JP4837648B2 - Solid tire composition and solid tire - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a solid tire composition and a solid tire for forming a tread portion of a solid tire (solid wheel).

Conventionally, this type of solid tire is used for applications such as wheels for industrial vehicles such as automatic guided vehicles and forklifts, rollers for automatic warehouses, multilevel parking lots, various manufacturing facilities, and rollers for roller coasters. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). Such a solid tire includes a wheel and a tread portion that covers an outer peripheral surface of the wheel, and the tread portion is formed of an elastic material such as resin or rubber.
JP 2004-161042 A

  In recent years, in the physical distribution industry, in order to improve the efficiency of physical distribution, there is a demand for a transportation / conveying device that transports and conveys a large amount of luggage at high speed. Furthermore, there is a demand for a transportation / conveying device that can cope with an increase in the size of luggage. In order to cope with such efficiency of physical distribution, further improvement in performance is desired for the solid tires mounted on the transportation / conveyance device. That is, as the capacity of the transportation / conveyance device increases, the load applied to the solid tire increases, so that the deformation amount of the tread portion of the solid tire increases. Such an increase in the deformation amount of the tread portion becomes a factor of shortening the traveling distance until a defect such as a crack in the tread portion occurs. Thus, as the load applied to the solid tire increases, it becomes difficult to ensure the durability of the tread portion. For this reason, even when the load applied to the tread portion increases, it is desired to increase the performance of maintaining the durability of the tread portion, that is, the load resistance of the tread portion.

  In order to increase the load resistance of the tread portion, it is conceivable to reduce the amount of deformation accompanying an increase in load by hardening the tread portion. However, when the tread portion is hardened, an impact caused by road surface unevenness is easily transmitted to the apparatus main body during travel of the transport / conveyance apparatus. In particular, in a device in an empty state, the amount of deformation of the tread portion is extremely small, so that it is difficult to exert a buffering function to alleviate the impact. For this reason, there is a possibility that abnormal noise may be generated due to vibration of the apparatus main body, or the ride comfort of the passenger may be deteriorated in the forklift. Making the tread portion hard in this way results in the effect of impeding the cushioning function as a solid tire while increasing the load resistance.

  On the other hand, solid tires used as driving wheels, for example, in transportation facilities tend to wear more easily than solid tires used as driven wheels, and it is desired to increase the wear resistance of such solid tires. . On the other hand, in an environment where it is desired to suppress the generation of dust, such as a room where suspended particulates are managed, such as a clean room, it is desired to suppress the generation of dust due to wear of the tread as much as possible. Thus, the wear resistance of the tread part is an important factor contributing to the durability and low dust generation of the solid tire.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional circumstances, and a first object thereof is a composition for a solid tire that can increase the load resistance of the tread portion while maintaining the buffer function of the tread portion, And providing a solid tire. A second object is to provide a solid tire composition and a solid tire that can enhance the wear resistance of the tread portion.

In order to achieve the above object, a composition for a solid tire according to claim 1 is for molding the tread portion of a solid tire comprising a wheel and a tread portion covering an outer peripheral surface of the wheel. A solid tire composition comprising a polyurethane prepolymer which is a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol and p-phenylene diisocyanate, and 1,4-butanediol as a chain extender, However, the gist is that it travels on the grating in a clean room .

A solid tire according to a second aspect of the present invention is a solid tire including a wheel and a tread portion covering an outer peripheral surface of the wheel, and the tread portion is formed from a raw material composition containing a polyurethane prepolymer. The polyurethane prepolymer is a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol and p-phenylene diisocyanate, and the raw material composition contains 1,4-butanediol as a chain extender. The gist is to run on the grating in a clean room .

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the load resistance of a tread part can be improved, maintaining the buffer function of a tread part. In addition, the wear resistance of the tread portion can be increased.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail.
The composition for a solid tire includes a polyurethane prepolymer that is a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol and p-phenylene diisocyanate. The composition for a solid tire is for forming a tread portion in a solid tire including a wheel and a tread portion covering an outer peripheral surface of the wheel.

  The polyurethane prepolymer is a polymer in which polytetramethylene ether glycol, which is a polyol, has a main chain, and at least both ends of the polytetramethylene ether glycol are reacted with p-phenylene diisocyanate, which is an isocyanate. The glycol of polytetramethylene ether glycol is not particularly limited as long as it is a glycol that can be addition-polymerized to an ether chain, and examples thereof include ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerin, hexanetriol, and trimethylolpropane.

  The polyurethane prepolymer is set to a viscosity suitable for injection into a molding die mainly by adjusting the molecular weight of polytetramethylene ether glycol. Although the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of the polytetramethylene ether glycol which comprises a polyurethane prepolymer is not specifically limited, For example, the range of 200-10000 is mentioned, The range of 1000-3000 is suitable for the weight average molecular weight. If the weight average molecular weight is less than 1000, desired physical properties may be difficult to obtain. On the other hand, when it exceeds 3000, the fluidity of the composition is lowered, and it may be difficult to increase production efficiency. This polyurethane prepolymer is cured by heating or the action of a chain extender (curing agent) that is added separately, whereby a tread portion using a polyurethane resin as a base material is formed.

  In the composition for solid tires, if necessary, components such as various stabilizers, viscosity modifiers, antifoaming agents, reaction accelerators, reaction retarders and the like may be separately contained. In addition, although content of components other than a polyurethane prepolymer is not specifically limited, When the physical property of a tread part is considered, it is suitable that it is less than 10 mass% in the composition for solid tires.

  From the viewpoint of stabilizing the physical properties of the tread portion, it is preferable that air bubbles contained in the solid tire composition are sufficiently removed before the start of the curing reaction of the polyurethane prepolymer. For the removal of bubbles, that is, defoaming, a defoaming / mixing device utilizing the principle of centrifugal separation, or a vacuum / stirring device capable of stirring in a vacuum can be used.

The tread portion is molded from a raw material composition containing the polyurethane prepolymer described above. This raw material composition preferably contains at least one chain extender selected from diols and diamines from the viewpoint of easy control of the physical properties of the tread portion. Examples of diols include 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, hydroquinone dioxyethyl ether, and the like. Examples of diamines include 2,2 ′, 3,3′-tetrachloro-4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane, dimethylthiotoluenediamine, trimethylene glycol-di-p-aminobenzoate, 1,4-bis (2 -Aminophenylthio) ethane, 3,3'-dichloro-4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane and the like. Since the reactivity with the above-mentioned polyurethane prepolymer is excellent, 1,4-butanediol or hydroquinone dioxyethyl ether is preferred as the diol from the viewpoint that the physical properties of the tread portion can be more easily controlled. 3,3'-dichloro-4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane is preferred. Among these chain extenders, 1,4-butanediol is optimal for the reasons described above. The content of the chain extender in the raw material composition is an equivalent ratio between the isocyanate group (NCO group) of p-phenylene diisocyanate and the hydroxyl group (OH group) or amino group (NH ₂ ) of the chain extender ( Equivalent ratio = [OH] / [NCO] or [NH ₂ ] / [NCO]), a range of 0.9 to 1 is preferred. A known stirrer can be used for mixing the polyurethane prepolymer and the chain extender.

  In the raw material composition, components such as various stabilizers, viscosity modifiers, antifoaming agents, reaction accelerators, reaction retarders and the like may be separately added as necessary. In addition, although content of components other than a polyurethane prepolymer is not specifically limited, When the physical property of a tread part is considered, it is suitable that it is less than 10 mass% in the composition for solid tires.

  In order to manufacture a solid tire using a raw material composition, a core metal to be a wheel of the solid tire is inserted into a cavity of a mold, and the raw material composition is injected into the cavity. The material of the core bar is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include iron, aluminum, and stainless steel. Subsequently, the raw material composition is cured by heating the mold for a predetermined time. Then, while a tread part is shape | molded from the polyurethane resin which is a hardened | cured material of a raw material composition, a solid tire is obtained by integrating the shape | molded tread part with a metal core (wheel). The hardness of the tread portion in the solid tire thus obtained is preferably less than 100, more preferably in Shore A defined in JIS K 6253 of the tread portion from the viewpoint of exerting a buffer function against road surface unevenness. Less than 98. On the other hand, this hardness is preferably 90 or more, more preferably 93 or more, from the viewpoint of exhibiting excellent load resistance.

  This solid tire is composed of a cylindrical wheel and a tread portion that covers the outer peripheral surface of the wheel. Wheels of industrial vehicles such as automatic guided vehicles and forklifts, automatic warehouses, multistory parking lots, various manufacturing facilities, etc. Is used for applications such as transport rollers and roller coaster wheels. When the solid tire is running, the tread portion repeats the compression deformation due to the load applied to the solid tire and the restoration due to the release of the load, thereby exhibiting a function to alleviate the impact caused by the road surface unevenness. In such a tread portion, for example, the amount of deformation increases with an increase in the weight of a conveyed product or a transported item, so that the function of the tread portion generally tends to deteriorate. The tread portion of this embodiment is formed from a raw material composition containing the polyurethane prepolymer. In such a tread portion, even when the amount of deformation of the tread portion increases with an increase in the load applied to the solid tire, deterioration due to heat generated due to the deformation of the tread portion, deformation and restoration of the tread portion. It is presumed that a decrease in elastic force due to repetition is suppressed.

The effects exhibited by this embodiment will be described below.
(1) The composition for solid tires includes a polyurethane prepolymer that is a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol and p-phenylene diisocyanate. In a tread part formed from such a composition for a solid tire, durability of the tread part is ensured even when the amount of deformation of the tread part increases as the load increases. For this reason, the load resistance of the tread portion can be enhanced while maintaining the buffer function of the tread portion. Therefore, if this solid tire is used in, for example, a transportation / conveying device that transports / conveys a large amount of luggage at high speed, or a transportation / conveying device that supports an increase in the size of the luggage, the tread portion has sufficient durability. To be demonstrated. In such use, the buffer function of the tread portion is sufficiently exhibited even when the transport / conveyance device is in an empty state. As described above, the solid tire according to the present embodiment can greatly contribute to the efficiency of physical distribution.

  (2) Solid tires used as driving wheels, for example, in transportation facilities tend to wear more easily than solid tires used as driven wheels, and it is desired to increase the wear resistance of such solid tires. Yes. In addition, wear resistance is required for a solid tire used in an environment where it is desired to suppress the generation of dust, for example, in a room where suspended particulates such as a clean room are managed. Thus, the wear resistance of the tread part is an important factor contributing to the durability and low dust generation of the solid tire. Since the solid tire of this embodiment has a tread portion formed from the above-mentioned polyurethane prepolymer, the wear resistance is also improved. For this reason, in terms of wear resistance of the tread portion, the durability of the solid tire is improved and dust generation due to wear of the tread portion can be suppressed.

  (3) Grating (punching metal, expanded metal, etc.) is installed especially on the floor surface of a clean room, and the floor surface is often used as an air passage or the like. In addition, the running of the solid tire on the grating has a problem of promoting the wear of the tread portion. Further, traveling on the grating has a problem that the occurrence of cracks in the tread portion is promoted due to factors such as partial impact on the tread portion. Under such circumstances, solid tires are desired to have improved wear resistance and crack resistance. In particular, for solid tires that run on the grating in a clean room, measures against wear resistance are extremely important. Since the solid tire of the present embodiment has a tread portion formed from the above-mentioned polyurethane prepolymer, the wear resistance and crack resistance in traveling on the grating are improved. For this reason, the solid tire of this embodiment is most suitable for the use which drive | works on a grating in a clean room.

  (4) The tread portion is preferably molded from a raw material composition containing a polyurethane prepolymer and at least one chain extender selected from diols and diamines. In this case, the physical properties of the tread portion can be easily controlled.

  (5) When 1,4-butanediol or hydroquinone dioxyethyl ether is used as a diol and 3,3'-dichloro-4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane is used as a chain extender as a diamine, the physical properties of the tread portion Can be easily controlled. For this reason, the physical properties (hardness, strength, rebound resilience, etc.) of the tread portion can be optimized. In particular, a tread portion using 1,4-butanediol as a chain extender is excellent in buffer performance and load resistance.

  (6) The raw material composition for molding the solid tire of the present embodiment includes a polyurethane prepolymer that is a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol and p-phenylene diisocyanate. For this reason, as a polyurethane prepolymer, for example, a solid tire having a lower rolling resistance can be obtained than when a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol and tolylene diisocyanate is used. Therefore, energy saving can be achieved when the solid tire travels. As a result, running costs for industrial vehicles, transportation facilities, and the like can be reduced. For example, by mounting the solid tire on a battery-type forklift, the power consumption of the battery is reduced, so that the life of the battery can be extended. Moreover, since the rolling resistance of the solid tire of the present embodiment is small, for example, when applied to a solid tire such as an automatic warehouse, a manned or an automatic guided vehicle, a motor as a drive source for driving the automatic warehouse, the guided vehicle, etc. It is also possible to reduce the size.

Next, the embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to examples and comparative examples.
Example 1
A polyurethane prepolymer (adiprene (trade name), LFP-950A), which is a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol (hereinafter referred to as “PTMEG”) and p-phenylene diisocyanate (hereinafter referred to as “PPDI”). A raw material composition was prepared by mixing 1,4-butanediol (hereinafter referred to as “1,4-BD”) as a chain extender with Crompton. In addition, the compounding quantity of the chain extender with respect to the polyurethane prepolymer was 0.95 in an equivalent ratio of the OH group of the chain extender to the NCO group of the polyurethane prepolymer (equivalent ratio = [OH] / [NCO]). .

The raw material composition was poured into a mold and heated to mold a solid tire and a test piece for evaluating physical properties.
(Comparative Example 1)
A solid tire and a test piece for evaluating physical properties were molded in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a polyurethane prepolymer which is a reaction product of caprolactone-based polyester glycol (hereinafter referred to as “PCL”) and PPDI was used. .

(Comparative Example 2)
A polyurethane prepolymer which is a reaction product of PTMEG and tolylene diisocyanate (hereinafter referred to as “TDI”) is used, and 3,3′-dichloro-4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane (hereinafter referred to as “chain extender”) as a chain extender. A solid tire and a test piece for evaluating physical properties were molded in the same manner as in Example 1 except that “MOCA” was used.

<Evaluation of load resistance>
As shown in FIG. 1, a predetermined load W (w1) is applied to the solid tire 11, and the tread portion of the solid tire 11 is arranged to be pressed against the rotary drum 12 by the load W (w1). The rotary drum 12 is rotated so that the traveling speed of the solid tire 11 is 4 km / h, and the solid tire 11 is allowed to travel for 2.5 hours at the traveling speed. After running for 2.5 hours, the inspector visually inspects the state of the tread portion of the solid tire 11. As a result of the inspection, when a defect such as cracking or melting is confirmed in the tread portion, the load W (w1) is recorded as the inspection result. As a result of the inspection, if no trouble is confirmed in the tread portion, a load W (w2 = w1 + 50 kg) obtained by adding 50 kg to the load W (w1) is applied to the solid tire 11 and the same as in the case of the load W (w1). Then, the solid tire 11 is caused to travel again. Such a running test is repeated until a defect is confirmed in the tread portion, and a load when the defect is confirmed is recorded as an inspection result.

  Of the inspection results of the solid tires 11 in each example, the example showing the minimum load was set as 100% (reference), and in other examples, the load resistance was evaluated by the ratio (%) to the example showing the minimum load. . Table 1 shows the evaluation results of load resistance.

<Durability evaluation in running on grating>
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the durability test apparatus includes a support base 21 and a turntable 22 provided on the support base 21 so as to be rotationally driven. A grating 23 (a punching metal having a 6 mm diameter circular hole) is fixed to the upper surface of the turntable 22. A loading platform 24 that rotatably supports the solid tire 11 is installed above the grating 23. A pair of solid tires 11 are rotatably supported on the bottom of the loading platform 24, and weights 25 are placed on the loading platform 24 corresponding to the pair of solid tires 11. The loading platform 24 is installed such that it cannot be rotated by a fixture (not shown) and the solid tire 11 is pressed against the grating 23 by the load of the weight 25. According to the durability test apparatus configured as described above, the traveling test in which the solid tire 11 travels on the grating 23 can be performed by rotationally driving the turntable 22.

Using this durability test apparatus, a running test for the solid tire of each example was performed under the following conditions.
Solid tire dimensions: φ60mm × 24mm
Weight of weight: 90kg (per solid tire)
Travel speed: 120m / min
In this running test, the wear amount of the tread part and the appearance of the tread part are inspected about every 24 hours, and the tread part is subjected to any one of (a) remarkable wear, (b) uneven wear, and (c) cracks. When the phenomenon occurred, the running test was completed. Table 1 shows the running time and the amount of wear, and the phenomenon that occurred when the running test was completed is shown in the occurrence phenomenon column. The amount of wear was converted into a volume (cm ³ ) from the weight and specific gravity of the tread portion measured in advance and the weight of the tread portion after the running test was completed.

<Measurement of physical properties>
Each physical property shown in Table 1 was measured for the test piece of each example. The measurement results are also shown in Table 1. In addition, the abrasion test shown in Table 1 is a measurement result when the Akron abrasion test described in JIS K 6264 is performed under the following conditions.

Test method: Method A-1 Load load: 4.5 kgf
Tilt between test piece and wear ring: 30 °
Rotation speed of test piece: 250 rpm

表１の結果から明らかなように、実施例１における耐荷重性の評価結果は、比較例２の評価結果に対して３０％向上していることから、実施例１ではトレッド部の耐荷重性を高めることができる。さらに、実施例１の硬度は比較例１の硬度と同等であることから、実施例１のソリッドタイヤでは、緩衝機能が維持されている。これに対して、各比較例では、ポリウレタンプレポリマーにおいて、ポリオール成分及びイソシアネート成分の少なくとも一方が実施例１と異なるため、実施例１よりも耐荷重性が劣っている。

As is clear from the results of Table 1, the load resistance evaluation result in Example 1 is improved by 30% with respect to the evaluation result of Comparative Example 2, and therefore in Example 1, the load resistance of the tread portion is increased. Can be increased. Furthermore, since the hardness of Example 1 is equivalent to the hardness of Comparative Example 1, in the solid tire of Example 1, the buffer function is maintained. On the other hand, in each comparative example, since at least one of the polyol component and the isocyanate component is different from that in Example 1 in the polyurethane prepolymer, the load resistance is inferior to that in Example 1.

  Furthermore, referring to the durability evaluation results in Example 1, it can be seen that the running time is significantly extended as compared with the comparative examples. From this result, it can be seen that the solid tire of Example 1 exhibits excellent durability even when traveling on the grating. In addition, in Example 1, the wear amount per running time is also smaller than in each comparative example, and it can be seen that the wear resistance is improved by referring to the results of the wear test. From this result, in the solid tire of Example 1, generation | occurrence | production of the dust by abrasion of a tread part can be suppressed.

<Measurement of power consumption>
The energy saving effect when the solid tire of Example 1 was run was evaluated by measuring the power consumption. As shown in FIG. 1, by placing a predetermined load on the solid tire 11, the tread portion of the solid tire 11 is arranged in a state of being pressed against the rotary drum 12. And while driving the solid tire 11 at 5 km / h, the power consumption of the motor (not shown) connected to the rotating drum 12 is measured. The dimension of the solid tire 11 is φ200 mm × 60 mm, and the thickness of the tread portion is 10 mm. The rotating drum 12 has a circumference of 1 m. The load applied to the solid tire 11 is 1100 kgf. Similarly, the power consumption of the solid tire of Comparative Example 2 was measured. Table 2 shows the measurement results of the power consumption for the solid tire 11 of each example.

表２の結果から明らかなように、実施例１における消費電力は、比較例２における消費電力よりも低くなっている。この結果から、実施例１のソリッドタイヤでは、省エネルギー化においても、有利であることがわかる。

As is clear from the results in Table 2, the power consumption in Example 1 is lower than the power consumption in Comparative Example 2. From this result, it can be seen that the solid tire of Example 1 is advantageous in terms of energy saving.

The schematic perspective view which shows the evaluation method of load resistance, and the measuring method of power consumption. The schematic side view which shows a durability test apparatus. The schematic plan view which shows the state which notched a part of durability test apparatus.

Claims (2)

A composition for a solid tire for molding the tread portion of a solid tire comprising a wheel and a tread portion covering an outer peripheral surface of the wheel,
It contains a polyurethane prepolymer which is a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol and p-phenylene diisocyanate, and contains 1,4-butanediol as a chain extender. The solid tire runs on the grating in a clean room. The composition for solid tires characterized by the above-mentioned . A solid tire comprising a wheel and a tread portion covering the outer peripheral surface of the wheel, wherein the tread portion is formed from a raw material composition containing a polyurethane prepolymer,
The polyurethane prepolymer is a reaction product of polytetramethylene ether glycol and p-phenylene diisocyanate, the raw material composition contains 1,4-butanediol as a chain extender, and the solid tire is Solid tires that run on the grating in a clean room .

Images