Patent Application
20140069572
The invention relates to a method for making a vehicle tire.
With conventional vehicle tires, folding the ply in the tire bead around a bead core is a known practice. The ply or the carcass ply is thereby anchored firmly in the tire bead. Conventional vehicle tires of this kind are produced by first arranging the inner layer and the plies as broad layers of material on a tire building drum. The bead core is then placed on the ply and the ply end is folded around the core.
In conventional production methods, the so-called ply folding operation takes place either on the carcass drum or on the following cambering drum. This limits flexibility in the production of different tire designs.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for making a vehicle tire in a simple manner.
It is a further object to ensure high flexibility in the production of different tire designs.
The object is achieved by a method having the following steps:
a) winding at least one carcass ply onto a carcass drum, wherein the carcass drum has a device for setting tire cores and a mechanism for folding the carcass ply over a tire core;
b) finishing the tire carcass on the carcass drum;
c) removing the tire carcass from the carcass drum using a carcass transfer unit;
d) moving the carcass transfer unit with the tire carcass over a cambering drum;
e) carrying out a core clamping operation with segments of the cambering drum, wherein the abutting side walls are clamped to the tire carcass in the region of the tire bead on the cambering drum by this core clamping operation;
f) moving the carcass transfer unit away from the cambering drum;
g) cambering the tire carcass with the side walls, which are held in place on both sides;
wherein the side walls are turned up laterally on the tire carcass by a turning-up device, and the tire carcass is combined with the coaxially arranged belt/tread packet; and,
h) finishing the green tire using a conventional production method.
One advantage of the method according to the invention is that it is distinguished by high flexibility in the production of different tire designs. Through the method, it is, in particular, possible to make tire designs with what is referred to as a C-ply structure, in which part of the carcass ply is arranged so as to extend into the region under the belt/tread packet. The high flexibility of the method likewise makes it possible to arrange part of the side wall either above the belt/tread packet or below the belt/tread packet.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, in step a), after the winding on of the carcass plies, a central part of the carcass drum is expanded, and the tire cores are positioned laterally with respect to the offsets formed on the carcass drum.
It is thereby possible to arrange the tire cores in an exact position on the tire carcass.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, in step a), after the positioning of the tire cores, the two ply ends are folded around the tire cores via roller levers.
In this way, the ends of the carcass plies are folded firmly around the tire cores.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, before step e), the side walls are already arranged on the cambering drum, in the region of the segments, for the core clamping operation.
In this way, it is possible to make certain tire designs which are not possible with conventional methods.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, in step e), the side walls are connected firmly to the tire carcass in the region of the tire cores by the core clamping operation with the segments of the cambering drum.
In this method step, the segments for core clamping expand in a radial direction and thereby connect the superposed side walls firmly to the coaxially arranged tire carcass.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, after step f), the side walls are folded around the tire cores on the cambering drum via a turning-up device.
It is thereby possible to connect the side walls firmly to the tire carcass in the region of the tire bead.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, after the turning up of the side walls, the belt/tread packet is arranged coaxially with the cambering drum and, during the cambering operation, the tire carcass is combined with the belt/tread packet, wherein part of the side wall can be arranged under the tread.
This makes possible a tire configuration in which the side wall is arranged between the tire carcass and the belt/tread packet situated above it.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, in step g), the side wall is turned up after the cambering operation, wherein part of the side wall is arranged above the tread.
In this manner, this type of tire design can be produced in a relatively simple manner.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the turning-up device is formed on the cambering drum in the form of a multiplicity of roller levers.
As a result, the side walls can be turned up relatively quickly and with high accuracy.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, before step e), the side walls are prefabricated on a separate side wall drum and are then arranged on the cambering drum via a side wall transfer unit.
The cycle time on the cambering drum is thereby considerably reduced.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, before step d), the side walls are wound onto the cambering drum as a first tire building component.
As a result, no separate side wall drum is required.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, in step b), the finishing of the tire carcass on the carcass drum takes place without folding over any plies.
It is thereby likewise possible to produce tire designs by a conventional method.
The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:
In the center, the carcass drum 9 has a central part 21. The two mechanisms 5 for folding over the carcass plies are arranged laterally. In a first method step, the first carcass ply 12 and the second carcass ply 13 are wound successively onto the carcass drum 9.
The tire carcass 10 with the folded plies has been arranged coaxially with the cambering drum 6 via a carcass transfer unit (not shown). In advance, the right-hand side wall 2 and the left-hand side wall 3 have been arranged on the cambering drum 6. The two side walls 2 and 3 are arranged in the region of the segments 7 for the core clamping operation. The side walls are either prefabricated on a separate side wall drum or wound onto the cambering drum 6 as a first tire building component. In a subsequent step, the segments 7 expand apart in a radial direction 20, with the result that the superposed side walls 2 and 3 are connected firmly to the tire carcass 10. The mechanism 1 for folding over or turning up the side walls 2 and 3 is arranged on both sides of the cambering drum 6.
It is understood that the foregoing description is that of the preferred embodiments of the invention and that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2011 050 458.3 | May 2011 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation application of international patent application PCT/EP2012/055276, filed Mar. 26, 2012, designating the United States and claiming priority from German application 10 2011 050 458.3, filed May 18, 2011, and the entire content of both applications is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2012/055276 | Mar 2012 | US |
| Child | 14083199 | US |
