阅读说明：本技术 轮胎硫化方法以及轮胎硫化装置 (Tire vulcanizing method and tire vulcanizing device ) 是由 大谷公二 于 2020-03-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供轮胎硫化方法以及轮胎硫化装置,在能够从模具中取出已硫化轮胎的同时,使胎侧模与胎面模的分割位置向轮胎半径方向的内侧移动。包含从模具(2)中取出已硫化轮胎(100)的轮胎取出工序。轮胎取出工序包含使上胎侧模、下胎侧模(5U、5L)向轮胎轴向的内侧移动而使已硫化轮胎(100)向胎圈宽度减小的方向变形的阶段(S1)和在已硫化轮胎(100)的变形状态下使组合模(4A)向轮胎半径方向的外侧移动而从已硫化轮胎(100)卸下的阶段(S2)。(The invention provides a tire vulcanizing method and a tire vulcanizing device, which can take out a vulcanized tire from a mold and simultaneously move a parting position of a sidewall mold and a tread mold to the inner side of the tire radius direction. Comprises a tire removing step of removing the vulcanized tire (100) from the mold (2). The tire removing step includes a step (S1) of moving the upper and lower sidewall molds (5U, 5L) inward in the tire axial direction to deform the vulcanized tire (100) in a direction in which the bead width decreases, and a step (S2) of moving the split mold (4A) outward in the tire radial direction in a deformed state of the vulcanized tire (100) and removing the split mold from the vulcanized tire (100).)

1. A tire vulcanizing method for vulcanizing a green tire by a mold including a tread mold including a plurality of split molds arranged in a tire circumferential direction and an upper sidewall mold and a lower sidewall mold,

the tire vulcanizing method includes a tire removing step of removing a vulcanized tire from the mold after vulcanization,

the tire removing process comprises the following steps:

moving the upper sidewall mold and the lower sidewall mold to the inner side of the tire axial direction, respectively, and deforming the vulcanized tire in a direction in which the bead width decreases; and

in the deformed state of the vulcanized tire, the split molds are moved outward in the tire radial direction and detached from the vulcanized tire.

2. The tire vulcanizing method according to claim 1, wherein,

the distance from the division position of the upper sidewall mold, the lower sidewall mold and the tread mold to the tire radius direction of the bead reference line is smaller than 1/2 of the tire section height.

3. The tire vulcanizing method according to claim 1, wherein,

the split positions of the upper sidewall mold, the lower sidewall mold and the tread mold are closer to the inner side in the tire radius direction than the maximum width position of the tire.

4. The tire vulcanizing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein,

the tire removing process further includes the following steps: and moving the split molds outward in the radial direction of the tire from the closed state of the mold, and separating the tread mold from the upper sidewall mold and the lower sidewall mold.

5. A tire vulcanizing apparatus used in the tire vulcanizing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the tire vulcanizing device is provided with a control unit which is configured to make the tire vulcanizing device perform the following steps:

moving the upper sidewall mold and the lower sidewall mold to the inner side of the tire axial direction respectively to deform the vulcanized tire in the direction of reducing the width of the tire bead; and

in the deformed state of the vulcanized tire, the split molds are moved outward in the tire radial direction and detached from the vulcanized tire.

6. The tire curing apparatus of claim 5, having:

an upper plate supporting the segmented mold; and

a first lifting tool 1 capable of relatively moving the upper sidewall mold to the inside of the upper plate in the tire axial direction.

7. The tire vulcanizing device according to claim 6,

the tire vulcanizing device further includes a 1 st detection unit that detects a movement distance of the upper sidewall mold in the tire axial direction with respect to the upper plate by the 1 st detection unit.

8. The tire vulcanizing device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, having:

a lower plate on which the lower sidewall mold is placed; and

and a 2 nd lifting tool capable of relatively moving the lower sidewall mold with respect to the lower plate inward in the tire axial direction.

9. The tire vulcanizing device according to claim 8,

the tire vulcanizing device further includes a 2 nd detecting unit that detects a moving distance of the lower sidewall mold with respect to the tire axial direction of the lower plate by the 2 nd detecting unit.

10. The tire vulcanizing device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein,

the distance between the dividing positions of the upper sidewall mold, the lower sidewall mold and the tread mold in the tire radius direction of the bead reference line is smaller than 1/2 of the tire section height.

11. The tire vulcanizing device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein,

the upper sidewall mold, the lower sidewall mold and the tread mold are divided at positions closer to the inner side in the tire radius direction than the maximum width position of the tire.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a tire vulcanizing method and a tire vulcanizing apparatus capable of removing a vulcanized tire from a mold and moving a split position of a sidewall mold and a tread mold inward in a tire radial direction.

Background

For example, patent document 1 listed below describes a tire vulcanizing method and a tire vulcanizing apparatus including a step of taking out a vulcanized tire from a mold.

In the vulcanizer described above, the upper sidewall mold, the upper push plate, and the actuator are fixed to the upper platen, respectively. In synchronization with the vertical movement of the upper platen, the upper sidewall mold, the upper pusher, and the actuator are integrally vertically moved. In addition, the lower tire side mold and the lower push plate are respectively fixed on the lower pressing plate.

On the other hand, in recent years, in a tire for a four-wheel drive vehicle such as an SUV, in order to improve traction performance over the field, a technique has been proposed in which a block (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a side block) is provided also in a radially outer region of a sidewall portion including the sidewall portion (see, for example, patent document 2). The sidewall blocks may be formed by extending blocks provided on the tread shoulder (hereinafter, referred to as shoulder blocks).

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2014-231160

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016-55820

However, when a tire having side blocks is vulcanized by using the above-described vulcanizing device, a parting line of a mold is formed on the surface of the side blocks, which causes a problem that the appearance of the tire is impaired. The parting line is a protruding mold mark generated at a dividing position of the tread mold and the side plate.

To cope with this, the present inventors have proposed the following technique: a mold is used which moves the divided position inward in the radial direction of the sidewall block. However, in this case, when the mold is opened, the split mold hooks on the sidewall block, and a new problem occurs in that the tire cannot be removed from the mold.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a tire vulcanizing method and a tire vulcanizing apparatus capable of moving a split position of a sidewall mold and a tread mold inward in a tire radial direction while taking out a vulcanized tire from a mold.

The present invention provides a tire vulcanizing method for vulcanizing a green tire by a mold including a tread mold including a plurality of split molds arranged in a tire circumferential direction, an upper sidewall mold, and a lower sidewall mold, the tire vulcanizing method including a tire removing step of removing a vulcanized tire from the mold after vulcanization, the tire removing step including the steps of: moving the upper sidewall mold and the lower sidewall mold to the inner side of the tire axial direction, respectively, and deforming the vulcanized tire in a direction in which the bead width decreases; and moving the split molds outward in the tire radial direction and detaching the split molds from the vulcanized tire in the deformed state of the vulcanized tire.

In the tire vulcanizing method of the present invention, it is preferable that a distance in the tire radial direction from a bead reference line at a split position of the upper sidewall mold, the lower sidewall mold, and the tread mold is smaller than 1/2 of a tire sectional height.

In the tire vulcanizing method of the present invention, it is preferable that a dividing position of the upper sidewall mold, the lower sidewall mold, and the tread mold is located further inward in the tire radial direction than a tire maximum width position.

In the tire vulcanizing method of the present invention, it is preferable that the tire removing step further includes the steps of: the split molds are moved outward in the radial direction of the tire from the closed state of the mold, and the tread mold is separated from the sidewall mold.

The present invention provides a tire vulcanizing device used in the tire vulcanizing method, wherein the tire vulcanizing device is provided with a control unit configured to cause the tire vulcanizing device to perform the following steps: moving the upper sidewall mold and the lower sidewall mold to the inner side of the tire axial direction respectively to deform the vulcanized tire in the direction of reducing the width of the tire bead; and moving the split molds outward in the tire radial direction and detaching the split molds from the vulcanized tire in the deformed state of the vulcanized tire.

In the tire vulcanizing device of the present invention, it is preferable that the tire vulcanizing device includes: an upper plate supporting the segmented mold; and a 1 st lifting tool capable of relatively moving the upper sidewall mold to the inside of the upper plate in the tire axial direction.

In the tire vulcanizing device of the present invention, it is preferable that the tire vulcanizing device further includes a 1 st detecting unit that detects a moving distance of the upper sidewall mold in the tire axial direction with respect to the upper plate by the 1 st detecting unit.

In the tire vulcanizing device of the present invention, it is preferable that the tire vulcanizing device includes: a lower plate on which the lower sidewall mold is placed; and a 2 nd lifting tool capable of relatively moving the lower sidewall mold with respect to the lower plate inward in the tire axial direction.

In the tire vulcanizing device of the present invention, it is preferable that the tire vulcanizing device further includes a 2 nd detecting unit that detects a moving distance of the lower sidewall mold in the tire axial direction with respect to the lower plate by the 2 nd detecting unit.

In the tire vulcanizer of the present invention, the distance in the tire radial direction from the division position of the upper sidewall mold, the lower sidewall mold, and the tread mold to the bead reference line is preferably smaller than 1/2 of the tire sectional height.

In the tire vulcanizer of the present invention, it is preferable that the upper sidewall mold, the lower sidewall mold, and the tread mold are divided at a position inward in the tire radial direction from the tire maximum width position.

In the tire vulcanizing method of the present invention, the tire removing step includes the steps of: the upper sidewall mold and the lower sidewall mold are moved inward in the tire axial direction, respectively, and the vulcanized tire is deformed in a direction in which the bead width is reduced.

Thus, for example, when a tire having side blocks is vulcanized, the split mold can be pulled out in the radial direction of the tire without hooking the side blocks while preventing the occurrence of parting lines on the surface of the side blocks. That is, the vulcanized tire can be taken out from the mold while suppressing a decrease in the appearance due to the parting line.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side view conceptually showing one embodiment of a tire vulcanizing device of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a main part of the tire vulcanizing device.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the mold in a closed state together with a vulcanized tire.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the vulcanized tire together with a stage in which the upper sidewall mold and the lower sidewall mold are moved inward in the tire axial direction.

Fig. 5 (a) to (c) are conceptual views illustrating a tire removal process.

Fig. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an open state of the mold.

Fig. 7 (a) and (b) are a cross-sectional view and a partial side view showing a tire formed in the present invention.

Description of the reference symbols

1: a tire vulcanizing device; 2: a mold; 4: molding a tread; 4A: assembling a die; 5L: a lower tire side mold; 5U: an upper sidewall mold; 8: an upper plate; 9: 1, a lifting tool; 10: a lower plate; 11: a 2 nd lifting tool; 100: a tire; BL: a bead reference line; h: tire section height; j1: a closed state; j2: an open state; m: a tire maximum width position; q: dividing the position; s1: a stage; s2: and (5) stage.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

Fig. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of a tire vulcanizing device 1 of the present invention. Fig. 7 (a) and (b) are a cross-sectional view and a side view of an embodiment of a vulcanized tire 100 (hereinafter, may be referred to as a tire 100) formed by the tire vulcanizing device 1.

As shown in fig. 7 (a) and (b), a tire 100 according to the present embodiment is a tire for a four-wheel drive vehicle such as an SUV, and includes: a tread portion 101; a sidewall portion 102 extending from both outer sides of the tread portion 101 in the tire axial direction to the inner side in the tire radial direction; and a bead portion 103 disposed at the radially inner end of each sidewall portion 102. The tire 100 may have a known internal structure using a carcass and a cord reinforcing layer (not shown) such as a belt layer and a cap ply.

A tread pattern including a plurality of block rows R extending in the tire circumferential direction is arranged in the tread portion 101. The plurality of block rows R include a shoulder block row R1 disposed on the outermost side in the tire axial direction. The shoulder block row R1 is constituted by a plurality of shoulder blocks B1 arranged in the tire circumferential direction.

In the tire 100 of this example, in order to improve traction performance over the wild, a sidewall pattern including sidewall blocks B2 is formed in the radially outer region Y of the sidewall 102. The sidewall block B2 protrudes from the surface S of the sidewall portion 102. The side block B2 may be an extension B1a in which the shoulder block B1 extends inward in the tire radial direction beyond the tread end Te, or may be an independent block different from the shoulder block B1. The shape, the protruding height, and the like of the sidewall block B2 may be appropriately set according to the tire size and the like.

The radially outer region Y is a region of the sidewall portion 102 that is located radially outward of the tire maximum width position m, which is a position of the sidewall portion 102 that protrudes most outward in the tire axial direction than the surface S.

As shown in fig. 1, a tire vulcanizing apparatus 1 includes a mold 2 and an apparatus main body 3 that supports the mold 2 so as to be openable and closable.

As shown in fig. 2, the mold 2 includes an annular tread mold 4, an upper sidewall mold 5U, and a lower sidewall mold 5L, which are capable of expanding and contracting in the radial direction of the tire. The tread mold 4 includes a plurality of split molds 4A arranged in the tire circumferential direction, and each split mold 4A is replaceably held on the segment 6.

A molding surface for forming the tread pattern and the sidewall pattern is disposed on the tread mold 4 (the split mold 4A). That is, as shown in fig. 7 (a), the dividing position Q of the upper sidewall mold 5U, the lower sidewall mold 5L, and the tread mold 4 is located radially inward of the tire radial direction at least from the tire radial direction innermost end B2e of the sidewall block B2.

Preferably, the distance L in the tire radial direction from the bead reference line BL at the dividing position Q is smaller than 1/2 of the tire section height H. The dividing position Q is preferably located radially inward of the tire maximum width position m. The present invention is most effective for the mold 2 having the dividing position Q.

Further, a portion of the sidewall portion 102 radially inward of the dividing position Q and a molding surface of the bead portion 103 are disposed on the upper sidewall mold 5U and the lower sidewall mold 5L, respectively.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the apparatus main body 3 includes an upper plate 8 that supports the tread mold 4 (split mold 4A), a 1 st raising/lowering tool 9 (shown in fig. 1) that can move the upper sidewall mold 5U relatively to the upper plate 8 inward in the tire axial direction, a lower plate 10 on which the lower sidewall mold 5L is placed, and a 2 nd raising/lowering tool 11 (shown in fig. 1) that can move the lower sidewall mold 5L relatively to the lower plate 10 inward in the tire axial direction. In the present specification, the side toward the tire equator in the tire axial direction (corresponding to the vertical direction) is defined as "inner side".

Specifically, the apparatus main body 3 of this example further includes an upper base 12U and a lower base 12L supported by a frame (not shown) or the like, and the lower plate 10 is fixed to the lower base 12L.

Further, a center mechanism 14 including a vulcanization bladder (not shown) is disposed on the lower base 12L. The center mechanism 14 includes, for example, a 2 nd lifting tool 11 as a cylinder, a lifting plate 15 supported at the upper end of a rod of the 2 nd lifting tool 11, and a cylindrical support cylinder 16 rising from the lifting plate 15. The lower sidewall mold 5L is supported at the upper end of the support cylinder 16 via a holder 24. The 2 nd lifting tool 11 is attached to, for example, a bottom plate disposed below the lower base 12L. Therefore, the lower sidewall mold 5L can be moved relatively inward in the tire axial direction with respect to the lower plate 10 via the lifting plate 15, the support tube 16, and the retainer 24 by the extension of the rod of the 2 nd lifting tool 11.

The center mechanism 14 includes a 3 rd raising/lowering tool 17 as a cylinder supported by the raising/lowering plate 15, and a center pillar 18 provided with a center hole passing through the support cylinder 16 is connected to a rod upper end of the 3 rd raising/lowering tool 17. A clamp ring 19U for holding an upper end portion of the vulcanization bladder is attached to an upper end of the center pillar 18. Further, a clamp ring 19L for holding a lower end portion of the vulcanization bladder is attached to the lower sidewall mold 5L.

Next, a 4 th lifting tool 20 is disposed on the upper base 12U, and the 4 th lifting tool 20 is, for example, a cylinder that supports the upper plate 8 to be movable up and down.

In this example, the 4 th raising/lowering tool 20 is supported by a top plate attached to the upper base 12U at a distance. A cylindrical support tube 22 is connected to the rod lower end of the 4 th lifting tool 20 via a joint 21. The upper plate 8 is fixed to the lower end of the support cylinder 22. Therefore, the upper plate 8 and the tread mold 4 can be moved up and down integrally via the joint 21 and the support cylinder 22 by the extension and contraction of the rod of the 4 th lifting tool 20. The tread mold 4 is vertically movable between a lowered state PL (shown in fig. 1 to 4) in which the lower surface of the sector 6 is in contact with the lower plate 10 and a standby state PU (shown in fig. 6) in which the sector 6 is separated upward from the lower plate 10.

The 1 st lifting tool 9, which is a cylinder, for example, is supported by the joint portion 21. A lifting shaft 23 extending downward through the center hole of the support cylinder 22 is connected to the lower end of the rod of the 1 st lifting tool 9. An upper sidewall mold 5U is attached to a lower end of the elevating shaft 23 via a connecting portion 25.

Therefore, the upper sidewall mold 5U can be moved relatively inward in the tire axial direction with respect to the upper plate 8 via the elevation shaft 23 by the extension of the rod of the 1 st elevation tool 9. In this example, the upper sidewall mold 5U can be lowered from the standby state PU to the lowered state PL integrally with the upper plate 8 by the 4 th raising and lowering tool 20. In the lowered state PL, the upper sidewall mold 5U is relatively movable inward in the tire axial direction with respect to the upper plate 8 by extension of the rod of the 1 st raising/lowering tool 9.

The apparatus main body 3 further includes an expanding/reducing unit 30 for expanding/reducing the diameter of the tread mold 4.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the diameter expanding/reducing unit 30 includes a lift plate 31 and a cylindrical actuator 32 supported by the lift plate 31. A guide portion 32A is disposed on the inner circumferential surface of the actuator 32 so as to be inclined downward and outward in the radial direction. The lifting plate 31 is disposed so as to be movable up and down relative to the upper plate 8 by a 5 th lifting tool 33 (shown in fig. 2) which is a cylinder, for example. Fig. 1 shows the 5 th lifting means 33 without being shown.

As shown in fig. 3, the split mold 4A is held on the upper plate 8 so as to be movable in the radial direction by a guide pin 35 at the upper end of the segment 6 being guided by a guide groove 36 provided in the upper plate 8. Further, a guide portion 6A of the same gradient guided by the guide portion 32A is provided on the outer surface of the sector 6 in the radial direction.

Therefore, the actuator 32 can be relatively raised with respect to the upper plate 8 by the 5 th lifting tool 33. This allows each segment 4A to move radially outward, thereby expanding the tread mold 4. After the diameter is expanded, the upper plate 8 is raised by the 4 th lifting tool 20, whereby the tread mold 4 in the expanded diameter state and the upper sidewall mold 5U can be integrally raised as shown in fig. 6, and the tire 100 can be taken out from the mold 2.

Next, a tire vulcanizing method using the tire vulcanizing device 1 will be described. The tire vulcanizing method of the present embodiment includes a step of disposing a green tire in a mold 2 in an open state (not shown), a step of vulcanizing the disposed green tire with the mold 2 in a closed state, and a tire removing step of removing the vulcanized tire 100 from the mold 2 after vulcanization.

The step of arranging the green tire and the step of vulcanizing the green tire are the same as those of the conventional vulcanizing method. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted, and only the tire removing step will be described below.

As conceptually shown in fig. 5 (a) to (c), the tire removal process includes a 1 st stage S1 (shown in fig. 5 (b)) and a 2 nd stage S2 (shown in fig. 5 (c)). Fig. 5 (a) shows a state in which the mold 2 is in the closed state J1 and the tire 100 is vulcanized therein.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5 (b), in the 1 st stage S1, after vulcanization, the upper sidewall mold 5U and the lower sidewall mold 5L move inward in the tire axial direction, respectively. As a result, the vulcanized tire 100 is deformed in the direction in which the bead width decreases, and the sidewall block B2 of the tire can be retracted from the split mold 4A toward the inside in the tire axial direction.

In this example, the 1 st stage S1 is performed by lowering the upper sidewall mold 5U relative to the upper plate 8 by the 1 st raising/lowering tool 9 and raising the lower sidewall mold 5L relative to the lower plate 10 by the 2 nd raising/lowering tool 11.

Here, in the closed state J1 of the mold 2, the split molds 4A and 4A, and the split mold 4A and the upper and lower sidewall molds 5U and 5L are strongly pressed against each other. Therefore, when the 1 st stage S1 is suddenly performed from the closed state J1, the upper sidewall mold 5U, the lower sidewall mold 5L, and the split mold 4A strongly rub against each other, causing damage to each other.

Therefore, before the 1 st stage S1, it is preferable to further include an initial stage (not shown) of moving the split mold 4A from the closed state J1 of the mold 2 to the outer side in the tire radial direction and separating the tread mold 4 from the upper sidewall mold 5U and the lower sidewall mold 5L. If the separation distance is too large, the segmented mold 4A hooks on the sidewall block, resulting in rubber loss. Therefore, the distance is preferably 2.0mm or less.

As shown in fig. 5 (c), in the 2 nd stage S2, in the deformed state of the tire 100, the split mold 4A is moved outward in the tire radial direction, and the split mold 4A is removed from the tire 100. In this way, by setting the side block B2 in a state of receding inward in the tire axial direction, the split mold 4A can be pulled outward in the tire radial direction without hooking to the side block B2. That is, the tire 100 can be easily taken out of the mold 2 without causing damage such as a block defect to the tire 100.

The 2 nd stage S2 is performed by relatively raising the actuator 32 with respect to the upper plate 8 by the 5 th raising/lowering tool 33 while maintaining the 1 st stage S1.

After the 2 nd stage S2, the upper plate 8 is raised together with the actuator 32 to the above-described standby state PU as shown in fig. 6. This opens J2, and the tire 100 can be removed from the mold 2.

In order to ensure a stroke for taking out the tire 100 from the mold 2, one of the upper base 12U and the lower base 12L may be configured to be movable up and down. Further, as the 1 st raising/lowering tool 9, the 2 nd raising/lowering tool 11, the 3 rd raising/lowering tool 17, the 4 th raising/lowering tool 20, and the 5 th raising/lowering tool 33, various known raising/lowering tools other than the cylinder may be used.

The tire vulcanizing device 1 is provided with a control means (not shown) for causing the device 1 to sequentially perform the initial stage, the 1 st stage S1, and the 2 nd stage S2. The control unit is, for example, a computer or the like, and includes a control unit that controls on/off of the 1 st to 5 th lifting tools 9 to 33.

As shown in fig. 1, in the tire vulcanizing device 1 of the present embodiment, a 1 st detecting means 37 and a 2 nd detecting means 38 are preferably provided. As the 1 st detecting unit 37 and the 2 nd detecting unit 38, so-called linear scales can be preferably used.

The 1 st detecting unit 37 detects a relative movement distance of the upper sidewall mold 5U with respect to the upper plate 8 in the tire axial direction. The 1 st detecting unit 37 of this example is constituted by a pointer fixed to, for example, a rod of the 1 st raising/lowering tool 9 and a scale portion fixed to, for example, a column. The 2 nd detecting unit 38 detects a relative movement distance of the lower sidewall mold 5L with respect to the tire axial direction of the lower plate 10. The 2 nd detecting means 38 of this example is constituted by a pointer fixed to, for example, a rod of the 2 nd raising/lowering tool 11 or the raising/lowering plate 15, and a scale portion fixed to, for example, a column.

As the 1 st detecting means 37 and the 2 nd detecting means 38, various known measuring instruments and sensors can be used.

While the above description has been made in detail with respect to the particularly preferred embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and can be modified into various embodiments.