Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29D—PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE
  • B29D30/00—Producing pneumatic or solid tyres or parts thereof
  • B29D30/06—Pneumatic tyres or parts thereof (e.g. produced by casting, moulding, compression moulding, injection moulding, centrifugal casting)
  • B29D30/08—Building tyres
  • B29D30/20—Building tyres by the flat-tyre method, i.e. building on cylindrical drums
  • B29D30/30—Applying the layers; Guiding or stretching the layers during application
  • B29D30/3007—Applying the layers; Guiding or stretching the layers during application by feeding a sheet perpendicular to the drum axis and joining the ends to form an annular element
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G39/00—Rollers, e.g. drive rollers, or arrangements thereof incorporated in roller-ways or other types of mechanical conveyors 
  • B65G39/02—Adaptations of individual rollers and supports therefor
  • B65G39/07—Other adaptations of sleeves
  • B65G39/071—Other adaptations of sleeves for aligning belts or sheets
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H23/00—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs
  • B65H23/02—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs transversely
  • B65H23/032—Controlling transverse register of web
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29L—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES
  • B29L2030/00—Pneumatic or solid tyres or parts thereof
  • B29L2030/002—Treads
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2511/00—Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
  • B65H2511/20—Location in space
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
  • B65H2701/10—Handled articles or webs
  • B65H2701/12—Surface aspects
  • B65H2701/124—Patterns, marks, printed information
  • B65H2701/1241—Patterns, marks, printed information register marks
  • B65H2701/12411—Patterns, marks, printed information register marks line
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2801/00—Application field
  • B65H2801/93—Tyres

Definitions

• This invention pertains to the art of methods and apparatuses for conveying materials, such as strip components on a belt conveyor, and more specifically to methods and apparatuses for conveying tire building components from a feeding extruder or other production location to a tire building drum on a belt conveyor which is capable of laterally adjusting the position of the components without using guides.
• Another guiding method utilized curved modular belt conveyors however, the curves were static and did not act as active guides. Further, the belting typically used was more than twice the pitch length of that utilized by the present invention. Long pitch lengths introduce excessive speed undulation to the product due to chordal action at the sprockets.
• the present invention contemplates a new and improved flexible guide belt conveyor which is simple in design, effective in use, and overcomes the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.
• a new and improved flexible guide belt conveyor is provided which allows for active guiding of a fragile strip component on a feeder conveyor without using guides in contact with the material of the strip component.
• a method of conveying a tread member to a tire building drum and aligning the tread member with a guideline of intervening conveyors and the drum including the steps of placing a tread member on a belt conveyor having an entrance end and an exit end, the method characterized by the steps of determining a location of the guideline of the tread member at the exit end of the belt conveyor using a sensor, transmitting the location of the guideline to a motion controller, and moving a 2 transverse housing located at the exit end laterally to adjust the exit end of the belt conveyor to align the tread member with the guideline of a tire building drum.
• a method of applying tire components to a tire building drum including the step of transferring the tire components on at least one belt conveyor having an entrance end and an exit end, the method characterized by the steps of determining a location of the guideline of the tread member at the exit end of the at least one belt conveyor by means of a sensor, activating a linear actuator to laterally move the transverse housing located at the exit end to adjust the exit end of at least one belt conveyor to align the tread member with a guideline of a tire building drum.
• an apparatus for adjusting an exit end of a belt conveyor having a belt including modules joined by hinge pins with spaces between the modules thereby providing lateral flexibility of the belt characterized by the belt conveyor having a fixed frame at an entrance end and a laterally moveable transverse housing at the exit end, the transverse housing having a slide member to support and permit lateral adjustment of the belt conveyor.
• an apparatus for adjusting exit ends of a plurality of belt conveyors each of the belt conveyors comprising a plurality of spaced apart modules supported by hinge pins thereby providing lateral flexibility characterized by each of the belt conveyors having a fixed frame at an entry end and a laterally moveable transverse housing at one of the exit ends, and the fixed frame and the transverse housing having slide plates to support and permit lateral adjustment of the belt conveyors.
• a method of adjusting an exit end of a belt conveyor conveying a strip component characterized by the steps of sensing a position of a guideline of the strip component with sensing means, and activating a linear actuator to move a transverse housing of the conveyor, thereby moving a belt on the conveyor and the strip component until the guideline of the strip component is centered with respect to a predetermined position.
• One advantage of the present invention is its ability to laterally adjust the position of a component transported on a conveyor belt without contacting the edges of the component. Another advantage of the present invention is its ability to synchronize the movement of strip components on at least two conveyor belts.
• Another advantage of the present invention is its ability to adjust the positions of the 3 guidelines of multiple components on multiple conveyor belts.
• Figure 1A is a schematic side elevation of a single belt conveyor assembly embodying the invention
• Figure IB is a schematic plan view of the belt conveyor shown in Figure 1 ;
• Figure 2 is a enlarged fragmentary plan view of a laterally flexible conveyor belt adapted for use in the embodiment of Figures 1A and IB;
• Figure 3 is an enlarged cross section of a tire tread of Figures 1 A and IB showing the raised guideline rib;
• FIG 4 is a detailed cross sectional view of the exit end of the belt conveyor assembly according to the present invention taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1 A with parts being broken away;
• Figure 5 is a view like Figure 4 showing a two conveyor assembly
• Figure 6 is a sectional view through the traversing section taken along line 6-6 of
• Figure 7 is a schematic plan view of the two conveyor system shown in Figures 5 and 6.
• FIG. 1A shows a side elevation of a conveyor assembly 10 for conveying strip materials such as a tire tread 11 to a tire building drum 12.
• the conveyor assembly 10 preferably includes at least one feed belt conveyor 16 having an entrance end 18 and an exit end 20 that is capable of carrying the tire tread 11.
• the feed belt conveyor 16 preferably utilizes a laterally flexible conveyor belt having linked modules 34 with links 36 joined by hinge pins 40, as shown in Figure 2. There is preferably a small amount of clearance between the links 36 of the modules 34, thereby permitting limited 4 lateral shifting and flexibility of the conveyor belt 28. While the conveyor belt 28 described above is the preferred embodiment, any other type of conveyor belt 28 with lateral flexibility may be utilized with the present invention.
• the continuous tire tread 11 is conveyed by the feed conveyor 16 from a feeding position 30 to the exit end 20 and preferably has a guideline rib 52, as shown in Figure 3.
• the guideline rib 52 as shown in Figure 3 is along the centerline of tire tread 11. However, the guideline rib 52 may also be off center.
• the guideline rib 52 may be detected by a die-line sensor 58.
• the sensor 58 determines the relative location of the guideline rib 52 of the tire tread 11 and provides an analog signal that is transmitted to a motion controller assembly 64.
• the motion controller assembly 64 uses the analog signal for negative feedback to a position loop that controls the lateral location of the exit end 20 of the feed belt conveyor 16.
• the sensor 58 consists of a retro-reflective infrared scanner and a DOS based PC-compatible computer and monitor.
• the motion controller 64 moves the exit end 20 of the feed belt conveyor 16 laterally at 90° to the direction of the feed conveyor 16.
• the exit end 20 of the feed belt conveyor 16 includes a lateral adjustable transverse housing 76.
• the entrance end 18 of the feed conveyor 16 is preferably fixed, and is supported by a fixed frame 88.
• the transverse housing 76 as viewed in Figure 6, preferably has a slider plate 94 to support the conveyor belt 28.
• guides 100 which may be made of plastic or any other suitable material, are preferably provided to ensure that the conveyor belt 28 is not skewed as it enters and leaves sprockets 106.
• Belt idler sprockets 112, and shafting are mounted at the entrance end 18 of the feed conveyor 16, as shown in Figure 1A.
• the transverse housing 76 which encloses the belt drive sprockets 106 and bearings 118 that support most of the weight of the transverse housing is carried on a hollow shaft 124.
• the remaining weight of the transverse housing 76 is carried by a ball bushing 130 on a shaft 132 mounted on the frame 88, as shown in Figure 6.
• Two ball spline nuts 136, 142 mounted on a drive shaft 144 are retained inside the hollow shaft 124 of the transverse housing 76.
• One ball spline nut 136 is keyed on its outside diameter
• the drive shaft 144 which is supported by pillow blocks 160 and 162, is coupled to a servo motor drive 166. 5
• Lateral transverse movement of the hollow shaft 124 and transverse housing 76 is provided preferably by a dedicated DC motor-powered linear actuator 172 connected to the housing by arm 174 when activated and controlled by the motion controller 64.
• This assembly at the exit end 20 provides low friction lateral motion of the transverse housing 76.
• the transverse housing 76 is automatically positioned in its center position by the motion controller 64 of the linear actuator 172.
• the strip material 22 is placed on the feed conveyor 16 at a location on the conveyor belt 28 which is not critical.
• the strip material 22 is easily self fed through the guide section.
• the position of the strip material 22 exiting the feed belt conveyor 16 is monitored by the sensor 58. If an off center position of the strip material 22 is detected, the motion controller 64 moves the transverse housing
• the plastic guides 100 which are fixed to the transverse housing 76 force the belt 28 to move with the transverse housing 76.
• the radially extending part of the guides 100 act as fulcrums when the belt 20 shifts sideways.
• the inherent lateral flexibility of the conveyor belt 28 permits this movement while the slider plate 94 supports the belt as described above.
• the strip material 22 is accordingly presented to downstream equipment on center and in line with the guideline of the conveyor assembly 10.
• the present invention has been described with regards to a single belt feed conveyor 16.
• the invention may also be utilized for two or more belt feed conveyors 16' ,16", as shown in Figure 5.
• Figures 6 and 7 show additional views of the two conveyor assembly as shown in Figure 5.
• the hollow shafts 16' ,16 the hollow shafts
• 124' ,124" are preferably keyed to the drive shaft 144 and coupled together. This allows for the two transverse housings 16' ,16" to be driven by a single motor.
• Slider plates 94', 95" not shown are similar to slider plate 94 shown in Figure 6 and support the laterally adjustable conveyor belts 28', 28".
• the multiple transverse housings 76', 76" arrangement provides continued low friction independent lateral movement of the transverse housings as well as synchronized line speed of the conveyor belts 28', 28". If non-synchronized speeds of conveyor belts 28', 28" are desired, the splined hollow shafts 124' ,124" may be uncoupled and driven by separate drives.
• the tread 11 may be applied directly to a tire drum 12.
• the tread 11 is centered by the transverse housing 76 and transferred to a cut conveyor 184 where it 6 is cut by a cut conveyor knife 190.
• the tread 196 has a leading end 202 and a tail end 208.
• the tread 196 which is still in the centered position is then transferred onto a tread applier 214 and conveyed to the tire building drum 12 where it is applied in the centered position to the drum.
• the method described above is typically used when the strip material 22 is a tread 11 and consists of tread material.
• the tread 11 shown and described in the preferred embodiment of Figures 1A and IB only requires the single feed conveyor 16 as described above.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Tyre Moulding (AREA)
• Framework For Endless Conveyors (AREA)
• Control Of Conveyors (AREA)

Priority Applications (10)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=22266428

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (6)

Families Citing this family (2)

Citations (2)

• 1998
  • 1998-02-18 ES ES98910027T patent/ES2199428T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-02-18 CA CA002315714A patent/CA2315714A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-02-18 DE DE69814930T patent/DE69814930T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1998-02-18 BR BR9815437-0A patent/BR9815437A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1998-02-18 WO PCT/US1998/003324 patent/WO1999042390A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1998-02-18 JP JP2000532350A patent/JP2002503575A/ja not_active Withdrawn
  • 1998-02-18 AU AU64372/98A patent/AU6437298A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-02-18 EP EP98910027A patent/EP1060112B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1999
  • 1999-02-05 ZA ZA9900943A patent/ZA99943B/xx unknown

Patent Citations (2)

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