JPH0556242B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a method of operating a central mechanism in a tire vulcanizer, ensuring vertical symmetry of the bladder, which is essential for obtaining uniformly molded and vulcanized tires. At the same time, the production of the bladder itself is made easier, and the bladder is more compatible with tire sizes.

(Prior Art) As is well known, the central mechanism of a tire vulcanizer includes a molding bladder made of rubber or other elastic flexible material, a means for driving the bladder up and down, and a means for supplying a thermopressure medium such as steam. It is attached along the inner surface of the green tire set on the lower mold of the upper and lower molds that can be opened and closed, and performs shaping by supplying a thermopressure medium, and also closes and heats the upper and lower molds, and also increases the pressure of the thermopressure medium. This is to ensure the inner shape of the tire and to assist in vulcanization. After vulcanization is completed, a series of operations are performed to remove the bladder from the inner surface of the tire and store it in the bladder housing tube (well). There are various types of mechanisms, but one of them is that the upper end clamp part that clamps the upper end of the cylindrical bladder and the lower end clamp part that clamps the lower end are separate. There is a type in which each member can be raised and lowered individually using a lifting drive member (fluid cylinder), and the bladder is housed in a well (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-37518).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the prior art described above, the advantage of using separate fluid pressure cylinders for the upper and lower end clamp parts of the molding bladder is that they can be raised and lowered independently. , even if it is as stated in the same publication,
The method of operating the central mechanism has the following problems.

That is, lowering the upper end clamp part of the bladder to the position of the lower end clamp part and storing the bladder in the bladder housing cylinder means that even if the bladder is completely hidden in the housing cylinder, the bladder will be
It is bent in a triangular shape, and repeated bending is likely to cause damage at the bent part, and since it is exposed to a pressurized heat medium, there is a risk of the thermopressure medium flowing out or leaking trouble, and the bladder There is a disadvantage in terms of durability. In addition, in this positional relationship where the upper end clamp part overlaps the lower end clamp part,
Considering the space for bending and accommodating the bladder, the upper end clamp part needs to be smaller than the lower clamp part, and the vertical symmetry of the bladder cannot be maintained.
It is extremely disadvantageous to maintain the vertical symmetry of the bladder by making the upper and lower end clamps the same diameter, as this is an essential condition for obtaining a uniformly molded and vulcanized tire. When manufacturing the bladder, including the clamp part, the presence of small diameter parts not only makes it difficult to manufacture uniform bladders, but also reduces the commonality of tire sizes (tire beat diameters), making it difficult to change sizes. In doing so, there is a possibility that not only the diameter of the bladder but also the diameter of the bladder housing cylinder must be changed.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is directed to a type in which the upper and lower end clamp portions are each operated independently by separate lifting/lowering drive members, and the bladder is accommodated in the bladder storage tube. In order to solve this problem, when storing the bladder in the well, the upper end clamp part is kept in the position during tire vulcanization, and only the lower end clamp part is pulled into the well, so that the bladder can be stored upright. In addition, the upper and lower end clamps have the same diameter to ensure vertical symmetry of the bladder. Specifically, it can be inserted and removed from the inner surface of a green tire enclosed in a mold in a tire vulcanizer. In the case where the upper end clamp part and the lower end clamp part of the molding bladder to be attached are independently raised and lowered by separate raising and lowering drive members and are provided with a well for storing the bladder, the well for storing the bladder is provided. In this case, the upper end clamp part of the bladder is placed in the lowered position during tire vulcanization, and the lower end clamp part is lowered independently into the well, thereby storing the bladder in an upright position and allowing the bladder to reach the inner surface of the green tire. For mounting, the lower end clamp section is raised to the raised position during tire vulcanization, and the upper end clamp section is raised from the lowered position during vulcanization to a position that adapts to the height of the green tire. The purpose is to attach the material through simultaneous supply of media.

(Function) According to the technical means of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
A well 19 for storing a bladder is installed in a guide post 26 provided at the center of a lower mold 25 installed via three base plates 24 etc. so as to be able to be raised and lowered via a lift arm 18. The upper end of the bladder 1 is held between the upper clamp rings 5 and 6 to form an upper end clamp part, and the lower end of the bladder 1 is held between lower clamp rings 7 and 8 to form a lower end clamp part, and the lower end clamp part slides into the well 19. It is fixed to the clamp ring hub 9 that is movably fitted inside, and the clamp ring hub 9 has a well 1.
A piston rod 27 of a fluid pressure cylinder 16 installed at the lower end of the clamp ring hub 9 is connected to the clamp ring hub 9 so that the clamp ring hub 9 can be moved up and down. , an internal pipe 12 for supplying and discharging thermopressure medium is provided around the lower surface so that it can be raised and lowered along with the hub 9, and another fluid pressure pipe installed on a connecting plate 20 protruding from the lower end of the fluid pressure cylinder 16 is provided. The piston rod 10 of the cylinder 17 is slidably inserted into the center of the guide pipe 28 and the hub 9 to project upward.
By fixing the upper end clamp part of the bladder 1 mentioned above to the upper end of the bladder 1 through the rod clamp 11, the upper end clamp part and the lower end clamp part can be independently connected by separate fluid pressure cylinders 17 and 16, respectively. It is installed so that it can be raised and lowered freely. A lower bead ring 30 corresponding to the lower bead receiving part 29 in the lower mold 25 is fixedly installed at the upper end of the well 19, and 14 is used to hold the bladder 1 during tire vulcanization.
Due to the internal pressure of vulcanization caused by the thermopressure medium supplied within the
In order to prevent the clamp ring hub 9 from descending,
A stopper is shown that is openable and detachable from the guide pipe 28.

FIG. 1 shows the bladder 1 stored in the well 19 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the vulcanized state and the mounted state of the bladder 1 on a green tire. In accommodating the bladder 1, a fluid pressure cylinder 17 is used.
The piston rod 10 of the bladder 1 restricts the upper end clamping portion of the bladder 1 to the position occupied by the upper end clamping portion during tire vulcanization, and by retracting the piston rod 27 of the fluid pressure cylinder 16, the lower end clamping portion is regulated. It is lowered below the well 19 via the clamp ring hub 9.
Needless to say, the position that the upper end clamp part occupies during tire vulcanization is fixed above the upper end of the well 19, so the bladder 1 is not bent, but in a substantially upright position, with its upper end being higher than the upper end of the well 19. It will be stored in an exposed state at the top. This means that unlike the prior art, the upper end clamp part is
It is not necessary to pull it in to the lower end clamp part position in 9, therefore, the upper end clamp part can be made to have the same diameter and the same size as the lower end clamp part,
The vertical symmetry of the bladder 1, which is essential for obtaining a uniformly molded and vulcanized tire, can be completely ensured as shown in the first diagram, and the bladder 1 itself is not forced to undergo repeated movements such as bending. This is advantageous from a durability standpoint, and a large stroke for lowering the upper end clamp into the well 19 is not required. From this stored state, the bladder 1 is attached along the inner surface of the green tire, and for vulcanization molding, the lower end clamp portion of the bladder 1 is clamped from the state shown in Fig. 1 as shown in Fig. 2. Together with the ring hub 9, the piston rod 27 of the hydraulic cylinder 16 is raised to the position at which the tire is cured (the upper end of the opening of the well 19). size green tire 2a
The right half shows the case of a small-sized green tire 3a with a small height. The green tires 2a and 3a are lifted onto the lower mold 25 using a tire loader or the like to a position corresponding to the height of the tires set as shown in the upper clamp rings 5a and 6a. At the same time as the upper end clamp section is raised, a thermopressure medium such as steam is supplied into the bladder 1 through the internal pipe 12 of the clamp ring hub 9 at the lower end clamp section and through the communication hole 31 in the hub 9. As a result, the bladders 1 and 1 are inflated to the inner surfaces of the green tires 2a and 3a that have been brought in as shown in the figure.
The inner surface of the green tire before vulcanization molding can be achieved by fitting the green tire along the vulcanization molding.Then, by closing the upper mold in the open retracted position to the lower mold 25 side, the known From the middle of closing, the green tires 2a, 3a and the upper end clamp parts 5a, 6a are lowered together by the upper mold, and the upper mold 32 is completely closed to the lower mold 25, and the upper end clamp parts 5a, 6a are lowered together. As shown in the figure, the tires 2a, 3a are lowered to the vulcanization positions indicated by 5b, 6b, and the bladders 1, 1 of the tires 2b, 3b are
As shown by bladders 1a, 1a, upper and lower molds 25,
32, the green tires 2b and 3b can be vulcanized and molded through mold heating in the upper and lower molds 25 and 32, as well as by increasing the pressure of the thermopressure medium in the bladders 1a and 1a and continuing its continuous supply. It will be done. When the vulcanization is completed, the supply of the hot pressure medium is stopped, the upper mold 32 is opened and retracted, and the piston rod 27 of the fluid pressure cylinder 16 is lowered to move the lower end clamp part together with the clamp ring hub 9 below the well 19. By retracting, the bladder 1 is attached to the inner surface of the tire.
a, 1a are upper end clamps 5 that stop at the vulcanization position;
Through the immovable positions of the bladders b and 6b, it is separated from the inner surface of the tire and drawn into the well 19, resulting in the storage state shown in FIG. By raising the entire well 19, separating the vulcanized tire 1a from the lower mold 25 and moving it upward, supporting the lower surface of the tire 1a on the tire unloader, and moving the well 19 downward again, This will allow the tires to be removed.

(Example) A suitable example of the central mechanism of the present invention will be described. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the entire structure of the tire vulcanizer other than the central mechanism is the upper and lower molds, upper and lower domes, upper mold opening/closing mechanism, mold clamping mechanism, etc. of a conventionally known tire vulcanizer. can be adopted as is, and for this reason, in the embodiment, only a part of the upper and lower molds is shown, and the others are omitted. The structure for holding the upper and lower ends of the bladder 1 by the upper clamp rings 5, 6 and the lower clamp rings 7, 8 in the upper and lower clamp parts of the bladder 1 is also a conventionally known structure, and the lower end clamp part is constructed as shown in the second figure. The clamp ring hub 9 can be attached to and removed from the piston rod 10 by means of a threaded portion 32, and the upper end clamp portion can be attached to and removed from the piston rod 10 by means of a rod clamp 11. This is because when there is a significant difference in tire size, the bladder 1 is replaced accordingly. The well 19 has a bottom portion 33 at its lower end;
3 is integrally attached with a mounting bracket 35 via a heat insulating material, and the fluid pressure cylinder 16 as a driving member for raising and lowering the lower end clamp portion is connected to the bracket 35.
The piston rod 27 is attached to the insulation material 34.
It is connected to the lower surface of the hub 9 by slidably penetrating the bottom portion 33, and although only one hydraulic cylinder 16 is shown in the figure, two hydraulic cylinders 16 are provided at symmetrical positions on the lower surface. Further, the lift arm 18 that raises and lowers the entire well 19 is connected to two lift arms 18, 18, respectively, to a pair of links 36, 36 attached to the symmetrical peripheral side of the mounting bracket 35, and both lift arms The well 19 is moved up and down through vertical rotation of the wells 18, 18.
In addition, the internal pipe 12 for supplying thermopressure medium is 2
Two pipes are provided, one for supply and one for discharge. A guide groove 37 for preventing rotation and for straight movement is formed on the circumferential side of the guide pipe 28 that is integrally provided at the center of the lower surface of the clamp ring hub 9, and is engaged with an engagement guide 38 provided on the bottom 33 side of the well 19. By doing so, rotation of the guide pipe 28, and thus the clamp ring hub 9, is prevented and straight-line guidance is performed. Further, the stopper 14, which is removably engaged with the guide pipe 28, is connected to the clamp ring hub 9 due to the vulcanization internal pressure caused by the thermopressure medium in the bladder 1 during tire vulcanization, as described above.
However, in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. The rotating shaft 39 is rotatably supported on the bottom 33 of the well 19, the lower end of the rotating shaft 39 is inserted into the bracket 35 side, and the rotation mechanism 15 is provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft 39,
The piston rod 40 of the installed latch cylinder 13 is connected to the rotation mechanism 15 using the bracket 35, and the rotation shaft 39 is given forward and reverse rotation through the up and down movement of the piston rod 40, thereby opening and closing the stopper 14. There is. Rotation mechanism 15 for this purpose
As long as it converts a linear vertical movement into a rotational movement, it can be freely adopted.For example, a pin shaft 41 perpendicular to the piston rod 40 is fixed, and the pin shaft 41 is fixed to the lower end of the rotating shaft 39. For example, it is engaged with a spiral groove 43 formed on the circumferential side of the cylinder 42. Therefore, the stopper 14 is retracted from the locking notch 44 except when the tire is vulcanized. The above embodiment is of course just one example, and the detailed structure may be subject to design changes.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, the upper end clamping portion and the lower end clamping portion of the bladder 1 can be independently operated by separate lifting drive members, and the bladder 1 is housed in the well 19. In this case, when the bladder 1 is accommodated in the well, the upper end clamp part is held in the position occupied by the upper end clamp part during tire vulcanization, and only the lower end clamp part is actuated independently to draw the bladder 1 into the well 19. As a result, the bladder 1 is accommodated in a substantially straight line with its upper end protruding from the well 19, and the bladder 1 does not have to be folded in two as in the prior art.
In addition to improving the durability of the bladder, since the upper and lower end clamps are separated from each other and are separated from the inner surface of the tire and held, the upper end clamp does not need to enter the well.
The upper and lower end clamps can be made symmetrical with the same diameter, which ensures the vertical symmetry of the bladder, which is essential for obtaining uniformly molded and vulcanized tires, as well as the uniformity of the straight cylindrical shape. It is extremely easy to manufacture a bladder 1, and the diameters of the upper and lower end clamp parts of the bladder 1 can also be made larger than in the prior art, which allows for a wider range of tire sizes (tire bead diameters). It can be adapted to many different types of applications, and has great compatibility with respect to size. In addition, since the fluid pressure cylinders 16 and 17, which are the driving members for raising and lowering both clamp parts, can be installed outside the lower end of the well 19, there is no need to install cylinders inside the well where thermal effects are large, and the structure of the entire central mechanism can be made compact. It is also advantageous in that it is easy to integrate, assemble, and manufacture.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing the bladder storage state of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing the same vulcanized and bladder attached state. 1... Bladder for molding, 2, 3... Green tire, 5, 6... Upper clamp ring, 7, 8...
Lower clamp ring, 9... Clamp ring hub, 10... Piston rod, 16, 17... Fluid pressure cylinder, 18... Lift arm, 19...
Well, 27...piston rod.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The upper and lower end clamps of a molding bladder, which is removably attached to the inner surface of a green tire enclosed in a mold in a tire vulcanizer, are individually movable up and down by separate lifting drive members. And in the case where a well for storing a bladder is provided, when storing the bladder in the well, the upper end clamp part of the bladder is placed in a lowered position during tire vulcanization, and the lower end clamp part is independently lowered into the well. In some cases, the bladder is stored in an upright position, and when attaching the bladder to the inner surface of a green tire, the lower end clamp portion is raised to the raised position during tire vulcanization, and the upper end clamp portion is raised to the raised position during vulcanization of the tire. 1. A method for operating a central mechanism in a tire vulcanizer, characterized in that the central mechanism is raised from a lowered position at a time to a position adapted to the height of a green tire, and is mounted through simultaneous supply of a thermopressure medium.