Patent Application
20110192548
The present invention relates to a cage tire for containing tire explosions, and in particular, to tire cages for containing tire explosions of having a diameter in the range of 6 to 12 feet, and having stored energy, e.g., in a range of 500 kilojoules to 7500 kilojoules which is approximately 13-200 times the energy of a conventional truck/SUV tire.
It is well known that inflation or deflation of certain tires can be hazardous to personnel performing such operations and to others nearby. In particular, split rim tires are known to be especially dangerous in that metal portions of the split rim can be propelled at high velocity if the tire fails. Moreover, such tire failures where portions of the split rim may become projectiles is especially dangerous when inflating or deflating such tires. This is true of virtually all split rim tires, and there have been various devices developed to hold or secure split rim tires for light vehicles (e.g., cars or trunks). However, for inflation or deflation of very large tires such as those on heavy/industrial mobile equipment (e.g., loaders, graders, large earth moving equipment), there heretofore has not been any equipment developed or proposed for containing the extreme explosiveness and potential destructiveness of such very large tires that are, e.g., 8 to 10 feet (or more) in diameter. Said another way, size does indeed matter when it comes to the dangerousness and destructiveness of a large tire explosion. In particular, all known prior art apparatuses for containing such large tire explosions are immobile and exceedingly large.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a mobile tire cage that is relatively lightweight and is able to effectively contain the explosion of a large tire. Moreover, it would be desirable that such cage be reusable.
The present disclosure shows a tire cage for:
Regarding (A) immediately above, the disclosed tire cage includes imaging devices for inspecting a tire in the tire cage, and in particular, such imaging devices are positioned so that the visible portions of the tire's split rim as well at least the tire casing adjacent thereto can be imaged for inspecting remotely from the tire. To perform such imaging, the imaging devices and the tire may be rotated relative to one another so that each side of the tire can be imaged, and in particular, the split rim together with its juncture with the tire casing, for identifying such anomalous or potentially unsafe conditions such as:
It is an important aspect of the tire cage of the present disclosure that embodiments for receiving large tires are relatively lightweight and easily transported to where such large tires are in use. This is especially important in view of the fact that energy stored within tires increases exponentially with the size of the tire (e.g., a typical truck tire of 3 foot diameter may store approximately 60 kilojoules of energy, a typical inflated 6 foot diameter tire may store approximately 500 kilojoules of energy, a typical inflated 8 foot diameter tire may store approximately 1200 kilojoules, and a typical inflated 12 foot diameter tire may store approximately 7500 kilojoules). Thus, even for 8 to 12 foot diameter tires, embodiments of the present invention may be:
To provide the above transportability features and to additionally provide a more cost effective tire cage for large tires than heretofore possible, it is an aspect of the present invention to use a light weight energy absorbing material such as an energy absorbing metallic foam to cushion the frame of the present tire cage from being damaged by high velocity portions of an exploding tire, and particular, portions of a split rim. The use of such energy absorbing foams substantially reduces the weight and size of the tire cage. Additionally, the tire cage is designed so that the energy absorbing foam can be replaced after it has been crushed while absorbing the impact of portions of an exploding tire. Thus, it is an aspect of the present invention that the tire cage is reusable by substantially merely replacing the crushed foam (and related components for securing the foam in position) after a tire explosion occurs within the tire cage.
In at least some embodiments of tire cage, the energy absorbing foam includes an aluminum foam. Moreover, such foams may have a relative density in a range of 7-12% as one skilled in the art will understand.
Various enhancements to the above tire cage embodiments, and/or additional embodiments are also considered within the scope of the present disclosure. In particular, an embodiment of the tire cage may include various devices for assisting an operator in inspecting a tire within the cage. Such devices may include tire imaging equipment such as one or more cameras, and/or video recording devices, wherein such devices may provide images of various portions of a tire within the tire cage so that, e.g., prior to inflation or deflation, a tire cage operator can inspect the tire more effectively, efficiently and safely than by, e.g., walking around and possibly climbing on the tire cage in order to inspect the tire. In particular, such imaging devices may communicate their images to one or more video monitors at, e.g., an operator station (safely remote from the tire cage) so that the operator can, from this station, raise, lower and/or rotate the tire positioned on a tire supporting pedestal within the cage for viewing and inspecting the tire via corresponding images presented on these monitors. An embodiment of the tire cage can be provided with a corresponding operator station having one or more computer display monitors, wherein the monitor(s) may allow the operator to view various portions of the tire simultaneously if desired. The operator station may additionally include various controls for securing the tire within the tire cage (e.g., locking a lid of the tire cage), positioning the tire within the cage (e.g., rising, lowering, or rotating the tire), and/or inflating or deflating the tire. In one embodiment, safety features such as checks to assure that important portions of the tire have been imaged by the imaging equipment may be provided. For example, inflation and/or deflation may be prevented until the tire has been rotated at least one full 360 degree rotation on the pedestal with the imaging equipment active for obtaining images of, e.g., the entire visible portion of the tire's split rim, the tire itself, and/or the contact between the two. Moreover, such tire and split rim images may be archived for, e.g., operator training, recording the condition of a tire before it has exploded, identifying defects in tires or split rims, and/or automating the detection of tire anomalies.
Other benefits and features of the present invention will become evident form the accompanying drawing and the Detailed Description hereinbelow.
The embodiments of the tire cage 50 illustrated in
Referring to
The support plates 62 and 66 (or instead of 66, the plate to which the W-beams are welded) are positioned on top of one another so as to have substantially vertically aligned outside perimeters when viewed from below (
The support assembly 54 also includes two lower side members 98 (
The support assembly 54 further includes a back assembly 114 (
The support assembly 54 also includes a tire pedestal 156 (
The tire pedestal 156 includes a hydraulic adjustable height table 159 (
Note that the tire pedestal 156 (as well as the rest of the tire cage 50) is configured so that tires smaller than the largest acceptable tire may be safely inflated and/or deflated in the tire cage. In particular, an embodiment of the tire cage 50 according to the disclosure herein may be used for safely inflating and/or deflating tires having diameters of 3 and 6 feet.
Referring to lid 60, it includes two side beams 158 (
On top of the rear of each of the side beams 158 is a lever beam 186 to which a hydraulic actuating cylinder 190 (
Across the width of the lid 60 and attached to the side beams 158 are a plurality of impact beams 194 (
Two lid posts 208 are additionally provided at the corners of the front 198, wherein each of the posts 208 is attached to one of the side beams 158. Each of the lid posts 208 has extending therefrom a bifurcated connector 212, wherein each of the extensions 216 (
The lid 60 further includes lid sides 240 (
The lid 60 also includes an energy absorbing structure 252 (
Each of the assemblies 254 includes a 2 to 2½ inch thick steel plate 260 (
In one embodiment, each block 264 includes (and may substantially consist of) a rigid energy absorbing material such as what is known in the art as an “open celled foam” material (also denoted herein as simply “foam”). A highly magnified portion 404 of a representation of such a foam is shown in
Note that in at least one embodiment of the invention, one or more of the blocks 264 may include a plurality of layers of an energy absorbing material, and in particular, various layers of one or more metallic foams. Having a plurality of layers for one or more of the blocks 264 allows better control in absorbing forces from a tire explosion. In particular, the size, location, and energy absorbing characteristics of the layers within the blocks 264 may be varied. For example, different layers may be fabricated from different metallic foams, from foams of a different relative density, from foams of a different thickness and/or from foams with different crushing characteristics. Moreover, the layers may be layered upon one another in a particular sequence for enhancing the energy and force absorbing characteristics of the blocks 264. For example, a relatively low crush strength foam layer may be the layer contacting the decoupler plate 260 with additional layers having progressively higher crush strengths. Thus, in the event that one of the assemblies 254 is not as forcefully impacted during a tire explosion, it may be that only the layer contacting the decoupler plate 260 must be replaced.
As shown in
Since the present invention contemplates that the energy absorbing structure 252 should, in at least one embodiment, be capable of absorbing the force of approximately 3500 to 3600 kiloNewtons of force imparted to the bead seat band/side ring and lock ring of, e.g., a 96 inch diameter split rim tire 58, the use of such an energy absorbing foam provides the only known way to absorb this amount of force within, e.g., a relatively small volume (e.g., a volume corresponding to the space in the closed cage 50 above the tire 58, wherein the distance between the cross beams 194 and the tire 58 is in the range of 12 to 20 inches), and wherein the cage is not so heavy that it becomes difficult to transport with, e.g., a forklift. In particular, it is desirable that the cage 50 be less than approximately 10-15 tons. Additionally, such foams are the only known materials that can absorb such high forces and still be lightweight. Each of the subassemblies 262 may weigh between 10 and 20 pounds. Thus, in one embodiment, their relative contribution to the weight of the tire cage 50 is approximately less than 2% of the approximate tire cage weight of approximately 7 tons. Moreover, it is believed that if such a light energy absorbing material were not used, the resulting tire cage could weigh as much as 15 tons, require twice the volume for operation, and thus would be very difficult to move between locations without, e.g., dismantling. In particular, it is worthwhile to note that the support assembly 54 may include channels 270 through the “I” beams 70 so that a forklift can transport the tire cage 50 by inserting the forks of the forklift into these channels. Note that in one embodiment, the channels 70 may be enclosed by steel plates for the channel sides, wherein these plates pierce the “I” beams and are welding thereto.
As mentioned above, various arrangements and relative densities of Duocel manufactured energy absorbing aluminum blocks 264 (more precisely, the subassemblies 262) have been determined to be effective in absorbing a force of approximately 3500 to 3600 kiloNewtons (equivalently, approximately 786,795 to 809,275 lb-ft). Representative arrangements are provided in the Appendix. It is preferred that each of the blocks 264 have a width “w” (
The tire cage 50 also includes an electronic control subsystem for controlling lid 60 positioning and the inflating of a tire 58.
(
(l) A hinge unlocking button 356 such that when the button is pushed, the actuators 182 (
To operate the tire cage 50, a tire 58 must be positioned on the tire pedestal 156 as shown in, e.g.,
During the inflation or deflation process, the tire 58 may explode thereby propelling tire fragments in various directions, and in particular, portions of the split rim 157 may be propelled toward the lid 60. Upon impact by a portion of, e.g., the split rim 157 during a tire 58 explosion, each plate 260 disperses the impact of the various portions of the tire 58 (and in particular portions of the split rim 157) the over the subassemblies 262 that reside between the decoupler plate 260 and the cross beams 194. Accordingly, the kinetic forces of the tire fragments projected toward the lid 60 are effectively absorbed by the even distribution of such blast forces on the subassemblies 262 which would otherwise not occur if there were no decoupler plate 260. Additionally, the plate 260 acts as a large kinetic energy reflecting mass to “decouple” at least a portion of the kinetic energy, e.g., of the split rim 157 during tire explosion, from being transmitted to the subassemblies 262. Note that the decoupler plates 260 are reusable in subsequent tire explosions.
Note that after a tire explosion has occurred within the tire cage 50, the cage may then be opened and the remnants of the tire and its split rim 157 can be removed. Since most of the blast impact was absorbed by the energy absorbing structure 252, the remainder of the tire cage 50 is reusable by replacing the damaged portions of the energy absorbing structure. In particular, one or more of the anchors 256, and one or more of the subassemblies 262 will likely require replacement. However, the tire cage 50 is constructed so that such replacement being relatively straightforward.
Various enhancements to the above tire cage embodiments, and/or additional embodiments are also considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. In particular, an embodiment of the tire cage 50 may include various devices for assisting an operator in inspecting a tire 58 within the cage. Such inspection devices may include tire imaging equipment such as one or more cameras, video recording devices, and/or microwave or x-ray devices, wherein such inspection devices may provide images (or other data) of various portions of a tire within the tire cage 50 so that, e.g., prior to inflation or deflation, a tire cage operator can inspect the tire 58 more effectively, efficiently and/or safely than by, e.g., walking around the tire and possibly climbing on the tire cage in order to inspect the tire therein. In particular, such inspection devices may communicate their images (or other inspection data) to one or more video or displays 421 monitors 420 (
Referring to
Referring to
As can be seen from
The top imaging device 442 is connected to a positioning subassembly 444 (of the assembly 426), wherein this positioning subassembly is in turn attached to the “L” shaped plate 438 (of the assembly 426) that is in turn secured to a corresponding one of the angle brackets 434. In one embodiment, the positioning subassembly 444 is an Automated Drive and Design (AD&D) 1BM25-20¼-20 articulating mount manufactured by Automated Drive and Design, LLC located at 6350 South Inwood Drive, Columbus, Ind. 47201, and this subassembly is able to rotate the top imaging device 442 about the axis 450 (
The upper video recording device assembly 426 also includes at least one and preferably a plurality of lights 468 for illuminating the tire 58. In one embodiment, these lights are Smart Vision S75-WHI Wide Lens Brick LED lights manufactured by Smart Vision Lights, 200 Viridian Drive, Muskegon, Mich. 49440. Each of the lights 468 may be fixedly mounted into a corresponding cross member 472 whose ends are attached to the angle brackets 434 via an attachment provided in the corresponding openings 476 formed from the alignment of the bores in the cross members 472 with those of the angle brackets 434 as indicated in
The lower video recording device assembly 428 also includes at least one light 516 for illuminating the lower side of the tire 58. In one embodiment, the light 516 is a halogen light. Each light 516 may be fixedly mounted in the bottom of an internally light reflective element 520 (
The lower video recording device assembly 428 also includes protective transparent members 540 and 544 for protecting, respectively, the imaging device 492 and the light 516 from dust, dirt and other debris that can fall off a tire 58 provided in the tire cage 50. Such transparent members 540 and 544 may be made of, e.g., glass or glycol modified polyethylene terphthalate. In one embodiment, a cleaning mechanism (not shown) may be provided for cleaning the upper surfaces of the transparent members 540 and 544 that face the tire 58. Such a cleaning mechanism may include one or more of an air blower and/or a wiper with a cleaning fluid dispenser for cleaning the upper surfaces of the transparent members 540 and 544 much like an automobile windshield wiper is able to clean an automobile windshield. Note that such a cleaning mechanism may be very desirable in that if such a transparent member ceases to have sufficient clarity due to, e.g., dust or dirt falling off a tire 58 within the tire cage 50, then a crane, hoist, and/or forklift may be required to remove the tire from the tire cage 50 just to clean the transparent members 540 and/or 544.
Referring now to the tread image recording device assembly 432, this assembly may be mounted on posts 545a having connecting cross members 545b. The assembly 432 may include a positioning subassembly 546 identical to the positioning subassembly 496, and also include an imaging device 547 identical to the imaging devices 442 and 492. Note that the tread image recording device assembly 432 may be vertically adjustable along the posts 445a so that this assembly can scan the entire tread of the tire 58 and/or be positioned appropriately for different sizes of tires 58. The tread image recording device assembly 432 may also include a light(s) 548 (
Note that for the ease of the operator, controls at the operator station 422 may include one or more of (a) and (b) following:
The energy absorbing subassemblies 262 (
The sensors 560 may measure the extent of compression of the subassemblies 262 in the direction of the axis 568. During a tire 58 explosion, a shaft 572 (
In
Note that in one embodiment, each of the subassemblies 262 may include one or more sensors 560. For example, each corner edge between sides of a subassembly 262 may have one of the sensors 560 aligned lengthwise therewith such that this sensor is, e.g., within an inch or less of the corner edge. In particular, such a sensor 560 may reside within a bore extending between the metal plates 266, or may reside external to the block 264 but integral with the subassembly 262 therefor. Alternative embodiments may include different configurations of sensors 560 integral with subassemblies 262, e.g., such a sensor 560 may reside within a bore extending between the metal plates 266, wherein the bore goes through (or near) a center of mass of the block 264.
The block analysis software may also compute an aging measurement for the subassemblies 262 when such assemblies have experienced one or more tire 50 explosions so that regardless of the amount of compression, such subassemblies may be identified for inspection more often and/or identified for replacement after a certain length of time or tire explosions. Regarding such aging of subassemblies 262, with each compression of a subassembly 262 there may be cracks in the outer coating of non-corrosive material (e.g., gold) of the subassembly and such cracks may (e.g., over time) compromise the energy absorbing effectiveness of the block 264 therein. Additionally, the internal open rigid cell structure of the blocks 264 may be compromised more than is evident by measuring height compression if ambient air, moisture or corrosive vapors enter the rigid open cells 408 (
In one embodiment, if the aging of a subassembly 262 commences from an initial non-trivial compression, with each additional tire 58 explosion to which the subassembly is subjected, the aging of the subassembly may be accelerated (e.g., an aging rate may be doubled). Also, such an aging rate may also be accelerated when the compression of the subassembly is determined to be greater than, e.g., 20%, and even greater when the compression of the subassembly is determined to be greater than 35%. Accordingly, when the age measurement of a subassembly 262 reaches a predetermined value, the subassembly may be either replaced, or at least closely inspected for replacement. In one embodiment, after each tire explosion within the cage 50, each of the subassemblies 262 may be inspected for obvious cracks to the non-corrosive coating, and identifications of the subassemblies having such cracks may be input by the operator to the block analysis software so that such cracked subassemblies can have their aging accelerated. In one embodiment, the block analysis software assumes each of the subassemblies 262 commences aging from the time it is positioned within a tire cage 50, and there may be a maximum lifetime for each such subassembly of, e.g., 10 years to reside in a tire cage 50.
In one embodiment, a tire cage operator may be required to disassemble one or more energy absorbing assemblies 254 to examine each subassembly 262 for cracks as well as provide an additional coating of a non-corrosive material on the subassembly. For example, for certain copper alloy metal foams such an additional coating may be a paint or epoxy for forming at least an additional water barrier. However, in one embodiment, each subassembly 262 may be vacuum sealed in, e.g., a plastic bag, wherein after each tire explosion experienced, each of the subassemblies are removed from their bags and vacuumed sealed in new bags. Note that the aging rate and/or the age of a subassembly 262 may only be increased in this later embodiment if the operator determines that the vacuum seal on the subassembly is broken and enters such information into the computer 424.
In one embodiment, the aging of the subassemblies 262 may be determined by one or more computational models of the subassemblies. One such model may be based on multivariate statistical model based on the parameters of time in service, the number of tire explosions experienced, the degree of explosion compression, etc. Additionally/alternatively, such a model may be based on a learning computational paradigm such as an artificial neural network, vector machine, etc.
Since there may be multiple layers of assemblies 254 that are layered between a tire 58 and the frame of the tire cage 50 (in particular, the beams 194), wherein, e.g., the upper plate 564 of one of the assemblies 254 also functions as the decoupling plate 260 of a next layer, the sensors 560 for each one of the layered assemblies 254 may be used to determine whether there has been any detectable or appreciable compression of each layer (i.e., the subassemblies 262 therein). Thus, if the sensors 560 of a particular layer have not detected at least a threshold amount of compression (e.g., such threshold may be less than 0.5% of the layer's original spacing between its decoupling plate 260 and its upper plate 564, it may be unnecessary for the operator to disassembly such a layer after a tire explosion within the tire cage 50. Thus, in one embodiment, the use of multiple layers of assemblies 254 of, e.g., subassemblies 262 having a reduced height may reduce operator work where there is a reduced amount of tire explosion kinetic energy to be absorbed such as would occur when smaller tires 58 are serviced within the tire cage 50.
As shown in
An additional one or more LEDs 588 may be provided for, e.g., signaling that compression above the second predetermined amount has occurred. However, such identification may only be shown on one of the displays 421.
The sensors 560 may measure additional levels of compression such as by the upper most pair 580 of electrical contacts (
Since the block analysis software on the computer 424 (or data storage accessible by the software) may retain historical information regarding past compressions of each of the subassemblies 262, if after a tire explosion, one or more of the sensors 560 goes from a green lighted LED 588 to, e.g., a purple lighted LED, this event may be an indication that the nearby subassemblies 262 are not effectively absorbing tire explosion kinetic energy. In such a circumstance, the manufacturer or supplier of such subassemblies 262 may be contacted.
Note, in one embodiment, the computer 424 maybe connected to a network (e.g., the Internet) so that information regarding a tire explosion within the tire cage 50 may be recorded at a central network site (e.g., a website) that monitors such tire cages 50. In particular, such a central network site may be notified if any sensor 560 that detects an extreme compression, e.g., indicative of a subassembly's compression beyond, e.g., 75% of the height of the subassembly's original non-compressed height, or where the block 264 therein enters it's the densification zone beyond its crush plateau.
Note that the sensors 560 may each include a biasing component(s) for biasing each shaft 572 to extend out of its corresponding recess 576 so that each sensor extends between and contacts each of the corresponding decoupler plate 260 and the corresponding upper plate 564 between which the sensor is positioned. The biasing component(s) (not shown in
Each sensor 560 (or operator selected sensors) may be reset, e.g., from operator input to the computer 424 so that such a sensor(s) is (re)calibrated to output a reading indicative of no compression even though the sensor may be compressed, e.g., from replacement of all subassemblies 262 with alternative subassemblies having a reduced height. Other operator resets may occur when there is some computer 424 input indicating that specifically identified subassemblies 262 are replaced. Such an indication may be from receiving an operator input to the computer 424 indicating that certain identified blocks 264 have been replaced. Note that, at least in one embodiment, a value indicative of a sensor 560 being fully extended (e.g., of the shaft 572 extending out of its corresponding recess 576) is insufficient for determining whether to reset the sensor's measured extension. For example, if a sensor 560, S, is included in two distinct collections of sensors, each collection used in measuring the compression of a different subassembly 262, then if one of the subassemblies is replaced but the other is not (e.g., due to a lesser compression from a tire explosion), then sensor S data associated with the replaced subassembly 262 should be recalibrated or reset to indicate no compression, whereas sensor S data for the compressed but not replaced subassembly should not be recalibrated or reset. Accordingly, for each sensor 560, distinct sensor compression data may be retained for each subassembly 262 whose compression is measured by the sensor.
The various numbers of sensors 560 may be positioned in or about the subassemblies 262, and the sensors can be configured in various configurations depending on, e.g., the configuration of the subassemblies 262 used (see the Appendix herein for alternative subassembly configurations). Each sensor 560 may have a magnetic base 592 for positioning and maintaining it upright on its decoupling plate 260.
Additionally, it is within the scope of the present disclosure that the subassemblies 262 need not be in the shape of blocks. Such subassemblies 262 may be cylindrical (not shown), have a triangular top surface (as shown in
Note that upon replacing some of the subassemblies 262 (but not all), there may be a difference in height and/or angular orientation of the tops of the subassemblies facing the upper plate 564. Accordingly, the operator may be required to attach various (metal, e.g., steel or aluminum) shims to the top and/or the bottom surface of the non-replaced subassemblies 262 that have been somewhat compressed in one or more tire explosions within the tire cage 50, wherein each such shim is attached to its corresponding subassembly 262 via any suitable method, e.g., a metal shim attachment (not shown) that includes a recess for fitting on top of the block, wherein, e.g., a shim slidably locks into the shim attachment.
Regarding such a shim attachment, it may have side portions that extend some ways down the sides of a subassembly 262 (to which it is attached) for stabilizing the shim attachment on its subassembly. However, such side portions do not significantly impact airflow from the subassembly (in the event that the subassembly is not vacuumed sealed) when compressed during a tire explosion. For example, each of the side portions of such a shim attachment may extend over a corresponding subassembly 262 side approximately 25% of the original height of the subassembly. Each side portion may include an “L” shaped corner extension that covers and mates with a corner of its subassembly 262 such that only a small amount of each of the adjacent sides of the subassembly 262 corner is covered, e.g., approximately ½ inch of subassembly coverage along the subassembly side.
Further note that for sensors 560 adjacent to such a non-replaced subassembly 262 (i.e., the sensors used to measure the compression of the non-replaced subassembly), the computer 424 (more particularly, the energy absorbing material and sensor database 623 of
The sensors 560 and the subassemblies 262 can be accessed for rearrangement, replacement, and/or resetting by manipulating or reconfiguring the anchors 256 so that the space between the decoupling plate 260 and the upper plate 564 is increased sufficiently to allow an operator to access the sensors 560 and the subassemblies 262. In one embodiment, each of the anchors 256 may be secured at one end to the decoupling plate 260 nearest to a tire 58 positioned on the table 164 (
For retaining and securing each anchor 256 within its corresponding tube 594, there may be, e.g., a corresponding retaining component 596 (
Each sensor 560 may have a magnetic base 592 for positioning and maintaining it upright on its decoupling plate 260.
Referring to
Prior to describing additional components shown in
The controller 620 has associated therewith a tire attribute database 622 having information about tires 58, e.g., that have been inspected, inflated or deflated using the tire cage 50. For each tire having information in the tire attribute database 622, such information may include at least:
Note that (622.a) and (622.b) immediately above may be input, via the operator interface 621, by a tire operator. Additionally, after at least one tire inspection, deflation, or inflation within the tire cage 50 of a tire 58, the tire attribute database 622 will preferably include the following data items (for one or more of the tire with its rim, and the tire casing):
The controller 620 also has associated therewith an energy absorbing material and sensor database 623 having information about the energy absorbing assemblies 254, and more specifically, energy absorbing subassemblies 262 thereof. In particular, various data items have been described hereinabove to be retained for subsequent access in configuring and/or replacing the energy absorbing subassemblies 262 and/or sensors 560. The following data may be electronically stored in the energy absorbing material database 623:
The controller 620 also has associated therewith a tire image database 624 having image scans, pictures and/or videos of tires 58 inspected within the tire cage 50. A description of the image data provided in the tire image database 624 is described above in the description of tire 58 histories stored in the tire attribute database 622, and more particularly, in items (622.c)(v) and (622.c)(vi) of the description. In addition, for each tire 58, its scan(s), picture(s), video(s), and any other image data has associated therewith, the unique identification of the tire 58 to which such tire image data pertains.
Referring to the components of the controller 620, it includes an energy absorbing material manager 628 which:
The controller 620 also includes an emergency stop manager 636 which may perform the following tasks:
The controller 620 further includes a tire cage lid and locking pin controller 644 which performs programmatic elements (software) indicative of the following high level pseudo-code:
Psuedo-code for the program “Close Lid” follows.
Psuedo-code for the program “Open_Lid” follows.
The controller 620 further includes a front plate controller 648 which performs programmatic elements (software) indicative of high level pseudocode substantially similar to the pseudocode above for the tire cage lid & locking pin controller 644. In particular, by replacing all occurrences of “Lid” with “FrontPlate”, replacing “lid 60” with “front plate 202”, replacing all occurrences of “cylinder 190” with “actuator 204” in the pseudo-code CloseLid and OpenLid program elements above, corresponding program elements CloseFrontPlate and OpenFrontPlate may be obtained. Accordingly, the following pseudo-code is obtained as a high level embodiment of the controller 648.
Psuedo-code for the program “FrontPlateController” follows.
The controller 620 also includes a tire scanning & imaging module 652 for obtaining images of a tire 58, wherein upon initialization for subsequently imaging the tire, the tire scanning & imaging module orients the imaging devices 442 and 492 via their respective positioning subassemblies 444 and 496 for the size of the tire, and the height of the tire on the table 159. Additionally, if the lights 468 and 516 for the imaging devices 442 and 492 are also positionable, then such lights may also be positioned according to the size of the tire 58 and the height of the tire on the table 159. Once such initialization is completed, the tire scanning & imaging module 652 may image/scan the tire 58 via operator input through the operator interface 621 (e.g., which may include a graphical user interface for presentation on the display(s) 421), wherein the operator may request the image/scan to be performed by an automated scan that occurs without further operator input, or the operator may interrupt such an automated scan to obtain further images (pictures and/or videos) of particular portions of the tire 58, e.g., for a more close inspection, and/or for capturing such further images in the tire image database 624 for monitoring and comparing the tire portions imaged with the same tire portions in future inspections of the tire. In one embodiment, the tire imaging module 652 performs the following high level pseudo-code for each side of the tire 58, and again for the tire's tread:
Since each of the program elements, “Image_tire_topside”, “Image_tire_bottomside”, and “Image_tire_tread” involved above are similar, only the pseudo-code for “Image_tire_topside” is presented hereinbelow.
The controller 620 also includes a tire inflation & deflation manager 656, wherein the inflating and deflating the tire may be restricted to maximum rates and/or protocols that are deemed more safe, wherein tire inflation and deflation rates, pressures and/or durations may be substantially computer controlled instead of operator controlled. In one embodiment, a tire 58 may be inflated and/or deflated in a stepped protocol within the tire cage 50, wherein the tire is inflated/deflated to a first pressure, held at the first pressure for a predetermined time and/or until the tire is reimaged by the tire imaging equipment (preferably, imaging at least an entire circular juncture between the tire's split rim and the remainder of the tire 58). In another embodiment, such a tire inflation/deflation protocol may include repeated steps of alternately inflating followed by at least a partial deflation, or a deflation followed by a partial re-inflation. Other such inflation/deflation protocols are also within the scope of the present disclosure.
The controller 620 may further include tire replacement and life predictor module 660 for: (a) identifying tires 58 whose tire casings need to be replaced, or assisting personnel in making such a determination, and/or (b) predicting when tires 58 may likely need to be replaced. Such a module 660 may be statistically based wherein such replacement and/or prediction for a tire 58 is determined, e.g., according to the tread remaining on the tire, the number and severity of anomalous tire conditions detected, and the length of time the tire has been in service.
At least the features described hereinabove related to the energy absorbing assemblies 254, the subassemblies 262, the various sensors (including the sensors 560) and/or the imaging devices 438 and 492 (and their corresponding positioning assemblies 442 and 492) as well as the computational features of the controller 620 may be applicable to various types of equipment and/or safety related issues. For example, both equipment and personnel need to be protected from explosive and/or high energy impacting projectiles or debris in mining, drilling, explosion related equipment (e.g., large guns on ships), accidents involving a moving object, vehicle or equipment (e.g., automobile or train accidents). In particular, in mining transportable blast containment structures may be desirable for providing blast protection. Moreover, such transportable blast containment structure may have one or more layers of assemblies 254 (
The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Further, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variation and modification commiserate with the above teachings, within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiment described hereinabove is further intended to explain the best mode presently known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention as such, or in other embodiments, and with the various modifications required by their particular application or uses of the invention.
In order to test various combinations of metallic foams for absorbing energy from a tire explosion, tests of various arrangements of various types of metallic foams was conducted. It was assumed that the total impact force of an energy absorption structure 252 (
In performing the tests, the following additional constraints were imposed on the arrangements:
Thirty-two different arrangements were tested, all arrangements providing substantially identical energy absorbing performance and having substantially identical overall dimensions. The following three tables describe the thirty-two arrangements tested, wherein the first table describes the how the primary blocks were arranged for each of the thirty-two arrangements, the second table describes the how the (any) secondary blocks were arranged for each of the thirty-two arrangements, and the third table describes the how the (any) tertiary blocks were arranged for each of the thirty-two arrangements.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No, 61/380,648 Entitled “SAFETY TIRE CAGE”, filed Sep. 7, 2010, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/467,931 Entitled “METHOD OF MANUFACTURE OF AN ENERGY ABSORBING TIRE CAGE”, filed Mar. 25, 2011; the present application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/627,813, filed Jan. 26, 2007, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DEBRIS FROM AN EXPLODING TIRE” which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/971,819, filed Oct. 21, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,240,713 entitled “ENERGY ABSORBING TIRE CAGE AND METHOD OF USE”; each of the above-identified applications are fully incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61380648 | Sep 2010 | US | |
| 61467931 | Mar 2011 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10971819 | Oct 2004 | US |
| Child | 11627813 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11627813 | Jan 2007 | US |
| Child | 13088244 | US |
