printing parts 3 and 4 that eject and apply the coating material to the surface of the tire; and a tire holding part 6 that holds the tire T. The tire holding part 6 is made by detachably overlapping a plurality of rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b of different rim diameters R so that the rim diameter R may grow in the rim located outside of the tire radial, 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b.

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire printing apparatus that prints characters, patterns, and the like on the surface of a tire.

  As a device that prints characters, designs, and the like on the surface of a tire, a printing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. As shown in FIG. A plurality of inner diameter clamps 102 are inserted to grip the tire T, and while the tire T is gripped, the tire T is rotated by the inkjet head by pressing the side surface of the tire T with the pressing roller 104 to flatten the printing surface. Printing is performed.

  However, as described above, in the apparatus 100 that presses the side surface of the tire T with the pressing roller 104 and makes the printing surface flat, when printing on tires of different sizes with one apparatus, each time the size is changed. The positions of the inner diameter clamp 102 and the presser roll 104 must be changed, and the positional relationship between the two also affects the printing surface, so that complicated adjustment work is necessary to ensure the desired printing accuracy. Therefore, there is a problem that applicability to other sizes is low.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a printing apparatus that mounts a tire on a wheel to form a tire wheel and mounts the tire on a printing apparatus to perform printing on a side surface of the tire. When printing on tires of different sizes with this device, it is only necessary to use a wheel that matches the tire, so complicated adjustment work as in the printing device described in Patent Document 1 is not necessary. There is a problem that it is necessary to prepare a wheel for each different tire, which is expensive.

  In view of this, it is conceivable that the rim to be assembled to the tire is a multistage rim as described in Patent Document 3, but such a rim has a problem that it is difficult to handle in terms of size and weight.

JP 2010-125440 A JP 2006-111242 A JP-A-5-131463

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention solves the above-described problems and provides a tire printing apparatus that is inexpensive and easy to handle without requiring complicated operations when printing on tires of different sizes. With the goal.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a tire printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a tire printing unit that discharges and applies paint to the surface of a tire, and a tire that holds the tire. A tire printing apparatus including a holding unit, wherein the tire holding unit detachably overlaps a plurality of rims having different rim diameters so that the rim diameter increases toward the rim located on the outer side in the tire radial direction. It is characterized by.

  In the tire printing device of the present invention, each of the plurality of rims includes a one-side rim corresponding to one bead portion of the tire, and an other-side rim corresponding to the other bead portion of the tire. Preferably, the tire printing apparatus is provided with moving means for moving at least one of the one-side rim and the other-side rim along the width direction of the tire.

  The tire printing apparatus according to the present invention further includes a rotating means for rotating one of the one side rim and the other side rim, and the other of the one side rim and the other side rim is driven via the tire. Is preferred.

  According to the tire printing apparatus of the present invention, the tire holding portion is configured by detachably stacking a plurality of rims having different rim diameters so that the rim diameter becomes larger toward the rim located on the outer side in the tire radial direction. Therefore, when printing on tires of different sizes, it is possible to cope with the size change by simply removing or attaching the superimposed rims appropriately, and no complicated adjustment work is required. Further, since each rim can be handled, it is easier to handle than when using a multi-stage rim as in the prior art as the tire holding portion. Furthermore, it is inexpensive because it is not necessary to prepare separate rims for tires of different sizes.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a tire printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is sectional drawing shown in the state before superimposing the upper side rim in the tire printing apparatus of FIG. 1, (b) is the state before superimposing the lower rim in the tire printing apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing shown. It is the figure which showed the procedure in the case of printing the tire with comparatively big size using the printing apparatus for tires of FIG. It is the figure which showed the procedure in the case of printing the tire of comparatively small size using the printing apparatus for tires of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the conventional printing apparatus. (A) is a photograph of a tire side surface when printing is performed on the tire using the conventional tire printing apparatus, and (b) is a tire when printing is performed on the tire using the printing apparatus of the example. It is a photograph of the side.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The tire printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 discharges paint to the surface (side surface) of the tire T and applies at least one, here two printer heads 3 and 4 as a tire printing unit to be applied.
A tire holder 6 that holds the tire T.

  The printer heads 3 and 4 can adopt an air spray method, an airless spray method, or the like in addition to the ink jet method. Further, when performing multicolor printing by simultaneous rotation, a plurality of printer heads 3 and 4 are arranged according to the number of paint colors as in this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tire holding portion 6 has a plurality of rims 8 a, 9 a, 10 a, 8 b, 9 b, and 10 b having different rim diameters R, and the rim diameter R becomes larger as the rim is located on the outer side in the tire radial direction. As shown in FIG. That is, the rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b are different from each other only in the rim diameter R, and the width (the length in the axial direction of the tire) W does not change.

  More specifically, each of the plurality of rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b is a ring-shaped upper rim 8a as a one-side rim corresponding to one bead portion B of the tire T (upper side in the figure). , 9a and 10a and ring-shaped lower rims 8b, 9b and 10b as other rims corresponding to the other bead portion B of the tire T (lower side in the figure).

  As shown in FIG. 2, each of the upper rims 8a, 9a, 10a and the lower rims 8b, 9b, 10b includes a bead sheet portion 13a that contacts the bead portion B on the radially outer surface, and the bead sheet portion 13a. A bead holding portion 13 including a flange portion 13b that rises radially outward from the outer edge, and a bead holding portion for the rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b located on the radially inner surface on the radially inner surface. 13 has an engaging portion 15 that complementarily engages, and is substantially Z-shaped in an axial cross section. The engaging portions 15 of the rims 8a and 8b located on the innermost side in the radial direction are complementarily engaged with flange portions 16a and 16b provided on a tire rotation main shaft 27 and a driven shaft 29 described later. Between the rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b that overlap each other, and between the rims 8a and 8b that are located on the radially innermost side and the flange portions 16a and 16b, a key and a key groove that prevent idle rotation therebetween. Such rotation transmission means (not shown) are provided. Thereby, the rotation of the tire rotation main shaft 27 is transmitted to the tire T via the upper rims 8a, 9a, 10a, and the rotation transmitted to the tire T is transmitted to the driven shaft 29 via the lower rims 8b, 9b, 10b. Is done.

  The tire printing apparatus 1 also moves up and down the printer heads 3 and 4, that is, moves the printer heads 3 and 4 along the width direction of the tire T, and the printer heads 3 and 4. That is, it includes traversing actuators 21 and 22 that move the printer heads 3 and 4 along the radial direction of the tire T. Various drive mechanisms can be used as the lifting / lowering actuators 17 and 18 and the traversing actuators 21 and 22, for example, a hydraulic cylinder, an air cylinder, or a ball screw rotary actuator. The operations of the lifting actuators 17 and 18 and the transverse actuators 21 and 22 are detected by a detector (not shown), and the detected operations are transmitted to a PC (personal computer) 23 that is a control device. The traversing actuators 21 and 22 are supported by a beam portion 25b of a gate-shaped frame 25 including a column portion 25a and a beam portion 25b, and the lifting actuators 17 and 18 are supported by the traversing actuators 21 and 22. The clearance between the side surface of the tire T and the printer heads 3 and 4 can be appropriately adjusted by a distance sensor that can be attached to the printer heads 3 and 4 or the representative printer heads 3 and 4, and the contour of the tire T Information regarding the shape may be input to the PC 23 in advance, and the movement of the printer heads 3 and 4 may be controlled by a program based on this information.

  In the present embodiment, the printer heads 3 and 4 are configured to approach and separate from the side surface of the tire T using the lifting actuators 17 and 18, but instead of using the lifting actuators 17 and 18, An elevating device (not shown) that moves the tire T itself up and down (in the axial direction of the tire T) may be provided to adjust the distance between the side surface of the tire T and the printer heads 3 and 4. In this case, the raising / lowering position of the tire T is set based on the contour shape data of the tire T that can be input to an external distance sensor or a control device such as the PC 23, and an appropriate clearance is provided between the printer head 3, 4 and the like. Can be held.

  The tire printing apparatus 1 also rotates the tire rotation main shaft 27 connected to the upper rims 8a, 9a, and 10a, the driven shaft 29 connected to the lower rims 8b, 9b, and 10b, and the tire rotation main shaft 27. The tire T rotates with the rotation of the tire rotation main shaft 27. The rotation spindle drive device 31 uses a servo motor to monitor the rotation angle (phase) of the tire T with high accuracy, or detects the rotation amount of the tire and pulses the detected rotation amount to the PC 23 which is a control device. A rotary encoder that transmits the signal may be included (not shown). Further, a communication passage 29a is formed in the driven shaft 29 to communicate the compressed air inlet 33 provided at the lower end of the driven shaft 29 with the inside of the tire T, and the communication passage 29a is connected to the communication shaft 29a. It is configured such that air can be taken in and out of the tire T. The compressed air is supplied from the outside, and the internal pressure of the tire T can be variably controlled according to the tire size and the like. In the figure, reference numeral 35 denotes a bearing that supports the driven shaft 29.

  Further, the tire printing apparatus 1 includes an elevating unit 39 that travels along a rail 37 provided on the column part 25 a of the frame 25 and serves as a moving unit that elevates the bearing 35 together with the driven shaft 29. Therefore, the tire T to be printed can be loaded into the tire printing apparatus 1 by raising the elevating part 39, and the tire T can be removed from the apparatus 1 by lowering the elevating part 39. Moreover, the raising / lowering part 39 also has a function as a leg width adjusting means for adjusting the bead part leg width (the distance in the tire width direction between both bead beers) of the tire T to be printed. That is, the curvature of the side surface of the tire T can be increased by raising the elevating part 39 to reduce the bead part leg width of the tire T, and conversely, the elevating part 39 is lowered to lower the bead part leg width of the tire T. The curvature of the side surface of the tire T can be reduced by increasing the size of the tire T. Therefore, the shape of the side surface of the tire T can be made suitable for painting. Various actuators such as a hydraulic cylinder, an air cylinder, and a ball screw rotary actuator can be used for driving the elevating unit 39.

  The PC 23 includes at least a rotation control unit 40, a printer head position control unit 41, and a print control unit 42. The rotation control unit 40 is connected to the rotation spindle driving device 31 and controls the rotation spindle driving device 31 so that the tire T rotates at a predetermined speed. The printer head position control means 42 is connected to the traversing actuators 21 and 22 and the lifting actuators 17 and 18, and the traversing actuators 21 and 22 and the lifting actuator 17 so that the printer heads 3 and 4 are located at predetermined positions on the tire side surfaces. 18 is controlled. The print control unit 42 is connected to the printer heads 3 and 4 and outputs a print control signal and a print data signal to the printer heads 3 and 4.

  The functions of the rotation control unit 40, the printer head position control unit 41, and the print control unit 42 are realized by executing software (programs) held by the PC 23.

  Next, a method for printing characters, designs, and the like on the surface (side surface) of the tire T using the tire printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 shows an example in which printing is performed by attaching a vulcanized tire to a rim having a rim diameter R of 15 inches. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the elevating part 39 is lowered, and as shown in FIG. 10b. Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the elevating part 39 is raised to hold the tire T between the upper rim 10 a and the lower rim 10 b, and at the same time, the bead part leg width of the tire T is adjusted. . Next, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 3 (d), the tire T is filled with the internal pressure via the air inlet 33 and inflated. At this time, if the side surface (printing surface) of the tire T is not in an appropriate shape with respect to the printer heads 3 and 4, adjust at least one of the leg width of the bead portion and the internal pressure of the tire T to make the printing surface appropriate. Any shape may be used. In addition, although there is no restriction | limiting in particular in the internal pressure applied to the tire T, it is preferable to set it as a regular internal pressure from a viewpoint which makes the curvature of the tire side surface at the time of printing and the curvature of the tire side surface at the time of tire use equivalent. “Regular internal pressure” refers to “maximum air pressure” defined in JATMA, the maximum value of “TIRE LOAD LIMITS AT VARIOUS COLD INFLATION PRESSURES” defined in TRA, or “INFLATION PRESSURES” defined in ETRTO.

  Next, the transverse actuators 21 and 22 and the lift actuators 17 and 18 are driven to position the printer heads 3 and 4 at predetermined positions on the side surfaces of the tire T. Next, the tire rotation main shaft 27 is driven by the rotation main shaft driving device 31 to rotate the tire T. Then, paint is discharged from the printer heads 3 and 4 and applied to draw (print) desired characters, pictures, symbols, patterns, etc. (predetermined patterns). The paint applied to the side surface of the tire T is dried and cured by a UV irradiation lamp (not shown) installed adjacent to the printer heads 3 and 4. The positioning of the printer heads 3 and 4 with respect to the side surface of the tire T may be performed after the tire T is rotated by the rotary spindle driving device 31 or may be performed simultaneously with the rotation of the tire T.

  Next, when printing on the side surface of the tire T smaller in size than the tire T in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 4, the rims 8a and 8b to be applied (here, a rim having a rim diameter R of 13 inches) is applied. The rims 9a, 10a, 9b and 10b other than the above are removed, and predetermined printing is performed on the side surface of the tire T by the same procedure as described above. The steps are shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D. In this example, since the size of the tire T is smaller than the example of FIG. 3, the bead portion foot width is smaller than the bead portion foot width in the example of FIG. It turns out that it is set small.

  Therefore, according to the tire printing apparatus 1, the rim diameter R of the plurality of rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b having different rim diameters R becomes larger toward the rim located on the outer side in the tire radial direction. Since the tire holding portion 6 is configured to be detachably overlapped with each other, the rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b that are overlapped are appropriately removed when printing on the tires T having different sizes. It is possible to cope with the size change simply by mounting, and no complicated adjustment work is required. Further, since each rim 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, 10b can be handled, it is easier to handle than when a multi-stage rim as in the prior art is used as the tire holding portion. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to prepare a separate rim for each tire T having a different size, it is inexpensive.

  Further, according to the tire printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the plurality of rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, and 10b constituting the tire holding unit 6 are different from each other only in the rim diameter R and the width W is constant. Therefore, it is lighter than the case where a multi-stage rim as in the prior art is used as the tire holding portion, and can be handled more easily.

  Further, according to the tire printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the plurality of rims 8a, 9a, 10a, 8b, 9b, 10b are respectively the upper rims 8a, 9a, 10a corresponding to one bead portion B of the tire T. And a lower rim 8b, 9b, 10b corresponding to the other bead portion B of the tire T, and the upper rim 8a, 9a, 10a and the lower rim 8b, Since the elevating part 39 is provided as a moving means for moving at least one of 9b and 10b along the width direction of the tire, the rim assembly is easy, and the lower rims 8b, 9b, Since the bead portion leg width can be freely changed by moving 10b, it is possible to easily adjust the shape of the held tire T to a shape suitable for printing and to change the size of the tire T. Applicability more can be further improved.

  Further, according to the tire printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, since the rotation spindle driving device 31 is provided as a rotating means for rotating the rims 8a, 9a, 10a around the axis of the tire T, the printer heads 3, 4 The configuration of the moving mechanism can be simplified, and the tire printing apparatus 1 with high accuracy and low cost can be provided. Furthermore, like the tire printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the upper rims 8a, 9a, and 10a are driven, and the lower rims 8b, 9b, and 10b are driven (rotated) via the tire T, so that The structure of the printing apparatus 1 can be further simplified. In the present invention, the lower rims 8b, 9b, 10b may be driven and the upper rims 8a, 9a, 10a may be driven (rotated) via the tire T.

  Furthermore, according to the tire printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, since the tire head T is filled with the internal pressure, printing is performed on the side surface of the tire T by the printer heads 3 and 4. The shape of T can be stabilized, and characters, designs, and the like can be printed on the curved surface of the side surface of the tire T without blurring or wrinkling. Further, by printing with the tire T filled with the internal pressure, the side surface of the tire T when using the curvature of the side surface of the tire T at the time of printing (when the tire T is attached to the regular rim and the regular internal pressure is applied) is used. Therefore, it is possible to improve the appearance of characters and patterns visually recognized when using the tire. From this viewpoint, it is preferable to perform printing in a state where a normal internal pressure is applied to the inside of the tire T.

  Furthermore, according to the tire printing apparatus of the present embodiment, the tire T is received at the lowered position of the driven-side lower rims 8b, 9b, and 10b, and thereafter the tire T is raised by the lifting and lowering unit 39. The lift stroke of the printer heads 3 and 4 by the actuators 17 and 18 can be reduced, and the cycle time can be shortened.

  While the present invention has been described based on the illustrated examples, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the upper rims 8a, 9a, 10a and the lower rims 8b, 9b, 10b are superposed on each other to constitute the tire holding portion 6. However, the number of rims to be superposed is not limited to three. Or four or more. In the above embodiment, the lower rims 8b, 9b, and 10b are lifted and lowered by the lift unit 39. However, the upper rims 8a, 9a, and 10a may be lifted and lowered. It is good also as a structure which raises / lowers (relative movement) both lower rim | limbs 8b, 9b, 10b. Further, in the above embodiment, the traversing actuators 21 and 22 and the lifting actuators 17 and 18 are provided for each printer head 3 and 4, but when a plurality of printer heads are provided, the traversing actuator and lifting and lowering that are common to all printer heads are provided. An actuator may be used. In the above embodiment, two printer heads 3 and 4 are shown. However, one or more printer heads may be provided. Further, when printing is performed by applying an internal pressure to the inside of the tire T, the internal pressure may be lower than the normal internal pressure.

  In order to clarify the printing location, a tire having a recess provided on the side surface of the tire is prepared, and a tire printing apparatus (Example) to which the present invention is applied and a printing apparatus according to the prior art (conventional example) are used. Since printing has been performed, the following description is given.

  The tire printing apparatus according to the example has the configuration shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the conventional printing apparatus inserts four inner diameter clamps from the inside of the tire bead to grip the tire, and presses and presses the side surface of the tire with a pressing roller while gripping the tire. While the surface is flattened, the tire is rotated and printing is performed by an inkjet head. FIGS. 6A and 6B show the results of printing an annular white line using the tire printing apparatus of the example and the printing apparatus of the conventional example with the concave portion on the side surface of the tire as the print target point. FIG. 6A is a photograph of the side surface of the tire printed by the conventional tire printing apparatus, and FIG. 6B is a photograph of the tire side surface printed by the printing apparatus of the example. is there. As is apparent from these photographs, the tire printing apparatus of the example was able to print a white line in the concave portion, which is the printing target point, whereas the conventional printing apparatus was shifted by 12 mm from the printing target point. As a result, a white line is printed (in the serration), and it can be seen that the conventional technique requires complicated adjustment work of the press roller and the inner diameter clamp.

  Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a tire printing apparatus that is inexpensive and easy to handle without requiring a complicated operation when printing on tires having different sizes.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tire printing device 3, 4 Printer head 6 Tire holding part 8a, 9a, 10a Upper rim 8b, 9b, 10b Lower rim 13 Bead holding part 15 Engagement part 17, 18 Lifting actuator 21, 22 Traverse actuator 23 Personal computer 31 Rotating spindle drive (rotating means)
33 Air inlet 39 Elevator (moving means)
T Tire to be printed B Tire bead

Claims (3)

A tire printing apparatus comprising: a tire printing unit that discharges and applies paint to a surface of a tire; and a tire holding unit that holds the tire,
The tire printing device is characterized in that a plurality of rims having different rim diameters are detachably overlapped with each other so that the rim diameter increases toward the rim located on the outer side in the tire radial direction. Each of the plurality of rims is a split rim having one side rim corresponding to one bead part of the tire and another side rim corresponding to the other bead part of the tire,
The tire printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tire printing apparatus includes a moving unit that moves at least one of the one-side rim and the other-side rim along a width direction of the tire.   The tire printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a rotating unit that rotates one of the one-side rim and the other-side rim, and the other of the one-side rim and the other-side rim is driven via the tire. .