JP4704740B2 - Cooling method of vulcanized tire and post-cure inflator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling method for inflating and cooling a vulcanized tire and a post-cure inflator.

  In general, polyester or polyamide synthetic fiber is used as a carcass member that is a reinforcing fiber inside a tire. After the vulcanization is completed, the reinforcing fiber shrinks in the process of cooling the tire, but the amount of shrinkage is not uniform due to the variation, arrangement, molding condition, etc. of the member. The tire is deformed due to the difference in the amount of shrinkage, resulting in a defective product or a deterioration in the uniformity performance of the tire.

  Therefore, normally, when the vulcanization molding is completed, in the post-cure inflator, air is sealed inside the tire, and while maintaining the state in which the shape is properly maintained, the post-cure inflator is cooled to a certain temperature or less where the shrinkage of the reinforcing fibers is suppressed. (Patent Document 1).

  In recent years, since it is necessary to shorten the tire cooling time in accordance with the vulcanization time, post-cure inflators having various configurations for shortening the tire cooling time have been proposed and implemented. For example, in Patent Document 2, a hollow path is formed inside a rim mechanism that holds a bead portion of a tire, and cooling air is supplied to the hollow path to cause it to flow, and air or mist water is applied to the outer surface of the tire. There has been proposed a post-cure inflator that forcibly cools a tire by spraying and completes the cooling in a short time.

JP-A-6-143298 JP 2002-307444 A

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the cooling time of the vulcanized tire tends to be long, and in the quality inspection of the vulcanized tire after cooling, the quality such as conicity may show an insufficient value. There's a problem. Further, in the case of the expansion cooling in the configuration of Patent Document 1, for example, due to the influence of natural convection, the temperature of the upper portion of the vulcanized tire tends to become high, or the temperature around the equipment is increased due to an asymmetric environment. The unidirectional surface of the vulcanized tire facing the vulcanizer side tends to be hot, and the tire pattern, structure, material, and other specifications are asymmetric, resulting in a difference in tire ambient temperature. As a result, there is a problem that the vulcanized tire is not cooled in a balanced manner in the vertical direction and the circumferential direction, and the quality such as conicity varies due to the temperature difference due to the variation in the cooling. .

  On the other hand, in the configuration in which the tire is forcibly cooled using a cooling medium such as cooling air or mist-like water as in Patent Document 2, dirt such as a water mark is applied to a portion where the cooling medium such as water is blown. It tends to adhere to the surface of the tire and may cause defects in appearance. Furthermore, since it is necessary to provide a mechanism such as a driving source for sending the cooling medium and piping around the device, these peripheral devices increase the size of the device and make the mechanism complicated, and the cost of components associated with the introduction of the peripheral device In addition, there is a problem that a running cost greatly increases due to operation of the drive source.

  The object of the present invention is that the tire can be cooled in a short time without incurring an increase in the size of the apparatus or a complicated mechanism, and without causing a significant increase in parts cost and running cost. It is to provide a method for cooling a vulcanized tire and a post-cure inflator that can be improved.

  The present invention relates to a method for cooling a vulcanized tire, and the air outside the vulcanized tire has a symmetric physical property value on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the tire equator center of the vulcanized tire. The vulcanized tire is inflated and cooled while flowing so that forced convection is dominant over natural convection.

  According to the above configuration, the vulcanized tire can be actively cooled from the outside by generating an air flow by forced convection on the outside of the vulcanized tire. Expansion and cooling can be performed. Furthermore, the quality after expansion cooling, for example, conicity, can be improved by setting the symmetric physical property values on both sides in the axial direction with reference to the tire equator center of the vulcanized tire by cooling the air flow.

  Further, the present invention is a method for cooling a vulcanized tire, by causing air to flow by forced convection symmetrically in regions on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator outside the vulcanized tire, The vulcanized tire is inflated and cooled.

  According to the above configuration, the vulcanized tire can be actively cooled from the outside by generating an air flow on the outside of the vulcanized tire, so that the vulcanized tire is inflated and cooled in a short time. be able to. Furthermore, by causing the air to flow symmetrically in the regions on both sides in the axial direction, it is possible to obtain a symmetrical temperature distribution on both sides in the axial direction of the vulcanized tire, thereby improving the quality after expansion and cooling, for example, conicity. be able to.

  As a more preferred aspect of the present invention, the forced convection of the air is generated by rotating the vulcanized tire at a high speed. According to this configuration, it is possible to improve the cooling time and quality by generating an air flow at least outside the vulcanized tire by a relatively simple method of rotating the vulcanized tire at a high speed. Further, when the vulcanized tire is rotated at a high speed in this way, a symmetric air flow is induced on both sides in the axial direction for the air existing inside the vulcanized tire. Therefore, the inner surface temperature distribution is symmetrical at least on both sides in the axial direction, and the cooling time can be shortened and the quality can be improved.

As a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the high-speed rotation of the vulcanized tire is a rotation speed of 100 rpm or more. According to this configuration, it is possible to reliably improve the cooling time and quality by high-speed rotation of the vulcanized tire. Further, when Gr for judging the strength of natural convection and Reynolds number as Re, the value of Gr / Re ² is 0.4 or less. According to this configuration, since it is possible to prevent thermal shrinkage after cooling of the carcass member (for example, polyester) that is a reinforcing fiber, the difference in physical property values on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator is reduced. As a result, uniformity can be improved.

  Further, the present invention is a configuration in which a vulcanized tire is inflated and cooled by the above vulcanized tire cooling method.

  Further, the present invention is a post-cure inflator, a vulcanized tire holding mechanism that holds a vulcanized tire, and physical properties that are symmetrical on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator of the vulcanized tire. Thus, there is an air exclusion mechanism that causes the air outside the vulcanized tire to flow so that forced convection is dominant over natural convection.

  According to the above configuration, the vulcanized tire can be actively cooled from the outside by generating an air flow on the outside of the vulcanized tire, so that the vulcanized tire is inflated and cooled in a short time. be able to. Furthermore, by causing the air to flow symmetrically in the regions on both sides in the axial direction, it is possible to obtain a symmetrical temperature distribution on both sides in the axial direction of the vulcanized tire, thereby improving the quality after expansion and cooling, for example, conicity. be able to.

  As a more preferred aspect of the present invention, the air exclusion mechanism includes a rotation drive mechanism that rotates the vulcanized tire at a high speed of 100 rpm or more via the vulcanized tire holding mechanism. is there.

  According to said structure, the air flow by a forced convection can be generated on the outer side of this vulcanized tire by rotating the horizontally arrange | positioned vulcanized tire at high speed with the rotation speed of 100 rpm or more. Thereby, an air flow can be generated at least outside the vulcanized tire by a relatively simple method of rotating the vulcanized tire at a high speed, and the cooling time and quality can be improved. Further, when the vulcanized tire is rotated at a high speed in this way, a symmetric air flow is induced on both sides in the axial direction for the air existing inside the vulcanized tire. Therefore, the inner surface temperature distribution is symmetrical at least on both sides in the axial direction, and the cooling time can be shortened and the quality can be improved.

  As a more preferred aspect of the present invention, the air exclusion mechanism includes a blade member that stirs the air. According to this configuration, the vulcanized tire can be sufficiently cooled to a temperature at which heat shrinkage does not occur.

  Further, as a more preferable aspect of the present invention, the processing from holding the vulcanized tire by the vulcanized tire holding mechanism to expansion cooling is performed at the same position and posture, and only one position for performing the processing is provided. This is a post-cure inflator with a fixed cooling position. According to this configuration, since the equipment can be configured simply, the accuracy of the machine can be improved, and the accuracy of conveyance positioning and holding of the vulcanized tire can be improved. As a result, the tire quality can be further improved by improving the tire uniformity. Improvements can be realized. In addition, the reliability of the equipment is improved, and it is possible to reduce the number of stoppages and maintenance frequency / cost.

  The post-cure inflator of the present invention can improve the quality of conicity and the like, and can be vulcanized in a short time without causing an increase in the size of the apparatus, complicated mechanism, parts cost, and significant increase in running cost. There is an advantage that can be cooled.

  As described above, the method for cooling a vulcanized tire and the post-cure inflator according to the present invention can be applied to the vulcanized tire so that the both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator have symmetrical property values and airflow. It has a configuration that allows ambient air to flow. Further preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the post-cure inflator (PCI) according to the present embodiment includes a vulcanized tire holding mechanism 2 (hereinafter referred to as a lower rim mechanism 2) that holds the lower surface of a horizontally vulcanized tire 1. ) And a vulcanized tire holding mechanism 3 (hereinafter referred to as an upper rim mechanism 3) for holding the upper surface of the vulcanized tire 1. The upper rim mechanism 3 includes an upper rim 4 that holds the upper bead portion 1 a of the vulcanized tire 1 in an airtight state, and an upper rim connecting member 5 that is connected to the upper rim 4. The vulcanized tire 1 is formed in a symmetrical shape with respect to the axial center point, and the equator center of the vulcanized tire is vulcanized with a plane passing through and perpendicular to the axial center point. It is defined on the basis of a line segment intersecting with the peripheral surface of the used tire 1.

  The upper rim 4 is formed in a disk shape having an outer diameter corresponding to the diameter of the upper bead portion 1a. An opening 4 a is formed on the inner peripheral side of the upper rim 4 so that a locking shaft 33 described later can be inserted. An upper rim connecting member 5 is fixed on the upper surface of the upper rim 4. The upper rim connecting member 5 is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to surround the periphery of the opening 4 a, and is arranged so that the central axis coincides with the vertical central axis of the upper rim 4.

  The upper rim mechanism 3 configured as described above is rotatable by the rotation drive mechanism 10 in an arbitrary direction and rotation speed. The rotary drive mechanism 10 includes a driven pulley 11 that is fixed in a horizontal direction on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary drive mechanism 10, a drive pulley 12 that is disposed on the side of the driven pulley 11, a driven pulley 11, and a drive pulley 12. A tensioned drive belt 13 and a tire drive motor 14 connected to the drive pulley 12 are provided. The rotational drive mechanism 10 transmits the rotational drive force of the tire drive motor 14 to the driven pulley 11 via the drive pulley 12 and the drive belt 13, and rotates the upper rim connecting member 5 and the upper rim 4 to The vulcanized tire 1 held on the rim 4 can be rotated at a high speed.

  Here, “high-speed rotation” refers to a rotation speed at which forced convection is dominant over natural convection in the air flow around the vulcanized tire 1 as shown in FIG. 5, for example. Specifically, this is the rotation speed when the vulcanized tire 1 is rotated at a rotation speed of 100 rpm or more. The rotation speed of “high-speed rotation” may be a rotation speed of 100 rpm or more, but is preferably 200 rpm or more, more preferably 300 rpm or more, and preferably 1000 rpm or less, more preferably 800 rpm or less. Here, the reason for setting the upper limit is that the cooling effect (necessary cooling time) does not change much even if the speed is increased too much, and conversely, the deterioration of the durability of the equipment becomes remarkable, and the safety is ensured. This is because a large amount of equipment costs and labor are required. In addition, when providing a blade | wing, the effect similar to the case where only rotating at 800-1000 rpm can be acquired even if it is 500 rpm or less.

  As a result, the rotational drive mechanism 10 rotates the vulcanized tire 1 at a high speed so that forced convection is dominant over natural convection with respect to the airflow around the vulcanized tire 1. By actively removing the amount of heat of 1 by forced convection, it is possible to cool to a predetermined temperature or less in a short time. Further, by generating the forced convection as a symmetrical air flow on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the equator center of the vulcanized tire 1, the vulcanized tire 1 is obtained on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the equator center. It is possible to cool symmetrically. As a result, it is possible to improve the quality after expansion and cooling, particularly uniformity. In other words, the post-cure inflator is vulcanized by rotating the vulcanized tire 1 at a high speed so that the axially opposite sides of the vulcanized tire 1 have symmetrical physical property values. The vulcanized tire 1 is inflated and cooled while allowing the air outside the used tire 1 to flow so that forced convection is dominant over natural convection.

  An upper rim support mechanism 21 that rotatably supports the upper rim mechanism 3, and the upper rim mechanism 3 and the lower rim mechanism 2 are detachable on the inner peripheral side of the upper rim connection member 5 in the upper rim mechanism 3. The lock mechanism 31 to be connected is arranged in this order. The upper rim support mechanism 21 is provided between the cylindrical cylindrical support member 22 provided along the inner peripheral surface of the upper rim connection member 5, and the cylindrical support member 22 and the upper rim connection member 5. And a bearing member 23. The cylindrical support member 22 has an upper end fixed to the horizontal frame 6. The horizontal frame 6 constitutes a part of a frame mechanism (not shown) that holds the posture of the post cure inflator. On the other hand, the bearing member 23 connects the cylindrical support member 22 and the upper rim connecting member 5 so as to be fixed in the vertical direction and supports the cylindrical support member 22 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction. Thereby, the upper rim support mechanism 21 is configured to rotatably support the upper rim mechanism 3 at a predetermined height position supported by the horizontal frame 6.

  A lock mechanism 31 is provided on the inner peripheral side of the upper rim support mechanism 21. The lock mechanism 31 includes a lock member 32, a locking shaft 33, and a lock rotation mechanism 34. The lock member 32 is rotatably fitted to the cylindrical support member 22 of the upper rim support mechanism 21. Further, the tip end portion of the rotation shaft 35 is rotatably connected to the upper surface portion of the lock member 32. The rotating shaft 35 is horizontally arranged, and a rear end portion thereof is connected to a cylinder device 36 such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. The rotation shaft 35 and the cylinder device 36 constitute a lock rotation mechanism 34, and the lock rotation mechanism 34 rotates the rotation shaft 35 by the cylinder device 36, thereby causing the lock member 32 to move. It can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions.

  The lock member 32 rotated by the locking rotation mechanism 34 has a concave portion 32a whose lower surface is opened. An air hole 32d is formed at the center of the upper surface of the concave portion 32a. The air hole 32d is connected to the air pipe 7 after penetrating the upper wall portion of the lock member 32 in the vertical direction. The air pipe 7 is connected to an air supply device (not shown). The air supply device supplies expansion air into the vulcanized tire 1 to expand the vulcanized tire 1 by internal pressure, and the expansion air when the vulcanized tire 1 rotates. And an air replacement mechanism for replacement.

  A locking portion 32b is formed at the lower end of the concave portion 32a so as to project from the four sides of the side wall surface in the inner circumferential direction, and the insertion groove 32c is formed between the adjacent locking portions 32b and 32b. A (notch) is formed. The insertion groove 32 c is formed so as to pass the protruding portion 33 a of the locking shaft 33. The lock mechanism 31 configured in this way causes the protruding portion 33a and the insertion groove 32c of the locking shaft 33 to move in the vertical direction by rotating the lock member 32 in the forward direction, for example, by the lock rotation mechanism 34. The protruding portion 33a of the locking shaft 33 can be moved into and out of the concave portion 32a while the locking member 32 is rotated in the reverse direction, for example. 33a and the latching | locking part 32b are made to correspond to an up-down direction, and it makes it possible to fix the protrusion part 33a of the locking shaft 33 within the recessed part 32a.

  The locking shaft 33 is provided with the above-described protruding portion 33a protruding in the outer peripheral direction while being disposed at four positions on the upper end portion. Further, the rocking shaft 33 is disposed so that the axis coincides with the central axis of the lower rim mechanism 2 described above, and is formed on the shaft portion 33b suspended from the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the shaft portion 33b. And a shaft support portion 33c.

  The lower rim mechanism 2 is rotatably provided on the shaft support portion 33c. The lower rim mechanism 2 includes a lower rim 16 that holds the lower bead portion 1b of the vulcanized tire 1 in an airtight state, a lower rim support member 17 that is connected to the lower rim 16, and a lower rim support member 17 that is connected to a locking shaft 33. And a lower rim coupling mechanism 18 that is rotatably coupled to the shaft support portion 33c.

  The lower rim 16 is formed in a disk shape having an outer diameter corresponding to the diameter of the lower bead portion 1b. An opening 16a is formed on the inner peripheral side of the lower rim 16 so as to allow the above-described locking shaft 33 to be inserted therethrough. A lower rim support member 17 is fixed to the lower surface of the lower rim 16. The lower rim support member 17 is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to surround the periphery of the opening 16 a, and is arranged so that the central axis coincides with the central axis of the lower rim 16. Further, a lower rim connection mechanism 18 made of a bearing member is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the lower rim support member 17. The lower rim mechanism 2 configured in this manner is driven by the rotation of the upper rim mechanism 3 while holding the lower bead portion 1b of the vulcanized tire 1 so that the vulcanized tire 1 is moved to the rocking shaft 33. On the other hand, it is supported rotatably.

  Moreover, the lower end part of the locking shaft 33 is connected with the raising / lowering mechanism which is not shown in figure. The elevating mechanism allows the rocking shaft 33 to move up and down from a tire mounting position (not shown) to a tire mounting position higher than the illustrated position. The vulcanized tire 1 is attached to and detached from the lower rim mechanism 2 at the tire placement position. On the other hand, at the tire mounting position, the upper bead portion 1a of the vulcanized tire 1 is held by the upper rim mechanism 3, and the cooling process is performed while the vulcanized tire 1 is held by the lower rim mechanism 2 and the upper rim mechanism 3. It has come to be.

  In addition to the rotation of the vulcanized tire 1 by the rotation drive mechanism 10, the cooling process is also performed by the air exclusion mechanism 41. The air rejection mechanism 41 is configured to forcibly exclude air existing in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d, which are side portions of the vulcanized tire 1, using rotation by the rotation drive mechanism 10. .

  That is, the air exclusion mechanism 41 is configured to generate an air flow including a directional component and a radial direction along the side surface portion of the vulcanized tire 1 by rotating together with the rim mechanisms 3 and 2. Specifically, the air exclusion mechanism 41 includes a plurality of blade members 42 that are respectively provided in the upper rim mechanism 3 and the lower rim mechanism 2 and to which the driving force from the rotation driving mechanism is transmitted. As shown in FIG. 2, these blade members 42 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral portion of each rim mechanism 3. Further, the blade member 42 is formed in a plate shape curved with a radius of curvature similar to that of the outer peripheral surface of each rim mechanism 3, 2, and is inclined with respect to the radial direction of each rim mechanism 3, 2. . That is, the blade member 42 is a so-called receding blade that is inclined so that one end side on the inner peripheral side is positioned upstream of the other end side in the rotation direction (the arrow direction in the drawing). As a result, the air exclusion mechanism 41 rotates the blade member 42 together with the rim mechanisms 3 and 2 so that the direction component along the side surface of the vulcanized tire 1 and the outside of the radial direction are reduced without reducing the relative speed in the circumferential direction. An air flow including a direction component is generated. The air evacuation mechanism 41 can have a centrifugal fan shape that is similar to a multi-blade centrifugal fan. The air exclusion mechanism 41 is not limited to the one in which the blade member 42 rotates together with the rim mechanism, and may be a relative rotation.

  The blade member 42 may have any shape and arrangement as long as it generates an air flow including a directional component along the sidewall portions 1c and 1d of the vulcanized tire 1. . For example, the blade member 42 may be single, the inclination angle, the shape, and the size may be different for each blade member 42, or may be a flat plate shape. Furthermore, the upper part of the blade member 42 is bent in the rotational direction side so as to generate an air flow containing a large amount of directional components orthogonal to the sidewall portions 1c and 1d, or the entire blade member 42 is on the rotational direction side. It may be inclined. The blade member 42 is preferably a fan shape of what is generally called a centrifugal fan.

  Further, the blade member 42 satisfies a condition for generating a high-speed air flow at a desired portion of the vulcanized tire 1, for example, a portion having the largest wall thickness of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d. It may be provided. In this case, it is possible to remove more heat from the desired part than the heat from other parts by flowing a large amount of air flow to the desired part of the vulcanized tire 1, so that cooling of the desired part is emphasized. Can be done automatically. As a result, the vulcanized tire 1 can be further cooled in an ideal state. Here, “satisfying the conditions” means, for example, by adjusting at least one of these air flow fluctuation elements for air flow fluctuation elements whose representative examples are the number of blade members 42, the inclination angle, the shape, and the like. This means that more airflow is generated in the desired part of the vulcanized tire 1 than in other parts. And according to this structure, the air which exists in the side wall part 1c * 1d vicinity of the vulcanized tire 1 can be excluded by the simple structure of providing the blade member 42 in each rim mechanism 3 * 2. Further, it is possible to make the physical property values more symmetrical on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator.

  A partition member 43 is provided as a part of the air exclusion mechanism 41 on the side opposite to the tire 1 side when viewed from the blade member 42 disposed on the upper side and the lower side. The partition member 43 has a region on the side of the sidewalls 1c and 1d of the tire 1, a first space region A on the air inflow side to the blade member 42, and a side near the sidewalls 1c and 1d of the vulcanized tire 1. The second space region B is partitioned. That is, the partition member 43 is formed in a cylindrical shape communicating from the upper surface to the lower surface. The partition member 43 is disposed so that the inner diameter on the blade member 42 side (one side) is close to the end portion on the outer peripheral side of the blade member 42, and the inner diameter on this one side is smaller than the inner diameter on the other side. Is set to Thereby, the partition member 43 prevents the air existing in the second space region B from moving to the first space region A and collects a large amount of air existing in the first space region A while collecting the air before heat exchange. It is made to flow into the blade member 42.

  Note that a part of the driving force of the rotation driving mechanism 10 may be branched and transmitted to the blade member 42, or the driving force of a driving mechanism provided separately from the rotation driving mechanism 10 may be transmitted to the blade member 42. You may comprise so that it may do. Due to the relative rotation, the phase in the rotational direction of the tire 1 and the blade member 42 changes, so that there is a more uniform air exclusion effect in the tire circumferential direction. Further, when a driving mechanism that transmits driving force to the blade member 42 is provided separately from the rotational driving mechanism 10, blades that transmit driving force to the upper side and the lower side of the vulcanized tire 1 by respective individual driving mechanisms. The member 42 can be configured to be provided. Alternatively, only the upper blade member 42 of the vulcanized tire can be configured to be provided with a drive mechanism that transmits a driving force separately from the rotational drive mechanism 10. Thereby, the cooling capacity of the vulcanized tire 1 in the upper part and the lower part of the vulcanized tire 1 can be adjusted. That is, it becomes possible to adjust the difference in the upper and lower temperatures of the vulcanized tire 1. Therefore, for example, the temperature of the upper portion of the vulcanized tire tends to become high due to the influence of the asymmetry of the facility ambient temperature, or the upper portion and the lower portion of the vulcanized tire 1 are asymmetric. Even if the cooling rate is uneven due to certain (for example, the shapes of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d are different), the cooling rate can be matched between the upper portion and the lower portion. Also, the blade members 42 on the upper and lower sides of the vulcanized tire can be adjusted by changing the shape or increasing / decreasing the number of sheets so that the upper and lower portions of the vulcanized tire can be adjusted. The cooling capacity can be adjusted individually.

  Further, a cooling air supply mechanism 44 is provided as a part of the air removal mechanism 41 on the side opposite to the tire 1 side when viewed from the partition members 43 disposed on the upper side and the lower side. The cooling air supply mechanism 44 supplies the cooling air to the annular pipe 45 and the annular pipe 45 formed and arranged so as to surround the upper rim connecting member 5 and the lower rim support member 17 of each rim mechanism 3. A cooling air supply device (not shown) and a nozzle (not shown) provided in the annular pipe 45 so as to eject the cooling air toward the blade member 42 are provided. The nozzle may be a through hole formed in the annular pipe 45.

In the above configuration, the operation of the post-cure inflator will be described.
First, at a tire placement position (not shown) where the lower rim mechanism 2 is lowered to the lower limit position, the vulcanized tire 1 is placed on the lower rim mechanism 2, and the lower bead portion 1 b of the vulcanized tire 1 is the lower rim mechanism 2. The lower rim 16 is held.

  Thereafter, the rocking shaft 33 is raised, and the lower rim mechanism 2 and the vulcanized tire 1 are raised. At this time, in the lock mechanism 31, the lock member 32 is rotated in the forward direction by the lock rotation mechanism 34, whereby the protruding portion 33 a of the locking shaft 33 and the insertion groove 32 c of the lock member 32 are vertically moved. Has been matched. Accordingly, in the rising rocking shaft 33, the protruding portion 33a passes through the insertion groove 32c and enters the concave portion 32a. When the locking shaft 33 reaches the tire mounting position, which is the upper limit position, the ascending of the locking shaft 33 is stopped, and the upper bead portion 1a of the vulcanized tire 1 is held in an airtight state by the upper rim 4 of the upper rim mechanism 3. Is done.

  Thereafter, in the lock mechanism 31, the lock member 32 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the locking portion 32 b is aligned with the protruding portion 33 a of the locking shaft 33 in the vertical direction. As a result, the protruding portion 33 a of the locking shaft 33 is fixed in the vertical direction by the locking portion 32 b in the concave portion 32 a, so that the upper rim mechanism 3 and the lower rim mechanism 2 are separated by a certain distance via the locking shaft 33. It is made into the state fixed across.

  Next, an air supply mechanism in an air supply device (not shown) is operated, and inflation air is supplied into the vulcanized tire 1 through the air pipe 7 and the like at a predetermined pressure. Thereby, the vulcanized tire 1 is expanded and held in a predetermined shape. Thereafter, the air replacement mechanism in the air supply device is appropriately operated, and the expansion air is replaced while the pressure in the vulcanized tire 1 is maintained constant. As a result, the expansion air that has become hot due to heat exchange with the vulcanized tire 1 is discharged, while the low-temperature expansion air before heat exchange is supplied into the vulcanized tire 1, so that Cooling is efficiently performed from the inside of the used tire 1.

  Further, when the tire drive motor 14 in the rotational drive mechanism 10 is operated, the upper rim mechanism 3 is rotated via the drive pulley 12, the drive belt 13 and the driven pulley 11, and the vulcanization held by the upper rim mechanism 3. The used tire 1 is rotated at a high speed. As a result, forced convection is more dominant than natural convection in the air flow around the vulcanized tire 1, and the amount of heat of the vulcanized tire 1 is positively removed by forced convection. As a result, the vulcanized tire 1 is shorter than the case where the vulcanized tire 1 is inflated and cooled in a stopped state, or is inflated and cooled while rotating the vulcanized tire 1 at a low speed rotation in which natural convection is dominant. It is cooled below a predetermined temperature over time.

  Furthermore, since the vulcanized tire 1 has a symmetrical shape with respect to the axial center point, the forced convection generated by the high-speed rotation of the vulcanized tire 1 is the equator center of the vulcanized tire 1, that is, The air flow is symmetrical on both sides in the axial direction with reference to a line segment that passes through and intersects the center point in the axial direction and intersects the peripheral surface of the vulcanized tire. As a result, the vulcanized tire 1 is cooled symmetrically on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the equator, thereby improving the quality after expansion and cooling, particularly uniformity.

  In addition, when the sidewall portions 1c and 1d move relative to the surrounding air due to the rotation of the vulcanized tire 1, the surface of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d has zero relative velocity, and the airflow has a relative velocity as it moves away from the surface. A distribution, a so-called velocity boundary layer, is formed, but the velocity boundary layer becomes thinner than when the tire is simply rotated by the airflow induced by the air exclusion mechanism 41. Similarly to this, also in the temperature field, the temperature boundary layer existing in the vicinity of the sidewall portion becomes thin. As this boundary layer becomes thinner, the thermal resistance decreases, and the sidewall portions 1c and 1d are cooled quickly. The vulcanized tire 1 needs to be rotated at a high speed so that the speed boundary layer is sufficiently thin, and is preferably 100 rpm or more, more preferably 200 rpm or more, and further preferably 300 rpm or more, but the rotation is further performed at a higher speed. Thus, more rapid cooling is possible.

  Further, the air in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1 c and 1 d that has become high temperature due to heat exchange is forcibly excluded by the air exclusion mechanism 41. That is, when cooling is started by rotation of the vulcanized tire 1, low-temperature cooling air is jetted from the annular pipe 45 in the cooling air supply mechanism 44 toward the blade member 42. When the rim mechanisms 3 and 2 are rotated, the blade members 42 provided on the rim mechanisms 3 and 2 are rotated, that is, turn in the circumferential direction around the axis of the rim mechanisms 3 and 2. As a result, the air before heat exchange including cooling air and the like existing in the first space region A on each rim mechanism 3 and 2 side is pushed out from the partition member 43 toward the tire 1 by the blade member 42, and the vulcanized tire 1. The air flow (wind) includes a directional component along the sidewall portions 1c and 1d.

  Thereby, the high-temperature air after heat exchange existing in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d is excluded from the vulcanized tire 1, and the air before heat exchange is made up to compensate for the air thus excluded. It is supplied from the first space region A by the blade member 42. Accordingly, the sidewall portions 1c and 1d of the vulcanized tire 1 are constantly cooled with a predetermined temperature or less in a short time because heat exchange is constantly performed with air having a large temperature difference. In addition, when the blade member 42 is provided, it is possible to obtain the same effect at a lower rotation or in a shorter time than when the blade member 42 is not provided.

  Further, since the second space region B in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d is partitioned from the first space region A by the partition member 43, the second temperature increased by heat exchange with the vulcanized tire 1. The hot air in the space region B is prevented from moving to the first space region A. As a result, only the air before heat exchange exists in the first space region A, and this air flows into the blade member 42, so that the sidewall portions 1c and 1d are cooled more efficiently.

  Further, at the time of cooling by rotating the vulcanized tire 1 at a high speed, the air in the upper and lower sidewall portions 1 c and 1 d flows in the outer peripheral direction of the vulcanized tire 1. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which air heated to high temperature by heat exchange with the lower side wall portions 1c and 1d rises due to natural convection and wraps around the upper side wall portions 1c and 1d. Thereby, both the upper and lower sidewall portions 1c and 1d are cooled under the same conditions. Further, a symmetrical flow is induced in the air inside the vulcanized tire 1 on both sides in the axial direction by the centrifugal force generated by such high-speed rotation, and symmetrical cooling is performed from the inside of the vulcanized tire 1 to both sides in the axial direction. Promoted. Thus, according to the post-cure inflator (PCI) having the rotation drive mechanism 10 that can rotate the vulcanized tire 1 at a high speed of, for example, 100 rpm or more, the rotational speed, the presence or absence of the blade member 42, the vulcanized tire 1 and By appropriately adjusting the presence / absence of relative rotation with the blade member 42 and adjusting the rotation speed of each of the upper and lower blade members 42, cooling according to the tire shape, cooling without unevenness from inside and outside of the tire, and adjustment / shortening of the cooling time It can be done and can be adjusted to complete cooling within one vulcanization cycle. In other words, the post-cure inflator is configured and adjusted to complete cooling within one vulcanization cycle, for example, the rotational speed, the presence or absence of the blade member 42, the relative rotation between the vulcanized tire 1 and the blade member 42. And a configuration and a function for appropriately adjusting the rotational speed of each of the upper and lower blade members 42 may be provided. Further, since balanced cooling is performed in the vertical direction and circumferential direction of the vulcanized tire 1, the vulcanized tire 1 after cooling is in a high quality state.

  When the cooling of the vulcanized tire 1 is completed as described above, the inflation air is discharged, and in the lock mechanism 31, the lock member 32 is rotated in the forward direction by the lock rotation mechanism 34, whereby the locking shaft The protruding portion 33a of 33 and the insertion groove 32c of the lock member 32 are aligned in the vertical direction. Thereafter, the locking shaft 33 is lowered, and the projecting portion 33a existing in the concave portion 32a passes through the insertion groove 32c and is retracted to the outside. When the lower rim mechanism 2 is lowered to a tire mounting position (not shown) together with the cooled vulcanized tire 1 and stopped, the vulcanized tire 1 is discharged and the next vulcanized tire 1 is discharged. Cooling is started.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, another embodiment of the post cure inflator will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same member as Embodiment 1, and the description is abbreviate | omitted. Moreover, although the air exclusion mechanism 41 etc. are not shown in figure, you may provide suitably the member and mechanism disclosed by Embodiment 1 as needed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the post-cure inflator includes a lower rim mechanism 2 that holds the lower side surface of the horizontally vulcanized tire 1 and an upper rim mechanism 3 that holds the upper side surface of the vulcanized tire 1. Have. The upper rim mechanism 3 can be rotated at an arbitrary rotation speed by a rotation drive mechanism 74. The rotation drive mechanism 74 includes a rotation shaft member 75 to which the upper rim mechanism 3 is connected, an outer cylinder member 76 that rotatably supports the rotation shaft member 75 and holds the rotation shaft member 75 in the vertical direction, and a rotation shaft member. And a drive motor 77 connected to the upper end of 75 via a pulley or a belt. An air hole 75a is formed in the rotary shaft member 75, and the air hole 75a is vertically penetrated and then connected to an air supply device through an air pipe (not shown).

  The outer cylinder member 76 that supports the rotating shaft member 75 is fixed to the horizontal frame 78 as shown in FIG. A rotation mechanism 79 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface side of the outer cylinder member 76. The rotation mechanism 79 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 76b, and is disposed so as to be engageable with the engagement cylinder 80 in which the rod 80a is set to be movable forward and backward in the vertical direction, and the rod 80a of the engagement cylinder 80. It has an engagement board 81 fixed to the rotation shaft member 75 and a rotation cylinder 82 supported by the outer cylinder member 76 and rotating the cylinder member 76b in the horizontal direction.

  A lock mechanism 83 is provided below the rotation mechanism 79. The lock mechanism 83 includes a projecting portion 75 a formed at the lower end (tip) of the rotating shaft member 75 and a lock member 84 connected to the upper rim mechanism 3. The lock member 84 has a concave portion 84a whose upper surface is opened. At the upper end of the concave portion 84a, there is formed a locking portion 84b projecting in the inner circumferential direction from the four positions of the side wall surface, and an insertion groove (notch portion) formed between the adjacent locking portions 32b and 32b. ) Is formed. The insertion groove is formed so as to allow the protruding portion 75a of the rotary shaft member 75 to pass therethrough. Then, the lock mechanism 83 configured in this manner causes the projecting portion 75a and the insertion groove to coincide with each other in the vertical direction by rotating the rotary shaft member 75 in the forward direction, for example, by the rotation mechanism 79 described above. While making the projecting portion 75a freely enterable and retreatable with respect to the concave portion 84a, the projecting portion 75a and the engaging portion 84b are moved in the vertical direction by rotating the rotating shaft member 75 in the reverse direction, for example. The protrusions 75a can be fixed within the concave portion 84a. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the above configuration, the operation of the post-cure inflator will be described.
First, at a tire placement position (not shown) in which the lower rim mechanism 2 is lowered to the lower limit position, the vulcanized tire 1 is placed on the lower rim mechanism 2, and the vulcanized tire 1 is held by the lower rim mechanism 2. Thereafter, the lower rim mechanism 2 is raised together with the lock mechanism 83, and the lower rim mechanism 2 and the vulcanized tire 1 are raised. At this time, the rotation shaft member 75 positioned above the lock mechanism 83 is rotated in the forward direction by the rotation mechanism 79, so that the protruding portion 75 a is vertically moved with respect to the insertion groove of the lock member 84. Have been matched. Accordingly, the ascending lock member 84 causes the protruding portion 33a to enter the recessed portion 84a. When the lower rim mechanism 2 reaches the tire mounting position that is the upper limit position, the ascent is stopped and the vulcanized tire 1 is held in an airtight state by the upper rim mechanism 3.

  Thereafter, in the rotation mechanism 79, the rotation shaft member 75 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the locking portion 84b of the lock member 84 is aligned with the protruding portion 75a of the rotation shaft member 75 in the vertical direction. As a result, the protruding portion 75a of the rotary shaft member 75 is fixed in the vertical direction by the locking portion 84b in the concave portion 84a, so that the upper rim mechanism 3 and the lower rim mechanism 2 are interposed via the rotary shaft member 75. The locked state is fixed at a fixed distance.

  Next, the rod 80 a of the engagement cylinder 80 is retracted, and the engagement with the engagement plate 81 is released, so that the rotation shaft member 75 is rotatable with respect to the outer cylinder member 76. Then, an air supply mechanism in an air supply device (not shown) is operated, and inflation air is supplied into the vulcanized tire 1 at a predetermined pressure, whereby the vulcanized tire 1 is expanded and held in a predetermined shape. . Thereafter, when the drive motor 77 is operated, the rotary shaft member 75 is rotated via a pulley and a belt. Accordingly, the vulcanized tire 1 is expanded and cooled by being rotated at a high speed.

  When the cooling of the vulcanized tire 1 is completed, after the inflation air is discharged, the operation of connecting the lower rim mechanism 2 and the upper rim mechanism 3 in the lock mechanism 83 and the rotation mechanism 79 is reversed. The locked state is released by the operation. Then, after the cooled vulcanized tire 1 and the lower rim mechanism 2 are lowered to a tire mounting position (not shown) and stopped, the vulcanized tire 1 is discharged and the next vulcanized tire 1 is discharged. Expansion and cooling of the are started. Other operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  Next, in order to confirm the cooling effect by the post-cure inflator in the first and second embodiments, the following simulation test was performed.

  The flow state of the air flow generated around the vulcanized tire 1 when the vulcanized tire 1 was left standing (rotation speed: 0 rpm) as in the past was investigated. 8 and 9 show the simulation results. FIG. 8 represents a radial and vertical velocity vector diagram, and FIG. 9 represents an isometric diagram of radial velocity components. In FIG. 9, the darker the color tone, the higher the speed. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the air that has become hot in the lower sidewall portion 1d of the vulcanized tire 1 rises outside the tire, and natural convection flows around the upper sidewall portion 1c ( It was confirmed that (arrow direction) occurred. Furthermore, it was confirmed that a natural convection that raises the belt inner liner portion was generated inside the tire, a temperature stratification was also formed, and a temperature difference was generated.

  The vulcanized tire 1 was mounted on a post-cure inflator provided with the blade member 42, and the flow state of the air flow generated around the vulcanized tire 1 when rotated at a rotation speed of 500 rotations / minute was investigated. FIG. 5 shows the simulation result, and represents a radial velocity vector and a vertical velocity vector diagram. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, forced convection airflow (arrow direction) including directional components along the sidewall portions 1 c and 1 d of the vulcanized tire 1, that is, the equator center of the vulcanized tire 1. A symmetrical air flow is generated on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the tire, and the air in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d is symmetrical on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator and is forcibly excluded. Was confirmed.

  Further, in the case where the blade member 42 was not provided and the case where the blade member 42 was provided, the flow state of the air flow generated around the vulcanized tire 1 when it was rotated at a rotation speed of 600 rotations / minute was investigated. 6 and 7 show the simulation results. FIG. 6 shows an equivalent diagram of the radial component (in the case without blades). FIG. 7 shows an equivalent diagram of the radial component (when there is a blade). In both figures, the darker the tone, the greater the speed component. As a result, the relative velocity with the ambient air in the circumferential direction is large and this is dominant, but as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the secondary flow radially outward is provided with a blade member. As a result, it was confirmed that the air flow including the direction along the sidewall portions 1c and 1d of the tire 1 (arrow direction) increased, and the air in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d was more effectively excluded. .

  As described above, in the first and second embodiments, the vulcanized tire 1 after cooling is of high quality by performing balanced cooling in the vertical direction and circumferential direction of the vulcanized tire 1 by forced convection. can do. As a cooling method for that purpose, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the outer side of the vulcanized tire 1 is set so that the axially opposite sides of the vulcanized tire 1 have symmetrical property values. The vulcanized tire 1 is inflated and cooled while flowing air so that forced convection is dominant over natural convection. Here, “physical property values” include hardness, tensile strength, elongation, pure rubber strength, impact resilience, tear strength, compression set, wear resistance, flex crack resistance, intermediate elongation of carcass cord, etc. It means a physical property value of at least one physical property element among physical property elements, and does not necessarily mean physical property values of all physical property elements.

  Accordingly, by generating an air flow by forced convection on the outside of the vulcanized tire 1, the vulcanized tire 1 can be actively cooled from the outside, so that the vulcanized tire 1 is expanded in a short time. Can be cooled. Furthermore, the quality after expansion cooling, for example, uniformity and conicity, can be improved by setting the symmetric property values on both sides in the axial direction with reference to the tire equator center of the vulcanized tire 1 by cooling the air flow. . Further, by generating an air flow on the outside of the vulcanized tire 1, the vulcanized tire 1 can be actively cooled from the outside, so that the vulcanized tire 1 can be expanded and cooled in a short time. it can. Furthermore, since air is flowed symmetrically in the regions on both sides in the axial direction, both sides in the axial direction of the vulcanized tire 1 can have a symmetrical temperature distribution, so that the quality after expansion and cooling, such as uniformity and conicity, can be obtained. Can be improved.

  The cooling method described above is performed by forced convection of air rotating the vulcanized tire 1 at a high speed and a high speed of 100 rpm or higher. Accordingly, an air flow can be generated at least outside the vulcanized tire 1 by a relatively simple method of rotating the vulcanized tire 1 at a high speed, thereby improving the cooling time and quality. Further, when the vulcanized tire 1 is rotated at a high speed in this way, a symmetric air flow is induced on both sides in the axial direction for the air existing inside the vulcanized tire 1. Therefore, the inner surface temperature distribution is symmetrical at least on both sides in the axial direction, and the cooling time and quality can be further improved. Here, the reason why the lower limit of the high speed rotation is 100 rpm is that, as shown in the graphs of FIGS. 13 and 14, when the vulcanized tire is rotated at the rotational speed of 100 rpm and inflated and cooled, it is not rotated. This is because the conicity is 30% or more better than that in the case of expansion cooling, and the cooling time is shortened by 20% or more, and a remarkable effect can be expected.

  In the first and second embodiments, a specific example of a post-cure inflator capable of performing the above cooling method is disclosed. That is, the post-cure inflator has upper and lower rim mechanisms 3 and 2 (vulcanized tire holding mechanisms) that hold the vulcanized tire 1 and both axial sides on the basis of the tire equator center of the vulcanized tire 1. In order to obtain a symmetrical physical property value, the air exhaust mechanism is configured to flow the air outside the vulcanized tire 1 so that forced convection is dominant over natural convection. The air rejection mechanism includes a rotation drive mechanism 10 that rotates the vulcanized tire 1 at a high speed of 100 rpm or higher. According to this configuration, the vulcanized tire 1 can be sufficiently cooled to a temperature at which thermal shrinkage does not occur, and therefore, for example, thermal shrinkage after cooling of a carcass member that is a reinforcing fiber can be prevented. A difference in physical property values on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center can be reduced, and as a result, uniformity can be improved.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the air exclusion mechanism 41 includes the blade member 42 that stirs air, thereby reducing the difference in cooling and physical property values on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator, resulting in uniformity. It is possible to further improve. Note that the post-cure inflator of the second embodiment may include the blade member 42.

  Further, in the first and second embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the processes from holding the vulcanized tire 1 to the expansion cooling by the upper and lower rim mechanisms 3 and 2 (vulcanized tire holding mechanism) are the same. This is a post-cure inflator of a fixed cooling position in which only one position for performing the processing is provided. As a result, the equipment can be configured in a simple manner, improving machine accuracy and improving the accuracy of transport positioning and holding of vulcanized tires, resulting in further improvement in tire quality by improving tire uniformity. can do. In addition, the reliability of the equipment is improved, and it is possible to reduce the number of stoppages and maintenance frequency / cost.

  In the first and second embodiments, the upper and lower rim mechanisms 3 and 2 (vulcanized tire holding mechanism) hold the vulcanized tire 1 in a horizontally arranged posture and rotate at high speed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the vulcanized tire 1 may be held at an inclined posture and rotated at a high speed. For example, the vertical posture, that is, the vulcanized tire 1 The shaft may be held in a posture that matches the horizontal direction and rotated at a high speed. When the vulcanized tire 1 is rotated at a high speed in the vertical orientation, the symmetry of the airflow on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the equator is further improved, and the quality of the symmetry of cooling, and consequently uniformity, is improved. This can be further improved.

  In the present embodiment, the post-cure inflator of a fixed cooling position type is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a cooling position variation type may be used. As a specific example of the cooling position variation type, there is an upside down type post-cure inflator. This post-cure inflator has two sets of upper and lower rim mechanisms 3 and 2 (vulcanized tire holding mechanisms) symmetrically about a rotation support member, and one upper and lower rim mechanisms 3 and 2 (vulcanized). After the vulcanized tire 1 is held by the used tire holding mechanism), the upper and lower rim mechanisms 3 and 2 on one side and the upper and lower rim mechanisms 3 and 2 on the other side are rotated by rotating the rotation support member 180 degrees. And the holding position and the cooling position are switched.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on suitable Embodiment 1 * 2, this invention can be changed in the range which does not exceed the meaning. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the post-cure inflator is fixed in a state of being opposed to the sidewall portions 1c and 1d of the vulcanized tire 1, and scrapes off air existing in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d. A configuration in which the scraping member 51 is provided as the air exclusion mechanism 41 may be employed.

  If it demonstrates concretely, the scraping member 51 is formed in the shape by which the opposing surface with side wall part 1c * 1d becomes equal distance with side wall part 1c * 1d. Further, the scraping member 51 is disposed above and below the sidewall portions 1c and 1d of the vulcanized tire 1. The upper scraping member 51 is fixed to the cylindrical support member 22 via the upper support member 52. On the other hand, the lower scraping member 51 is fixed to the shaft support portion 33 c of the rocking shaft 33 via the lower support member 53.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of scraping members 51 are arranged at equal intervals in an annular region facing the sidewall portions 1c and 1d. The scraping member 51 is formed in a plate shape curved with a radius of curvature similar to that of the outer peripheral surface of the vulcanized tire 1, and is inclined with respect to the radial direction of the vulcanized tire 1. That is, the scraping member 51 is inclined so that one end side on the outer peripheral side is located upstream of the other end side in the rotation direction (the arrow direction in the drawing).

  In addition, the scraping member 51 may be inclined so that one end side on the outer peripheral side is located downstream of the other end side in the rotation direction (the arrow direction in the drawing). Further, the scraping member 51 may be provided in combination with the blade member 42, the partition member 43, and the cooling air supply mechanism 44 in the air exclusion mechanism 41 of FIG. Further, the scraping member 51 may be any member that rotates relative to the sidewall portion of the vulcanized tire and scrapes off the air in the vicinity of the sidewall portion, and is fixed to the rocking shaft and the cylindrical member. Not limited to.

  According to the above configuration, when the vulcanized tire 1 rotates, the sidewall portions 1c and 1d move relative to the scraping member 51 and move together with the sidewall portions 1c and 1d and in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d. The air is scraped off by the scraping member 51. As a result, the air in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d, which has become high temperature due to heat exchange with the vulcanized tire 1, is forcibly excluded. Thereby, the vulcanized tire 1 can be cooled to a predetermined temperature or less in a short time.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b), the post-cure inflator is fixed to the rim mechanisms 3 and 2 while being opposed to the sidewall portions 1c and 1d of the vulcanized tire 1. The air exclusion mechanism 41 may be provided with an axial flow blade member 54 that advancing (or eliminating) air existing in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d by an ascending airflow or a descending airflow.

  More specifically, the axial flow blade member 54 is arranged in four directions with the rear end portion being fixed to each rim mechanism 3 and 2 and being eccentric with respect to the rotation center O. The distal end portion of the axial flow blade member 54 is disposed to face the sidewall portions 1 c and 1 d and includes a first plate member 55 and a second plate member 56. The second plate member 56 is disposed in parallel to the sidewall portions 1c and 1d. On the other hand, the first plate member 55 is provided such that the upstream end in the rotational direction is connected to the second plate member 56 and the downstream end is inclined upward at a predetermined angle such as 30 degrees. Yes.

  In the axial flow blade member 54, the upstream end of the first plate member 55 in the rotational direction is connected to the second plate member 56, and the downstream end is inclined downward at a predetermined angle such as 30 degrees. It may be provided in the state. Further, the axial flow blade member 54 may be provided in combination with the blade member 42, the partition member 43, and the cooling air supply mechanism 44 in the air exclusion mechanism 41 of FIG. Further, the axial flow blade member 54 may be provided so as to rotate relative to the vulcanized tire.

  According to the above configuration, when the vulcanized tire 1 rotates, the sidewall portions 1c and 1d and the axial flow blade member 54 rotate (move) or relatively rotate at the same speed. And in the axial flow blade member 54, the 2nd board member 56 generate | occur | produces the upward airflow and the downward airflow which are the directions which leave | separate from the side wall parts 1c * 1d by the pressure difference of the airflow by a movement. As a result, the air that has reached a high temperature due to heat exchange with the vulcanized tire 1 in the vicinity of the sidewall portions 1c and 1d is forcibly excluded by the updraft and downdraft. Thereby, the vulcanized tire 1 can be cooled to a predetermined temperature or less in a short time.

  As described above, the present invention is described in the above-described preferred embodiments 1 and 2, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be understood that various other embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, in the specification including the first and second embodiments, the operations and effects of the configuration of the present invention are described. However, these operations and effects are merely examples and do not limit the present invention.

  First, a carcass structure composed of a single carcass ply in which a winding part that folds around the bead core from the inner side to the outer side in the tire axial direction is integrally provided on the main body part extending from the tread part to the side wall part and extending to the bead part. For vulcanized tires, cooling conditions (rpm), presence / absence of blades, number of blades, blade shape, etc. are used as cooling conditions, cooling time (minutes) when expansion cooling is performed while changing these cooling conditions, and necessary cooling As a test item, time comparison with conventional example 1 (%), carcass cord (intermediate elongation vertical difference (%)), and conicity were examined. In addition, the above test items were examined by inflating and cooling vulcanized tires by a conventional manufacturing method.

    Here, the cooling time was set to the time for the carcass portion of the sidewall adjacent to the tread portion to cool to 80 ° C. However, the cooling time in the conventional manufacturing method was the current two-cycle PCI time. Further, the intermediate elongation of the carcass cord was measured using a sidewall portion collected from the tire as a sample. Conicity is data of N = 12 (average value for 12 tires).

  The intermediate elongation, that is, the constant load elongation, is obtained by applying a constant load W measured by the constant load elongation described in 7.7 of JIS L1017 (chemical fiber tire cord test method). It is based on the standard time test of Section 7.7.1. The constant load W is determined to be calculated by W (kgf) = 4.5 × (d2 / d1). Here, d1 is a standard decitex determined by the type of fiber, and d2 is a display decitex of the sample. Then, four sets of carcass cord samples were collected from approximately four locations on the circumference of the sidewalls on both sides (upper and lower) of the tire per tire, and a pair of upper and lower carcass cord samples were collected for 10 tires (40 samples). The average value of the vertical difference was calculated to one decimal place.

  More specifically, a radial tire for a passenger car having a tire size of 195 / 65R15 91S in 10 minutes with a vulcanization cycle time (here, the vulcanization molding time includes the time for opening and closing the mold and the time for carrying the tire in and out of the mold) Prepared. Then, the above cooling conditions were variously changed as shown in Tables 1 and 2 to perform expansion cooling. Details about the cooling conditions and the investigation results are shown in Tables 1 and 2 as Examples 1 to 13 and Conventional Example 1. Moreover, the ratio of the cooling time of each Example 1-8 when the cooling time by the conventional manufacturing method was set to 100% was computed, and it graphed like FIG. As reference data, the ratios at rotation speeds of 30, 50, and 80 rpm were also described.

  Next, a radial tire for a four-wheel drive vehicle having a tire size of 265 / 70R16 112S with a vulcanization cycle time (here, the vulcanization molding time includes the time for opening and closing the mold and the time for carrying the tire in and out of the mold) Prepared. Then, the above cooling conditions were variously changed as shown in Table 2 to perform expansion cooling. Details of the cooling conditions and the investigation results are shown in Table 3 as Examples 14 to 17 and Conventional Example 2.

It was then calculated as the Grashof number ^{_{Gr = g β ΔT L 1 3}} / ν 2, and a Reynolds number _{Re = L 2 π d ω /} ν. The Grashof number Gr is a dimensionless number used when handling natural convection caused by a high-temperature object.

Where g [m / s ^ 2]: Gravitational acceleration, β [1 / K]: Air body expansion coefficient, ΔT [K]: Temperature difference between tire surface and ambient air, L1 [m]: Natural convection Representative length, ν [m ^ 2 / s]: Kinematic viscosity coefficient of air, L ₂ [m]: Forced convection representative length, d [m]: Tire diameter, ω [rps]: Tire rotation speed. In the calculation, L ₁ = d and L ₂ = d.

After the above-mentioned Grashof number Gr and Reynolds number Re were calculated for each of Examples 1 to 17, Gr / Re ² = g ΔT L ₁ ³ / (π ² T ω ² L ₂ ² d ² ) was calculated. Then, Examples 1 to 13 are Gr / Re ² 195 and Examples 14 to 17 are Gr / Re ² 265, and are graphed in FIG. Furthermore, the peripheral speed and conicity of the vulcanized tire 1 used in Examples 1 to 7 were superimposed on the graph of FIG. As reference data, conicities at rotation speeds of 30, 50, and 80 rpm are also shown. The value of Gr / Re ² is preferably 0.4 or less (rotation speed of 80 rpm or more), more preferably 0.25 or less (rotation speed of 100 rpm or more), more preferably 0.05 or less (rotation speed). 200 rpm or more), most preferably 0.025 or less (rotation speed of 300 rpm or more).

  From Tables 1 to 3 and FIGS. 13 and 14, it was clarified that the cooling time can be significantly shortened (80% or less in this embodiment) as compared with the conventional manufacturing method when the rotation speed is 100 rpm or more. The reason for this is that, as shown in the simulation results described above, the vulcanized tire rotates at a high speed to such an extent that forced convection is dominant over natural convection in the air flow around the vulcanized tire. It is thought that it was because it was done. It has also been clarified that when the vulcanized tire is rotated at a high speed, the cooling time can be shortened compared with the case where there is no blade.

  Furthermore, it became clear that the conicity is improved by rotating the vulcanized tire at a high speed. Specifically, it has been clarified that conicity is improved when expanded and cooled at a high speed rotation of 100 rpm or higher, conicity is rapidly improved at 200 rpm or higher, and conicity is remarkably improved at 300 rpm or higher. Further, it was revealed that the carcass cord (intermediate elongation vertical difference (%)) can be suppressed to 0.5% or less when it is expanded and cooled at a high speed of 100 rpm or higher. The reason for this is that the air around the vulcanized tire flows in a state where forced convection is dominant over natural convection, and this flow is symmetrical on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator. This is presumably because the physical property values of the vulcanized tire appear symmetrically on both sides in the axial direction with respect to the center of the tire equator.

  Next, as shown in Table 4, tires with asymmetric side gauges were prepared. And it was expanded and cooled by said cooling method. Details on the results of this investigation are shown in Table 4 as Example 8 and Examples 18-19. In addition, the result of having cooled the tire with asymmetrical side gauge using conventional PCI was described as a comparative example.

  From Table 4, when the tire is asymmetric with side gauges and cooled with a device in which the blade members are vertically symmetric as described above, from comparison between Example 8 and Example 18, the carcass cord (intermediate elongation vertical difference (%)) It became clear that the conicity deteriorated, that is, became non-uniform. However, on the other hand, as in the nineteenth embodiment, by increasing the number of blades on the thick side gauge (under the side gauge) (four in the eighteenth embodiment and eight in the nineteenth embodiment), the thick side gauge It became clear by comparison with Example 8, Example 18, and Example 19 that it can approximate uniformly by promoting cooling of A.

It is a schematic block diagram of the longitudinal cross-section of a post-cure inflator. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning state of a blade member. It is a schematic block diagram of the longitudinal cross-section of a post-cure inflator. It is a schematic plan view of a post cure inflator. It is explanatory drawing which shows the simulation result of the airflow by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the simulation result of the airflow by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the simulation result of the airflow by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the simulation result of the airflow by a prior art example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the simulation result of the airflow by a prior art example. It is a schematic block diagram of the longitudinal cross-section of a post-cure inflator. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning state of a blade member. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning state of a blade member, (a) is the figure seen from the top, (b) is the figure seen from the front. It is a graph of required cooling time. It is a graph which shows the criterion of required rotational speed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vulcanized tire 1a Upper bead part 1b Lower bead part 1c Side wall part 1d Side wall part 2 Cured tire holding mechanism (lower rim mechanism)
3 Vulcanized tire holding mechanism (upper rim mechanism)
4 Upper rim 5 Upper rim connecting member 6 Horizontal frame 7 Air pipe 10 Rotation drive mechanism 11 Driven pulley 12 Drive pulley 13 Drive belt 14 Tire drive motor 16 Lower rim 17 Lower rim support member 18 Lower rim connection mechanism 21 Upper rim support mechanism 22 Cylindrical support member 23 Bearing member 31 Lock mechanism 32 Lock member 33 Locking shaft 34 Locking rotation mechanism 35 Turning shaft 36 Cylinder device 41 Air exclusion mechanism 42 Blade member 43 Partition member 44 Cooling air supply mechanism 45 Annular piping 51 Diffusion member 52 Upper support member 53 Lower support member 54 Axial blade member 55 First plate member 56 Second plate member 74 Rotation drive mechanism 75 Rotation shaft member 76 Outer cylinder member 77 Drive motor 78 Horizontal frame 79 Rotation mechanism 80 Cylinder for engagement 81 Engagement plate 82 Rotating cylinder 83 Lock mechanism 84 Lock Element

Claims (3)

A method for cooling a vulcanized tire in which the vulcanized tire is inflated and cooled while rotating the vulcanized tire supplied with inflation air directly at a rotation speed of 100 rpm or more,
A vulcanized tire characterized in that the inflation air in the vulcanized tire is replaced while maintaining a constant pressure of the inflation air in the vulcanized tire during rotation of the vulcanized tire. Cooling method. A vulcanized tire holding mechanism for holding the vulcanized tire;
A rotation drive mechanism for rotating the vulcanized tire supplied with inflation air directly at a rotation speed of 100 rpm or more;
An air exchanging mechanism for exchanging the inflation air in the vulcanized tire while maintaining a constant pressure of the inflation air in the vulcanized tire when the vulcanized tire rotates. To post cure inflator.   The post-cure inflator according to claim 2, further comprising a blade member that stirs air outside the vulcanized tire.