A method for identifying post-inflation shaping of a vulcanized tire

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for identifying post-inflation and finalizing of a vulcanized tire, comprising the following steps: S1: attaching an identification tag made of a non-vulcanized material to the inner mold cavity of an unvulcanized tire; S2: vulcanizing the unvulcanized tire with the identification tag attached to the inner mold cavity; and S3: determining the physical state of the identification tag on the vulcanized tire to determine whether the tire has undergone post-inflation and finalizing after vulcanization. This technical solution can be used to identify whether a tire has undergone post-inflation and finalizing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for identifying post-inflation shaping of a vulcanized tire. Background Art

[0002] The tire manufacturing process involves multiple steps, including post-inflation, which occurs after vulcanization and before maintenance. This process is commonly referred to in the industry as inflation or post-inflation, or simply PI. Because tires are primarily constructed from composite fibers like nylon and polyester, the vulcanization process causes the tire's skeleton to expand and contract during the transition from green tire to finished product. Therefore, post-inflation after vulcanization effectively prevents any deformation or changes in the skeleton material, thereby stabilizing tire dimensions and ensuring performance.

[0003] There are usually two types of post-inflation shaping equipment currently available: one is an automatic post-inflation shaping device, and the other is a non-automatic post-inflation shaping device. The automatic post-inflation shaping device, located at the back of the vulcanizer, starts the post-inflation shaping action after the tire is vulcanized. The automatic manipulator places the vulcanized tire on the post-inflation shaping ring and completes the automatic post-inflation shaping action under certain time and pressure conditions. After the inflation shaping action is completed, the tire is automatically grabbed and placed in the post-process, and the cycle continues. The non-automatic post-inflation shaping device requires manual labor to place the vulcanized tire on the post-inflation shaping ring and manually press the start button to enter the post-inflation shaping action. After the inflation shaping action is completed, the tire still needs to be manually grabbed and placed in the post-process.

[0004] In vulcanization processes that utilize non-automatic post-inflation and shaping equipment, there's a current problem where tires are passed directly to the post-processing stage after vulcanization without undergoing post-inflation and shaping due to negligence. However, there's currently no intuitive and effective method for determining whether a tire has undergone post-inflation and shaping. This is particularly true for certain nominal-sized automotive tires, which are difficult to visually identify if they're passed directly to the post-processing stage without post-inflation and shaping. Furthermore, the dimensional differences between unrimmed tires are not readily apparent. Therefore, the lack of post-inflation and shaping poses a risk to the dimensional compliance and performance of these types of automotive tires.

[0005] Currently, there is no public technology for identifying whether a tire has been post-inflation-shaped. Given the significant impact of post-inflation shaping on tire size and performance, a technology for identifying post-inflation shaping is essential for vulcanization equipment that uses non-automatic post-inflation shaping devices. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art and to provide a method for identifying post-inflation shaping of a vulcanized tire.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a method for identifying post-inflation shaping of a vulcanized tire, comprising the following steps:

[0008] S1: Attaching an identification tag made of a non-vulcanized material to the inner cavity of an unvulcanized tire;

[0009] S2: vulcanizing the unvulcanized tire with the identification tag attached to the inner cavity;

[0010] S3: The physical state of the identification tag of the vulcanized tire is judged to determine whether the tire has undergone a post-inflation shaping process after vulcanization.

[0011] In a more preferred embodiment, in step S3: when the vulcanized tire has not undergone a post-inflation shaping process, the identification tag is driven by the shrinkage and deformation of the vulcanized tire so that its physical state is in a first flatness;

[0012] In step S3: when the vulcanized tire has undergone a post-inflation shaping process, the identification label is stretched as the vulcanized tire cools and sets, and its physical state is in the second flatness;

[0013] The first flatness level is lower than the second flatness level.

[0014] In a more preferred embodiment, the identification label includes a pattern; in step S3: when the vulcanized tire has not undergone a post-inflation shaping process, the identification label is driven by the shrinkage and deformation of the vulcanized tire so that the physical state of its pattern is in an unrecognizable state.

[0015] In a more preferred embodiment, in step S3: when the vulcanized tire undergoes a post-inflation shaping process, the identification label is stretched as the tire cools and sets, so that the physical state of the pattern thereof becomes identifiable.

[0016] In a more preferred embodiment, the pattern is at least accompanied by information.

[0017] In a more preferred embodiment, in step S1 : the identification label is attached to the inner cavity of the unvulcanized tire.

[0018] In a more preferred embodiment, the identification label is made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester film or polyvinyl chloride.

[0019] In a more preferred embodiment, the inner cavity includes a first area corresponding to a tire tread portion; and the identification label is attached to the first area.

[0020] In a more preferred embodiment, the inner cavity includes a second area corresponding to the shoulder and sidewall of the tire; and the identification label is attached to the second area.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] The above method can be used to quickly identify whether a tire has undergone post-inflation and shaping. When post-process personnel find that the identification label of the non-vulcanized material in the inner cavity of the tire is wrinkled and uneven, it is confirmed that the corresponding tire has not undergone the post-inflation and shaping process, and timely feedback is given to the vulcanization process personnel for correction and improvement. At the same time, it also prevents tires that have not been post-inflated and shaped from entering the post-process, thereby ensuring the size and performance of the tire and ensuring the tire quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the vulcanized tire of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 This is a flow chart for determining the tire's post-inflation shaping recognition process according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0026] In order to better explain the present invention, the orientation of the tire is first defined: the horizontal direction represents the axial direction of the tire; the vertical direction represents the radial direction of the tire; the direction perpendicular to the paper surface represents the circumferential direction of the tire; CL represents the equatorial plane of the tire; and L represents the horizontal axis of the tire section.

[0027] Figure 1 The cross-sectional structure diagram of a vulcanized tire of the present invention is shown. The vulcanized tire of the present invention includes a tread portion 10, a shoulder portion 20, a sidewall portion 30, and a bead portion 40. The contact surface area of ​​the tread portion 10 is provided with a tread pattern (the tread pattern is not shown in this embodiment). The vulcanized tire also includes an inner liner 50 defining its inner cavity and a carcass ply 60 serving as its skeleton. The vulcanized tire of this embodiment is a pneumatic automobile tire; the vulcanized tire can be a radial tire or a bias tire. The carcass ply is composed of at least two layers of cord.

[0028] like Figure 1The illustrated carcass ply 60 is composed of two layers of ply, namely ply 61 and ply 62. When the carcass ply counts four or fewer, the tire carcass is relatively soft and susceptible to deformation from the bladder's contraction and the thermal shrinkage of the tire carcass material upon demolding. Conversely, as the number of plies in the tire carcass ply 60 increases, the carcass becomes stronger, resulting in minimal or insignificant changes in the carcass after demolding. Therefore, the method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire provided by the present invention achieves significant technical benefits when applied to a vulcanized tire having a carcass structure of at least two but no more than four ply layers.

[0029] like Figure 1 In the schematic diagram of the tire cross-section, at least one identification tag 70 is attached to the first region (i.e., the TRW region) of the inner cavity corresponding to the tire tread portion 10. In this embodiment, the identification tag 70 is attached to the inner cavity by adhesive bonding. After vulcanization, the vulcanized tire undergoes carcass deformation due to the contraction of the vulcanizing bladder and the thermal shrinkage characteristics of the tire carcass cords. After vulcanization, the vulcanized tire is post-inflated and shaped. The vulcanized tire is cooled and shaped under certain conditions of time and pressure, and the carcass cord changes gradually stabilize. During this period, the first region of the inner cavity corresponding to the tread portion 10 undergoes noticeable deformation from the time of demolding to post-inflation and shaping. Therefore, the identification label 70 is affixed to the first area of ​​the inner mold cavity corresponding to the tire tread portion 10. The physical state of the identification label 70, which is wrinkled or uneven after the tire shrinks and deforms during the vulcanization process, will be stretched and flattened during the post-inflation and finalization period as the tire gradually cools and finalizes. The identification label 70 may be printed with a pattern, and the physical state of the pattern can also be flattened and clear after post-inflation and finalization. Similarly, affixing the identification label 70 to the first area of ​​the inner mold cavity corresponding to the tread portion 10 makes it easier to visually inspect the physical state of the identification label 70, making this area the preferred location for affixing the identification label 70.

[0030] Optionally, the identification label 70 may also be affixed to the second area of ​​the inner mold cavity corresponding to the shoulder portion 20 or the sidewall portion 30. When the identification label 70 is affixed to the second area of ​​the inner mold cavity, during the post-inflation and shaping process, the tire carcass gradually cools and shapes under certain conditions of time and pressure, and the changes in the carcass cord gradually tend to be stable. During this period, although the deformation of the shoulder portion 20 and the sidewall portion 30 from the vulcanization process to the post-inflation and shaping process is not as obvious as the deformation of the tread portion 10, there are still certain carcass changes. Therefore, the wrinkled or uneven state of the identification label 70 caused by the carcass shrinkage after being ejected from the vulcanization process will be stretched and flattened during the post-inflation and shaping process as the tire gradually cools and shapes. That is, the identification label 70 is attached to the second area of ​​the inner mold cavity, and the physical state of the identification label 70 can also be used to determine whether the vulcanized tire has undergone post-inflation and shaping.

[0031] It is worth noting that the bead portion 40 of the tire and the lower side of the sidewall portion 30 close to the bead portion 40 correspond to the inner cavity, that is, Figure 1 The area from the horizontal axis L of the tire cross section toward the bead portion 40 is characterized by high tire rigidity and relatively small tire deformation. Therefore, it is not suitable to determine whether the tire has undergone post-inflation and shaping by observing the flatness of the identification label 70 or the clarity of the pattern on the identification label 70. Therefore, the prior art practice of affixing a barcode containing tire manufacturing information to the outer surface of the bead portion 40 only serves as a record of this tire information but does not provide a means of identifying whether the tire has undergone post-inflation and shaping.

[0032] The identification label 70 cannot be made of the same tire rubber material as the tire inner liner 50 or other parts of the tire, such as printed rubber strips or white rubber strips commonly used in the industry. Instead, it is preferably made of a non-vulcanized material (i.e., non-tire rubber material). For example, the identification label 70 can be made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyester film (PET), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). If the identification label 70 is made of tire rubber, it will completely vulcanize with the tire inner liner 60 during the vulcanization process, forming a single piece. Therefore, after the tire is vulcanized and ejected from the mold, the identification label 70 will appear smooth, just like the inner liner 60 in the tire's inner mold cavity. At this point, whether the tire has been post-inflated and set cannot be determined by the physical state of the identification label 70. On the contrary, the identification label 70 is made of non-tire rubber material, such as the non-rubber materials such as PE, PP, etc. mentioned above. When the identification label 70 is pasted on the above-mentioned area of ​​the inner cavity of the tire, when the tire body shrinks and deforms after the tire is vulcanized and demolded, the identification label 70 and the rubber material of the tire inner liner 60 have different properties and produce a wrinkled state or an uneven state; when the tire gradually cools and is formed after post-inflation, the identification label 70 made of non-tire rubber material is immediately stretched and becomes flat. Therefore, the function of identifying whether the tire has been post-inflated and formed can be achieved by directly observing the state of the identification label 70 with the naked eye.

[0033] In order to avoid adding extra accessories to the finished tire, the identification label 70 is at least accompanied by information, which includes information related to the production of the tire, such as information on the equipment and batch number used in the tire manufacturing process. The identification label 70 pasted on the inner cavity of the tire is preferably a barcode with tire production information. In this case, the barcode has the function of a conventional tire production information carrier and also has the function of identifying whether the vulcanized tire has been post-inflation and finalization. The barcode is in the shape of a long strip, and the length direction of the barcode can be pasted along the axial direction of the tire, or the length direction of the barcode can be pasted along the circumferential direction of the tire. Of course, the identification label 70 can also be a non-barcode, but an identification label composed of other patterns. For example, the surface pattern of the identification label 70 can be a QR code pattern, a corporate logo pattern, or any other pattern.

[0034] like Figure 2The flowchart of the method for identifying the post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire according to the present invention is shown. The method comprises three main steps: S1: attaching a non-vulcanized identification tag 70 to the inner mold cavity of an unvulcanized tire. As mentioned above, the identification tag 70 is preferably made of a non-tire rubber material, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyester film (PET), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The identification tag 70 is preferably affixed to the first area of ​​the inner mold cavity corresponding to the tire tread portion 10. Alternatively, the identification tag 70 can be affixed to the second area of ​​the inner mold cavity corresponding to the tire shoulder portion 20 or sidewall portion 30. The identification tag 70 can be a strip of non-rubber material without any information. Similarly, to avoid adding additional tire material, the identification tag 70 is preferably a barcode with tire manufacturing information, or any other information-containing pattern other than a barcode. Furthermore, the tire is preferably suitable for vulcanized tires with at least two and no more than four plies of tire cord, to fully utilize the method for identifying the post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire according to the present invention.

[0035] S2: vulcanizing the unvulcanized tire with the identification tag 70 attached to the inner cavity;

[0036] S3: The physical condition of the identification label 70 of the vulcanized tire is determined to determine whether the tire has undergone a post-inflation and shaping process after vulcanization. The physical condition of the identification label 70 within the inner mold cavity of the finished vulcanized tire can be directly observed by the naked eye. In step S3: When the vulcanized tire has not undergone the post-inflation and shaping process, the identification label 70 is deformed by the shrinkage of the vulcanized tire, causing its physical condition to be in a first degree of flatness. In step S3: When the vulcanized tire has undergone the post-inflation and shaping process, the identification label 70 is stretched as the vulcanized tire cools and sets, causing its physical condition to be in a second degree of flatness. The first degree of flatness is lower than the second degree of flatness. That is, at the second degree of flatness, the surface of the identification label 70 is flatter than at the first degree of flatness. At the first degree of flatness, the surface of the identification label 70 is wrinkled or uneven, while at the second degree of flatness, the surface of the identification label is flat and wrinkle-free.

[0037] When the identification label 70 includes a pattern, in step S3: when the vulcanized tire has not yet undergone the post-inflation and setting process, the identification label 70 is affected by the shrinkage and deformation of the vulcanized tire, causing the pattern on the label to be physically unrecognizable. In other words, the corresponding pattern cannot be recognized due to wrinkles, unclearness, partial obstruction, etc. In step S3: when the vulcanized tire has undergone the post-inflation and setting process, the identification label 70 is stretched as the tire cools and sets, causing the pattern on the label to be physically recognizable. In other words, the corresponding pattern appears flat, clear, and recognizable.

[0038] According to the above method, the quality of the tire appearance can be determined accordingly, thereby preventing finished tires that have not been post-inflated and shaped from flowing into subsequent processes, thereby ensuring the quality of the tires.

[0039] The working principle of using the above-mentioned identification label 70 to identify whether post-inflation shaping has been performed is as follows: an identification label 70 with a pattern made of non-tire rubber material is pasted on the inner cavity of the tire. When the tire is vulcanized but not post-inflation shaping is performed, the tire will undergo a certain degree of tire deformation due to the contraction of the airbag and the thermal shrinkage characteristics of the tire frame material. The identification label 70 pasted on the inner cavity will also shrink and deform and appear wrinkled or uneven. The pattern on the surface of the identification label 70 will be partially blocked and unclear. When the tire is post-inflation shaping after vulcanization, the tire will be inflated under certain time and pressure conditions. During the post-inflation shaping process, the tire is gradually cooled and shaped, and the changes in the carcass cord 60 gradually tend to be stable. The identification label 70 pasted on the inner cavity of the tire is stretched from the wrinkled or uneven state caused by the shrinkage of the carcass after being vulcanized and ejected from the mold to a flat and wrinkle-free state as the tire is cooled and shaped during the post-inflation shaping process. The pattern of the identification label 70 is flat and clear. In this way, the finished tire can be quickly identified by directly checking with the naked eye whether it has undergone post-inflation shaping, and the finished tire that has undergone post-inflation shaping identification can be processed accordingly to ensure the compliance of the tire size and performance, and to ensure the quality of the tire.

[0040] The above is only a preferred specific embodiment of the present invention, but the design concept of the present invention is not limited to this. Any technician familiar with this technical field who uses this concept to make non-substantial changes to the present invention within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention shall be deemed to infringe the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: Attaching an identification tag made of a non-vulcanized material to the inner cavity of an unvulcanized tire; S2: vulcanizing the unvulcanized tire with the identification tag attached to the inner cavity; S3: The physical state of the identification tag of the vulcanized tire is judged to determine whether the tire has undergone a post-inflation shaping process after vulcanization.

2. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S3: when the vulcanized tire has not undergone a post-inflation shaping process, the identification tag is driven by the shrinkage and deformation of the vulcanized tire so that its physical state is at a first flatness level; In step S3: when the vulcanized tire has undergone a post-inflation shaping process, the identification label is stretched as the vulcanized tire cools and sets, and its physical state is in the second flatness; The first flatness level is lower than the second flatness level.

3. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The identification label includes a pattern; in step S3: when the vulcanized tire has not undergone the post-inflation shaping process, the identification label is driven by the shrinkage and deformation of the vulcanized tire so that the physical state of its pattern is in an unrecognizable state.

4. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: In step S3: when the vulcanized tire undergoes a post-inflation shaping process, the identification label is stretched as the tire cools and sets, so that the physical state of the pattern on the identification label becomes identifiable.

5. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The pattern is at least accompanied by information.

6. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1 : an identification label is attached to the inner cavity of an unvulcanized tire.

7. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the identification label is polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester film or polyvinyl chloride.

8. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The inner cavity includes a first area corresponding to a tire tread portion; the identification label is attached to the first area.

9. A method for identifying post-inflation setting of a vulcanized tire during tire manufacturing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The inner cavity includes a second area corresponding to the shoulder and sidewall of the tire; the identification label is attached to the second area.

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