JP5745567B2 - Tire cooler, tire testing apparatus and tire testing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire cooler, a tire testing apparatus, and a tire testing method.

Conventionally, for example, a tire testing apparatus as shown in Patent Document 1 below is known. The tire testing apparatus includes a test drum that is rotatably disposed, a tire support that rotatably supports the tire, and a tire that is pressed against the test drum by moving the tire support toward the test drum. And a load applying means for applying a load to the tire.
By the way, as a tire testing method such as an aircraft tire, there is a method of pressing a tire against a test drum in a state where the tire is cooled to a preset temperature. In this tire testing method, generally, a tire cooled by a tire cooling device located away from the tire testing device is conveyed to the tire testing device, attached to a tire support, and pressed against a test drum.

Japanese Patent No. 4076380

  However, in the conventional tire test method, it is difficult to uniformly cool the tire with the tire cooling device, or the temperature of the tire changes until the tire is pressed against the test drum by conveying the cooled tire. For this reason, a highly accurate test was difficult.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the situation mentioned above, The objective is to provide the tire cooler which can perform a highly accurate test.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
A tire cooler according to the present invention includes a test drum that is rotatably disposed, a tire support that rotatably supports the tire, and the tire support that is moved by moving the tire support toward the test drum. And a load applying means for applying a load to the tire by pressing against the test drum, a tire cooler for cooling the tire, wherein the tire support is provided on the tire support. A housing that is mounted so as to be movable toward the test drum, accommodates the tire therein, isolates the tire from the test drum, and the load applying means, and supplies cold air into the housing Cold air supplying means for cooling, cold air flowing means for flowing cold air in the housing, and tire rotating means for rotating the tire in the housing. And wherein the are.

  The tire testing apparatus according to the present invention includes a test drum that is rotatably arranged, a tire support that rotatably supports the tire, and the tire support that is moved toward the test drum. A tire test apparatus comprising: a load applying unit that applies a load to the tire by pressing the tire against the test drum, and includes the tire cooler.

  The tire test method according to the present invention is a tire test method for testing the tire using the tire test apparatus, wherein cold air is supplied into the housing by the cold air supply means, and by the cold air flow means. A cooling step of rotating the tire in the housing by the tire rotating means while flowing cool air in the housing; and after the cooling step, removing at least a part of the housing and supporting the tire by the load applying means A load applying step of applying a load to the tire by pressing the tire against the test drum by moving a body toward the test drum.

According to these inventions, in the cooling step, the cool air in the housing is caused to flow by the cool air flow means, so that the cool air in the housing is stirred and the temperature in the housing is easily equalized. Therefore, in combination with rotating the tire within the housing by the tire rotating means, the tire can be easily cooled uniformly.
In addition, at the time of the load application step, at least a part of the housing is removed, and the tire is pressed against the test drum by moving the tire support toward the test drum by the load application means, so that a load is applied to the tire. For example, the temperature of the cooled tire can be suppressed from changing before the tire is pressed against the test drum, as compared with the case where the tire is cooled at a position away from the tire testing device.
As described above, the tire can be easily cooled uniformly, and the temperature of the cooled tire can be prevented from changing until the tire is pressed against the test drum. It becomes possible to press against the test drum in a state of being accurately cooled to the set temperature, and a highly accurate test can be performed.

Further, since the housing separates the tire from the test drum and the load applying means, it is possible to prevent the test drum and the load applying means from being cooled during the cooling process. Thereby, it becomes possible to operate these test drums and load applying means with high accuracy, and a highly accurate test can be surely performed.
Further, since the housing accommodates the tire therein and separates the tire from the test drum and the load applying means, for example, the housing covers the entire test drum, tire support and load applying means. Compared to the case of adopting, the housing can be downsized, and the housing can be easily manufactured at low cost. For example, when the housing is discarded after being used once, it is only necessary to secure the strength of the housing to the extent that it can be used once, so that the housing can be easily made of an inexpensive material such as wood or synthetic resin material. It is also possible to form the housing, and the cost of the housing can be further reduced.

  In the tire cooler according to the present invention, the cool air supply means may supply cool air into the housing by introducing liquid nitrogen into the housing.

In this case, the cold air supply means introduces liquid nitrogen into the housing, thereby supplying the cold air into the housing. Therefore, it is possible to reliably supply low-temperature cold air into the housing, and the tire can be removed in a short time. Can be cooled.
In addition, since the low-temperature cold air is supplied into the housing in this way, the cold air is likely to stay downward in the housing, so the cold air in the housing is agitated by the cold air flow means as described above. Thus, the effect that the temperature in the housing is easily made uniform is remarkably achieved, and the tire can be easily and uniformly cooled in a short time.

  Moreover, in the tire cooler according to the present invention, the tire rotating means may rotate the tire by a driving force of a driving unit arranged outside the housing.

  In this case, since the drive unit is disposed outside the housing, it is possible to suppress the drive unit from being cooled during the cooling process, to operate the drive unit with high accuracy, and to make the tires more even. It can be easily cooled.

In the tire cooler according to the present invention, the cool air supply means supplies cool air into the housing through an opening that opens into the housing, and the cool air is supplied from the opening into the housing. A shielding member that blocks the flow of cool air may be provided.

  In this case, since the shielding member is disposed in the housing, it is possible to prevent the cold air supplied into the housing from the opening portion from being directly blown onto the tire and locally cooling the tire. Thus, the tire can be cooled more uniformly.

  Further, in the tire cooler according to the present invention, the housing is formed by removably fixing a lid portion that closes the main body portion from the test drum side to a main body portion fixed to the tire support. It may be.

  In this case, since the lid portion of the housing is detachably fixed to the main body portion, the load can be applied to the tire by the load applying means in a state where the lid portion is removed from the main body portion during the load applying step. For example, the work can be simplified compared with the case where the entire housing is removed from the tire support.

  According to the present invention, a highly accurate test can be performed.

1 is a partially broken side view showing a tire testing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the tire testing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the tire cooler which comprises the tire testing apparatus shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, a tire testing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the tire testing apparatus 10 includes a test drum 11 that is rotatably arranged, a tire support 12 that rotatably supports a tire T, and the tire support 12 that faces the test drum 11. A load applying means 13 for applying a load to the tire T by pressing the tire T against the test drum 11 and a tire cooler 20 for cooling the tire T in the tire testing apparatus 10. Yes.

  Here, the test drum 11 is rotatably arranged around a drum shaft (not shown) extending along the horizontal direction, and the tire support 12 is around the support shaft O1 extending along the horizontal direction of the tire T. It is supported rotatably. The drum shaft and the support shaft O1 are located on a common horizontal plane and are parallel to each other. Hereinafter, of the directions along the horizontal plane, the direction orthogonal to the drum axis and the support axis O1 is referred to as the front-rear direction A, the drum axis side along the front-rear direction A is referred to as the front side, and the support axis O1 side is referred to as the rear side. Of the directions along the horizontal plane, a direction parallel to the drum shaft and the support shaft O1 is referred to as a left-right direction B.

As shown in FIG. 2, the centers of the test drum 11 and the load applying means 13 in the left-right direction B are aligned with each other. The test drum 11 and the load applying means 13 are arranged with an interval in the front-rear direction A, the test drum 11 is located on the front side, and the load applying means 13 is located on the rear side.
The tire support 12 protrudes forward from the load applying means 13 and is positioned between the test drum 11 and the load applying means 13. The tire support 12 is supported by the load applying means 13 while being spaced upward from the installation surface on which the load applying means 13 is installed, and is advanced and retracted in the front-rear direction A by the load applying means 13.

  The tire support 12 includes a base portion 12a fixed to the load applying means 13, and an arm portion 12b protruding forward from the base portion 12a. The arm portion 12b is shifted to one side in the left-right direction B with respect to the test drum 11, and a shaft member 12c is projected from the arm portion 12b toward the other side in the left-right direction B. The shaft member 12c is detachably attached to the arm portion 12b, and a tire T is rotatably mounted on the shaft member 12c. The tire T is aligned with the center in the left-right direction B of the test drum 11 in a state where the tire T is mounted on the shaft member 12 c.

  Here, the tire support 12 is supported by the load applying means 13 so as to be able to turn around a turning axis L extending along the front-rear direction A. The turning axis L is orthogonal to the drum axis and the support axis O1 and passes through the center in the left-right direction B of the tire T supported by the tire support 12. The tire test apparatus 10 is provided with a slip angle adjusting mechanism 13 a that adjusts the slip angle of the tire T with respect to the test drum 11 by turning the tire support 12 around the turning axis L. The slip angle adjusting mechanism 13 a is constituted by a cylinder having a piston rod portion extending around the turning axis L, and is disposed on the load applying means 13.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the tire cooler 20 is mounted on the tire support 12 and accommodates the tire T therein, and isolates the tire T from the test drum 11 and the load applying means 13. Housing 21, cool air supply means 22 for supplying cool air into the housing 21, cool air flow means 23 for causing the cool air in the housing 21 to flow, tire rotating means 24 for rotating the tire T within the housing 21, and tire T A temperature measuring means 25 for measuring the temperature of the engine, and a controller (not shown) for controlling the cold air supplying means 22, the cold air flowing means 23 and the tire rotating means 24 based on the temperature data measured by the temperature measuring means 25. Yes.

  The housing 21 has a hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is formed of, for example, wood or a synthetic resin material. An insertion hole (not shown) through which the shaft member 12c is inserted is formed in the housing 21, and a seal member (not shown) is interposed between the insertion hole and the shaft member 12c. The housing 21 and the installation surface are not fixed, and the tire support 12 can be moved by the load applying means 13 with the housing 21 mounted.

  Here, the housing 21 is configured such that a lid portion 21b for closing the main body portion 21a from the front side (test drum side) is detachably fixed to a main body portion 21a fixed to the tire support 12. A partition line 21c that divides the housing 21 into a main body portion 21a and a lid portion 21b is provided over the entire circumference of the housing 21 at a portion positioned in front of the insertion hole in the housing 21. The portion located on the rear side of the dividing line 21c is the main body portion 21a, and the portion located on the front side is the lid portion 21b. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lid portion 21b is detachably fixed to the main body portion 21a by a plurality of snap locks arranged at intervals along the partition line 21c. A front portion of the tire T is located in the lid portion 21b.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cool air supply means 22 supplies cool air into the housing 21 through an opening 26 that opens into the housing 21. The cool air supply means 22 supplies cool air into the housing 21 by introducing liquid nitrogen into the housing 21.
The cold air supply means 22 includes a cylinder 27 that stores liquid nitrogen, an introduction pipe 28 that introduces liquid nitrogen in the cylinder 27 into the housing 21, and a valve 29 that is disposed in the introduction pipe 28. . A proximal end portion of the introduction pipe 28 is connected to the cylinder 27, and a distal end portion of the introduction pipe 28 is the opening portion 26. A pair of introduction pipes 28 are provided, and the opening 26 in one introduction pipe 28 opens downward in a portion located in the upper and front side in the housing 21, and the opening 26 in the other introduction pipe 28 is In the housing 21, an opening is opened upward in a portion located on the lower side and the rear side. The valve 29 is configured by an electromagnetic valve that can be switched between open and closed, and is provided in each of the pair of introduction pipes 28.

  A shielding member 30 that blocks the flow of cool air supplied from the opening 26 into the housing 21 is disposed in the housing 21. The shielding member 30 is disposed between the opening 26 and the tire T. The shielding member 30 is disposed so as to face the opening 26 and is formed in a plate shape.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cool air flow means 23 is constituted by a fan 23 a disposed in the housing 21. A plurality of fans 23 a are provided in the main body 21 a of the housing 21, and generate an air flow toward the inside of the housing 21. In the illustrated example, the fan 23 a generates an air flow in the housing 21 toward the inside in the left-right direction B, and blows the air flow onto the sidewall of the tire T.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tire rotating means 24 rotates the tire T by the driving force of the driving unit 31 disposed outside the housing 21. The tire rotating means 24 includes the driving unit 31 and a transmission mechanism 32 that transmits the driving force of the driving unit 31 to the tire T as a rotating force. The drive unit 31 is shifted to one side in the left-right direction B with respect to the housing 21. The transmission mechanism 32 includes a rod portion 32a extending from the drive portion 31 to the other side in the left-right direction B, and a roller portion 32b provided at the distal end portion of the rod portion 32a.

  The rod portion 32a extends from the drive portion 31 coaxially with the rotation axis O2 extending along the left-right direction B. The rotation axis O2 is equivalent in position in the front-rear direction A to the support axis O1, and the rod portion 32a rotates around the rotation axis O2 by the driving force of the driving unit 31. The rod portion 32 a enters from the outside of the housing 21 through a through hole (not shown) formed in the housing 21, and the distal end portion of the rod portion 32 a is located in the housing 21. A seal member (not shown) is interposed between the rod portion 32a and the through hole.

  The roller portion 32 b is located below the tire T in the housing 21, and the outer peripheral surface of the roller portion 32 b abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the tire T. The roller portion 32b is disposed coaxially with the rotation axis O2, is rotatably supported around the rotation axis O2, and is rotated around the rotation axis O2 by the driving force of the drive unit 31. The roller portion 32b rotates while being in contact with the tire T, thereby rotating the tire T around the support shaft O1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the temperature measuring unit 25 measures temperatures at a plurality of positions of the tire T. The temperature measuring means 25 is composed of a plurality of temperature sensors 25 a attached to the tire T. A plurality of temperature sensors 25 a are attached to the outer surface and the inner surface of the tire T, respectively. The temperature sensor 25a may be attached only to one of the outer surface and the inner surface of the tire T. Further, when the temperature sensor 25 a is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the tire T, the positions in the left-right direction B between the temperature sensor 25 a and the roller portion 32 b of the tire rotating means 24 may be shifted.

  The control unit obtains measurement data from the temperature sensor 25a of the temperature measuring unit 25, and includes the valve 29 of the cold air supplying unit 22, the fan 23a of the cold air flowing unit 23, and the driving unit 31 of the tire rotating unit 24. Control. The control unit is disposed outside the housing 21. In addition, you may electrically connect the temperature sensor 25a and the said control part via the wiring which is not shown in figure by applying what is called a slip ring structure to the said shaft member 12c.

  In the tire testing method using the tire testing apparatus 10, the tire T is pressed against the test drum 11 in a state where the tire T is cooled to a preset temperature, for example, at the time of takeoff or landing of an aircraft in an aircraft tire. Reproduce the state. The aircraft tire is cooled in the sky of, for example, about −50 ° C. during flight of the aircraft, and then, when landing, a load is applied on the ground whose temperature is higher than that of the sky.

  First, a cooling process is performed in which the cool air is supplied into the housing 21 by the cool air supplying means 22 and the tire T is rotated in the housing 21 by the tire rotating means 24 while the cool air flowing means 23 flows the cool air in the housing 21. . At this time, the control unit obtains temperature data at a plurality of positions of the tire T measured by the temperature measuring means 25, and the temperatures at the plurality of positions of the tire T are all in a range of, for example, 0 ° C. or lower to −60 ° C. or higher. When the temperature becomes equal to or lower than a preset temperature, the cool air supply means 22, the cool air flow means 23, and the tire rotation means 24 are stopped.

After the cooling step, at least a part of the housing 21 is removed, and the tire support 12 is pressed against the test drum 11 by moving the tire support 12 toward the test drum 11 by the load applying means 13 so that the load is applied to the tire T. The load application process which provides is implemented. In this step, first, the lid portion 21b of the housing 21 is removed from the main body portion 21a, and the front portion of the tire T is exposed to the outside. Thereafter, in a state where the main body portion 21a of the housing 21 is fixed to the tire support body 12, the tire support body 12 is advanced by the load applying means 13, the front portion of the tire T is pressed against the test drum 11, and the tire T is Give load.
Then, the test is carried out by rotating the test drum 11 while adjusting the load applied to the tire T or adjusting the slip angle.

As described above, according to the tire cooler 20, the tire testing apparatus 10, and the tire testing method according to the present embodiment, the cold air in the housing 21 is caused to flow by the cold air flowing means 23 during the cooling process, thereby The cool air in 21 is agitated and the temperature in the housing 21 is easily equalized. Therefore, in combination with rotating the tire T within the housing 21 by the tire rotating means 24, the tire T can be easily cooled uniformly.
Further, at the time of the load applying step, at least a part of the housing 21 is removed and the tire support 12 is moved toward the test drum 11 by the load applying means 13 so that the tire T is pressed against the test drum 11, and the tire T For example, the temperature of the cooled tire T changes until the tire T is pressed against the test drum 11 as compared with the case where the tire T is cooled at a position away from the tire test apparatus 10. Can be suppressed.
As described above, the tire T can be uniformly cooled easily, and the temperature of the cooled tire T can be prevented from changing until the tire T is pressed against the test drum 11. T can be pressed against the test drum 11 in a state of being accurately cooled to a preset temperature set in advance, and a highly accurate test can be performed.

Further, since the housing 21 separates the tire T from the test drum 11 and the load applying means 13, it is possible to prevent the test drum 11 and the load applying means 13 from being cooled during the cooling process. As a result, the test drum 11 and the load applying means 13 can be operated with high accuracy, and a highly accurate test can be reliably performed.
Further, since the housing 21 accommodates the tire T therein and isolates the tire T from the test drum 11 and the load applying means 13, for example, as the housing, the test drum 11, the tire support 12 and the load applying means. Compared to the case where a configuration that covers the entirety of 13 is employed, the housing 21 can be downsized, and the housing 21 can be easily manufactured at low cost. For example, when the housing 21 is discarded after being used once, it is only necessary to secure the strength of the housing 21 to the extent that it can be used once. Therefore, for example, the housing 21 is inexpensive such as wood or synthetic resin material. It is also possible to easily form it with a material, and the cost of the housing 21 can be further reduced.

Further, since the cool air supply means 22 introduces liquid nitrogen into the housing 21 to supply cool air into the housing 21, it is possible to reliably supply low temperature cool air into the housing 21, so that the tire T It can be cooled in a short time.
Further, since the low-temperature cold air is supplied into the housing 21 in this way, the cold air easily stays downward in the housing 21, so that the cold air in the housing 21 is cooled by the cold air flow means 23 as described above. As a result, the effect that the temperature in the housing 21 is easily made uniform is remarkably achieved, and the tire T can be easily and reliably cooled in a short time. In the tire test method according to this embodiment, a 20-inch aircraft tire of 24 ° C. that was left in a room temperature environment could be cooled to −60 ° C. in about 2 hours.

Further, since the drive unit 31 is disposed outside the housing 21, it is possible to suppress the drive unit 31 from being cooled during the cooling process, and to operate the drive unit 31 with high accuracy. Can be cooled more uniformly.
Further, since the shielding member 30 is disposed in the housing 21, the cold air supplied from the opening 26 into the housing 21 is directly blown onto the tire T, and the tire T is locally cooled. Thus, the tire T can be more easily cooled evenly.
Furthermore, since the lid portion 21b of the housing 21 is detachably fixed to the main body portion 21a, the tire T is applied by the load applying means 13 with the lid portion 21b removed from the main body portion 21a during the load applying step. For example, the work can be simplified as compared with the case where the entire housing 21 is removed from the tire support 12.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the shielding member 30 may not be provided.

In the above-described embodiment, the cool air supply means 22 supplies cool air into the housing 21 by introducing liquid nitrogen into the housing 21, but liquid nitrogen may not be used.
Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the tire rotation means 24 shall rotate the tire T with the drive force of the drive part 31 arrange | positioned outside the housing 21, the drive part may be arrange | positioned in the housing.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the cover part 21b of the housing 21 is removed from the main-body part 21a in the load provision process, and the load is provided to the tire T in the state in which the main-body part 21a of the housing 21 was fixed to the tire support body 12. Although it was intended, it is not limited to this. For example, the entire housing may be removed from the tire support.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the housing 21 is configured such that the lid portion 21b that closes the main body portion 21a from the front side is detachably fixed to the main body portion 21a fixed to the tire support body 12. Not limited to.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the temperature sensor 25a shall be affixed on the tire T, it is not restricted to this, For example, a non-contact temperature sensor may be sufficient.
Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the said control part shall control the cold air supply means 22, the cold air flow means 23, and the tire rotation means 24 based on temperature data, it is not restricted to this. For example, a display unit that displays the temperature data may be provided, and an operator of the tire test apparatus may control the cold air supply unit, the cold air flow unit, and the tire rotation unit based on the display on the display unit.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the said slip angle shall be adjustable, it is not restricted to this, A slip angle may not be adjustable. In addition, the tire camber angle with respect to the test drum may be adjustable, or the driving force and braking force applied to the tire may be adjustable.

  In addition, it is possible to appropriately replace the constituent elements in the embodiment with known constituent elements without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the above-described modified examples may be appropriately combined.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Tire testing apparatus 11 Test drum 12 Tire support 13 Load provision means 20 Tire cooler 21 Housing 21a Main body part 21b Cover part 22 Cold air supply means 23 Cold air flow means 24 Tire rotation means 26 Opening part 30 Shielding member 31 Drive part A Front and rear Direction B Left-right direction T Tire

Claims (7)

A test drum rotatably arranged;
A tire support for rotatably supporting the tire;
In a tire testing apparatus comprising: a load applying unit that applies a load to the tire by pressing the tire against the test drum by moving the tire support toward the test drum, and cooling the tire A tire cooler,
The tire support is mounted on the tire support so that the tire support is movable toward the test drum , and the tire is accommodated therein, and the tire is isolated from the test drum and the load applying means. A housing to
Cold air supply means for supplying cold air into the housing;
Cold air flow means for flowing cold air in the housing;
A tire cooler for rotating the tire in the housing. The tire cooler according to claim 1, wherein
The tire cooler according to claim 1, wherein the cool air supply means supplies cool air into the housing by introducing liquid nitrogen into the housing. The tire cooler according to claim 1 or 2,
The tire cooler, wherein the tire rotating means rotates the tire by a driving force of a driving unit disposed outside the housing. The tire cooler according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The cold air supply means supplies cold air into the housing through an opening that opens into the housing.
A tire cooler characterized in that a shielding member that blocks a flow of cool air supplied into the housing from the opening is disposed in the housing. The tire cooler according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
The tire cooler according to claim 1, wherein the housing is configured such that a lid for closing the main body from the test drum side is detachably fixed to a main body fixed to the tire support. A test drum rotatably arranged;
A tire support for rotatably supporting the tire;
A load applying means for applying a load to the tire by pressing the tire against the test drum by moving the tire support toward the test drum,
A tire test apparatus comprising the tire cooler according to claim 1. A tire test method for testing the tire using the tire test apparatus according to claim 6,
A cooling step of supplying cold air into the housing by the cold air supply means, and rotating the tire in the housing by the tire rotating means while flowing the cold air in the housing by the cold air flow means;
After the cooling step, at least a part of the housing is removed, and the load is applied to the tire by pressing the tire against the test drum by moving the tire support toward the test drum by the load applying means. And a load applying step for applying a tire.

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