Method of detecting tire mold bladder leakage by smell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10603858-B2
Application number	US-201716334137-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2017
Priority date	Sep 30, 2016
Publication date	Mar 31, 2020
Grant date	Mar 31, 2020

Abstract

A method of detecting tire mold ( 10 ) bladder ( 14 ) leakage is provided that includes placing an uncured tire ( 12 ) into a mold ( 10 ), and inflating a bladder ( 14 ), that has a fluid ( 22 ), within the mold. Sufficient heat and pressure are applied to at least partially cure the tire when the uncured tire is in the mold ( 10 ). The mold ( 10 ) is opened and electronic smelling is conducted on the at least partially cured tire ( 12 ). The electronic smelling is performed in order to determine whether the bladder ( 14 ) is leaking the fluid ( 22 ).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of detecting tire mold bladder leakage, comprising:
placing an uncured tire into a mold;
inflating a bladder within the mold, wherein the bladder has a fluid within the bladder;
applying sufficient heat and pressure to the uncured tire to at least partially cure the tire when the uncured tire is in the mold;
opening the mold; and
electronically smelling by an electronic nose the at least partially cured tire after the step of opening the mold, wherein the step of electronically smelling by the electronic nose is performed in order to determine whether the bladder is leaking the fluid;
wherein the electronically smelling comprising:
drawing airborne particulates into a sample chamber;
sensing the airborne particulates by a plurality of sensors;
processing data obtained from the plurality of sensors to determine if any of the airborne particulates are airborne particulates of the fluid or uncured rubber; and
indicating that airborne particulates of the fluid or uncured rubber are present.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising the step of removing the at least partially cured tire from the mold such that the at least partially cured tire is not located within the mold and does not engage the mold; wherein the step of electronically smelling takes place after the step of removing the at least partially cured tire from the mold such that the at least partially cured tire is not located within the mold and does not engage the mold.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the electronically smelling begins 90 seconds or less from the point in time after the at least partially cured tire is removed from the mold such that the at least partially cured tire is not located within the mold and does not engage the mold.

4. The method as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the electronically smelling begins at the point in time when the at least partially cured tire is located at a head of line, wherein the head of line is a location where tires coming out of multiple different molds assemble at a common location.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the electronic nose is trained by having the electronic nose reference at least two reference tires at least partially cured by a reference mold that does not have a leaking bladder, and wherein the electronic nose is trained by having the electronic nose reference at least two different reference tires at least partially cured by a second reference mold that has a leaking bladder.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the electronic nose is trained by having the electronic nose reference at least two reference tires at least partially cured by the mold.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the bladder leaks the fluid and an odor of the fluid is carried by the at least partially cured tire, wherein the odor of the fluid is sensed by the electronically smelling to determine that the bladder is leaking the fluid.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the electronically smelling comprising purging the airborne particulates from the sample chamber after the step of processing data.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the step of electronically smelling determines that the bladder is not leaking the fluid.

10. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the tire is located in the opened mold when the step of electronically smelling is performed.

11. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the fluid is air.

12. The method as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising stopping the production of tires with the mold such that two or fewer scrap tires are produced upon determining that the bladder is leaking the fluid by the electronically smelling.

13. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein all parts of the electronic nose are outside of an interior space of the tire when the electronic nose electronically smells the tire.

14. A method of detecting tire mold bladder leakage, comprising:
placing an uncured tire into a mold;
inflating a bladder within the mold, wherein the bladder has a fluid within the bladder;
applying sufficient heat and pressure to the uncured tire to at least partially cure the tire when the uncured tire is in the mold;
opening the mold; and
electronically smelling by an electronic nose the at least partially cured tire after the step of opening the mold, wherein the step of electronically smelling by the electronic nose is performed in order to determine whether the bladder is leaking the fluid;
wherein an odor of uncured rubber of the tire is sensed by the electronically smelling to determine that the bladder is leaking the fluid.

Assignees

• Michelin & Cie

Inventors

• Judd David
• Hartman Ii Roger

Classifications

• F16K37/0091

  by measuring fluid parameters · CPC title

• B29D2030/0659

  Details or accessories for the flexible cores not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• B29D30/0662 Primary

  Accessories, details or auxiliary operations · CPC title

• B29D30/0654

  Flexible cores therefor, e.g. bladders, bags, membranes, diaphragms (elastic cores or mandrels for shaping of plastics B29C33/505; bags for isostatic pressing in compression moulding B29C43/12, B29C43/3642) · CPC title

• A61B2562/12

  Manufacturing methods specially adapted for producing sensors for in-vivo measurements · CPC title