Patent Application
20250197136
The present invention relates to a conveyance device.
There has been known a method of preparing tire forming members in parallel using a plurality of drums and a conveyance device with this process divided in a tire molding apparatus used for manufacturing pneumatic tires.
For example, there is a method of performing, at separate stages, a step of molding a cylindrical band member including an inner liner and a carcass on a band drum, a step of molding a cylindrical belt member including a belt on a belt drum, and a step of integrally molding (shaping) the band member and the belt member into a tire shape and transferring (i.e., delivering) a tire forming member between the steps using a conveyance device.
As such a conveyance device, for example, there has been known a conveyance device including a suction pad that sucks, from the outer diameter side, a cylindrical tire forming member wound around the outer periphery of a drum, a movement mechanism that moves the suction pad in the radial direction of the drum, a unit that causes the suction pad to contact and separate from the drum, and a unit that transfers the suction pad sucking the tire forming member to a next step (see, e.g., JP2001-138404A (Patent Literature 1)).
In the conveyance device of Patent Literature 1 above, a plurality of suction pads is provided side by side in the axial direction of the cylindrical tire forming member, and is moved in the radial direction and the axial direction by one movement mechanism. For this reason, in a case of conveying a cylindrical tire forming member having a thickness changing in the axial direction, undesirable deformation of the tire forming member is easily caused due to excessive suction force acting on a thick portion, leading to air entering or uniformity degradation.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and an object thereof is to propose a conveyance device allowing reduction in occurrence of a defect such as air entering or uniformity degradation even in a case of conveying a cylindrical tire forming member having a thickness changing in an axial direction.
The present invention includes embodiments below.
[1] A conveyance device for receiving a cylindrical tire forming member formed on a first drum from the first drum and conveying the tire forming member to a second drum includes an annular frame capable of surrounding the outer peripheries of the first drum and the second drum, a sucker provided for the annular frame, and a frame conveyer that conveys the annular frame between the first drum and the second drum, and the sucker includes a plurality of center suction pads provided side by side in the circumferential direction of the annular frame to suck a center portion of the tire forming member in an axial direction, a plurality of end suction pads provided side by side in the circumferential direction to suck end portions of the tire forming member in the axial direction, a gap provided along the circumferential direction between the center suction pads and the end suction pads, and an adjustment device that adjusts the length of the gap in the axial direction.
[2] In the conveyance device according to [1], the adjustment device moves the end suction pads in the axial direction to adjust the length of the gap in the axial direction.
[3] In the conveyance device according to [2], the end suction pads include a first end suction pad provided at one end portion of the tire forming member in the axial direction and a second end suction pad provided at the other end portion of the tire forming member in the axial direction, and the adjustment device moves the first end suction pad and the second end suction pad in opposite directions in the axial direction in synchronization with each other to adjust the length of the gap in the axial direction.
With the above-described features of the present invention, the occurrence of the defect such as air entering or uniformity degradation can be reduced even in the case of conveying the cylindrical tire forming member having the thickness changing in the axial direction.
An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely one example and changes made appropriately without departing from the gist of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.
The layout of a tire molding apparatus is shown in
The first drum 10 is a drum having a known structure in which a plurality of segments is arranged circumferentially and is in a cylindrical shape as a whole. The plurality of segments moves all at once in a drum radial direction, and the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 10 is increased and decreased in diameter.
A rubber member is bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 10, and in this manner, a tire forming member 1 is molded. As one example, a case where a cylindrical carcass band is molded as the tire forming member 1 will be described here. As shown in
As shown in
The second drum 20 is a drum to which the tire forming member 1 molded on the first drum 10 is conveyed. For example, the second drum 20 is a drum that receives a cylindrical belt band molded on a not-shown drum in addition to the tire forming member 1 and molds these bands into a tire shape.
The second drum 20 is supported at a rotary shaft thereof by a mount 21. The mount 21 is mounted on a second drum conveyer 22 movable along a later-described rail.
The conveyance device 30 includes a hollow 31 into which the first drum 10 or the second drum 20 is to be inserted. The conveyance device 30 receives the cylindrical tire forming member 1 from the first drum 10 inserted into the hollow 31. Then, when the second drum 20 is inserted into the hollow 31 after the first drum 10 has been removed from the hollow 31, the conveyance device 30 transfers the tire forming member 1 received from the first drum 10 onto the outer peripheral surface of the second drum 20. Note that a specific configuration of the conveyance device 30 will be described later in detail.
A first rail 13, a second rail 23, and a third rail 33 are provided as rails on which the first drum 10, the second drum 20, and the conveyance device 30 move. The first rail 13 and the second rail 23 are linear rails, and are parallel to each other. The third rail 33 is a linear rail, and is perpendicular to the direction of extension of the first rail 13 and the second rail 23.
The first drum conveyer 12 moves on the first rail 13, and the first drum 10 moves between a standby position (indicated by A in
The second drum conveyer 22 moves on the second rail 23, and the second drum 20 moves between a standby position (indicated by C in
A later-described frame conveyer 32 moves on the third rail 33, and the conveyance device 30 moves between the intersection B and the intersection D accordingly. The conveyance device 30 receives the tire forming member 1 from the first drum 10 at the intersection B, and thereafter, moves to the intersection D and transfers the tire forming member 1 to the second drum 20 at the intersection D.
Note that the first drum 10, the second drum 20, and the conveyance device 30 are arranged such that the axial directions X thereof are in the same direction. These axial directions X of the drums 10, 20 and the conveyance device 30 are parallel to the direction of extension of the first rail 13 and the second rail 23.
As shown in
As shown in
The plurality of annular frames 41, 42, 43 is ring-shaped members having hollows capable of surrounding the outer peripheries of the first drum 10 and the second drum 20. The plurality of annular frames 41, 42, 43 is concentrically arranged at intervals in the axial direction X, and forms the hollow 31 of the conveyance device 30.
The annular frames 41, 43 are end annular frames arranged at both end portions in the axial direction. The annular frame 42 is a center annular frame disposed between the end annular frames 41, 43.
The center annular frame 42 is provided with the suckers 44. The suckers 44 include a plurality of suction pads 50 that sucks the outer peripheral surface of the tire forming member 1 and a plurality of movement mechanisms 51 that moves the plurality of suction pads 50 in the radial direction of the center annular frame 42.
Specifically, the plurality of suction pads 50 is center suction pads that suck a center portion of the tire forming member 1 in the axial direction. The center suction pads 50 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the center annular frame 42 as shown in
Ones of the plurality of center suction pads 50 provided side by side in the axial direction X are supported by a support 52 connected to the same movement mechanism 51. On the other hand, the center suction pads 50 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the center annular frame 42 are supported by the supports 52 connected to the different movement mechanisms 51.
That is, ones of the plurality of suction pads 50 provided side by side in the axial direction X move in synchronization with each other in the radial direction of the center annular frame 42 by operation of the same movement mechanism 51. On the other hand, the center suction pads 50 provided at the different positions in the circumferential direction are separately movable in the radial direction of the center annular frame 42 by the different movement mechanisms 51.
As shown in
The movement mechanism 51 includes a cylinder in which a rod 51a moves in the radial direction of the center annular frame 42. The movement mechanism 51 moves the rod 51a to an arbitrary position in the movable area of the rod 51a in response to an instruction from the control device 34. The movement mechanism 51 is further provided with a lock mechanism 51b that fixes the rod 51a such that the position thereof does not change (see
The support 52 is fixed to the rod 51a of the movement mechanism 51 described above. The movement mechanism 51 moves the rod 51a in the radial direction of the center annular frame 42, and accordingly, the center suction pads 50 move between a position (separate position) apart radially outward from the tire forming member 1 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 10 and a position (contact position) contacting the tire forming member 1.
The end annular frames 41, 43 are provided with the suckers 45, 45 that hold the outer peripheral surface of the tire forming member 1. The sucker 45 provided for the end annular frame 41 sucks one end portion of the tire forming member 1 in the axial direction. The sucker 45 provided for the end annular frame 43 sucks the other end portion of the tire forming member 1 in the axial direction. Note that the sucker 45 provided for the end annular frame 43 is different from the sucker 45 provided for the end annular frame 41 in a position at which the sucker 45 sucks the tire forming member 1, but these suckers have a common structure. The sucker 45 provided for one end annular frame 41 will be described here, and the same reference numerals as those of the components of the sucker 45 for the end annular frame 41 are used to represent corresponding components of the sucker 45 provided for the other end annular frame 43 and description thereof will be omitted.
As shown in
The plurality of suction pads 55 provided for the end annular frame 41 is end suction pads that contact and suck one end portion of the tire forming member 1 in the axial direction. 1. The end suction pads 55 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the annular frame 41 as shown in
Ones of the plurality of end suction pads 55 provided side by side in the axial direction X are supported by a support 57 connected to the movement mechanism 56. Note that the number of end suction pads 55 provided side by side in the axial direction X is preferably less than the number of center suction pads 50 provided side by side in the axial direction X. The end suction pads 55 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the end annular frame 41 are supported by the supports 57 connected to the different movement mechanisms 56.
That is, ones of the plurality of end suction pads 55 provided side by side in the axial direction X move in synchronization with each other in the radial direction of the end annular frame 41 by operation of the same movement mechanism 56. On the other hand, the end suction pads 55 provided at the different positions in the circumferential direction are separately movable in the radial direction of the end annular frame 41 by the different movement mechanisms 56.
A vacuum chamber 58 is formed inside the support 57. The vacuum chamber 58 is connected to internal spaces of the end suction pads 55, and is connected to the vacuum device 70. When the vacuum chamber 58 is decreased in pressure by operation of the vacuum device 70, the internal spaces of the end suction pads 55 are also decreased in pressure, and the end suction pads 55 vacuum-suck the end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the tire forming member 1 in the axial direction.
The movement mechanism 56 includes a cylinder in which a rod 56a moves in the radial direction of the end annular frame 43. The movement mechanism 56 moves the rod 56a to an arbitrary position in the movable area of the rod 56a in response to an instruction from the control device 34. The movement mechanism 56 is further provided with a lock mechanism 56b that fixes the rod 56a such that the position thereof does not change (see
The support 57 is fixed to the rod 56a of the movement mechanism 56 described above. The movement mechanism 56 moves the rod 56a in the radial direction of the annular frame 43, and accordingly, the end suction pads 55 move between a separate position apart radially outward from the tire forming member 1 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 10 and a contact position contacting the tire forming member 1.
Note that in the present embodiment, when the holding device 40 is viewed in the axial direction X as shown in
The end annular frames 41, 43 provided with the suckers 45 as described above are coupled to a guide shaft 48 fixed to the center annular frame 42 via not-shown bearings. With this configuration, the end annular frames 41, 43 are movable toward and apart from the center annular frame 42 in the axial direction X. As shown in
As shown in
In the present embodiment, the adjustment device 47 moves one end annular frame 41 and the other end annular frame 43 in opposite directions in the axial direction X in synchronization with each other. That is, the adjustment device 47 moves one end annular frame 41 and the other end annular frame 43 toward or apart from the center annular frame 42 by the same distance, and moves the end annular frames 41, 43 such that the length La of the gap 59a and the length Lb of the gap 59b are equal to each other.
The control device 34 mainly includes a microcomputer, and controls operation of the conveyance device 30 as a whole. The control device 34 controls the frame conveyer 32, the adjustment device 47, the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56, the lock mechanisms 51b, 56b, 56b thereof, and the vacuum device 70 that decreases the pressures in the vacuum chambers 53, 58, 58.
Next, operation when the conveyance device 30 receives the cylindrical tire forming member 1 formed on the first drum 10 and conveys the tire forming member 1 to the second drum 20 will be described.
First, the conveyance device 30 sets areas where the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 of the suckers 44, 45, 45 move the rods 51a, 56a, 56a according to the size of the tire forming member 1 molded on the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 10. That is, the conveyance device 30 sets the areas where the rods 51a, 56a, 56a of the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 move such that the suction pads 50, 55, 55 move between the separate position apart radially outward from the tire forming member 1 and the contact position contacting the tire forming member 1.
Moreover, the adjustment device 47 changes the positions of the end annular frames 41, 43 in the axial direction X with respect to the center annular frame 42 to adjust the lengths La, Lb of the gaps 59a, 59b such that when the first drum 10 moves into the hollow 31 of the conveyance device 30, the under-belt pads 5 provided for the tire forming member 1 are located in the gaps 59a, 59b formed between the center suction pad 50 and the end suction pads 55, 55 in the axial direction X (Step S1 of
Note that the setting of the areas where the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 move the rods 51a, 56a, 56a and the adjustment of the lengths La, Lb of the gaps 59a, 59b are performed when the size or type of a tire to be manufactured is changed, and are not necessarily performed in every conveyance of the tire forming member 1.
Then, in a state of the conveyance device 30 being located at the intersection B and the suction pads 50, 55, 55 being located at the separate position, the first drum 10 having the tire forming member 1 on the outer peripheral surface is moved to the intersection B, and is inserted into the hollow 31 of the conveyance device 30 (Step S2 of
As described above, the conveyance device 30 sets the separate positions and contact positions of the suction pads 50, 55, 55 and the gaps 59a, 59b formed between the center suction pad 50 and the end suction pads 55, 55 according to the size of the tire forming member 1. Thus, when the first drum 10 is inserted into the hollow 31 of the conveyance device 30, the suction pads 50, 55, 55 of the suckers 44, 45, 45 face the outside of the tire forming member 1, which is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 10, in the radial direction thereof with a clearance therebetween. Moreover, the under-belt pads 5 provided for the tire forming member 1 are arranged at the positions of the gaps 59a, 59b of the conveyance device 30 in the axial direction X.
Thereafter, the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 move the suction pads 50, 55, 55 from the separate position to the contact position, and cause the suction pads 50, 55, 55 to contact the tire forming member 1 (Step S3 of
Then, when the suction pads 50, 55, 55 move to the contact position and contact the tire forming member 1, the lock mechanisms of the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 are operated to fix the positions of the rods 51a, 56a, 56a of the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 to prevent the positions of the center suction pads 50 and the end suction pads 55, 55 from changing (Step S4 of
Then, the vacuum chambers 53, 58, 58 provided in the supports 52, 57, 57 are decreased in pressure by the vacuum device 70, and accordingly, the center suction pads 50 and the end suction pads 55, 55 suck and hold the tire forming member 1 (Step S5 of
Then, the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 10 is decreased in diameter, and thereafter, the first drum 10 is moved from the intersection B to the standby position A and the tire forming member 1 is transferred from the first drum 10 to the conveyance device 30 (Step S6 of
Then, in a state of the second drum 20 being disposed at the standby position C, the conveyance device 30 is moved from the intersection B to the intersection D (Step S7 of
Then, the second drum 20 is moved from the standby position C to the intersection D, and is inserted into the hollow 31 of the conveyance device 30 (Step S8 of
Then, the outer peripheral surface of the second drum 20 is increased in diameter to contact the inner peripheral surface of the tire forming member 1, and accordingly, the second drum 20 holds the tire forming member 1 (Step S9 of
Then, the decrease in the pressures in the vacuum chambers 53, 58, 58 by the vacuum device 70 is stopped, and the tire forming member 1 is released from the center suction pads 50 and the end suction pads 55, 55 (Step S10 of
Then, the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 move the suction pads 50, 55, 55 from the contact position to the separate position, and transfers the tire forming member 1 to the second drum 20 (Step S11 of
In the present embodiment, the suction pads 50, 55, 55 provided at the different positions in the circumferential direction are separately movable in the radial direction by the different movement mechanisms 51. Even in the case of different sizes of the tire forming member, the areas where the suction pads 50, 55, 55 move are changed so that the tire forming member can be sucked and released. Thus, even in a case where tires with different sizes are manufactured, an increase in the number of set-up change steps can be suppressed and management of a replacement component can be simplified.
Compressive force may act on the tire forming member 1 when the suction pads 50, 55, 55 move from the separate position to the contact position, and tensile force may act on the tire forming member 1 when the suction pads 50, 55, 55 move from the contact position to the separate position. In the present embodiment, since the suction pads 50, 55, 55 provided at the different positions in the circumferential direction are separately moved in the radial direction by the different movement mechanisms 51, 56, the above-described compressive force and tensile force easily uniformly act in the radial direction, and therefore, local deformation of the tire forming member 1 can be reduced.
The movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 that move the suction pads 50, 55, 55 include the lock mechanisms 51b, 56b, 56b that limit movement of the suction pads 50, 55, 55. Thus, undesirable deformation of the tire forming member 1 due to movement of the suction pads 50, 55, 55 while the suction pads 50, 55, 55 are holding the tire forming member can be prevented.
In the present embodiment, the lengths La, Lb of the gaps 59a, 59b, which are formed between the center suction pad 50 and the end suction pads 55, 55, in the axial direction X can be adjusted. Thus, even in a case where the outward bulge in the radial direction is continuously formed in the circumferential direction on the tire forming member, the suction pads 50, 55, 55 can suck the tire forming member at the positions avoiding such a bulge. Consequently, the suction force of the suction pads 50, 55, 55 is less likely to locally act on the tire forming member, and as a result, degradation of the uniformity of a molded tire due to injection of air into the tire forming member 1 or non-uniform arrangement of a reinforcing member such as a carcass cord can be prevented.
In the present embodiment, the adjustment device 47 moves one end annular frame 41 and the other end annular frame 43 in the opposite directions in the axial direction X in synchronization with each other, thereby adjusting the lengths La, Lb of the gaps 59a, 59b in the axial direction X. Thus, the adjustment device 47 allows both the end annular frames 41, 43 to move by a common drive source, leading to a simple configuration of the adjustment device 47.
Modifications of the above-described embodiment will be described. Any one of the plurality of modifications described below may be applied to the above-described embodiment, or any two or more of the modifications described below may be applied in combination to the above-described embodiment. Note that various changes can also be made in addition to the following modifications.
When the tire forming member 1 is sucked and held by the plurality of suction pads 50, 55, 55, the suction force of the plurality of suction pads 50, 55, 55 for sucking the tire forming member 1 may be set equally for all the suction pads 50, 55, 55. However, the plurality of suction pads 50, 55, 55 may be divided into a first suction pad group with strong suction force and a second suction pad group with weaker suction force than that of the first suction pad group, and the suction force may be differentiated according to the positions at which the suction pads 50, 55, 55 suck the tire forming member 1.
For example, in a case where the axial direction X of the conveyance device 30 is in the horizontal direction, ones of the plurality of center suction pads 50 and end suction pads 55, 55 that suck the upper side of the tubular tire forming member 1 with respect to the center axis thereof are set as the first suction pad group. Ones of the plurality of center suction pads 50 and end suction pads 55, 55 that suck the lower side of the tire forming member 1 with respect to the center axis thereof are set as the second suction pad group. The suction force of the plurality of suction pads 50, 55, 55 set as the second suction pad group is set less than the suction force of the plurality of suction pads 50, 55, 55 set as the first suction pad group.
The first suction pad group and the second suction pad group are set as described above so that the force acting on the tire forming member 1 can be uniform in the circumferential direction in consideration of the force of gravity acting on the tire forming member 1. A situation of the tire forming member 1 being not held due to insufficient suction force for the tire forming member 1 on the upper side of the tire forming member 1 or a situation of the tire forming member 1 being undesirably deformed due to excessive suction force for the tire forming member 1 on the lower side of the tire forming member 1 can be prevented.
When the movement mechanisms 51, 56, 56 move the suction pads 50, 55, 55 from the contact position to the separate position to transfer the tire forming member 1 to the second drum 20, the suction pads 50, 55, 55 may release the tire forming member 1 all at once, and thereafter, all the suction pads 50, 55, 55 may be simultaneously moved to the separate position. Alternatively, the plurality of suction pads 50, 55, 55 may be divided into a fourth suction pad group to be first moved from the contact position to the separate position and a third suction pad group to be moved to the separate position after the suction pads in the fourth suction pad group have been moved, and the timing of moving the suction pads 50, 55, 55 from the contact position to the separate position may be differentiated according to the positions at which the suction pads 50, 55, 55 suck the tire forming member 1.
For example, all the suction pads 50, 55, 55 are divided into the third suction pad group and the fourth suction pad group such that adjacent ones of the suction pads 50, 55, 55 in the circumferential direction are in different suction pad groups.
Then, after Steps S1 to S9 in the above-described embodiment have been sequentially executed (i.e., after the outer peripheral surface of the second drum 20 has contacted the inner peripheral surface of the tire forming member 1 and the second drum 20 has held the tire forming member 1), the suction pads 50, 55, 55 in the fourth suction pad group release the tire forming member 1 while the suction pads 50, 55, 55 in the third suction pad group keep sucking and holding the tire forming member 1, and thereafter, the suction pads 50, 55, 55 in the fourth suction pad group are moved to the separate position.
Thereafter, the suction pads 50, 55, 55 in the third suction pad group release the tire forming member 1, and thereafter, are moved to the separate position.
Adjacent ones of the suction pads 50, 55, 55 in the circumferential direction are moved to the separate position at the different timings as in the present modification, so that the suction pads 50, 55, 55 are easily detached from the tire forming member 1. Thus, the tire forming member 1 is prevented from being undesirably deformed when the suction pads 50, 55, 55 are moved to the separate position.
In the above-described embodiment, a pressure sensor that measures the pressures of the vacuum chambers 53, 58, 58 may be provided, and based on the pressures detected by the pressure sensor, it may be determined whether the tire forming member 1 has been normally sucked and held by the suction pads 50, 55, 55, or it may be determined whether the suction pads 50, 55, 55 has normally released the tire forming member 1.
For example, after Steps S1 to S5 in the above-described embodiment have been sequentially executed (i.e., after the vacuum chambers 53, 58, 58 have been decreased in pressure by the vacuum device 70), the pressures of the vacuum chambers 53, 58, 58 after a lapse of predetermined time (e.g., after a lapse of three seconds) since the decrease in the pressures of the vacuum chambers 53, 58, 58 was started are measured by the pressure sensor. In a case where the measured pressures reach a predetermined value or less, it is determined that the tire forming member 1 is normally sucked and held by the suction pads 50, 55, 55, and the process proceeds to next Step S6.
On the other hand, in a case where the measured pressures do not reach the predetermined value or less, it is determined that the tire forming member 1 is not normally sucked and held by the suction pads 50, 55, 55, and the process does not proceed to next Step S6 and an notification of an abnormality is made.
After the steps up to Step S11 in the above-described embodiment have been sequentially executed (after the suction pads 50, 55, 55 have been moved to the separate position), the pressures of the vacuum chambers 53, 58, 58 after a lapse of predetermined time (e.g., after a lapse of three seconds) since the suction pads 50, 55, 55 were moved to the separate position are measured by the pressure sensor. In a case where the measured pressures are a predetermined value or more, it is determined that the tire forming member 1 has been normally released from the suction pads 50, 55, 55 and transferred to the second drum 20, the transfer of the tire forming member 1 to the second drum 20 is completed.
On the other hand, in a case where the measured pressures do not reach the predetermined value or more, it is determined that the tire forming member 1 has not been normally released from the suction pads 50, 55, 55 and transferred to the second drum 20, and a notification of an abnormality is made.
In this modification, a state of the tire forming member 1 having been normally sucked and held by the suction pads 50, 55, 55 and a state of the sucked and held tire forming member 1 having been normally released can be detected with a simple configuration.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-209794 | Dec 2023 | JP | national |
