Tire uniformity correction using multiple correction tracks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10583620-B2
Application number	US-201615744983-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2016
Priority date	Jul 22, 2015
Publication date	Mar 10, 2020
Grant date	Mar 10, 2020

Abstract

Systems and methods for correcting uniformity of a cured tire using ablation of material along a plurality of tracks along the bead portion of the tire are provided. An ablation pattern can be determined to correct for a uniformity parameter for multiple tracks along a bead portion of a tire. The ablation pattern for each track can be analyzed to determined direct address commands for implementing the ablation pattern using an ablation device. The direct address commands can be determined according to an adjustment process to improve cycle time for the ablation of a tire. The adjustment process can be operable to more closely align azimuthal positions of ablation segments specified by direct address commands for different tracks along the bead of the tire.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for improving the uniformity of a cured tire, comprising:
determining, by one or more computing devices, an ablation pattern for each of a plurality of tracks about a bead of a tire;
determining, by the one or more computing devices, a plurality of direct address commands for each ablation pattern based at least in part on an adjustment process, each direct address command specifying one or more ablation parameters for an ablation segment at an address on the bead of the tire, the adjustment process operable to increase azimuthal overlap at an azimuthal location on the tire between two or more ablation segments associated with different tracks of the plurality of tracks along the bead of the tire; and
selectively removing tire material from the bead of the tire based at least in part on the direct address commands.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of direct address commands are determined according to an adjustment process such that two or more ablation segments can be ablated for two or more different tracks at the azimuthal location of the tire without requiring azimuthal movement of the ablation device relative to the tire.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, by the one or more computing devices, a plurality of direct address commands according to an adjustment process comprises determining a plurality of direct address commands for each ablation pattern based at least in part on a standardized radius of the plurality of tracks.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the standardized radius comprises an average radius of the plurality of tracks.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining, by the one or more computing devices, a plurality of direct address commands for each ablation pattern based at least in part on a standardized radius of the plurality of tracks comprises:
identifying, by the one or more computing devices, an average radius for the plurality of tracks;
determining, by the one or more computing devices, a plurality of ablation segments based at least in part the average radius and an ablation width associated with the ablation segments; and
generating, by the one or more computing devices, a direct address command for each ablation segment.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, by the one or more computing devices, a plurality of direct address commands according to an adjustment process comprises:
determining, by the one or more computing devices, a plurality of ablation segments for each ablation pattern associated with the plurality of tracks;
shifting, by the one or more computing devices, at least one of the ablation segments in the azimuthal direction to increase azimuthal overlap with an ablation segment determined for a different track; and
generating, by the one or more computing devices, a direct address command for each ablation segment.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the at least one ablation segment is shifted based at least in part on a matching function, the matching function defining a shift of one or more of the plurality of ablation segments based at least in part a sum of changes in azimuthal position of the plurality of ablation segments.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one ablation segment is shifted based at least in part on a shifting constraint, the shifting constraint specifying a threshold azimuthal shift for an ablation segment.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of tracks comprises at least one track in an upper flange zone of the bead, at least one track in the low flange zone of the bead, and at least one track in the bead seat zone of the bead.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, by one or more computing devices, an ablation pattern for each of a plurality of tracks about a bead of a tire comprises progressively determining, by the one or more computing devices, the plurality of ablation patterns according to a progression scheme based at least in part on a determined ablation order for the plurality of tracks.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein selectively removing material from the bead of the tire in accordance with the one or more ablation patterns comprises selectively removing material from the tire using an ablation device configured to rotate around the tire while the tire is maintained in a fixed position.

12. A uniformity correction system for improving the uniformity of a cured tire, the system comprising:
a tire fixture on which a tire is configured to be securely mounted;
an ablation device configured to provide ablation of a tire mounted on said tire fixture, said ablation device configured to rotate about the tire during ablation of the tire; and
a control system, said control system configured to determine an ablation pattern for each of a plurality of tracks about a bead of the tire and to determine a plurality of direct address commands for each ablation pattern based at least in part on an adjustment process, each direct address command specifying one or more ablation parameters for an ablation segment at an address along the bead of the tire, the adjustment process operable to increase azimuthal overlap at an azimuthal location on the tire between two or more ablation segments associated with different tracks of the plurality of tracks along the bead of the tire;
wherein said control system is further configured to control the ablation device such that tire material is selectively removed from the bead of the tire based at least in part on the direct address commands.

13. The uniformity correction system of claim 12 , wherein the control system is configured to determine a plurality of direct address commands based at least in part on a standardized radius of the plurality of tracks.

14. The uniformity correction system of claim 12 , wherein the control system is configured to determine a plurality of direct address commands by performing operations, the operations comprising:
determining a plurality of ablation segments for each ablation pattern associated with one of the plurality of tracks;
shifting at least one of the ablation segments to increase azimuthal overlap with an ablation segment determined for a different track; and
generating a direct address command for each ablation segment.

Assignees

• Michelin & Cie
• Appleman Casey Scott
• Nicholson Verner Steve

Inventors

• Appleman Casey Scott
• Nicholson Verner Steve

Classifications

• B29D2030/0635

  Measuring and calculating tyre uniformity, e.g. using mathematical methods · CPC title

• B29D2030/0638

  Correcting by removing material, e.g. by grinding · CPC title

• B29D30/0633 Primary

  After-treatment specially adapted for vulcanising tyres · CPC title

• G05B19/418

  Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM] · CPC title

• G01M17/021

  Tyre supporting devices, e.g. chucks (for balancing G01M1/04) · CPC title