Method for wetting the inner surface of a tire blank in preparation for a vulcanization process and apparatus for carrying out the method

Abstract

Method for wetting the inner surface (16) of a tire blank (3) in preparation for a vulcanization process, comprising the following steps: a. Manufacturing tire blanks (3) with a tire inner surface (16) to be wetted using tire manufacturing machines, b. Transferring at least one tire blank (3) with an inner tire surface (16) to be wetted into a transport container (1), c. Transporting the transport container (1) with the at least one tire blank (3) to a wetting device (14), d. Inserting a wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) into the transport container (1), e. Positioning the wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) in the center of the tire cavity of the at least one tire blank (3), f. Wetting the inner surface (16) of the at least one tire blank (3), in whose tire cavity the wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) is positioned, with a wetting fluid, wherein the wetting fluid prevents the inner surface (16) of the at least one tire blank (3) from adhering to a vulcanizing bellows of a vulcanizing device, g. Extracting the wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) from the transport container (1) and h. Further transport of the at least one tire blank (3) in the transport container (1) to a vulcanization device for vehicle tires.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for wetting the inner surface of a green tire in preparation for a vulcanization process and to a device for carrying out the method.

[0002] It is known to wet the inside of green tires with a release agent before tire vulcanization.

[0003] Various methods for preparing a green tire for a vulcanization process are known in the state of the art: WO 2016095922 A1 refers to “tire handling and processing”.

[0004] An object underlying the invention is to improve the methods known in the prior art for wetting the inner surface of a green tire in preparation for a vulcanization process.

[0005] This object is achieved according to the invention by a method for wetting the inner surface of a green tire in preparation for a vulcanization process, comprising the following steps: a. Production of green tyres with a tyre inner surface to be wetted using tyre building machines, b. Transferring at least one green tyre with a tyre inner surface to be wetted into a transport container, c. Transporting the transport container with at least one green tire to a wetting device, d. Inserting a wetting head of the wetting device into the transport container, e. Positioning the wetting head of the wetting device in the center of the tire cavity of the at least one green tire, f. Wetting the inner surface of the at least one green tire, in the tire cavity of which the wetting head of the wetting device is positioned, with a wetting liquid, wherein the wetting liquid prevents the inner surface of the at least one green tire from adhering to a vulcanization bladder of a vulcanization device for vehicle tires, g. Remove the wetting head of the wetting device from the transport container and h. Further transport of the at least one green tire in the transport container to a vulcanization device for vehicle tires.

[0006] An advantage of the method according to the invention described above is that, between the production of the green tire and its vulcanization, each tire does not have to be manually removed from the assembly line and subsequently manually wetted using a wetting device, as is usual in conventional processes. The wetting step is thus accelerated and facilitated for the person carrying out the wetting.

[0007] Another significant advantage is that the tires do not have to be removed from a transport container in order to wet them on the inside after removal.

[0008] Furthermore, the method according to the invention makes it possible to transport several tires in a simple manner in one transport container and thus to increase the number of coated tires in a certain period of time.

[0009] Within the scope of the present invention, it is provided that the wetting head of the wetting device in the method according to the invention is small enough so that it can be guided through the tire openings of the green tire.

[0010] Within the scope of the present invention, the center of a tire cavity of a green tire is the space between the two tire openings of the green tire. Preferably, the center of a tire cavity of a green tire is approximately the geometric center of the circle formed by the tire circumference, preferably exactly the geometric center of the circle formed by the tire circumference.

[0011] In an advantageous development of the invention, the transport container is part of an automated transport device for the transport container. This allows the process to be easily automated.

[0012] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the transport container has a base with at least one, two, three or four wheels, at least one, two, three or four side walls and / or a lid, preferably a lid with a lid opening.

[0013] In the context of the present invention, the bottom of a transport container is the side on which wheels for rolling the transport container are attached, the transport container standing on the wheels.

[0014] Within the scope of the invention, one or more side walls preferably adjoin the base of the transport container, whereby the side walls can be curved or flat. If the transport container has only one side wall, it can be in the shape of a hollow circular cylinder, with one side surface of the side wall in this case representing the outer surface of the circular cylinder.

[0015] Within the scope of the present invention, a transport container preferably has a lid that rests on the side wall(s) of the transport container and is attached to the side opposite the floor of the transport container. The lid can preferably be opened and closed and particularly preferably has a lid opening through which the wetting head of the wetting device can be inserted and removed. Within the scope of the present invention, the lid opening serves, in particular, to seal off the wetting device with a sealing device described below.

[0016] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that a transport container as described above achieves less contamination of the tire technicians with the wetting liquid compared to contamination in conventional methods.

[0017] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that in step b. at least two, three, four or five green tires, preferably at least two, three, four or five green tires with a tire inner side to be wetted, are transferred into the transport container and arranged horizontally one above the other.

[0018] In the context of the present invention, arranged horizontally one above the other preferably means that the centers of the tire cavities of the green tires are arranged along a vertical axis.

[0019] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that several green tires can be transported in a transport container with the smallest possible volume, thus saving storage space.

[0020] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that in step d. the wetting head of the wetting device is introduced into the transport container coaxially to the green tires arranged horizontally one above the other.

[0021] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that the wetting head can be brought into the intended wetting position in a simple and technically rapid manner.

[0022] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that, prior to step g., steps e. and f. are repeated until two, three, four or five tire inner sides of the at least two, three, four or five green tires are wetted with a tire inner side to be wetted in the transport container, preferably until all tire inner sides of the green tires are wetted with a tire inner side to be wetted in the transport container.

[0023] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the wetting head of the wetting device has a wetting unit which - a rotating disc device, or - a spray nozzle device, preferably a rotatable spray nozzle.

[0024] Preferably, a rotatable spray nozzle is used, which operates in the so-called "airless" mode, "airmix" mode, or a mode using air atomization. Particularly preferred is the use of a rotatable spray nozzle operated in "airmix" mode in order to reduce overspray and thus optimize the consumption of the wetting fluid.

[0025] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the wetting liquid comprises at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of: - organic solvents, - per- and polyfluorinated release agents and - silicone-based release agents.

[0026] Silicone-based release agents include, for example, polysiloxanes (e.g., polydimethylsiloxanes), and organic solvents include all hydrocarbons that are liquid at room temperature and contain fewer than 10 carbon atoms and fewer than 5 heteroatoms, such as ethanol, acetone, propanols, butyl alcohols, pentanols, toluene, phenol, benzene, or turpentine. Polyfluorinated release agents include, in particular, per- and polyfluorinated hydrocarbons, which are classified as PFCs in the state of the art.

[0027] An advantage of the present invention is that the method according to the invention can prevent the tire technician from being contaminated with one of the ingredients described above, in particular with organic solvents.

[0028] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the transport container is closed after the introduction of the wetting head of the wetting device in such a way that no wetting liquid in the form of aerosol escapes from the transport container after step d.

[0029] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that contamination of the tire technician with the wetting fluid can be completely or almost completely eliminated.

[0030] In the context of the present invention, a wetting liquid in aerosol form is preferably a dispersion of very small and thus suspended droplets of the wetting liquid in a gas or in the ambient air. The droplets of the wetting liquid can be so small that they only float in the ambient air or gas after several minutes before falling to the ground.

[0031] In an advantageous development of the invention, the transport container has a base suitable for collecting wetting liquid in the form of falling drops. The base preferably comprises a removal device by means of which the collected wetting liquid can be removed from the transport container. Such a removal device can, for example, be a dedicated collecting basin, preferably with an additional suction device.

[0032] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that drops often accumulate on the inside of the tire during wetting, and after falling, these drops can be collected in the removal device in the ground. Thus, they can be removed collectively in a step subsequent to the inventive method. It is particularly advantageous if this removal of the collected wetting liquid is already carried out during the inventive method by means of a suction device as described above.

[0033] In an advantageous development of the invention it is provided that - the wetting device has a suction device which is intended to suck out wetting liquid in the form of aerosol, and - between steps f. and g., the suction device sucks out wetting liquid in the form of an aerosol within the transport container, preferably within the tire cavity or between the tire openings of the green tire wetted in step f.

[0034] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that the wetting fluid sprayed into the transport container, which is in the form of an aerosol, is extracted before the transport container is reopened. Thus, contamination of the tire technician with the wetting fluid can be reduced or avoided.

[0035] Particularly preferred is a method as described above (or as described above as preferred), characterized in that the transport container has at least one storage device for green tires, wherein the at least one storage device for green tires, preferably all storage devices for green tires, has a hole in the middle through which the wetting head can be guided.

[0036] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that by installing multiple storage devices for green tires in the transport container, several tires of different sizes can be safely transported simultaneously in one transport container. This ensures a more flexible process flow.

[0037] A method as described above as being particularly preferred is particularly preferred, characterized in that the at least one storage device for green tires, preferably all storage devices for green tires, in the transport container has a joint, so that the at least one storage device can be folded from a horizontal arrangement into a vertical arrangement (and vice versa), wherein preferably a green tire is deposited on a horizontally arranged storage device for green tires and / or no green tire is deposited on a vertically arranged storage device for green tires.

[0038] Thanks to the joint, the storage devices for green tires in the transport container can be folded upwards, allowing the storage devices for green tires in the transport container to be arranged horizontally or vertically. This allows a transport container with a side wall enclosing the storage devices for green tires to be loaded with one green tire each. The advantage of this is that a transport container as described above can also be loaded with green tires of different sizes.

[0039] According to the invention, it is expedient to load the lowest storage device first, followed by the storage devices above it. The storage devices are first folded from a vertical arrangement to a horizontal arrangement, then loaded with a green tire, and then the next highest storage device for green tires is folded into a horizontal arrangement. This process is continued according to the invention until a green tire is located on all storage devices for green tires.

[0040] Through the respective holes in the various storage devices for green tires, it is possible to wet the individual tire inner surfaces of the various green tires using the wetting head of the wetting device.

[0041] The wetting device or its wetting head should have one or two, preferably one, sealing devices which seal the upper tire opening or both tire openings of the green tire wetted in step f. during step e., preferably seal them in such a way that no wetting liquid reaches the outside of the green tire wetted in step f. during step f.

[0042] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that, due to the sealing device(s) on the wetting device or on the wetting head of the wetting device, wetting liquid in the form of an aerosol can be prevented from reaching the outside of the green tires and causing undesirable effects there. Furthermore, the sealing devices can be designed to return the two tire beads of green tires that have already been stored for a long time to their original position during wetting in step f. This ensures better wetting of the inside of the tire in step f. Alternatively, it is also possible to mount lifting devices on the wetting device instead of the sealing device(s). These lifting devices do not fulfill the suction function but merely reset the beat-to-beat distance.

[0043] Contamination of the outside of the green tire wetted in step f. is also partly achieved by the horizontal arrangement of the green tires as described above, since drops of wetting liquid falling from the wetting head do not fall onto the tires below.

[0044] By sealing both tire openings of the green tire wetted in step f. with the sealing device, it is ensured that no wetting liquid in the form of aerosol escapes outside the thus sealed tire cavity of the green tire.

[0045] The wetting device should have a suction device designed to suck wetting liquid in the form of aerosol from the sealed space between the two sealing devices of the wetting device prior to step g.

[0046] An advantage of the aspect described above is that by sucking off remaining wetting liquid in the form of aerosol before the wetting head is led out of the transport container, only the part of the wetting liquid remains in the transport container which is either on the surface of the green tires or has been collected from the bottom of the transport container.

[0047] In an advantageous development of the invention, the transport container is fixed in a designated position between step c) and step d) by means of a locking device. The locking device described above can be any form of locking device known in the prior art that is suitable for fixing the transport container in a designated position. Within the scope of the invention, preferred locking devices are a rail system for the transport container, with which the transport container can be fixed in the designated position, and a mechanical holding device that fixes the transport container in the designated position.

[0048] An advantage of the above-described aspect of the present invention is that, with the aid of a locking device as described above, the process of wetting the inner side of the green tire can be further automated and thus further accelerated.

[0049] In an advantageous development of the invention it is provided that - the transport container has a base with four wheels, a side wall and a lid with a lid opening and - in step b. three green tyres are transferred into the transport container and arranged horizontally one above the other and - in step d. the wetting head of the wetting device comprising a spray nozzle is introduced into the transport container coaxially to the green tyres arranged horizontally one above the other and - before step g., steps e. and f. are repeated until all inner surfaces of the green tires in the transport container are wetted and - the transport container is closed after the wetting head of the wetting device has been inserted in such a way that no wetting liquid in the form of aerosol escapes from the transport container after step d., and - the bottom of the transport container is suitable for collecting wetting liquid in the form of falling drops.

[0050] In a particularly advantageous development of the invention it is provided that - the transport container has at least one, two, three, four or five storage devices for green tyres, wherein the at least one storage device for green tyres has a hole in the middle through which the wetting head can be guided, and - all storage devices for green tyres in the transport container have a joint so that the at least one, two, three, four or five storage devices can be folded from a vertical arrangement into a horizontal arrangement, and - step f. is only carried out if all storage devices for green tyres in the transport container are arranged horizontally and - the wetting device has a sealing device which, during step f., seals the upper tire openings of the green tire wetted with a spray nozzle in step f.

[0051] The invention also relates to a device for carrying out a method as described above, in particular to a device for carrying out a method for wetting the inner side of a green tire in preparation for a vulcanization process.

[0052] The above-described advantageous aspects of a method according to the invention for wetting the inside of a tire blank in preparation for a vulcanization process also apply to all aspects of a device described below, and the advantageous aspects of devices according to the invention discussed below apply accordingly to all aspects of a method according to the invention for wetting the inside of a tire blank in preparation for a vulcanization process.

[0053] Preferred is an apparatus for carrying out a method as described above, comprising at least one, two or three, preferably at least four, of the units selected from the group consisting of: - Wetting device with a wetting head, preferably with a wetting head, a positioning arm and one or two sealing devices, - automated transport device for the transport container, - Positioning device for the wetting device, - transport container, preferably with a suction device and at least one, two, three, four or five storage devices for green tyres, particularly preferably with a suction device and at least one, two, three, four or five storage devices for green tyres with a joint, and - Vulcanization device.

[0054] Particularly preferred is a device as described above, comprising a transport container with a suction device and at least one, two, three, four or five storage devices for green tires, preferably with a joint.

[0055] The invention will be explained in more detail using several exemplary embodiments. They show: Fig. 1: an example of a transport container Fig. 2: another example of a transport container Fig. 3: a transport container in a wetting device

[0056] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a transport container 1 and a wetting head 2a of a wetting device according to a first embodiment.

[0057] In the Fig. 1, for use in a method according to the invention, three green tires 3 are shown, each on a storage device 4 for green tires. Furthermore, on the bottom 5 of the Fig. 1, two wheels 11 are schematically shown. In addition, the transport container 1 has a lid 6 with a lid opening 7. The upper tire opening 8 of the wetted green tire, which in Fig. 1 is shown in cross-section, and the lid opening 7 are sealed by sealing devices 9 of the wetting device.

[0058] It is intended to transfer a green tire 3 after its production with a tire building machine into a transport container 1. In Fig. 1, in one embodiment of the present invention, three green tires 3 were transferred into the schematically illustrated transport container 1. This is advantageously carried out in an automated manner, so that the green tires 3 do not have to be transported individually and manually in a cumbersome manner. The loaded transport container 1 is then transported to a wetting device 14. Since three green tires are present in the transport container 1, this enables efficient operation. As soon as the transport container 1 has been suitably placed in or on the wetting device 14, the wetting head 2a of the wetting device 14 can be inserted into the transport container 1. This is carried out through the lid opening 7 in the lid 6 of the transport container coaxially to the three green tires 3 in the transport container 1. The direction of movement is in Fig. 1 by the vertical double arrow 19. Subsequently, the lid opening 7 in the lid 6 of the transport container 1 is sealed by a sealing device 9 attached to the wetting device 14 and the wetting head 2a (in Fig. 1 comprising a "rotating disc") is positioned in the center of the tire cavity of the uppermost green tire. Subsequently, the upper tire opening 8 of the uppermost green tire is sealed by a further sealing device 9 attached to the wetting device 14. The wetting head 2a described above now wets the tire inner surface 16 of the uppermost green tire, with the "rotating disc" as shown in Fig. 1 and sprays wetting fluid in the form of an aerosol. The rotation plane of the “Rotating Disc” when wetting the tire blank in Fig. 1 is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wetted green tire.

[0059] During or directly after the above-described wetting of the uppermost green tire 3, a suction pump can extract, through a hollow shaft in the wetting device 14, any wetting fluid in the form of an aerosol from the tire cavity of the green tire 3 that has not been deposited on the surface of the inner tire side 16 of the green tire 3. The hollow shaft can be integrated into the positioning arm 18 for the wetting device 2a.

[0060] Subsequently, the wetting process described above for the top green tire 3 can be repeated for the two remaining green tires 3, along with the sealing by the sealing devices 9 and the suction by the suction pump described above. The order in which the three green tires 3 are wetted can be arbitrary. Before further transport to the vulcanization device for vehicle tires takes place, the wetting head 2a and the other devices attached to the wetting device 14 are removed from the transport container 1.

[0061] Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a cross-section of a transport container 1 of a further embodiment, wherein the transport container 1 has a floor 5 but no lid. Two wheels 11 are schematically shown on the floor 5 of the transport container 1. The schematically shown transport container 1 also shows four storage devices 4 for green tires in a horizontal arrangement, wherein a green tire 3 is schematically shown on each of the four storage devices 4 for green tires and the green tires 3 are arranged horizontally one above the other. A schematically shown side wall 12, on which a handle 15 is also schematically shown, is attached to the floor 5 of the transport container 1, and the four storage devices 4 for green tires are each connected to the side wall 12 by a joint 13.

[0062] It is intended that the lowest storage device 4 for green tires is loaded first, followed by the three storage devices 4 for green tires located above it. The lowest storage device 4 is first folded from the vertical arrangement into the horizontal arrangement, then loaded with a green tire 3, and then the next higher storage device 4 for green tires is folded into a horizontal arrangement and loaded with another green tire 3. This is continued according to the invention until Fig. 2 illustrated transport container 1, there is one green tire 3 on each of the four storage devices 4 for green tires.

[0063] Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of a cross section of the Fig. 2 in a wetting device 14 according to a further embodiment. The wetting head 2b was Fig. 3 coaxially to the four horizontally arranged green tires 3 in the transport container 1. The inner surface of the uppermost of the four green tires shown is wetted by a wetting head 2b of the wetting device 14 with a spray nozzle. In addition, Fig. 3 the upper tire opening 8 of the wetted green tire was sealed by a sealing device 9. The transport container 1 was in the Fig. 3, is transported into a wetting device 14 surrounding the transport container 1 in order to ensure that wetting liquid in the form of an aerosol is captured when spraying the inner sides 16 of the four green tires 3. List of reference symbols: 1 transport container 2a Wetting head of the wetting device with a rotating disc 2b Wetting head of the wetting device with a spray nozzle 3 tire blanks 4 Storage device for green tires 5 Bottom of the transport container 6 Lid of the transport container 7 Lid opening of the transport container lid 8 upper tire opening of the wetted tire blank 9 Sealing device 10 lower tire opening of the wetted green tire 11 wheels on the bottom of the transport container 12 Side wall of the transport container 13 Joint 14 Wetting device 15 Handle 16 Tire inner side 17 Tire cavity 18 Positioning arm 19 Direction of movement of the positioning arm

Claims

[1] Method for wetting an inner tire surface (16) of a green tire (3) in preparation for a vulcanization process, comprising the following steps: a. producing green tyres (3) with a tyre inner surface (16) to be wetted by means of tyre building machines, b. Transferring at least one green tyre (3) with a tyre inner surface (16) to be wetted into a transport container (1), c. Transporting the transport container (1) with the at least one green tire (3) to a wetting device (14), d. Inserting a wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) into the transport container (1), e. Positioning the wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) in the center of the tire cavity of the at least one green tire (3), f. Wetting the inner side (16) of the at least one green tire (3), in the tire cavity of which the wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) is positioned, with a wetting liquid, wherein the wetting liquid prevents the inner side (16) of the at least one green tire (3) from adhering to a vulcanization bladder of a vulcanization device, g. Leading the wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) out of the transport container (1) and h. Further transport of the at least one green tire (3) in the transport container (1) to a vulcanization device for vehicle tires. [2] Method according to claim 1 characterized by that in step b. at least two green tires (3) are transferred into the transport container (1) and arranged horizontally one above the other. [3] Method according to claim 1 characterized bythat in step d. the wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) is introduced into the transport container (1) coaxially to the green tires (3) arranged horizontally one above the other. [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims characterized by that, prior to step g., steps e. and f. are repeated until all tire inner surfaces (16) of the at least two green tires (3) are wetted with a tire inner surface (16) to be wetted in the transport container (1). [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims characterized by that the transport container (1) is closed after the introduction of the wetting head (2) of the wetting device (14) in such a way that no wetting liquid in the form of aerosol escapes from the transport container (1) after step d. [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims characterized bythat the transport container (1) has a bottom (5) which is suitable for collecting wetting liquid in the form of falling drops. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims characterized by that - the wetting device (14) has a suction device which is intended to suck out wetting liquid in the form of aerosol, and - between steps f. and g., the suction device sucks out wetting liquid in the form of aerosol within the transport container (1). [8] Method according to one of the preceding claims characterized by that the transport container (1) has at least one storage device (4) for green tires, wherein the at least one storage device (4) for green tires has a hole in the middle through which the wetting head (2) can be guided. [9] Method according to claim 8 characterized bythat the at least one storage device (4) for green tires in the transport container (1) has a joint (13) so that the at least one storage device (4) can be folded from a horizontal arrangement into a vertical arrangement. [10] Method according to claim 9 characterized by that step f. is only carried out when all storage devices (4) for green tires in the transport container (1) are arranged horizontally. [11] Method according to claim 9 or claim 10 characterized by that the wetting device (14) has one or two sealing devices (9) which, during step e., seal the upper tire opening (8) or both tire openings (8, 10) of the green tire wetted in step f. [12] Device for carrying out a method for wetting an inner tire surface (16) of a green tire (3) in preparation for a vulcanization process, according to one of the preceding claims.

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