Machine and method of forming a bead-apex assembly for tires

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10137654-B2
Application number	US-201314398216-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 19, 2013
Priority date	Dec 10, 2012
Publication date	Nov 27, 2018
Grant date	Nov 27, 2018

Abstract

A tire building machine for applying an apex to a bead to form a bead-apex assembly for a green tire, including a bead holder for holding the bead, wherein the tire building machine includes a first gripper and a second gripper for engaging and moving the apex in a direction of conveyance towards the bead, wherein the first gripper is moveable between a first start position and a first end position and the second gripper is moveable between a second start position and a second end position, wherein the tire building machine is provided with wedges, wherein the grippers are biased to a closed state in which the grippers are arranged to engage the apex, and wherein the wedges are arranged for countering the bias of the grippers when the grippers are at one of the start positions or the end positions.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Tyre building machine for applying apex strips to beads to form a bead-apex assembly for a green tyre, comprising:
a bead holder for holding the beads,
a cutting device for cutting a substantially continuous length of apex into the apex strips with the apex strips having a leading end and a trailing end with respect to the bead holder, and
an applicator clamp for transferring the leading end of one of the strips onto one of the beads at the bead holder,
wherein the tyre building machine comprises a first gripper and a second gripper for engaging the leading end and the trailing end, respectively, of the apex strips and moving the apex strips in a direction of conveyance in a plane of conveyance towards the bead holder,
wherein the first gripper is moveable between a first start position and a first end position and the second gripper is moveable between a second start position and a second end position,
wherein the tyre building machine is provided with a first wedge, a second wedge, a third wedge and a fourth wedge,
wherein the first gripper and the second gripper each comprise a first gripping member that is suspended into a position underneath the plane of conveyance and a second gripping member that is suspended into a position above the plane of conveyance,
wherein for each gripper at least one of the gripping members is a biased gripping member biased by a respective biasing element to move towards the other of the gripping members of that gripper for clamping the apex strips from two opposite sides of the plane of conveyance,
wherein the first wedge is provided with a protrusion which is arranged to counteract the bias of the least one biasing element of the first gripper when the first gripper is at the first start position, the second wedge is provided with a protrusion which is arranged to counteract the bias of the at least one biasing element of the first gripper when the first gripper is at the first end position, the third wedge is provided with a protrusion which is arranged to counteract the bias of the least one biasing element of the second gripper when the second gripper is at the second start position, and the fourth wedge is provided with a protrusion which is arranged to counteract the bias of the at least one biasing element of the second gripper when the second gripper is at the second end position,
wherein the first end position is located at the applicator clamp,
wherein the second end position is located at the bead holder,
wherein the tyre building machine is arranged for conveying the apex strips in a first plane, wherein the first gripper and the second gripper are moveable between the first plane and a second plane in a background with respect to the first plane, and
wherein the grippers are arranged to be moved from their respective start positions to their respective end positions in the first plane and wherein the grippers are arranged to be returned from their respective end positions to their respective start positions in the second plane, which is behind the cutting device and the applicator clamp.

2. Tyre building machine according to claim 1 , wherein the grippers are arranged to be moved from the first plane to the second plane and vice versa only when the grippers are in their respective start positions or end positions.

3. Tyre building machine according to claim 1 , wherein each protrusion comprises a first run-on surface for displacing one of the at least one biased gripping members of one of the grippers in a direction opposite to its bias.

4. Tyre building machine according to claim 3 , wherein each wedge is provided with a second run-on surface such that each wedge is capable of displacing both of the gripping members of one of the grippers.

5. Tyre building machine according to claim 4 , wherein the first and second gripping member of the first gripper are each provided with a respective wheel for contacting a respective one of the first and second run-on surfaces of both the first and second wedges, and the first and second gripping member of the second gripper are each provided with a respective wheel for contacting a respective one of the first and second run-on surfaces of both the third and fourth wedges.

6. Tyre building machine according to claim 1 , wherein the first wedge, the second wedge, the third wedge and the fourth wedge are positioned at or near the first start position, the first end position, the second start position and the second end position, respectively.

7. Tyre building machine according to claim 1 , wherein the tyre building machine is provided with drives which are coupled to the wedges for moving the wedges towards or retracting the wedges away from the grippers.

8. Tyre building machine according to claim 1 , wherein for each gripper a first one of the gripping members is provided with a platform for supporting the apex strips and a second one of the gripping members comprises a pressing element which comprises an array of pressure pins which face towards the platform of the corresponding gripper, wherein the pressure pins are arranged for contacting the platform of their corresponding gripper and the apex supported thereon.

9. Tyre building machine according to claim 8 , wherein for each gripper the pressure pins are biased to move towards the platform of their corresponding gripper, wherein, when the gripping members are moved towards each other for each gripper to engage the apex strips, at least some of the pressure pins of each gripper are arranged for contacting the apex strips and are arranged to be pushed back against their bias as a result of said contact.

10. Tyre building machine according to claim 8 ,
wherein each pressing element is provided with a plurality of cylindrical bores for receiving a corresponding one of the pressure pins,
wherein each pressure pin has a shaft which is arranged to slide within a corresponding one of the cylindrical bores,
wherein each shaft has a partly non-circular, multi-planar or flattened circumference which, in combination with the corresponding cylindrical bore, creates a clearance between each shaft and the corresponding cylindrical bore, which clearance is in open communication with the outside environment at the side of each pressing element facing the corresponding platform.

11. Tyre building machine according to claim 10 , wherein each shaft has at least three parts of its circumference which are arranged to be placed in sliding contact with its cylindrical bore and at least three substantially flattened faces for, in the placed condition, creating at least three clearances between each shaft and its cylindrical bore.

12. Tyre building machine according to claim 11 , wherein each shaft has a circumference and the at least three substantially flattened faces of each shaft are equally distributed along its circumference.

13. Tyre building machine according to claim 12 , wherein each shaft has a cross section with four flat sides of equal size.

14. Tyre building machine according to claim 10 , wherein each shaft is arranged to be rotatable within its cylindrical bore, wherein the parts of the circumference of each shaft that are arranged to be in sliding contact with its cylindrical bore are parts of the same circle.

15. Tyre building machine according claim 1 , wherein the cutting device is positioned upstream of the bead holder with respect to the direction of conveyance, wherein the first start position is located upstream of the cutting device and/or the second start position is located downstream of the cutting device.

Assignees

• Vmi Holland Bv

Inventors

• Slot Marco
• Van Laar Gerard Johannes

Classifications

• B29D2030/0044

  Handling tyre beads, e.g., storing, transporting, transferring and supplying to the toroidal support or to the drum · CPC title

• B29D30/0016

  Handling tyres or parts thereof, e.g. supplying, storing, conveying (B29D30/2607 takes precedence; loading and unloading vulcanizing presses B29D30/0603) · CPC title

• B29D30/48 Primary

  Bead-rings or bead-cores (from wire B21F37/00); Treatment thereof prior to building the tyre · CPC title

• B29D2030/482

  Applying fillers or apexes to bead cores · CPC title

• Y10T156/17

  Surface bonding means and/or assemblymeans with work feeding or handling means · CPC title