METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A TRANSPONDER FOR A VEHICLE TIRE

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for producing a transponder for a vehicle tire.

[0002] It is known to equip vehicle tires with transponders.

[0003] Various concepts for locating transponders on tires are known from the state of the art. All conventional concepts have different disadvantages.

[0004] US 2017 / 358839 A1, WO 03 / 105511 A1, WO 2008 / 132287 A1, and US 4,911,217 A disclose RFID tags used to identify tires or tire parts. US 2017 / 270401 A1 also discloses the use of RFID tags, but for identifying clothing or laundry items.

[0005] The invention is based on the object of improving the arrangement of transponders on vehicle tires.

[0006] The task is solved according to a procedure with the following steps: a) Providing a thin metal plate, b) Producing at least one flat antenna, wherein the flat antenna is formed from the metal plate, c) Connecting the flat antenna to a transponder chip, wherein the transponder is formed from the flat antenna and the transponder chip, d) Producing a vehicle tire, wherein the transponder with the flat antenna is applied to a tire component during the production of a green tire, wherein the transponder is embedded between two tire components, e) Completing the vehicle tire with further steps.

[0007] A particular advantage of the invention is that transponders can be easily arranged in the vehicle tire in this way. The tire component can, for example, be a component intended as a material layer for the tire bead.

[0008] Another advantage of flat antennas is that they are easy to manufacture and are particularly well-suited for use in vehicle tires. Their flat structure, in particular, allows them to be easily positioned between tire components, for example, in the tire bead. Flat antennas also offer high durability with respect to the tire deformations that occur when the vehicle tire rolls on a road surface.

[0009] According to the invention, in step a) the thin metal plate is made of brass or brass alloy.

[0010] Flat antennas made of brass or a brass alloy bond particularly well to the rubber material of tire components. This effectively prevents air pockets between the transponder and individual tire components.

[0011] According to the invention, in step a) the metal plate has a material thickness of less than 1 mm.

[0012] This very thin design of the flat antenna allows the transponder to be easily connected to a nearby tire component. It also prevents tire components from being damaged.

[0013] According to the invention, after step c) the surfaces of the transponder are provided with an adhesion promoter.

[0014] The bonding agent creates an optimal bond between the tire components and the transponder. This prevents air pockets between the transponder and the adjacent tire components.

[0015] In a further advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the adhesion promoter is applied to the transponder using a dipping process or a brushing process.

[0016] These two processes allow the adhesion promoter to be applied to the transponder at high speed.

[0017] According to the invention, in step b) the antenna is formed using a punching process.

[0018] This allows the individual flat antennas to be manufactured at high speed and with high precision.

[0019] In an alternative according to the invention, it is provided that in step b) the antenna is formed by laser beam cutting or water jet cutting.

[0020] With these two manufacturing processes, the flat antennas can be manufactured with high precision.

[0021] In a further advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that after step b) the flat antenna has a rectangular contour, a meandering contour or a triangular contour.

[0022] These antenna shapes or contours are particularly easy and quick to manufacture. Furthermore, these antenna contours ensure optimal transmission quality to the transmitting and receiving units.

[0023] In a further advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that in step c), the flat antenna is connected to the transponder chip with a solder joint. This allows a high-strength connection between the transponder chip and the flat antennas to be achieved.

[0024] In a further advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that in step c) the flat antenna is inductively connected to the transponder chip.

[0025] This allows the transponder chip to be connected quickly and easily to the two adjacent flat antennas.

[0026] In a further advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that in step d) the application of the transponder to the tire component is integrated into the manufacturing process for producing the tire component in the form of pre-material.

[0027] This does not affect the cycle time on the tire building machines or tire building drums.

[0028] In a further advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the transponder is arranged in the area of ​​the tire bead.

[0029] The tire bead is particularly suitable for placing transponders because the continuous load in this area of ​​the tire is relatively low. However, the transponder can also be located in the sidewall or in the tread area.

[0030] In an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the height dimension in the radial direction of the vehicle tire between the transponder and the upper tip of the apex is at least 5 mm.

[0031] As a result, the transponder is arranged in an area of ​​the tire bead in which the mechanical stress during driving of the vehicle tire is relatively low.

[0032] In a further advantageous development of the invention, the transponder is arranged on the outer side of the apex facing the side wall. This allows for a simple radio connection with a high signal quality to be established from the outside to the transponder.

[0033] In an advantageous development of the invention, the transponder is oriented with its two antenna components circumferentially toward the tire core. This ensures optimal alignment of the transponder within the tire bead, ensuring optimal transmission and reception performance.

[0034] In a further advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the transponder has a width between 3 and 15 mm and a length between 30 and 80 mm.

[0035] With these dimensions of the transponder, it can be easily arranged between the tire components.

[0036] The invention will be explained in more detail using several exemplary embodiments. They show: Fig. 1: a tire bead Fig. 2: a transponder with two rectangular flat antennas Fig. 3: a transponder with two meander-shaped flat antennas Fig. 4: a transponder with two triangular flat antennas

[0037] The Figure 1shows a schematic cross-section of a tire bead 8. In this embodiment, the transponder 1 is arranged in the tire bead 8. The transponder can also be arranged at other locations in the vehicle tire. Other preferred positions for transponders are areas of the sidewall, areas of the tread, or areas in the belt layer of the vehicle tire. The transponder 1 is arranged in the tire bead, e.g., between the apex 5 and the outer ply turnup 17 of the carcass ply 6. The carcass ply 6 forms a ply turnup 17 in the tire bead 8, which is guided around the apex 5 and the tire core 4. The tire core 4 comprises a plurality of wire cores and therefore has very high material rigidity. Due to this material rigidity of the tire core, the transponder is arranged in a particularly stable material zone of the vehicle tire, which is exposed to only low material loads.

[0038] An additional rubber layer 9, which is also referred to as a "flipper component", is optionally arranged around the apex 5 and the hoop core 4.

[0039] In this second embodiment, the transponder 1 is arranged between the rubber layer 9 and the layer cover 9.

[0040] The height 18 between transponder 1 and the underside of the core filler 5 is at least 3 mm, preferably at least 5 mm or at least 7 mm. The higher positioning of transponder 1 allows for better signal transmission to the receiving device.

[0041] In addition, the height 19 between the transponder 1 and the tip of the apex 5 is at least 5 mm, preferably at least 7 mm or at least 9 mm.

[0042] The transponder data can therefore be easily read using an external reader.

[0043] The Fig. 2shows the transponder 1 as it is arranged on a tire component. The transponder 1 and the tire component 16 are shown in a top view. The transponder 1 comprises two rectangular flat antennas 2 and 3. The flat antennas are manufactured in a separate production process. They are created from a thin metal plate, for example, using a stamping process. After the two flat antennas have been assembled, they are connected to the transponder chip 15. In this way, a transponder with a dipole antenna is formed.

[0044] The connection of the two flat antennas to the transponder chip 15 can be achieved, for example, using a soldering process. According to the invention, the flat antennas are made of brass or a brass alloy. This ensures optimal connection to the tire component 16. The tire component 16 can be, for example, a carcass ply or a tire component for a tire bead. The transponder 1 is preferably placed on the tire component 16 during the production of the raw material. After the vehicle tire has been manufactured, the transponder 1 is arranged between individual tire components. A possible arrangement of the transponder 1 is shown in the Fig. 1 .

[0045] The Fig. 3 shows a further embodiment - In this embodiment, the flat antennas 11 and 12 are designed with a meandering contour.

[0046] The Fig. 4shows a further exemplary embodiment. In this embodiment, the transponder 1 has two flat antennas 13 and 14 with a triangular contour. The transponder 1 is arranged directly on the underlying tire component 16 without being embedded in a film. The length of the transponder is between 30 and 90 mm. The material thickness of the flat antennas is a maximum of 1 mm. According to the invention, the flat antennas have a material thickness of less than 0.5 mm. List of reference symbols (is part of the description)

[0047] 1 Transponder 2 Left antenna or flat antenna with rectangular contour 3 Right antenna or flat antenna with rectangular contour 4 Tire core 5 Apex or apex 6 Carcass ply 7 Sidewall 8 Tire bead 9 Rubber ply 10 Transponder or RFID transponder 11 Left antenna or flat antenna with meandering contour 12 Right antenna or flat antenna with meandering contour 13 Left antenna or flat antenna with triangular contour 14 Right antenna or flat antenna with triangular contour 15 Transponder chip 16 Tire component (e.g. carcass ply) 17 Outer ply turn-up of the carcass ply 18 Height between transponder and underside of the apex 19 Height between transponder and tip of the apex

Claims

1. Method for producing a transponder (1) for a vehicle tyre, with the following steps: a) providing a thin metal plate, b) producing at least one flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14), the flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) being formed from the metal plate, c) connecting the flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) to a transponder chip (15), the transponder (1) being formed by the flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) and the transponder chip (15), d) producing a vehicle tyre, the transponder (1) with the flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) being applied to a tyre component (16) during the production of a green tyre, the transponder (1) being embedded between two tyre components, e) completing the vehicle tyre by further steps, characterized in that in step a), the thin metal plate consists of brass or a brass alloy, in step a), the metal plate has a material thickness of less than 1 mm, in step b), the forming of the antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) is performed by a punching process or by laser-beam cutting or by water-jet cutting, and, after step c), the surfaces of the transponder (1) are provided with an adhesion promoter.

2. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in step a), the metal plate has a material thickness of less than 0.5 mm.

3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesion promoter is applied to the transponder (1) by a dipping process or a spreading process.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that after step b), the flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) has a rectangular contour, a meandering contour or a triangular contour.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in step c), the flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) is connected to the transponder chip (16) by a solder connection.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in step c), the flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) is connected to the transponder chip (16) inductively.

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in step d), the application of the transponder (1) to the tyre component (16) is integrated in the production process for producing the tyre component (16) in the form of precursor material.

8. Vehicle tyre comprising a tread, a breaker belt, a tyre carcass with at least one carcass ply, sidewalls (7) and a tyre bead (8) with a bead core (4) and a bead filler (5), a transponder (1) being embedded between two tyre components, the transponder (1) having a transponder chip (15) and an antenna attached to the transponder chip (15), the antenna taking the form of a flat antenna (2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14) and the transponder (1) having been produced by steps a) to c) according to Claim 1, with the surfaces of the transponder (1) being provided with an adhesion promoter.