JP7255933B1 - Container ring for tire vulcanization mold and tire vulcanization mold having the container ring - Google Patents

Abstract

A container ring capable of efficiently heating a mold while minimizing the height of an annular steam flow path and a vulcanization mold equipped with the container ring are provided. SOLUTION: In a tire vulcanization mold, an annular container ring 30 for constraining a plurality of sectors annularly arranged around a central axis from the outside of the plurality of sectors is provided inside with the central axis as the center. An annular main heating medium guide path 46 that is continuous in the circumferential direction, and a plurality of sub heating medium guide paths 84 and 86 that are spaced apart in the circumferential direction and extend upward from the main heating medium guide path 46 . formed. [Selection drawing] Fig. 3

Description

The present invention relates to a mold used in the vulcanization process of tire manufacturing and a container ring constituting the mold.

Patent Literature 1 describes a mold used in a vulcanization process for manufacturing tires. This mold has a plurality of sectors annularly arranged around a central axis in the vertical direction, and an annular container ring arranged around the sectors to prevent the sectors from moving radially outward. I have. The container ring has an annular steam flow path (jacket) that is continuous in the circumferential direction centered on the central axis. By flowing high-temperature steam through this steam flow path, the entire mold can be heated. ing.

For example, in the container ring disclosed in Patent Document 1, a vertically elongated steam flow path is formed. However, in order to secure the strength of the container ring, it is preferable to make the vertical dimension of the steam flow path as small as possible. On the other hand, when the vertical dimension of the steam flow path is reduced, the time required for heating the mold becomes longer.

Japanese Patent No. 653798

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a container ring capable of efficiently heating the mold while minimizing the height of the annular steam flow path, and a vulcanization mold equipped with the container ring. and

To this end, a container ring according to embodiments of the present invention comprises:
an annular main heating medium guideway continuous in the circumferential direction around the central axis of the tire vulcanization mold;
A plurality of sub-heating-medium guide paths are arranged at regular intervals in the circumferential direction and extend upward from the annular main heating-medium guide path.

According to the container ring of the embodiment configured as described above, the heating medium supplied to the main heating medium guide path heats the entire container ring while moving in the circumferential direction along the annular main heating medium guide path. do. Heating medium supplied to the main heating medium guideway also enters a plurality of secondary heating medium guideways to heat the portion of the container ring above the main heating medium guideway. As a result, the container ring is uniformly heated up and down to the target temperature in a short period of time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the tire vulcanization mold which applies the method based on this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing segments and sectors that constitute the mold shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of a container ring that constitutes the mold shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a container ring that constitutes the mold shown in FIG. 1; The graph which shows the relationship of the heating temperature and time in the container ring of embodiment. The graph which shows the relationship of the heating temperature and time in the container ring of a comparative example.

Hereinafter, implementation of a tire vulcanization mold (hereinafter simply referred to as "mold") according to the present invention and a container ring (also referred to as "actuator ring") constituting a part thereof will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Explain the form.

[Mold]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a mold 10. As shown in FIG. The mold 10 is placed on a base (not shown). Stacked on top of the base are three members—lower platen 12, lower plate 14, and lower side mold 16, in that order.

The lower platen 12, the lower plate 14, and the lower side mold 16 each have openings 20, 22, 24 centered on a vertically oriented mold central axis 18. As shown in FIG. Although not shown, the base also has an opening around the central axis 18 . A lifting device (not shown) is arranged in these openings during vulcanization. A lifting device supports a bladder ring that holds the tire during vulcanization. The lifting device also has a nozzle that injects high-temperature, high-pressure steam into the tire.

A plurality of segments 26 are arranged on the circumference around the central axis 18 on the lower side mold 16 . For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the mold 10 consists of nine segments 26 of identical shape.

A plurality of sectors 28 are arranged along the inner peripheral surface of the segments 26 in the inner space surrounded by the plurality of segments 26 . As shown in FIG. 2, the outer circumference of each sector 28 has a shape corresponding to the inner circumference of the outer segment 26 .

An annular container ring 30 is arranged around the outer periphery of the plurality of segments 26 .

Above the segments 26 and sectors 28 are stacked in that order three members--an upper side mold 32, an upper plate 34, and an upper platen 36. As shown in FIG. As shown, the upper side mold 32 has a circular opening 38 centered on the central axis 18 .

Thus, the inner peripheral surfaces of the sectors 28, the upper surface of the lower side mold 16, and the lower surface of the upper side mold 32 form a mold surface that forms the outer shape of the tire. For example, the inner peripheral surfaces of the sectors 28 are formed in a shape corresponding to the tread portion of the tire, and the upper surface of the lower side mold 16 and the lower surface of the upper side mold 32 are formed in a shape corresponding to the sidewall portion of the tire. It is

When a tire is vulcanized using the mold 10 having the above configuration, the mold space 40 surrounded by the sector 28, the lower side mold 16 and the upper side mold 32 is filled with upper and lower bladder rings supported by a lifting mechanism and the upper and lower bladder rings. A supported tire (green tire) is accommodated.

Pressure is applied to the tire from the inside and the outside. For example, pressure is applied to the inner surface of the tire by supplying high-temperature, high-pressure steam to the space surrounded by the upper and lower bladder rings and the tire through a nozzle provided in the elevating mechanism. The forces applied to the outer surface of the tire are the forces applied to the tread portion through the sectors 28 and the sidewall portions through the lower side mold 16 and the upper side mold 32 .

In an embodiment, the force is applied from above to the upper platen 34 and the upper platen 36 positioned above the container ring 30 . The force exerted by the upper platen 36 on the container ring 30 is converted through the container ring 30 and the conically inclined surfaces 42, 44 of the segments 26 into a compressive force directed toward the central axis 18 and applied from the sectors 28 to the tread portion. On the other hand, the force applied from the upper platen 36 to the upper plate 34 is converted into a force with which the upper side mold 32 and the lower side mold 16 press the sidewall portion of the tire from above and below.

Before vulcanization, a jacket 46 formed inside the container ring 30 and jackets 46 and 48 formed inside the lower platen 12 and the upper platen 36 are supplied with high-temperature, high-pressure steam as a heating medium, respectively, so that the tire is heated outside. is heated (preheated) from During vulcanization, high-temperature, high-pressure steam is supplied to the inside of the tire through the passage of the elevating mechanism to heat the tire from the inside.

Thus, heat and pressure are applied to the tire from the inside and the outside, and a shape corresponding to the shape given to the mold surface of the mold 10 is given.

[Container ring]
As shown in FIG. 3, the container ring 30 is composed of two parts, an upper ring portion (second ring portion) 52 and a lower ring portion (first ring portion) 54 .

The upper ring portion 52 is a plate-like ring.

The lower ring portion 54 has a substantially triangular or trapezoidal cross-sectional shape, a radially outer peripheral surface 56 is formed by a cylindrical surface 56 directed substantially vertically, and a radially inner inner peripheral surface 58 is formed upward. The width of the lower ring portion 54 is formed by a conical surface (tapered surface) that gradually approaches the central axis 18 toward the center axis 18, and the width of the lower ring portion 54 gradually increases from the bottom to the top.

In the interior of the lower ring portion 54, and in particular in the lower portion of the lower ring portion 54, is provided a circumference about the central axis 18 for preheating and heating the mold before and during vulcanization, as described above. A main heating medium flow path consisting of an annular jacket 46 continuous along is formed.

Two openings 60 and 62 leading to the jacket 46 are formed in the outer cylindrical surface 56 of the lower ring portion 54 to supply the jacket 46 with high temperature, high pressure steam. One opening 60 is closed by welding a plate 64 . An inlet port 68 is formed in the plate 64 and a steam supply pipe 72 is connected thereto. The other opening 62 is also closed by welding a plate 66 . An outlet port 70 is formed in the plate 66 to which a steam exhaust pipe 74 is connected.

The openings 60 and 62 may be provided at symmetrical positions (180° apart in the circumferential direction) with respect to the central axis 18, or may be arranged close to each other in the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper end surface 80 of the lower ring portion 54 is formed with grooves 81 or depressions of a predetermined depth at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. At the bottom of the groove 81, a sub-heating medium flow path that communicates between the groove 81 and the jacket 46 is formed in the vertical direction. In the embodiment, the sub-heating medium channel is composed of two holes (channels) 84, 86 arranged in parallel. A lid (block) 82 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the groove 81 is detachably fitted into the groove 81 . Preferably, the lid 82 is fixed to the lower ring portion 54 by, for example, continuously welding the groove 81 and the contact portion of the lid 82 in the circumferential direction. In an embodiment, the bottom of the groove 81 is formed with a communication channel 85 that connects the upper ends of the two holes 84 , 86 together so that the holes 84 , 86 are connected to each other by the communication channel 85 at their upper ends. Communicate, and their lower ends are communicated with each other by a jacket 46 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the groove 81 is elongated in the circumferential direction when viewed from above, but the shape of the groove 81 is arbitrary. Also, although the plurality of grooves 81 are shown at regular intervals in FIG. 4, the intervals between the grooves 81 need not be uniform. Although not shown, the container ring 30 is formed with a number of holes through which bolts are inserted to fix the sectors 28 arranged inside the container ring 30. These bolt holes and the holes 84, 86 are arranged so as not to interfere with each other. First, the position and spacing of groove 81 and the positions and spacing of holes 84 and 86 are determined.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper ring portion 52 is arranged on the upper end surface 80 of the lower ring portion 54 and is detachably fixed by fixing means such as bolts. Thereby, the jacket 46, the holes 84, 86, and the groove 81 form one closed space (steam flow path) communicating only with the steam supply pipe 72 and the steam discharge pipe 74.

According to the container ring 30 configured in this manner, high-temperature, high-pressure steam supplied from a high-temperature, high-pressure steam supply source (not shown) is supplied to the jacket 46 through the steam supply pipe 72 during preheating and heating of the mold 10 . be. The supplied steam enters the holes 84 , 86 and the connecting passage 85 in the course of proceeding toward the steam discharge pipe 74 , and uniformly heats the container ring 30 from the bottom to the top. The steam whose heat has been removed by the container ring 30 is discharged from the steam discharge pipe 74 together with the liquefied drain. As shown in FIG. 3, a vapor exhaust pipe 74 is connected to the lower portion of jacket 46 for draining.

[Comparative experiment]
High-temperature, high-pressure steam was supplied to the container ring of the embodiment described above and a conventional container ring (container ring without grooves and holes), and the temperature at each part of the container ring was measured.

Temperature detectors were attached to the container ring of the embodiment near the outlet of the steam supply pipe 72 (jacket inlet) and to the upper inner peripheral surface of the container ring.

In the conventional container ring, temperature detectors were attached near the outlet of the steam supply pipe (jacket inlet), and on the inner peripheral surface of the central part and the upper inner peripheral surface of the container ring.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the case of the container ring of the embodiment, the temperature of the upper inner peripheral surface of the container ring rapidly rises with the start of steam supply, reaching about 150° C. after only 10 minutes. After about 25 minutes, the temperature (170° C.) was reached, which was close to the steam temperature (176 to 178° C.). On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, in the conventional container ring, the temperature of the central part and the upper part gradually increases according to the elapsed time from the start of steam supply, but the temperature reaches about 140 ° C. took about 80 minutes.

As is clear from the experiment, in the case of the container ring of the embodiment, it was found that the container ring was heated to a temperature (170°C) close to the steam temperature (176 to 178°C) in a short time after the start of steam supply. . In contrast, in the case of the conventional container ring, the inner peripheral surface of the container ring is not heated to a temperature close to the steam temperature, and the temperature of the inner peripheral surface of the container ring is 140 even after 100 minutes from the start of supply. °C to 150 °C.

[Other embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the sub-heating medium flow path is composed of two holes 84 and 86, but may be composed of one hole or three or more holes.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication path 85 is formed under the groove 81 to communicate the two holes 84 and 86 with each other, but this communication path may be omitted. In order to confirm the effect of the connecting path, the temperature rise was compared between a container ring in which two holes were connected by a groove and a container ring in which only one hole was formed and its upper end was closed. As a result, the upper inner peripheral surfaces of both container rings eventually rose to a temperature (170°C) close to the steam temperature (176-178°C), but it took about 25 minutes for the former to reach that temperature. , the latter was about 80 minutes. Therefore, in order to heat the container ring in a short period of time, it is considered preferable to provide a plurality of holes and connect the upper ends of the holes with each other through a communication path.

In the above-described embodiment, the groove 81 is formed in the upper end surface 80 of the lower ring portion 54 and the communication path 82 is formed in the bottom of the groove 81, but the groove 81 may be used as the communication path. In this case, between the upper ring portion 52 and the lower ring portion 54, sealing means (such as a gasket groove and a gasket arranged in the gasket groove) is provided around the hole, and the upper ring portion 52 and the lower ring portion 54 are separated from each other. It is preferable to prevent steam from escaping from the interface of the .
Alternatively, one or more holes may be drilled directly in the upper end surface 80 of the lower ring portion 54 without forming grooves. In this case, the upper end of each hole may be closed and sealed with a lid (plug) of a corresponding shape, or sealing means (such as a gasket housing groove and a gasket placed in the gasket groove) may be provided around the hole, Steam may be prevented from leaking from the interface between the upper ring portion 52 and the lower ring portion 54 .

In the above-described embodiment, the container ring 30 is divided into the upper ring portion 52 and the lower ring portion 54, but the container ring may be configured as a single ring without dividing the container ring 30. FIG.
In this form, a hole may be formed in the upper end surface of one ring. In this case, the upper end of the hole is closed by fitting a lid over the upper end of the hole.
Alternatively, a groove (or depression) may be formed in the upper end surface of one ring and a hole may be formed in the bottom of the groove. In this case, the upper end of the hole is closed by fitting a lid in the groove.
Alternatively, a groove (or depression) may be formed in the upper end face of one ring, a plurality of holes may be formed in the bottom of the groove, and the upper ends of the holes may be communicated with each other through a communication path. In this case, the upper end of the communicating path is closed by fitting the lid into the groove.

In another embodiment, one or more of the holes are filled with hollow or solid metal rods made of a metal (e.g. copper, aluminum) that has a better thermal conductivity than the material (usually iron) of which the container ring is constructed. may be inserted.

10: Vulcanization mold 28: Sector 30: Container ring 46: Main heating medium guideway (jacket)
52: Upper ring portion 54: Lower ring portion 80: Upper end surfaces 84, 86: Sub-heating medium guide paths (holes)
85: Connecting road

Claims (7)

In a tire vulcanization mold (10), an annular container ring (30) that constrains a plurality of sectors (28) annularly arranged around a central axis (18) from the outside of said plurality of sectors (28). wherein said container ring (30) internally comprises:
an annular main heating medium guideway (46) continuous in the circumferential direction around the central axis (18);
A plurality of sub heating medium guide paths are formed at intervals in the circumferential direction and extend upward from the main heating medium guide path (46),
Said container ring (30) has an inlet port (68) for supplying heating medium to said main heating medium guideway (46) and an outlet port (70) for discharging heating medium from said main heating medium guideway. death,
the upper ends of the plurality of sub-heating medium guide paths are open to the upper end surface of the first ring portion (54) constituting the container ring (30),
A container ring, wherein upper end openings of each of the plurality of sub-heating medium guide paths are closed with lids (82). A depression (81) is formed in the upper end surface (80) of the first ring portion (54),
the upper ends of the plurality of sub-heating medium guide paths are open to the bottom of the recess (81),
A container ring according to claim 1, wherein said recess (81) is closed with said lid (82) fitted into said recess (81). said container ring (30) having a second ring portion (52);
3. A container ring according to claim 2, wherein said second ring portion (52) is arranged and fixed to an upper end surface (80) of said first ring portion (54). Each of the plurality of sub heating medium guide paths,
A container ring according to claim 1 , having at least one hole extending upwardly from said main heating medium guideway (46). Each of the plurality of sub heating medium guide paths,
A container ring according to claim 1 , having two holes (84, 86) extending upwardly from said main heating medium guideway (46). A container ring according to claim 5, wherein said two holes (84, 86) are communicated with each other by means of a connecting passage (85) at the upper ends of said two holes (84, 86). A tire vulcanization mold comprising a container ring according to any one of claims 1-6.

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