JP5894458B2 - Tire printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a tire printing equipment for printing on the side surface of the tire.

  A technique for printing on a side surface of a tire using a print head is known. For example, a method of printing on the tire side surface by arranging a plurality of print heads to face the tire side surface and rotating the tire, or a print head arranged to face the tire side surface A system is known that performs printing on a side surface of a tire by rotating the tire in the circumferential direction around the center axis of the tire as a rotation center.

JP 2010-125440 A JP 2006-111242 A

  As described above, when printing on the side surface by rotating the tire, if the rotation center of the tire that rotates relative to the print head as the printing means does not coincide with the rotation center of the rotation mechanism that rotates the tire, Since printing on the side surface is eccentric with respect to the rotation center of the tire and is not preferable as a product in appearance, it is treated as a printing failure as a result. In order to prevent such poor printing, the tire inner diameter portion is sealed with a pair of rims so that the tire rotation center coincides with the rotation center of the rotation mechanism, and an internal pressure is applied to the inside of the tire. Printing on the surface prevents printing eccentricity.

  However, when an internal pressure is applied to the tire, it takes time to enter and exhaust air into the tire, which hinders productivity improvement in the printing process. In addition, in order to apply air into the tire, an apparatus configuration other than a mechanism for rotating the tire is required, leading to an increase in equipment cost.

Therefore, in the present invention, without applying an internal pressure to the tire, the tire is rotated so that the rotation center of the tire rotation mechanism and the tire rotation center according to tire printing coincide with each other, and printing is performed on the side surface of the tire. to provide a tire printing equipment that does not eccentric.

As a configuration of the tire printing apparatus for solving the above-described problem, the printing unit is opposed to the upper side surface of the tire placed sideways, and the printing unit and the side surface are relatively aligned along the tire circumferential direction. A tire printing apparatus that prints a side surface of a tire by moving to a position in contact with an inner circumferential surface of a bead portion of the tire, and includes a roller that rotates along the tire circumferential direction, and the same circle in a horizontal plane A plurality of support means arranged at equal intervals on the circumference and supporting the inner peripheral surface side of the upper bead portion of the tire with the roller, and the plurality of support means are moved up and down along the axis of the tire center and a lifting means, each roller of said plurality of support means in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the bead portion of the upper tire and rises and while supporting the tire, which is supported by the plurality of support means ~ side By printing on the side surface of the tire by said printing means against the upper side surface of the tire, equal intervals along the inner peripheral surface side of the upper bead portion of the tire placed sideways in the circumferential direction Therefore, the center of the circle formed by the plurality of support means can coincide with the center of the tire. Further, by lifting the tire supported by the plurality of support means by the lifting means, the weight of the tire acts on the bead portion supported by the plurality of support means, so that the circumferential direction and the radial direction are applied to the side surface of the tire. An even tension is generated on the tire side surface, and a difference in height in the circumferential direction on the side surface of the tire can be eliminated. Therefore, when performing printing to face the upper side surface of the tire to the printing means, that Do enables accurate printing because the gap between the printing means and the side surfaces in the circumferential direction of the tire is constant . In addition, the support means includes a roller that rotates along the tire circumferential direction at a position that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the bead portion of the tire, so that the tire is supported with respect to the support means while the support means supports the tire. Since it can be rotated relatively, accurate printing without distortion on the side surface of the tire becomes possible.
Further, as another configuration of the tire printing apparatus for solving the above-described problem, the tire printing apparatus includes a rotating unit that rotates a plurality of supporting units , and the rotating unit is provided on a bead portion supported by the plurality of supporting units. the includes a holding member sandwiching the bead portion from the opposite side to the supporting means, by rotating the tire while holding the bead portion in the holding member and said support means, to support the tire by a plurality of support means Since the tire can be rotated in a state in which the tire has been turned on, accurate printing without distortion can be performed on the side surface of the tire. In particular, when the support means includes a roller that rotates along the tire circumferential direction at a position that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the bead portion of the tire, the bead portion of the tire is formed by the roller and the sandwiching body. By sandwiching and rotating the sandwiching body, the tire rotates together with the sandwiching body while rotating the roller. Therefore, accurate printing without distortion on the side surface is possible while smoothly rotating the tire .

It is a schematic block diagram of a tire printing apparatus. It is a block diagram of a tire support rotation means. It is sectional drawing which shows the attachment structure of a moving ring body. It is the elements on larger scale which show the connection of a link mechanism. It is a top view of a tire support rotation means. It is an operation | movement figure which shows the setting of a tire position. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the other form of a tire printing apparatus (embodiment 2). It is a top view of a support means (embodiment 2). It is an operation | movement figure which shows the setting of a tire position (embodiment 2).

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included in the invention. It is not necessarily essential to the solution, but includes a configuration that is selectively adopted.

Embodiment 1
Hereinafter, a configuration as an example of the tire printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
The tire printing apparatus 1 includes a printing unit 2 that prints on the side surface 10 a of the tire 10, and a tire position setting unit 3 that positions and sets the tire 10 to be printed with respect to the printing unit 2.

  The printing target tire 10 is conveyed by the conveying unit 5 to a printing position where the printing unit 2 and the tire position setting unit 3 are arranged. The conveying means 5 is, for example, a pair of roller conveyors that are divided into two at a predetermined distance from side to side in the conveying direction, and is placed horizontally so that the tire 10 is spanned between the pair of roller conveyors. The tire 10 is transported. Further, the conveying means 5 includes a guide mechanism (not shown) for guiding the center A of the tire 10 so as to coincide with the center B in the width direction between the pair of roller conveyors, and between the center A of the tire 10 and the pair of roller conveyors. The tire 10 is conveyed to a printing position in a state where the width direction center B is matched.

The printing unit 2 is a printing device that performs printing on the tire 10, and includes a print head 21 that ejects ink and the like to the side surface 10 a of the tire 10, and a print head that moves the print head 21 relative to a print target. A moving mechanism.
The print head moving mechanism includes a height direction moving mechanism 23 that adjusts the position of the print head 21 relative to the side surface 10 a of the tire 10, and a radial direction moving mechanism 24 that moves the print head 21 in the radial direction of the tire 10. The

  The height direction moving mechanism 23 is attached to the upper end side of the support column 25 erected from the floor surface so as to extend above the side surface 10 a on the upper side of the conveyed tire 10 at the printing position of the conveying means 5. . The height direction moving mechanism 23 is, for example, a linear guide composed of a rail 23A and a slider 23B. The rail 23A is attached to the column 25 with the vertical direction facing the upper end side of the column 25. The slider 23B is moved along the extending direction of the rail 23A by driving.

  Similar to the height direction moving mechanism 23, the radial direction moving mechanism 24 is applied with a linear guide including a rail 24A and a slider 24B that moves on the rail 24A. The radial direction moving mechanism 24 is arranged so that one end of the rail 24A is fixed to the slider 23B of the height direction moving mechanism 23 and the other end extends horizontally toward the axis of the center A of the conveyed tire 10. The

  The print head 21 is attached to the lower end of an extension member 26 that extends in the vertical direction from the slider 24 </ b> B of the radial movement mechanism 24. The print head 21 is, for example, an inkjet head, and performs printing by ejecting ink such as cyan, magenta, yellow, white, and black from nozzles.

  The print head 21 includes a nozzle surface 21a in which nozzles for ejecting ink supplied from an ink supply mechanism (not shown) are arranged. The print head 21 communicates with the nozzles by expanding and contracting, for example, a piezoelectric element disposed inside the print head 21. The ink volume is changed and the ink is ejected from the nozzle openings. Immediately after the print head 21, an ink drying means (not shown) attached to the side surface 10a to be printed is provided. The ink drying means is, for example, an ultraviolet irradiation lamp (hereinafter referred to as a UV lamp). The term “immediately after the print head 21” means the movement source side in the direction of printing by the print head 21.

  The tire position setting means 3 is disposed between the roller conveyors at the printing position, which is the conveyance stop position of the conveyed tire 10. The tire position setting unit 3 includes a plurality of support units 30 that support the tire 10, a radial direction moving unit that moves the plurality of support units 30 in the tire radial direction, and a rotation unit that rotates the plurality of support units 30. The tire support rotation means 32 is provided.

  The lifting / lowering means 31 is constituted by, for example, a hydraulic jack mechanism, and is provided on the floor of the factory so that the axis on which the jack expands and contracts is in the vertical direction. The tire support rotation means 32 is attached to the upper end of the elevating means 31, and the radial movement means and the rotation means are integrally configured in a cylindrical case 35.

  Hereinafter, the radial direction moving means and the rotating means will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the case 35 includes an expansion / contraction motor 36 serving as a drive source for expanding / contracting the plurality of support means 30 and a rotation motor 37 serving as a drive source for rotating the plurality of support means 30. It is accommodated and fixed inside the case 35 by fixing means (not shown). The expansion / contraction motor 36 and the rotation motor 37 are rotationally driven based on a signal output from the control means 100 described later.

  The expansion / contraction motor 36 moves the output shaft 36A vertically upward so that the output shaft 36A that outputs the rotational force coincides with the width direction center B of the conveying means 5, that is, the center A of the tire 10 conveyed by the conveying means 5. It is fixed in the case 35 toward. A clutch 48 that transmits or cuts off the rotational driving force by the expansion / contraction motor 36 is attached to the tip of the output shaft. The clutch 48 employs, for example, an electromagnetic clutch, and connection / disconnection is controlled based on a signal output from the control means 100 described later.

  The case 35 includes a hollow cylindrical shaft 38 that penetrates the upper wall 35A inward and outward in the vertical direction. The cylindrical shaft 38 is rotatably supported by a bearing 39 fixed to the upper wall 35 </ b> A, and is attached to the case 35 so that the axis coincides with the axis of the output shaft 36 </ b> A of the expansion / contraction motor 36. The lower end of the cylindrical shaft 38 extends to a height that overlaps with the output shaft 37A of the rotary motor 37 fixed inside the case 35, and the upper end of the cylindrical shaft 38 extends upward by a predetermined length outside the case 35.

  A gear 41 that meshes with the gear 40 attached to the output shaft 37 </ b> A of the rotary motor 37 is attached to the outer peripheral surface 38 a at the lower end of the cylindrical shaft 38. Accordingly, when the rotary motor 37 is driven to rotate, the rotational driving force is transmitted to the cylindrical shaft 38 via the gear 40 and the gear 41 to rotate the cylindrical shaft 38.

  That is, the gear 40 and the gear 41 constitute a power transmission mechanism that transmits the rotational driving force of the rotary motor 37 to the cylindrical shaft 38. The power transmission mechanism is not limited to the gear transmission mechanism such as the gears 40 and 41, but may be configured to transmit the rotational driving force of the rotary motor 37 to the cylindrical shaft 38 by belt driving, chain driving, or the like. good.

  A ball screw mechanism 43 is accommodated in the hollow space surrounded by the inner peripheral surface 38 b of the cylindrical shaft 38. The ball screw mechanism 43 is rotatably supported by a pair of bearings 44 and 44 fitted to the upper end and the lower end of the inner peripheral surface 38b of the cylindrical shaft 38. That is, the ball screw 45 is supported rotatably relative to the cylindrical shaft 38 by fitting and supporting the shaft portions 45A and 45B formed on the upper end side and the lower end side with the bearings 44 and 44. The In this state, the rotation center axis of the ball screw 45 is coaxial with the axis C of the cylindrical shaft 38. The ball screw 45 is accommodated in the cylindrical shaft 38 in a state where a cylindrical ball nut 46 is screwed into the screw portion 45a.

  A shaft portion 45B on the lower side of the ball screw 45 extends further downward than the bearing 44 and is connected to the expansion / contraction motor 36 via a clutch 48 so as to be coaxial with the output shaft 36A of the expansion / contraction motor 36 fixed to the case 35. Connected.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the ball nut 46 includes a pair of screw holes 49 extending in the radial direction of the ball nut 46, and the screw holes 49 are formed so as to face each other. Is done.
The screw hole 49 is for fixing a moving ring 52 to be described later for moving the support means 30 in the radial direction to the ball screw 45.

  The cylindrical shaft 38 has a pair of elongated holes 50 extending along the axis C of the cylindrical shaft 38 at positions corresponding to the screw holes 49 of the ball nut 46 and penetrating in the thickness direction of the cylindrical shaft 38. Is provided. The long hole 50 extends from a position where the cylindrical shaft 38 protrudes from the case 35 within a range where the upper bearing 44 is fitted, and a bolt 55 for fixing the ball nut 46 and the moving ring body 52 can pass therethrough. Formed in width.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 4A, and 4C, the upper end of the outer peripheral surface 38a of the cylindrical shaft 38 becomes a fulcrum of a link mechanism for moving the plurality of support means 30 in and out of the tire radial direction. A fixed ring 51 and a moving ring 52 that is fixed to the ball nut 46 on the outer peripheral surface 38a of the cylindrical shaft 38 and moves along the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface 38a of the cylindrical shaft 38 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4A, the fixed ring body 51 is a circular ring body having an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the cylindrical shaft 38, and is fixed to the upper end of the outer peripheral surface 38 a of the cylindrical shaft 38. The As shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral surface 51 a of the stationary ring body 51 includes a plurality of protruding pieces 53 that protrude radially at equal positions along the circumferential direction. Each protrusion 53 includes a hole 53 </ b> H penetrating in the thickness direction of the protrusion 53.

  The moving ring body 52 is an annular body having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical shaft 38, and as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), a long hole 50 formed in the cylindrical shaft 38, A pair of holes 56, 56 penetrating inward and outward are provided at positions corresponding to 50. Therefore, the moving ring body 52 is fixed to the ball nut 46 by passing the bolt 55 through the hole 56 and the long hole 50 and screwing the tip into the screw hole 49.

  On the outer peripheral surface 52a of the moving ring body 52, as shown in FIG. 4C, projecting pieces projecting radially corresponding to the projecting pieces 53 of the stationary ring body 51 in a state of being fixed to the ball nut 46. 54. Each protrusion 54 includes a hole 54 </ b> H penetrating in the thickness direction of the protrusion 54. In addition, the hole 53H of the protrusion 53 of the fixed ring 51 and the hole 54H of the protrusion 54 of the moving ring 52 have the same diameter, for example.

  Arms 58 </ b> A and 58 </ b> B constituting a link mechanism for moving the support means 30 in and out of the tire 10 in the radial direction are formed in the hole 53 </ b> H of the protruding piece 53 of the fixed ring body 51 and the hole 54 </ b> H of the protruding piece 54 of the moving ring body 52. Are attached respectively. In this embodiment, the arms 58A and 58B are described as having the same configuration.

  Each of the arms 58A and 58B has holes 58H at both ends. The hole 58H has the same diameter as the hole 53H and the hole 54H. The arm 58A is rotatably attached to the projecting piece 53 by inserting the shaft 60 with the hole 58H at one end corresponding to the hole 53H of the projecting piece 53. Specifically, the arm 58 </ b> A is attached to the right side toward the protruding piece 53 of the stationary ring body 51 fixed to the cylindrical shaft 38.

The arm 58B is rotatably attached to the projecting piece 53 by inserting the shaft 60 with the hole 58H at one end corresponding to the hole 54H of the projecting piece 54. Specifically, the arm 58 </ b> B is attached to the left side toward the protruding piece 54 of the moving ring body 52 fixed to the ball nut 46.
The shaft 60 is a fixing tool such as a bolt, and the members to be connected are pin-coupled.

  The ends that are not connected to either the arm 58A or the arm 58B are overlapped with each other so that the hole 58H of the arm 58A and the hole 58H of the arm 58B are aligned with each other, thereby inserting the shaft 61. One link mechanism is formed that can rotate with each other. Note that the shaft 61 is a fixing tool such as a bolt, and pin-couples between members to be connected. Further, the configuration of the link mechanism is not limited to the link mechanism including a pair of arms 58A and 58B, and the link mechanism including a plurality of arms, the cam link mechanism, and the like can move the support means 30 in and out of the tire radial direction. It may be changed as appropriate.

  The support means 30 is attached to the connecting portion 59 that connects the arm 58A and the arm 58B. The support means 30 includes an attachment portion 30 </ b> A attached to the connecting portion 59 and a support portion 30 </ b> B that contacts the tire 10.

  The attachment portion 30A has a thickness substantially equal to that of the projecting pieces 53 and 54 and includes a hole 30H penetrating in the thickness direction. The hole 30H has the same diameter as the hole 58H of the arms 58A and 58B. The support means 30 is attached to the connecting portion 59 by passing the shaft 61 through the hole 58H, the hole 30H, and the hole 58H while sandwiching the attachment portion 30A between the arm 58A and the arm 58B. The support portion 30 </ b> B is integrated with the attachment portion 30 </ b> A, and includes a support surface 30 a that supports the inner peripheral surface of the bead portion on the upper side of the tire 10. The support surface 30a is fixed so that when the support means 30 is attached to the connecting portion 59, the support surface 30a faces upward and is positioned radially outward from the link mechanism. Here, the inner peripheral surface of the upper bead portion is a range in which the bead wires in the tire radial direction are arranged from the edge of the tire inner diameter on the inner peripheral surface side of the tire.

  The support surface 30a is formed in a shape that conforms to the shape of the inner peripheral surface of the bead portion when it contacts the inner peripheral surface of the upper bead portion. Specifically, the tire 10 is formed in a shape including one virtual conical curved surface obtained by cutting out a part of the inner peripheral surface of the bead portion corresponding to the position where the plurality of support surfaces 30a contact with each other along the circumferential direction. The The support portion 30B is attached to the connecting portion 59 by a mechanism not shown so as to maintain the horizontal state of the support surface 30a regardless of the bending operation of the link mechanism.

  Further, the support surface 30a includes a load sensor (not shown), for example, and detects whether the tire 10 is in contact with the support surface 30a by detecting a load related to the support surface 30a, or whether the tire 10 is separated from the support surface 30a. It is detected whether the tire 10 is evenly supported by the respective support surfaces 30a. The detected load value is output to the control means 100.

  Therefore, according to the above configuration, the ball screw 45 is rotationally driven by the expansion / contraction motor 36 so that the moving ring 52 fixed to the ball screw 45 is close to the fixed ring 51, so that the moving ring 52 is attached to the moving ring 52. The arm 58B pushes up the arm 58A attached to the stationary ring body 51 and moves the connecting portion 59 of the arms 58A and 58B outward in the tire radial direction, so that a plurality of support means 30 as shown in FIG. The diameter of the arranged virtual circle C is increased.

  Further, the ball screw 45 is rotationally driven by the expansion / contraction motor 36 so that the moving ring 52 fixed to the ball screw 45 is separated from the fixed ring 51, whereby the arm 58B attached to the moving ring 52 is fixed to the fixed ring. By pulling down the arm 58A attached to the body 51 and moving the connecting portion 59 of the arms 58A and 58B inward in the tire radial direction, a virtual circle formed by a plurality of support means 30 as shown in FIG. The diameter is reduced.

  When the plurality of support means 30 are expanded / contracted, the clutch 48 is turned on and the expansion / contraction motor 36 and the ball screw 45 are connected, and when the plurality of support means 30 is rotated, the clutch 48 is rotated. Keep off.

  That is, when the rotary motor 37 is driven to rotate while the clutch 48 is kept on, the cylindrical shaft 38 is rotated by the rotational drive of the rotary motor 37, and the fixed ring 51 fixed to the cylindrical shaft 38 is rotated together with the cylindrical shaft 38. . Since the fixed ring body 51 and the moving ring body 52 are connected via a link mechanism, the moving ring body 52 also rotates together with the fixed ring body 51. Furthermore, since the moving ring body 52 is also fixed to the ball nut 46, the rotational driving force of the rotary motor 37 is transmitted to the ball nut 46. In this case, since the clutch 48 is on, when the load on the expansion / contraction motor 36 is larger than the force with which the ball nut 46 is screwed onto the ball screw 45, the ball nut 46 rotates around the ball screw 45 in a stationary state. As a result, the distance of the moving ring 52 to the fixed ring 51 changes, and the link mechanism is operated to move the support means 30 in the radial direction. In order to prevent this, the tire 10 can be rotated together with the support means 30 without being affected by the expansion / contraction motor 36 by turning off the clutch 48.

  Therefore, as described above, in the present embodiment, the radial direction moving means is constituted by the ball screw mechanism constituted by the fixed ring body 51, the ball screw 45 and the ball nut 46, the moving ring body 52, and the arms 58A and 58B. The link mechanism and the expansion / contraction motor 36 that rotates the ball screw 45 are configured. The rotating means includes a cylindrical shaft 38 provided with the radial direction moving means, and a rotary motor 37 that rotates the cylindrical shaft 38.

  The control unit 100 is a so-called computer and includes a CPU as a calculation unit, a ROM and a RAM as storage units, and an input / output interface as a communication unit. The storage unit controls operations related to tire printing. A control program is stored, and by executing the control program, signals are output to the lifting / lowering means 31, the radial movement means, the rotation means, and the printing means 2 in the tire position setting means 3 to the side surface 10 a of the tire 10. The printing operation is performed. Further, the storage means stores the tire inner diameter and the tire thickness according to the tire size input from the input means (not shown), and adjusts the movement position of the support means 30 with respect to the tire 10.

  The control means 100 functions as a tire position control means 101 for controlling the tire position setting means 3 based on the program and a print control means 102 for controlling the printing means 2 for printing on the tire side surface.

Hereinafter, a method for setting the position of the tire 10 until the start of tire printing will be described.
When the tire position control means 101 detects that the tire 10 has been conveyed to the printing position from a sensor (not shown) provided in the conveyance means 5, for example, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the elevating means 31 to output the signal shown in FIG. As shown in (b), the tire support rotation means 32 having the support means 30 is raised to a predetermined height. The signal output to the lifting / lowering means 31 reads the barcode attached to the side surface 10a of the tire 10 by a barcode reader (not shown) provided above the conveying means 5 when the conveying means 5 conveys the tire 10. Based on the read information, the tire position control means 101 reads the tire dimensions from the storage means, thereby raising the support means 30 included in the tire support rotation means 32 to a set height.

  When the elevating / lowering means 31 raises the tire supporting / rotating means 32 to a predetermined position, the plurality of supporting means 30 are positioned in the inner diameter space of the tire 10 as shown in FIG. Next, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the expansion / contraction motor 36 with the clutch 48 kept on, and rotates the ball screw 45 to move with the ball nut 46 as shown in FIG. By moving the ring body 52 toward the stationary ring body 51, the plurality of support means 30 are moved outward in the tire radial direction to a size capable of supporting the inner peripheral surface of the bead portion on the upper side of the tire 10.

  Next, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the elevating means 31 to raise the tire support rotating means 32 as shown in FIG. 6 (d), so that the support surface 30a of the support means 30 moves upward. As shown in FIG. 6E, the upper side surface 10a is raised to a position facing each other with a predetermined distance from the print head 21, as shown in FIG. 6 (e). In this state, the lower side surface 10 a of the tire 10 is separated from the transport unit 5 and the entire tire 10 is supported by a plurality of support units 30.

  Next, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the clutch 48 to disconnect the connection between the ball screw 45 and the expansion / contraction motor 36, and further outputs a signal to the rotation motor 37 to output the tire together with the plurality of support means 30. 10 is rotated a predetermined number of times, and a centering operation is performed so that the tires 10 supported by the support surfaces 30a of the plurality of support means 30 are evenly supported. This operation is for making the center A of the tire 10 coincide with the center of the cylindrical shaft 38.

  Next, the tire position control unit 101 outputs a print start signal to the print control unit 102 and also outputs a signal to the rotation motor 37 to rotate the tire 10 at a predetermined rotation speed. Then, the printing control unit 102 controls the printing head moving mechanism of the printing unit 2 to discharge ink from the printing head 21 to execute printing on the upper side surface 10 a of the tire 10.

  Next, when the printing operation on the upper side surface 10a by the printing unit 2 is completed, the printing control unit 102 outputs a signal to the tire position control unit 101 to notify the end of printing on one side surface 10a. . The tire position control means 101 that has received the notification of the end of printing outputs a signal to the rotary motor 37 to stop the rotation of the tire 10. When the rotation of the tire 10 is stopped, the tire position control unit 101 outputs a signal to the elevating unit 31 and lowers the tire 10 until it is placed on the conveying unit 5. Specifically, when the tire 10 is lowered and the lower side surface 10 a comes into contact with the conveying means 5 as the tire 10 is lowered by the lifting means 31, the load provided on the support surface 30 a of the support means 30. The load change detected by the sensor is output to the tire position control means 101, and the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the lifting / lowering means 31 after a predetermined time after detecting the load change to lower the support means 30. Stop.

  Next, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the clutch 48, connects the ball screw 45 and the expansion / contraction motor 36, then outputs a signal to the expansion / contraction motor 36 and rotates the ball screw 45, thereby supporting a plurality of supports. The diameter of the virtual circle C formed by the means 30 is reduced so as to be smaller than the tire inner diameter. When the diameter reduction movement of the support means 30 is completed, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the elevating means 31 so that the upper end of the tire support rotation means 32 is positioned below the conveyance surface of the conveyance means 5. Lower.

  When printing of one side surface 10a of the tire 10 is completed, the operator switches the top and bottom of the side surface 10a of the tire 10 and presses a button (not shown) connected to the control means 100 to perform the above operation. Is repeated. Then, the tire 10 on which both side surfaces 10a have been printed is transported to the subsequent process by the transport means 5 (not shown).

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the upper bead portion of the tire 10 placed sideways is supported by the plurality of support means 30 that are evenly arranged along the tire circumferential direction from the inner circumferential surface side. Thus, the side surface 10a of the tire 10 can be supported in a uniform state in the circumferential direction without applying an internal pressure in the tire 10. Therefore, since the rotation center axis of the apparatus for rotating the tire 10 and the center A of the tire 10 can be matched, the side surface 10a of the tire 10 can be rotated without being decentered with respect to the print head 21. .

  For example, when the lower bead portion of the tire 10 is supported from the tire surface side by the plurality of support means 30 and the upper side surface 10 a is opposed to the print head 21 of the printing means 2, the internal pressure in the tire 10 is increased. Since the tire 10 in the lateral state not applied has a three-dimensional undulation state in the circumferential direction and the radial direction on the side surface 10a, the distance to the print head 21 changes for each position in the circumferential direction. It becomes impossible to execute printing with high accuracy.

  Therefore, by supporting and lifting the upper bead portion of the tire 10 in the horizontally placed state as in the present invention from the inner peripheral surface side, the upper weight of the tire 10 is loaded on the upper bead portion. A uniform tension acts on the side surface 10a in the tire circumferential direction and the radial direction, and the height of the side surface 10a along the circumferential direction becomes uniform. Accordingly, the distance between the print head 21 and the side surface 10a during printing in the circumferential direction can be kept constant, and high-quality printing can be performed. In addition, since it is not necessary to apply an internal pressure into the tire 10 as in the prior art, it is possible to shorten the time from the end of printing on one side surface 10a to the transition to printing on the other side surface 10a. Thus, productivity in tire printing can be improved.

  Further, since the plurality of support means 30 support the inner peripheral surface on the upper side of the tire 10 from the inner diameter side of the tire 10, the tire surface of the upper side surface 10a has nothing to prevent printing. Thus, it is possible to print up to the position of the bead portion on the front side of the sheet, and the printing range on the side surface 10 can be expanded.

Embodiment 2
In the first embodiment, the plurality of support means 30 for supporting the tire 10 are provided uniformly along the circumferential direction, and the plurality of support means 30 are provided from the tire inner diameter side to the inner peripheral surface side of the upper bead portion of the tire 10. In the supported state, the plurality of support means 30 are raised together with the tire 10 so as to be separated from the nozzle surface 21a of the print head 21 by a predetermined distance, and the tire 10 is rotated together with the plurality of support means 30 to perform printing. However, in the second embodiment, the bead portion of the upper side surface 10a of the tire 10 is sandwiched between the inner peripheral surface side and the outer peripheral surface side, and the member that contacts the bead portion is rotated from the outer peripheral surface side to rotate the tire 10 It differs from the first embodiment in that it is rotated.

Hereinafter, the structure of the tire support rotation means 32 of Embodiment 2 is demonstrated. The place where the tire position setting means 3 is provided and the lifting / lowering means 31 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.
The tire support rotation means 32 of the second embodiment includes a disc body 71 fixed to the upper surface of the elevating means 31, a plurality of linear motion mechanisms 72 disposed on the plate surface of the disc body 71, and a linear motion mechanism. 72, and a rim body 74 that sandwiches the bead portion of the tire 10 supported by the plurality of support arms 73 with the plurality of support arms 73.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the disk body 71 is a flat disk having a size that can be disposed between a pair of roller conveyors, for example, and coincides with the center B in the width direction between the center of the disk and the roller conveyor. It attaches to the upper end of the raising / lowering means 31. The linear motion mechanisms 72 are arranged concentrically on the plate surface 71a on the upper surface side of the disc body 71 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The linear motion mechanism 72 is, for example, a so-called linear guide having a rail 72A, a slider 72B, and a drive mechanism for driving the slider 72B.

  The rail 72A is attached such that the extending direction on the plate surface 71a coincides with a straight line extending radially from the center of the plate surface 71a. In the present embodiment, the description will be made assuming that the rails 72 </ b> A are equally arranged every 120 ° in the circumferential direction. Note that the quantity of the linear motion mechanism 72 is not limited to the above quantity and may be set as appropriate.

  The rail 72A incorporates a ball screw mechanism (not shown) that is a driving mechanism of the slider 72B, and the ball screw is disposed along the extending direction of the rail 72A. A motor is attached to one end of the ball screw. This motor is driven to rotate based on a signal output from the control means 100, whereby the slider 72B fixed to the ball nut moves on the rail 72A. The motor is driven to rotate synchronously based on a signal output from the tire position control means 101, and moves each slider 72B concentrically.

  The support arm 73 is a rod that extends linearly, and includes a roller 75 that abuts against the inner peripheral surface of the tire 10 at one end. One end of the support arm 73 is fixed to the slider 72B, and the other end is extended upward so that the extending direction is the vertical direction. A shaft 76 extending in the horizontal direction is provided at the upper end of the support arm 73, and this shaft 76 rotatably supports a roller 75 that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the tire 10.

  The shaft 76 extends horizontally from the support arm 73 so as to extend in the radial direction of the plate surface 71a in a state where the support arm 73 is attached to the slider 72B, and when the roller 75 is attached to the shaft 76, the roller 76 A part of the outer peripheral surface of 75 is provided so as to be exposed above the upper end of the support arm 73.

  The rim body 74 is attached to a horizontal frame 80 </ b> A extending from the upper end of a frame 80 erected on the side of the conveying means 5 so as to cross the conveying means 5. The horizontal frame 80 </ b> A includes a rotating unit that rotates the tire 10. The rotating means includes, for example, a motor 81 and a rim body 74 attached to the motor 81.

  In the horizontal frame 80A, the motor 81 is attached to the horizontal frame 80A by fixing means (not shown) with the output shaft 81A facing downward so that the axis of the output shaft 81A and the center of the plate surface 71a are concentric. The rim body 74 has a truncated cone shape in which the diameter of the outer peripheral surface 74a is concentrically formed to be gradually smaller, and the conical axis of the rim body 74 and the output shaft 81A of the motor 81 are coaxial. As described above, the small-diameter surface is attached downward. The rotation of the motor 81 is controlled based on a signal output from the tire setting control means.

  The rim body 74 is disposed at a position where the bead portion is sandwiched between the outer peripheral surface 74a of the rim body 74 and the plurality of support arms 73 when the tire 10 supported by the support arm 73 is lifted by the lifting means 31. The This position is a height at which printing by the print head 21 is started with respect to the side surface 10 a of the tire 10.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, a plurality of linear guides provided radially on the plate surface 71a of the disc body 71 constitute a radial movement means, and the motor 81 and the rim body 74 attached to the horizontal frame 80A The rotating means is constituted by The plurality of support arms 73 and the rim body 74 constitute support means.

Hereinafter, the setting operation of the tire position until the tire printing of the tire printing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment will be described.
For example, when a signal indicating that the tire 10 is conveyed to the printing position is input from a sensor provided in the conveying unit 5, the tire position control unit 101 outputs a signal to the elevating unit 31, and FIG. As shown to (b), the several support arm 73 is raised to predetermined height with the disc body 71 of the tire support rotation means 32. FIG.

  Next, when the lifting / lowering means 31 raises the plurality of support arms 73 to a predetermined position, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the motor of the linear guide, and as shown in FIG. The support arm 73 is moved to a size corresponding to the diameter of the upper bead portion of the tire 10 to be printed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the diameter of the virtual circle C formed by the rollers 75 of the plurality of support arms 73 is moved to a size that can contact the inner peripheral surface of the upper bead portion.

Next, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the elevating means 31, and as shown in FIG. 9 (d), a plurality of support arms 73 up to a position where the rim body 74 fits into the bead portion on the upper side of the tire 10. At the same time, the tire 10 is raised, and the upper bead portion is sandwiched between the rim body 74 and the plurality of support arms 73.
Next, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the rotary motor 81 to rotate the rim body 74 as shown in FIG. As the rim body 74 rotates, the tire 10 rolls on the roller 75 while rotating the rollers 75 of the plurality of support arms 73.

  Next, the tire position control means 101 outputs a print start signal to the print control means 102 and also outputs a signal to the rotation motor 81 to cause the ink from the print head 21 to rotate while rotating the tire 10 at a predetermined rotation speed. Is discharged, and printing of the upper side surface 10a of the tire 10 is executed.

  Next, when the printing operation on the one side surface by the printing unit 2 is completed, the printing control unit 102 outputs a signal to the tire position control unit 101. The tire position control means 101 to which the print end signal is input from the print control means 102 outputs a signal to the rotation motor 81 to stop the rotation of the tire 10. When the rotation of the tire 10 stops, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the elevating means 31 and supports a plurality of supports together with the disk body 71 until the lower side surface 10a of the tire 10 abuts on the conveying means 5. The arm 73 is lowered. When the lower side surface 10 a of the tire 10 comes into contact with the conveying means 5 and the support means 30 is further lowered, the roller 75 is separated from the tire 10.

  Next, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the motor, and moves the diameter of the plurality of support arms 73 arranged concentrically so as to be smaller than the inner diameter of the tire 10. When the diameter reduction movement of the support means is completed, the tire position control means 101 outputs a signal to the elevating means 31 and lowers the upper end of the support arm 73 so that it is below the conveyance surface of the conveyance means 5.

  When the printing of one side surface 10a of the tire 10 is completed, the operator switches the top and bottom of the side surface 10a of the tire 10, and the above operation is repeated by pressing the back side start button of the control means. Done. And the tire 10 in which printing on both the side surfaces 10a is completed is conveyed to a post-process by the conveyance means outside a figure.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. Various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the plurality of support means 30 is lifted upward from the lower side of the tire 10 by the lifting means 31 and the bead portion on the upper side of the tire 10 is lifted. The upper bead portion may be lifted by lowering the upper bead.
Alternatively, printing may be performed by moving the print head 21 of the printing unit 2 in the tire circumferential direction while the bead portion on the upper side of the tire is lifted.

1 tire printing device, 2 printing means, 3 tire position setting means, 5 conveying means,
10 tire, 10a side surface, 21 print head, 21a nozzle surface,
30 support means, 32 tire support rotation means,
36 expansion / contraction motor, 37 rotation motor, 38 cylindrical shaft,
45 ball screw, 46 ball nut, 51 fixed ring, 52 moving ring,
58A; 58B arm,
100 control means, 101 tire position control means, 102 print control means.

Claims (2)

A tire printing apparatus that prints a side surface of a tire by causing a printing unit to face an upper side surface of a tire placed sideways and relatively moving the printing unit and the side surface along the tire circumferential direction. Because
Provided with a roller which rotates along the tire circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface and the contact position of the bead portion of the tire are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference in a horizontal plane, and the upper side of the tire A plurality of support means for supporting the inner peripheral surface side of the bead portion by the roller ;
Elevating means for elevating and lowering the plurality of supporting means along the axis of the tire center,
Each roller of the plurality of support means is in contact with the inner peripheral surface side of the bead portion on the upper side of the tire and is lifted to support the tire, and the upper side of the tire on the side supported by the plurality of support means A tire printing apparatus for printing on a side surface of a tire by the printing unit with respect to the side surface. The tire printing apparatus includes a rotating unit that rotates the plurality of supporting units,
The rotating means includes a sandwiching body that sandwiches the bead portion from a side opposite to the support means on a bead portion supported by the plurality of support means, and the bead portion is sandwiched between the sandwiching body and the support means. The tire printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tire is rotated by a wheel .

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