JP7589600B2 - Mounting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an attachment device for attaching a molding bladder to the outer peripheral surface of a bladder attachment jig used in a tire building machine.

A tire is made up of many components such as a carcass and beads. For example, a bead has a core and an apex. The apex extends radially outward from the core. The carcass is placed between the beads on both sides. The carcass has carcass plies. The carcass plies are folded around each core from the inside to the outside in the axial direction.

In the manufacture of tires, components such as a carcass and beads are combined to form a tire in an uncrosslinked state (uncrosslinked tire).
In the molding of an uncrosslinked tire, a sheet-shaped carcass member as a part of the carcass ply and a bead member as a part of the bead are prepared. The carcass member is wound around the drum of a tire building machine to be processed into a cylindrical shape. The bead member is a ring-shaped core with an apex attached to the outer periphery thereof, and is combined with the cylindrical carcass member.
Once the bead members are assembled, the end portions of the carcass member are folded back around the core.

A molding bladder is usually used to fold the carcass member when molding the uncrosslinked tire. For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a method for molding an uncrosslinked tire that includes a step of inflating a molding bladder to fold the carcass member.

JP 2010-12670 A

When mounting a molding bladder on a tire building machine for building an uncrosslinked tire, the molding bladder is first attached to the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical bladder mounting jig. The molding bladder is then mounted on the tire building machine together with the bladder mounting jig.
When the molding bladder is attached to the bladder attachment jig, it is folded back at a predetermined position in the axial direction so as to be doubled, and in the folded back state, it is attached to the bladder attachment jig so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the bladder attachment jig.

Here, the molding bladder was sometimes attached to the bladder attachment jig manually by an operator.
The doubly folded molded bladder is difficult to expand in diameter, and when attempting to manually attach the molded bladder to the bladder attachment jig, this requires a large amount of labor, in addition to the fact that the bladder does not have good sliding properties relative to the bladder attachment jig.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a technology that can easily attach a molding bladder to a bladder attachment jig.

The mounting device according to the present invention is a mounting device for mounting a molding bladder on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical bladder mounting jig used in a tire building machine, and includes a drum section on which the molding bladder is mounted on the outer peripheral surface, a jig holding section arranged on one axial side of the drum section and holding the bladder mounting jig concentrically with the drum section, and a moving section that grasps one axial end of the molding bladder mounted on the drum section and moves the molding bladder from the drum section to the bladder mounting jig held by the jig holding section, and the drum section includes a drum main body including multiple segments divided in the circumferential direction, and an expansion/contraction mechanism that moves the multiple segments in the radial direction so that the diameter of a circumscribed circle circumscribing the outer surfaces of the multiple segments expands or contracts.

According to the mounting device having the above configuration, the drum portion is provided with an expansion/contraction mechanism that moves the multiple segments in the radial direction so that the diameter of a circumscribing circle circumscribing the outer surfaces of the multiple segments expands or contracts, so that by mounting the molding bladder on the outer circumferential surface of the drum portion, an operator can easily deform the molding bladder so as to expand its diameter in accordance with the diameter of the outer circumferential surface of the bladder mounting jig. Furthermore, because the jig holding portion holds the bladder mounting jig concentrically with the drum portion, the molding bladder that has been deformed so as to expand its diameter can be slid along the axial direction to the bladder mounting jig.
As a result, it is possible to easily attach the molding bladder to the bladder attachment jig, compared to the conventional example described above, in which an operator manually expands the diameter of the molding bladder while attaching it to the bladder attachment jig.

In the above-described mounting device, it is preferable that the outer circumferential surface includes a tapered surface that is inclined so as to gradually reduce in diameter from one axial side to the other axial side.
In this case, the outer diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the drum part on the other axial side can be made smaller than the outer diameter on one axial side, which makes it easy to attach the molding bladder to the drum part from the other axial side.

In the above-described mounting device, it is preferable that the jig holding portion is arranged in a circumferential direction and includes a rod-shaped portion that guides the bladder mounting jig from the inner side of the bladder mounting jig, and an end face holding portion that protrudes radially outward from one axial end of the rod-shaped portions and abuts an end face on one axial side of the bladder mounting jig.
In this case, for example, even if the bladder mounting jig does not have a flange or the like that protrudes radially, the end face of the bladder mounting jig can be held by the protruding portion, and the bladder mounting jig can be properly held.

The present invention makes it easy to attach a molded bladder to a bladder mounting jig.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an overall configuration of a mounting device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view of the mounting device. FIG. 3(a) is a plan view of the drum unit, and FIG. 3(b) is a cross-sectional view of the drum unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the expansion/contraction mechanism when the lifting section is lowered from the uppermost portion. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a molding bladder is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the drum portion. FIG. 6(a) is a diagram showing the mounting device in a state where the molding bladder mounted on the drum portion is gripped by a clip, and FIG. 6(b) is a diagram showing the mounting device in a state where the support pillars are extended. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the upper end portion of the outer periphery of the molding bladder attached to the bladder mounting jig is folded back radially outward. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a segment according to a modified example.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Overall configuration of the mounting device]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of a mounting device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the mounting device.
The mounting device 1 is a device for mounting a molding bladder to a bladder mounting jig. The bladder mounting jig is a cylindrical jig used when mounting a molding bladder to a tire building machine.

In FIG. 1 , the mounting device 1 includes a drum unit 2 , a jig holding unit 4 , and a moving unit 6 .
The molding bladder is attached to an outer circumferential surface 2a of a substantially cylindrical drum portion 2. In this embodiment, a central axis C1 of the drum portion 2 is parallel to the up-down direction.
In the following description, the direction along the central axis C1 is also referred to as the "axial direction." The axial direction includes a direction parallel to the central axis C1. The lower side in the axial direction is also referred to as one axial side, and the upper side in the axial direction is also referred to as the other axial side. The direction perpendicular to the central axis C1 is referred to as the "radial direction." The direction along a circle centered on the central axis C1 is referred to as the "circumferential direction."

The drum unit 2 is disposed at the upper end of the moving unit 6 .
The moving unit 6 has a function of gripping the molding bladder attached to the drum unit 2 and moving the drum unit 2 and the molding bladder relative to each other in the axial direction.
The moving unit 6 includes a support 8 and a base 10 arranged on a mounting surface on which the mounting device 1 is mounted. The support 8 is erected on the base 10 along a central axis C1.
The support 8 includes an inner cylinder 8a standing on the base 10, an outer cylinder 8b concentrically provided on the outside of the inner cylinder 8a, and an actuator 8c that moves the outer cylinder 8b along the central axis C1 relative to the inner cylinder 8a. Thus, the support 8 can expand and contract along the central axis C1 by the operation of the actuator 8c.

The moving section 6 also includes a plurality of strings 14 (four in this embodiment) whose one end is connected to the base 10, and a plurality of clips 12 (four in this embodiment) provided at the other end of the plurality of strings 14. The four strings 14 are linear members such as chains or wires, and are connected to connecting parts 15 provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the base 10. The four clips 12 are for gripping the molding bladder attached to the drum section 2. Note that some of the four strings 14 and the four clips 12 are omitted in Figs. 1 and 2.

The jig holding portion 4 is disposed below the drum portion 2 (on one axial side), and has the function of holding the bladder mounting jig concentrically with the drum portion 2 .
The jig holding portion 4 includes a bracket 16 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylinder portion 8 b and a plurality of holding metal fittings 18 supported by the bracket 16 .

The multiple retaining fittings 18 are supported by the bracket 16 so as to be equally spaced apart in the circumferential direction. Each of the multiple retaining fittings 18 includes a rod-shaped portion 18a that extends along the axial direction and has an arc-shaped cross section, and a protruding portion 18b that protrudes radially outward from one axial end (lower end) of the rod-shaped portion 18a, and is formed into an L-shape.
The bladder mounting jig is held by the jig holding portion 4 so as to cover the outer circumferential side of the jig holding portion 4. The rod-shaped portions 18a guide the bladder mounting jig in the axial direction from the inner circumferential side of the bladder mounting jig. As a result, the rod-shaped portions 18a hold the cylindrical bladder mounting jig so that the central axis of the bladder mounting jig is aligned with the central axis C1.
The protrusion 18b abuts against the lower end face of the bladder mounting jig to hold the bladder mounting jig in the axial direction.

The drum unit 2 is disposed at the other axial end (upper end) of the support pillar 8 (outer cylinder portion 8b). Thus, the drum unit 2 can move relative to the base 10 along the central axis C1 as the support pillar 8 expands and contracts.
FIG. 3( a ) is a plan view of the drum unit 2 , and FIG. 3( b ) is a cross-sectional view of the drum unit 2 .
The drum unit 2 includes a drum main body 20 and an expansion/contraction mechanism 22 .
The drum body 20 includes a plurality of (eight in this example) segments 24 divided in the circumferential direction. The eight segments 24 have a shape obtained by dividing a cylindrical member at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Therefore, when the circumferential end faces of the adjacent segments 24 are butted against each other, the eight segments 24 form a drum body 20 having a substantially cylindrical shape. In other words, when the eight segments 24 form the drum body 20, the circumferential end faces of the adjacent segments 24 are in contact with each other.

The expansion/contraction mechanism 22 has a function of moving the eight segments 24 in the radial direction. The dashed line 25 in Fig. 3(a) indicates a state in which the eight segments 24 have moved radially outward from a state in which they constitute the drum main body 20.
3A and 3B, for ease of understanding, only the configuration for moving the segments 24 provided in the left-right direction of the page is shown among the components of the expansion/contraction mechanism 22. Also, in FIG. 3A, a handle 40, which will be described later, is omitted.

The outer peripheral surface 2a of the drum portion 2 is a tapered surface that is inclined so as to gradually decrease in diameter from one axial side (lower side) to the other axial side (upper side). More specifically, the outer peripheral surface 2a is a tapered surface that is inclined at 10 degrees with respect to the central axis C1.
The outer peripheral surface 2a is constituted by the outer surfaces 24a of eight segments 24. Therefore, the outer surfaces 24a of the segments 24 are inclined surfaces that are inclined so as to gradually approach the central axis C1 from the lower side toward the upper side.
Further, the upper end 2b of the drum portion 2 is formed as a rounded surface.

The expansion/contraction mechanism 22 includes a base portion 28 , an arm 30 that supports the segment 24 on the base, and a linear guide 32 .
The base portion 28 is disposed at the upper end of the support column 8. On the upper surface side of the base portion 28, each component of the expansion/contraction mechanism 22 is provided.
The arms 30 are provided corresponding to the eight segments 24, respectively. The arms 30 are rectangular parallelepiped members extending in the radial direction. The segments 24 are provided at one end of the arms 30 facing radially outward.
The linear guides 32 are provided on the upper surface of the base portion 28 and are provided for each of the eight segments 24 .
The rail 32a of the linear guide 32 extends along the radial direction (the longitudinal direction of the arm 30). The arm 30 is fixed to the upper surface of the block 32b that runs on the rail 32a. In this way, the linear guide 32 guides the movement of the arm 30 and the segment 24 along the radial direction.

The expansion/contraction mechanism 22 further includes a rotation shaft 34 extending along the central axis C1, a support portion 36 that supports the rotation shaft 34, a lifting portion 38 that moves up and down along the rotation shaft 34, and a handle 40 for rotating the rotation shaft 34.
The support portion 36 is provided on the base portion 28 and supports the rotation shaft 34 so as to be rotatable relative to the base portion 28 .
The rotating shaft 34 is rotatable around a central axis C1. The rotating shaft 34 has an outer circumferential surface provided with a male screw.
The lifting section 38 is a disk-shaped member centered on the central axis C1 and has a central hole 38a. The central hole 38a has an internal thread on its inner circumferential surface that screws onto the external thread of the rotating shaft 34.
The lifting section 38 is connected to the arm 30 via a link 42 .
Eight links 42 are provided corresponding to the arms 30. The upper ends of the links 42 are connected to a bracket 38b provided on the lower surface of the lifting unit 38. The lower ends of the links 42 are connected to a bracket 30a provided on the other end of the arm 30.

The link 42 connected to the lift unit 38 restricts the lift unit 38 from rotating about the central axis C1. Thus, the lift unit 38 moves up and down in response to the rotation of the rotating shaft 34.
When an operator rotates the handle 40, the rotating shaft 34 rotates. Thus, when the operator operates the handle 40, the lifting unit 38 moves up and down.

FIG. 3B shows the expansion/contraction mechanism 22 when the lifting section 38 is positioned at the uppermost position.
FIG. 4 shows the expansion/contraction mechanism 22 when the lifting section 38 is lowered from the uppermost portion.
On the other hand, when the lifting unit 38 is lowered from the top by operating the handle 40, the links 42 rotate radially outward, causing the arms 30 to move radially outward. As a result, the expansion/contraction mechanism 22 moves the segments 24 along the radial direction.
At this time, since the movement amount of each link 42 is the same, the radial movement distance of each arm 30 is also the same.
For this reason, the expansion/contraction mechanism 22 moves each segment 24 so as to expand or contract the diameter of the circumscribing circle G (FIG. 3(a)). The circumscribing circle G is a circle that is centered on the central axis C1 at a predetermined axial position and that circumscribes the outer surfaces 24a of the eight segments 24. The circumscribing circle G in FIG. 3(a) indicates a circle that circumscribes the axially lowest portion of the outer surfaces 24a.
The diameter of the circumscribing circle G is smallest when the lifting section 38 is located at the uppermost position and each segment 24 constitutes the drum main body 20 .
The minimum value of the diameter of the circumscribing circle G is set to a value smaller than the inner peripheral diameter of the molding bladder.
In addition, the maximum value of the diameter of the circumscribing circle G is set to a value equal to or greater than the outer diameter of the bladder mounting jig.

[Mounting of molding bladder using mounting device]
Next, the mounting operation of the molding bladder using the mounting device 1 will be described.
In the mounting operation, first, the worker holds the bladder mounting jig in the jig holding portion 4 , and then mounts the molding bladder on the outer circumferential surface 2 a of the drum portion 2 .

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a molding bladder is attached to the outer circumferential surface 2a of the drum portion 2. In Fig. 5, the molding bladder S and the bladder attachment jig J are shown in cross section.
In FIG. 5, the bladder attachment jig J held by the jig holding portion 4 has a cylindrical portion j1 and an annular portion j2 extending radially inward from the axial lower end of the cylindrical portion j1.
The lower surface j2a of the annular portion j2 abuts against the protruding portion 18b of the retaining metal fitting 18. As a result, the bladder mounting jig J is held in the axial direction by the protruding portion 18b. In other words, the protruding portion 18b constitutes an end face retaining portion that abuts against one end face of the bladder mounting jig J on one axial side to retain the bladder mounting jig J.
Additionally, the inner circumferential surface j2b of the annular portion j2 abuts against the rod-shaped portion 18a of the holding fitting 18. As a result, the bladder mounting jig J is held in the radial direction by the rod-shaped portion 18a such that the central axis of the bladder mounting jig J is aligned with the central axis C1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the molding bladder S is a tubular body made of rubber, and is folded back at a predetermined position in the axial direction of the molding bladder S so as to be doubled, and is attached to the drum unit 2.
The folded molding bladder S includes an inner peripheral portion s1 on the inner peripheral side, an outer peripheral portion s2 on the outer peripheral side, and a folded portion s3 connecting the inner peripheral portion s1 and the outer peripheral portion s2.
As shown in FIG. 5, the length from the upper end of the outer circumferential portion s2 to the folded portion s3 is set to be longer than the length from the upper end of the inner circumferential portion s1 to the folded portion s3.

The molding bladder S is attached to the drum portion 2 from the folded portion s3 by abutting the folded portion s3 against the upper end (the end portion on the other axial side) of the drum portion 2.
At this time, each segment 24 of the drum unit 2 constitutes the drum main body 20, and the diameter of the circumscribing circle G is set to a minimum value.
As described above, the minimum value of the diameter of the circumscribing circle G is set to a value smaller than the inner peripheral diameter of the molding bladder S. Therefore, the worker can easily attach the molding bladder S to the outer peripheral surface 2 a of the drum unit 2.

In addition, the outer peripheral surface 2a of the drum portion 2 is formed into a tapered surface that is inclined so that the diameter gradually decreases from the lower side to the upper side, which makes it easier to attach the molding bladder S from the upper end side of the drum portion 2.
In addition, since the upper end 2b of the drum portion 2 is formed into a rounded surface, the operation of mounting the molding bladder S on the drum portion 2 can be made even easier.

After the molding bladder S is attached to the drum unit 2, the operator then operates the handle 40 of the drum unit 2 to move the eight segments 24 radially outward. As a result, the molding bladder S is deformed by the eight segments 24 so as to expand in diameter. At this time, the molding bladder S is expanded in diameter so that its inner diameter becomes equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the bladder mounting jig J.
After expanding the diameter of the molding bladder S, the worker causes the folded-back portion s3 of the molding bladder S to be gripped by the clip 12.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the mounting device 1 in a state in which the molding bladder S mounted on the drum unit 2 is gripped by the clip 12.
6A, the clip 12 grips the folded portion s3 of the molded bladder S. At this time, the string 14 is adjusted so as to be substantially parallel to the central axis C1 and so as to have no play in the direction along the central axis C1.
Thereby, the molded bladder S is connected to the base 10 via the clips 12 and the strings 14 .

The operator then extends the support pole 8 .
FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the mounting device 1 in a state where the support pole 8 is extended.
When the support pillar 8 is extended, the drum unit 2 and the jig holding unit 4 provided at the upper end of the support pillar 8 rise. In other words, the drum unit 2 and the jig holding unit 4 move in a direction away from the base 10.

Here, since the molding bladder S is connected to the base 10 via the clip 12 and the string 14, the relative movement with respect to the base 10 is restricted. Therefore, the molding bladder S slides in the axial direction from the drum portion 2 toward the bladder mounting jig J, and moves relative to the drum portion 2 and the bladder mounting jig J.
As a result, the molding bladder S is attached to the outer peripheral surface J1 of the bladder mounting jig J.

As shown in FIG. 6(b), after the support 8 is extended and the molded bladder S is attached to the bladder attachment jig J, the worker contracts the support 8 and reattaches the clip 12 from the folded portion s3 to the upper end of the outer circumferential portion s2.
Thereafter, the worker again extends the support 8, and folds the upper end of the outer circumferential portion s2 radially outward as shown in Fig. 7. As a result, the molding bladder S is folded three times.
Thereafter, the worker removes the bladder mounting jig J with the molding bladder S mounted thereon from the mounting device 1, and mounts the bladder mounting jig J with the molding bladder S mounted thereon to the tire building machine.

According to the mounting device 1 configured as described above, the drum unit 2 is provided with the expansion/contraction mechanism 22 that moves the eight segments 24 in the radial direction so that the diameter of the circumscribed circle G circumscribing the outer surfaces 24a of the eight segments 24 is expanded or contracted, so that by mounting the molding bladder S on the outer peripheral surface 2a of the drum unit 2, an operator can easily deform the molding bladder S so as to expand its diameter in accordance with the diameter of the outer peripheral surface J1 of the bladder mounting jig J. Furthermore, because the jig holding unit 4 holds the bladder mounting jig J concentrically with the drum unit 2, the molding bladder S that has been deformed so as to expand its diameter can be slid along the axial direction to the bladder mounting jig J.
As a result, it is possible to easily attach the molding bladder S to the bladder attachment jig J, compared to the conventional example described above, in which an operator manually expands the diameter of the molding bladder S while attaching it to the bladder attachment jig J.
At the same time, the operation of folding back the upper end portion of the molding bladder S attached to the bladder mounting jig J can also be facilitated.

In addition, in this embodiment, the holding fitting 18 of the jig holding portion 4 includes a rod-shaped portion 18a that guides the bladder mounting jig J from the inner periphery of the bladder mounting jig J, and a protruding portion 18b that protrudes radially outward from the axial lower end of the rod-shaped portion 18a and abuts against the lower end face of the bladder mounting jig J. Therefore, even if the bladder mounting jig J does not have a member for holding it, such as a flange that protrudes radially, the end face of the bladder mounting jig J can be held by the protruding portion 18b. This allows the bladder mounting jig J to be held appropriately.

〔others〕
It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive.
In the above embodiment, the drum body 20 is configured by eight segments 24, but the number of segments 24 constituting the drum body 20 may be more or less.

8, the plurality of segments 24 may include a plurality of segment bodies 50 and a plurality of attachment portions 52. The plurality of segment bodies 50 are provided at one end of the arm 30, and are combined together in the circumferential direction to form a cylindrical body.
The multiple attachment portions 52 have multiple main body portions 54 and multiple brackets 56 .
The multiple main body portions 54 are combined in the circumferential direction to form a cylindrical body.
The bracket 56 is provided on an inner surface 54a of the main body 54, and removably fixes the main body 54 to the segment main body 50. Thus, the attachment portion 52 is detachable from the segment main body 50.

In this segment 24, when the attachment part 52 is attached to the segment body 50, the outer surface 54b of the body part 54 functions as the outer surface 24a of the segment 24. When the attachment part 52 is detached from the segment body 50, the outer surface 50a of the segment body 50 functions as the outer surface 24a of the segment 24.
In this case, the range in which the diameter of the circumscribed circle G can be varied by the expansion/contraction mechanism 22 can be easily changed by attaching and detaching the attachment portion 52. As a result, the mounting device 1 can be used for each of the mounting operations of multiple types of molding bladders S having different inner diameters.

The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims, not by the meaning described above, and is intended to include all modifications that are equivalent to the claims and within the scope of the claims.

1 Mounting device 2 Drum portion 2a Outer peripheral surface 2b Upper end 4 Jig holding portion 6 Moving portion 8 Support 8a Inner cylinder portion 8b Outer cylinder portion 8c Actuator 10 Base 12 Clip 14 String 15 Connecting portion 16 Bracket 18 Holding metal fitting 18a Rod-shaped portion 18b Protruding portion 20 Drum body 22 Expanding/contracting mechanism 24 Segment 24a Outer surface 25 Dot-dash line 28 Base portion 30 Arm 30a Bracket 32 Linear guide 32a Rail 32b Block 34 Rotating shaft 36 Support portion 38 Lifting portion 38a Center hole 38b Bracket 40 Handle 42 Link 50 Segment body 50a Outer surface 52 Attachment portion 54 Body portion 54a Inner surface 54b Outer surface 56 Bracket C1 Center axis G Circumscribed circle J Bladder mounting jig J1 Outer peripheral surface S Molding bladder j1 Cylindrical portion j2 Annular portion j2a Lower surface j2b Inner peripheral surface s1 Inner peripheral portion s2 Outer peripheral portion s3 Folded portion

Claims (3)

1. An attachment device for attaching a molding bladder to an outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical bladder attachment jig used in a tire building machine, comprising:
a drum portion on whose outer circumferential surface the molding bladder is attached;
a jig holding portion arranged on one axial side of the drum portion and holding the bladder attachment jig concentrically with the drum portion;
a moving unit that grips one axial end of the molding bladder attached to the drum unit and moves the molding bladder from the drum unit toward the bladder attachment jig held by the jig holding unit,
The drum unit includes:
A drum body including a plurality of segments divided in a circumferential direction;
an expansion/contraction mechanism that moves the plurality of segments in a radial direction so that a diameter of a circumscribing circle that circumscribes the outer surfaces of the plurality of segments expands or contracts. The mounting device according to claim 1 , wherein the outer circumferential surface includes a tapered surface that is inclined so as to gradually reduce in diameter from one axial side to the other axial side. The jig holding portion is
a plurality of rod-shaped portions arranged along a circumferential direction and configured to guide the bladder mounting jig from an inner circumferential side of the bladder mounting jig;
3. The mounting device according to claim 1, further comprising an end face holding portion that protrudes radially outward from one axial end of the plurality of rod-shaped portions and abuts against an end face on one axial side of the bladder mounting jig.

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