Tire manufacturing method and system

Abstract

To provide a tire manufacturing method and a system which can reduce time loss due to material replenishment to improve work efficiency in a tire molding step, while making a molding device compact.SOLUTION: Materials are stocked in a wound state in a plurality of supply units parallelly arranged for materials respectively. A pair of bead members is stocked in a plurality of bead supply units 11. The materials cut into a fixed length are supplied through a slide conveyor to a band drum 3 and a belt drum 4 by a supply conveyor to mold an inner periphery-side member MA and an outer periphery-side member MB. In a shave drum 2, a green tire G is molded using the inner periphery-side member MA, the outer periphery-side member MB and the pair of bead members Mc. Shaft centers C1 of the drums 2 and 3 and shaft centers C2 of the drums 3 and 4 are set concentrically during transfer of the materials. The empty supply unit is replaced with a new supply unit in which the materials are stocked, while the materials are supplied from the other supply unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tire manufacturing method and system, and more particularly to a tire manufacturing method and system that reduces time loss caused by replenishing tire material while making a tire building device more compact, thereby improving work efficiency in the tire building process. [Background technology]

[0002] Tires are manufactured by vulcanizing green tires. Green tires are formed by laminating many types of tire components. For example, an inner liner, a carcass material, a belt material, a tread rubber, a pair of bead components, etc. are integrated on a shaping drum to form a green tire (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The tire manufacturing apparatus proposed in Patent Document 1 includes three types of drums: a first drum to which a carcass member is supplied, a second drum to which an outer member is supplied, and a third drum to which an inner member is supplied. In this tire manufacturing apparatus, the inner member, the carcass member, the outer member, and a pair of bead members are integrated in the third drum to form a green tire.

[0004] In this tire building apparatus, each material (carcass member, belt member, tread rubber member, inner liner, etc.) of a predetermined length is supplied to the corresponding drum by a supply device in a flat state. Therefore, when the supply source (stock drum, etc.) that supplies each material to each supply device runs out of the material, the tire building process stops until the material is replenished to the supply source. Alternatively, if an excess amount of material is placed on each supply device, etc. to allow storage in order to avoid stopping the supply of each material, the device becomes large. Therefore, there is room for improvement in reducing the time loss caused by replenishing tire materials while making the tire building apparatus compact and improving the work efficiency of the building process. With the improvement in the work efficiency of the building process, tire productivity can be improved. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-220636 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a tire manufacturing method and manufacturing system that reduces time loss caused by replenishing tire material while making the tire building apparatus more compact, thereby improving work efficiency in the tire building process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the tire manufacturing method of the present invention is a tire manufacturing method in which a green tire is formed by stacking a plurality of types of tire components and vulcanizing the green tire, the tire components including at least an inner liner, an inner peripheral side component having as its materials an inner liner, a carcass material, and a side portion, an outer peripheral side component having as its materials a belt material and a tread portion, and a bead member, the tire components being stocked at respective stock positions, a plurality of supply units around which the respective materials are wound are arranged in parallel at the respective stock positions of the materials, a slide conveyor that slides in the width direction is arranged for each of the supply units, a predetermined number of pairs of the bead members are stocked in a plurality of bead supply units at bead stock positions, the respective materials of the inner peripheral side components are supplied by the respective supply conveyors from the respective stock positions via the corresponding slide conveyors to a band drum in a state in which the materials have been cut to a fixed length in advance, and the respective materials are cut to a fixed length by the respective supply conveyors. In the band drum, the inner peripheral side member is formed using each of the materials cut to a fixed length, and each of the materials for the outer peripheral side member is supplied to the belt drum in a pre-cut state from each of the stock positions by each of the supply conveyors via the corresponding slide conveyor, and in the belt drum, the outer peripheral side member is formed using each of the materials cut to a fixed length, the inner peripheral side member is transferred from the band drum to the shape drum using a band transfer machine, the outer peripheral side member is transferred from the belt drum to the shape drum using a belt transfer machine, the pair of bead members from any one of the bead supply units is fitted onto the inner peripheral side member using a bead transfer machine, the drum axis centers of the band drum and the shape drum are set coaxially when the inner peripheral side member is transferred, and the drum axis centers of the belt drum and the shape drum are set coaxially when the outer peripheral side member is transferred, The shape drum uses the inner peripheral member, the outer peripheral member, and the pair of bead members to mold the green tire, and at the stock positions for each of the materials, when the material stored in one of the supply units becomes empty, the material is supplied from the other supply unit, and while the material is being supplied from the other supply unit, the empty supply unit is replaced with a new supply unit in which the material is stocked.

[0008] The tire manufacturing system of the present invention is provided with a molding device having a shape drum on which a green tire is molded by stacking a plurality of types of tire components, and a vulcanizing device on which the green tire is vulcanized, and the tire components include at least an inner liner, an inner peripheral side member having as its materials an inner liner, a carcass material, and a side portion, an outer peripheral side member having as its materials a belt material and a tread portion, and a bead member, and the system has a stock position at which each of the materials is stocked, and at the stock position for each of the materials, a plurality of supply units around which each of the materials is wound are arranged in parallel, and a slide conveyor that slides in the width direction is arranged relative to each of the supply units, and the system has a bead stock position at which a predetermined number of pairs of the bead members are stocked, and at this bead stock position, a plurality of bead supply units are arranged, a supply conveyor that supplies each of the materials of the inner peripheral side member from each of the stock positions via the corresponding slide conveyor in a state in which the materials have been cut to a fixed length in advance to a band drum, and A band drum on which a peripheral member is formed, a supply conveyor that supplies the material of each of the peripheral members from each of the stock positions to a belt drum in a state in which the material has been cut to a fixed length via a corresponding slide conveyor, a belt drum on which the peripheral member is formed using each of the materials in a state in which the material has been cut to a fixed length, a band transfer machine that transfers the inner peripheral member from the band drum to the shaping drum, a belt transfer machine that transfers the outer peripheral member from the belt drum to the shaping drum, and any one of the bead supply units. and a bead transfer device which fits the pair of bead members onto the inner peripheral member from the inner peripheral member, the drum axis centers of the band drum and the shape drum are set coaxially when transferring the inner peripheral member, and the drum axis centers of the belt drum and the shape drum are set coaxially when transferring the outer peripheral member, and the shape drum uses the inner peripheral member, the outer peripheral member, and the pair of bead members to mold the green tire, and when the material stored in one of the supply units becomes empty at the stock positions for each of the materials,The material is supplied from the other supply unit, and while the material is being supplied from the other supply unit, one of the supply units that has become empty is replaced with a new supply unit in which the material is stocked. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, at the stock positions of each of the materials, a plurality of the supply units are arranged in parallel, and a slide conveyor that slides in the width direction is arranged for each of the supply units, so that each of the materials can be supplied from any one of the plurality of the supply units. When the material stored in one of the supply units becomes empty, the material is supplied from the other supply unit, and while the material is being supplied from the other supply unit, the empty supply unit is replaced with a new supply unit in which the material is stocked, so that it is possible to avoid stopping the molding process due to the replenishment of each of the materials. Furthermore, since there are a plurality of the bead supply units, a pair of the bead members can also be supplied from any one of the plurality of the bead supply units, so that it is also possible to avoid stopping the molding process due to the replenishment of a pair of the bead members.

[0010] Accordingly, in order to reduce time loss due to replenishing each of the materials, it is not necessary to place and stock an excess amount of the material on each of the supply conveyors, so that the length of each of the supply conveyors can be minimized. In addition, since each of the materials is stocked in a wound state in each of the supply units, it is advantageous to make the molding device compact. In addition, since the drum axes of the band drum and the shape drum when transferring the inner peripheral side member are set coaxially, and the drum axes of the belt drum and the shape drum when transferring the outer peripheral side member are set coaxially, the band transfer machine and the belt transfer machine only need to move in the direction of the common drum axes of the respective drums, which is even more advantageous to make the molding device compact. As a result, it is advantageous to manufacture tires with good productivity while making the tire molding device compact. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of a tire manufacturing system in a plan view. [Diagram 2] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating each drum of the molding device of FIG. 1 as viewed from the front. [Diagram 3] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply path from a supply unit of an inner liner to a band drum in a side view. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply path from a carcass material supply unit to a band drum in a side view. FIG. [Diagram 5] 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply path from a supply unit in a side portion to a band drum in a side view. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply path from a belt material supply unit to a belt drum in a side view. FIG. [Figure 7] 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply path from a supply unit of the tread portion to a belt drum in a side view. FIG. [Figure 8] 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply path from a belt reinforcing material supply unit to a belt drum in a side view. FIG. [Figure 9]4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which an inner liner and a carcass material are supplied to a band drum; FIG. [Figure 10] 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the inner liner, the carcass material, and the side portion cut to a fixed length in FIG. 9 have been moved forward. FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the supply conveyor on which the inner liner in FIG. 10 is placed is rotated 90° and the side portion cut to a fixed length is moved onto the supply conveyor. FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the inner liner and the carcass material cut to a fixed length in FIG. 11 are moved toward a band drum. FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, the state in which the inner liner and carcass material cut to a fixed length in FIG. 12 are wound around a band drum. FIG. [Figure 14] 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the band drum in FIG. 13 is moved in the width direction and a side portion cut to a fixed length is wrapped around the outer circumferential surface of the band drum to form an inner circumferential member. FIG. [Figure 15] 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which a pair of bead members are fitted onto the molded inner peripheral member of FIG. 14. FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which a belt material cut to a fixed length and a tread portion are supplied to a belt drum; [Figure 17] 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the belt material cut to a fixed length and the tread portion in FIG. 16 are moved toward a belt drum; FIG. [Figure 18] 18 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the belt material cut to a fixed length in FIG. 17 is wound around one of the belt drums. FIG. [Figure 19] 19 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the belt drum in FIG. 18 is rotated 180° clockwise and a belt reinforcing material is wound around the belt material wound around one of the belt drums. FIG. [Figure 20]20 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the tread portion cut to a fixed length in FIG. 19 is wound around one belt drum to form an outer circumferential member, and the belt material is wound around the other belt drum. FIG. [Figure 21] 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the belt drum in FIG. 20 is rotated 180° counterclockwise in a plan view. FIG. [Figure 22] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which an inner peripheral member and a pair of bead members are fitted onto one of the shape drums. FIG. [Diagram 23] 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the shape drum in FIG. 22 is rotated 180° clockwise and a belt reinforcement material is wound around the other belt drum. FIG. [Figure 24] 24 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which an outer circumferential member transferred from a belt drum is fitted onto one of the shape drums in FIG. 23, and an inner circumferential member and a pair of bead members are fitted onto the other shape drum. FIG. [Diagram 25] 25 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which the shape drum in FIG. 24 is rotated 180° counterclockwise and a belt material is wound around one of the belt drums. FIG. [Figure 26] 26 is an explanatory diagram illustrating, in a plan view, a state in which a green tire is removed from one of the shape drums in FIG. 25 and the belt drum is rotated 180° counterclockwise. FIG. [Figure 27] 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a partially enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the vulcanizing device that vulcanizes the green tire of FIG. 26. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a tire manufacturing method and system of the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1, an embodiment of a tire manufacturing system of the present invention includes a molding device 1 and a vulcanizing device 15. A green tire G is molded by stacking a plurality of types of unvulcanized tire components M using the molding device 1. A tire T is manufactured by vulcanizing the molded green tire G using the vulcanizing device 15. A vulcanizing mold 16 corresponding to the tire specifications is attached to the vulcanizing device 15. Various known vulcanizing devices 15 can be used.

[0014] The green tire G has at least an inner circumferential side member MA having an inner liner M1, a carcass material M2, and a side portion M3 as tire components M, an outer circumferential side member MB having a belt material M4 and a tread portion M5, and a pair of bead members MC. In this embodiment, the outer circumferential side member MB further has a belt reinforcing material M6. The belt reinforcing material M6 can be adopted arbitrarily, and other types of materials are adopted for the tire components M as necessary. In the following, the inner liner M1, the carcass material M2, the side portion M3, the belt material M4, the tread portion M5, and the belt reinforcing material M6 are referred to as materials M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6, respectively.

[0015] As illustrated in Figures 1 to 8, the forming device 1 has three types of drums, namely, shape drums 2 (2a, 2b), band drum 3, and belt drums 4 (4a, 4b), supply units 5 (5A, 5B), 6 (6A, 6B), 7 (7A, 7B), 8 (8A, 8B), 9 (9A, 9B), and 10 (10A, 10B) for the respective materials M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6, and a bead supply unit 11 (11A, 11B) for a pair of bead members MC. The X, Y, and Z arrows in the figures indicate the width, depth, and height directions of the forming device 1, respectively, and are perpendicular to each other.

[0016] In this embodiment, two shape drums 2 (2a, 2b), one band drum 3, and two belt drums 4 (4a, 4b) are provided. The shape drums 2 (2a, 2b) are disposed between the band drum 3 and the belt drum 4 in the X direction. In this embodiment, the two shape drums 2a, 2b are provided at positions rotated 180° around the pivot shaft 2p in a plan view. The two shape drums 2a, 2b are alternately fixed and disposed at the same positions by rotating 180° clockwise and counterclockwise around the pivot shaft 2p.

[0017] The drum axis C1 of the band drum 3 extends in the X direction and is movable along a guide rail 3r extending in the X direction. The two belt drums 4a and 4b are provided at positions rotated 180° around a pivot 4p in a plan view. The two belt drums 4a and 4b are alternately fixed and disposed at the same positions by rotating 180° clockwise and counterclockwise around the pivot 4p.

[0018] When each of the shape drums 2a, 2b rotates around the rotation axis 2p and is fixedly disposed on the band drum 3 side and the belt drum 4 side, the respective drum axis centers C1, C2 extend in the X direction (become parallel to the X direction). The drum axis centers C1 of the shape drum 2 and band drum 3, which have rotated and been fixedly disposed on the band drum 3 side, are parallel to the X direction and coincide in the Y and Z directions. In other words, the drum axis centers C1 of the adjacent shape drum 2 and band drum 3 coincide in the X, Y, and Z directions.

[0019] When the belt drums 4a, 4b rotate around the rotation axis 4p and are fixedly disposed on the shape drum 2 side and the opposite side to the shape drum 2 side, their respective drum axis centers C2, C3 extend in the X direction (become parallel to the X direction). The drum axis centers C2 of the belt drum 4 that has been rotated and fixedly disposed on the shape drum 2 side and the shape drum 2 that has been rotated and fixedly disposed on the belt drum 4 side are parallel to the X direction and coincide with each other in the Y and Z directions. In other words, the drum axis centers C2 of the adjacent belt drum 4 and shape drum 2 coincide with each other in the X, Y, and Z directions.

[0020] The supply units 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are arranged at the stock positions P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, and P6 of the materials M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6, respectively. The bead supply unit 11 is arranged at the stock position P7 of the bead member MC. At each of the stock positions P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, and P6, a plurality of corresponding supply units are arranged in parallel. That is, at the stock position P1, the supply units 5A and 5B are arranged in parallel, at the stock position P2, the supply units 6A and 6B are arranged in parallel, at the stock position P3, the supply units 7A and 7B are arranged in parallel, at the stock position P4, the supply units 8A and 8B are arranged in parallel, at the stock position P5, the supply units 9A and 9B are arranged in parallel, and at the stock position P6, the supply units 10A and 10B are arranged in parallel.

[0021] In this embodiment, one green tire G uses one sheet of material M1, M5 cut to a fixed length, two sheets of material M2, M4 cut to a fixed length, and a pair of two sheets of material M3 cut to a fixed length. Therefore, at the stock position P2, two of the supply units 6A, 6B are vertically arranged (arranged in series in the Y direction). At the stock position P4, two of the supply units 8A, 8B are vertically arranged (arranged in series in the Y direction). To mold one green tire G, two sheets of material M2 are sequentially supplied from either one of the two vertically arranged supply units 6A or the two vertically arranged supply units 6B, and two sheets of material M4 are sequentially supplied from either one of the two vertically arranged supply units 8A or the two vertically arranged supply units 8B. In addition, a pair of two sheets of material M3 is stocked in each of the supply units 7A, 7B, and a pair of two sheets of material M3 is sequentially supplied from either one of the supply units 7A, 7B.

[0022] Each of the supply units 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 has a winding core, and each of the materials M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6 is stored in a wound state around the winding core. Each of the materials M1 to M5 is wound around the winding core together with a release liner. The material M6 is wound around the winding core without a release liner. In this embodiment, each of the materials M1 to M6 is wound in a long body state, but the materials M1 to M5 can also be cut to a predetermined length and stored in a wound state around the winding core.

[0023] The bead supply unit 11 has an annular rack that rotates horizontally around a rotation axis 11p, and a large number of bead members MC are hung on the rack. The rack is divided into two regions, units 11A and 11B, in the circumferential direction. A predetermined number of pairs of bead members MC are hung on each of the bead supply units 11A and 11B, and as the rack rotates in the circumferential direction, each of the bead supply units 11A and 11B moves sequentially to a supply position and a standby position. Pairs of bead members MC are sequentially supplied from the bead supply unit 11 that has moved to the supply position.

[0024] The materials M1, M2, and M3 are supplied to the belt drum 3 through respective supply paths from respective supply units 5, 6, and 7. The materials M4, M5, and M6 are supplied to the belt drum 4 through respective supply paths from respective supply units 8, 9, and 10.

[0025] Between each of the supply units 5, 6, 7 and the band drum 3, cutters 5c, 6c, 7c, slide conveyors 5d, 6d, 7d, and supply conveyors 5e, 6e, 7e are arranged. As illustrated in FIG. 4, each of the supply units 6 arranged in a vertical row at the stock position P2 has a cutter 6c, and two supply guides are installed vertically between each cutter 6c and one slide conveyor 6d. That is, the material M2 fed from the supply unit 6 arranged on the side closer to the band drum 3 in the Y direction is supplied to the slide conveyor 6d through the supply guide installed on the lower side. The material M2 fed from the supply unit 6 arranged on the side farther from the band drum 3 in the Y direction is supplied to the slide conveyor 6d through the supply guide installed on the upper side.

[0026] Between each of the supply units 8, 9 and the belt drum 4, cutters 8c, 9c, slide conveyors 8d, 9d, and supply conveyors 8e, 9e are arranged. As illustrated in FIG. 6, each supply unit 8 arranged in a vertical line at the stock position P4 has a cutter 8c, a slide conveyor 8d, and a supply conveyor 8e, and the cutters 8c, slide conveyors 8d, and supply conveyors 8e are installed in two tiers, one above the other. That is, the material M4 fed from the supply unit 8 arranged on the side closer to the belt drum 4 in the Y direction is supplied to the slide conveyor 8d and supply conveyor 8e arranged on the lower side through a supply guide installed on the lower side. The material M4 fed from the supply unit 6 arranged on the side farther from the belt drum 4 in the Y direction is supplied to the slide conveyor 8d and supply conveyor 8e arranged on the upper side through a supply guide installed on the upper side. In this embodiment, the cutter 8c arranged above slides and moves together with the slide conveyor 8d arranged above, and the cutter 8c arranged below slides and moves together with the slide conveyor 8d arranged below.

[0027] A cutter 10c, a festoon unit 10d, and a head 10e are disposed between the supply unit 10 and the belt drum 4. As illustrated in Fig. 8, the material M6 fed from each of the supply units 10A and 10B is supplied to the separate heads 10e, 10e through separate supply paths. The heads 10e, 10e are disposed vertically in the Y direction below the belt drum 4.

[0028] The cutters 5c, 6c, 7c, 8c, and 9c cut the materials M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 to predetermined lengths. The slide conveyors 5d, 6d, 7d, 8d, and 9d and the supply conveyors 5e, 6e, 7e, 8e, and 9e are belt conveyors that transport the materials M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 in a flat state.

[0029] The slide conveyors 5d, 6d, 7d, 8d, and 9d are arranged one for each of the parallel supply units 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. For example, at the stock position P1 for the material M1, one slide conveyor 5d is arranged that slides in the width direction of the parallel supply units 5 (5A, 5B). The slide conveyor 5d moves in the width direction between the supply units 5A and 5B in front of the supply direction of the material M1. The other stock positions P2, P3, P4, and P5 are similarly configured.

[0030] The cutter 10c cuts the rear end of the material M6 when joining the materials M6 together. The festoon section 10d stores a predetermined required amount (required length) of the material M6. The head 10e guides the material M6 that has passed through the festoon section 10d toward the drum surface of the belt drum 4. The material M6 is supplied to the belt drum 4 in the form of a long body, and is cut to a predetermined length by the head 10e on the belt drum 4.

[0031] A band transfer machine 12 is disposed between the band drum 3 and the shape drum 2. A belt transfer machine 13 is disposed between the belt drum 4 and the shape drum 2. A bead transfer machine 14 is disposed between the bead supply unit 11 and the shape drum 2.

[0032] In the banding drum 3, a cylindrical inner peripheral member MA is formed using the supplied materials M1 to M3, and in the belt drum 4, a cylindrical outer peripheral member MB is formed using the supplied materials M4 to M6. The band transfer machine 12 transfers the inner peripheral member MA from the banding drum 3 to the shaping drum 2. The belt transfer machine 13 transfers the outer peripheral member MB from the belt drum 4 to the shaping drum 2. The bead transfer machine 14 transfers a pair of bead members MC from one of the bead supply units 11A, 11B and fits them onto the cylindrical inner peripheral member MA. In the shaping drum 2, a cylindrical green tire G is formed using the inner peripheral member MA (M1 to M3), the outer peripheral member MB (M4 to M6), and the pair of bead members MC.

[0033] Next, an example of the procedure of a tire manufacturing method using this manufacturing system will be described. In this manufacturing method, green tires G are successively molded by the molding device 1. That is, the molding work of a plurality of green tires G is performed at the same time in the molding device 1. The green tires G molded at the same time may all have the same specifications, but there may also be cases where a change is made to green tires G of different specifications midway.

[0034] When continuing to mold a large number of green tires G without changing the tire specifications, the necessary amounts of materials M1-M6 of the same specifications are stocked in the parallel supply units 5-10 at the stock positions P1-P6. At the stock position P7, the necessary amounts of bead materials MC of the same specifications are stocked in the bead supply units 11A, 11B.

[0035] When the green tire G is molded by changing the tire specifications midway, the supply units 5A-10A on one side and the supply units 5B-10B on the other side stock positions P1-P6 stock the necessary amounts of materials M1-M6 according to the tire specifications of the green tire G to be molded. At the stock position P7, the bead supply units 11A, 11B stock the necessary amounts of bead members MC according to the tire specifications of the green tire G to be molded.

[0036] In this manufacturing method, a cylindrical inner circumferential member MA and a cylindrical outer circumferential member MB are formed simultaneously. Figures 9 to 14 show an example of a procedure for forming the inner circumferential member MA, Figure 15 shows an example of a state in which a pair of bead members MC are fitted onto the inner circumferential member MA, and Figures 16 to 21 show an example of a procedure for forming the outer circumferential member MB. Figures 22 to 26 show an example of a procedure for forming a green tire G using the inner circumferential member MA, the pair of bead members MC, and the outer circumferential member MC.

[0037] As shown in Figures 9 to 14, the materials M1 to M3 of the inner peripheral member MA are supplied by the respective supply conveyors 5e to 7e from the respective stock positions P1 to P3 via the corresponding slide conveyors 5d to 7d in a state in which they have been cut to a fixed length in advance to the banding drum 3. In the banding drum 3, the inner peripheral member MA is formed using the respective materials M1 to M3 cut to the fixed length.

[0038] In detail, the materials M1, M2, M2, M3 fed from one of the supply units 5A, 6A, 6A, 7A are cut to a predetermined length by the respective cutters 5c, 6c, 6c, 7c, and placed on the slide conveyors 5d, 6d, 6d, 7d arranged in front of each of the supply units 5A, 6A, 6A, 7A, and conveyed to the supply conveyors 5e, 6e, 6e, 7e. The supply conveyor 5e can rotate 90° in a plan view, and when it receives the material M1 from the slide conveyor 5d, it is aligned vertically with the slide conveyor 5d in the X direction as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10. The supply conveyor 5e that receives the material M1 from the slide conveyor 5d rotates 90° and is aligned vertically with the slide conveyor 6d and the supply conveyor 6e in the Y direction as illustrated in Figure 11.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 12, the material M1 fed from one supply unit 5A and the materials M2, M2 fed from each of the vertically arranged supply units 6A, 6A are arranged in series with respect to the banding drum 3. As shown in Fig. 13, the materials M1, M2, M2, which are arranged in series and cut to a fixed length, are wound around the banding drum 3 while rotating the banding drum 3 in one direction around the drum axis C1, and are formed into a cylindrical shape and stacked. In this embodiment, the supply conveyors 5e, 6e function as supply conveyors that supply the materials M1, M2 to the banding drum 3.

[0040] Also, while the materials M1, M2, and M2 are wound around the banding drum 3 to be formed into a cylindrical shape and stacked, a pair of materials M3 that have been unwound from one of the supply units 7A and cut to a fixed length are conveyed to the supply conveyor 7e. Next, the banding drum 3 in front of the supply conveyor 6e is moved in the X direction as illustrated in FIG. 14 and placed in front of the supply conveyor 7e. After that, the pair of materials M3 that have been cut to a fixed length and placed on the transport conveyor 7e are wound around the banding drum 3 while rotating the banding drum 3 about the drum axis C1, and formed into a cylindrical shape and stacked. This forms a cylindrical inner peripheral member MA in which the materials M1, M2, and M3 are stacked in order. In this way, the inner peripheral members MA are formed sequentially and continuously.

[0041] 15, a pair of bead members MC are supplied from one bead supply unit 11A and fitted onto the inner peripheral side member MA using a bead transfer machine 14. The bead members MC are fitted onto the inner peripheral side member MA with a gap therebetween in the width direction (X direction).

[0042] As illustrated in Figures 16 to 21, the materials M4 and M5 of the outer periphery side member MB are supplied by the respective supply conveyors 8e and 9e from the respective stock positions P4 and P5 via the corresponding slide conveyors 8d and 9d in a state in which they have been cut to a fixed length, to the belt drum 4. The material M6 is supplied in the form of a long body via the festoon section 10c to the head 10e disposed adjacent to and below the belt drum 4. In the belt drum 4, the outer periphery side member MB is formed using the respective materials M4 and M5 cut to the fixed length and the material M6 delivered from the head 10e.

[0043] More specifically, the materials M4, M4, M5 fed from one of the supply units 8A, 8A, 9A are cut to a predetermined length by the respective cutters 8c, 8c, 9c, and placed on slide conveyors 8d, 8d, 9d arranged in front of the other of the supply units 8A, 8A, 9A, and transported to the supply conveyors 8e, 8e, 9e. A sheet of material M4 cut to the specified length is placed on each of the supply conveyors 8e, 8e arranged above and below as shown in FIG.

[0044] As illustrated in Fig. 18, the materials M4, M4 supplied from each of the vertically arranged supply units 8A, 8A are sequentially wound around one of the belt drums 4a, formed into a cylindrical shape, and stacked. For example, the material M4 cut to a fixed length and placed on the supply conveyor 8e arranged above is wound around the belt drum 4a while rotating the belt drum 4a in one direction about the drum axis C2 to form a cylindrical shape. Next, the material M4 cut to a fixed length and placed on the supply conveyor 8e arranged below is wound around the belt drum 4a while rotating the belt drum 4a in the other direction about the drum axis C2 to form a cylindrical shape.

[0045] Next, as shown in FIG. 19, the belt drum 4 is rotated 180° clockwise around the pivot 4p. As a result, one belt drum 4a is moved forward of the supply conveyor 9e, and the other belt drum 4b is moved forward of the supply conveyors 8e, 8e. Then, while one belt drum 4a is rotated in one direction around the drum axis C3, the material M6 supplied from one supply unit 10A is wound spirally around the belt drum 4a using one head 10e. As a result, a belt reinforcing layer formed of the material M6 is laminated in a predetermined width direction (X direction) range on the outer circumferential surface of the material M4 molded into a cylindrical shape.

[0046] Next, as shown in Fig. 20, the material M5 cut to a fixed length and placed on the supply conveyor 9e is wound around the belt drum 4a while rotating one of the belt drums 4a in one direction about the drum axis C3, and is formed into a cylindrical shape and stacked. As a result, a cylindrical outer peripheral member MB in which the materials M4, M4, M6, and M5 are stacked in order is formed on one of the belt drums 4a. On the other belt drum 4b, the materials M4, M4 cut to a fixed length and placed on the respective supply conveyors 8e, 8e are wound around the belt drum 4b in order while rotating the belt drum 4b about the drum axis C2, and are formed into a cylindrical shape and stacked.

[0047] 21, the belt drum 4 is rotated counterclockwise by 180° about the rotation shaft 4p. As a result, one of the belt drums 4a on which the outer circumferential side member MB is formed is moved toward the shape drum 2 side.

[0048] As shown in Fig. 22, the shaped inner peripheral member MA is transferred from the banding drum 3 to one of the shaping drums 2a by using a banding transfer machine 12. As a result, the inner peripheral member MA and a pair of bead members MC are fitted onto the outer surface of one of the shaping drums 2a. Then, in the shaping drum 2a, both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral member MA are turned up around the bead members MC by a known method. Then, both ends in the width direction of the turned-up inner peripheral member MA are pressed toward the drum axis C1 by a known method while the shaping drum 2a is rotated around the drum axis C1.

[0049] 23, the shape drum 2 is rotated 180° clockwise about the rotation axis 2p, whereby one shape drum 2a and one belt drum 4a are aligned in the X direction.

[0050] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 24, the outer peripheral member MB is transferred from one belt drum 4a to one shaping drum 2a by using a belt transfer device 13, and is fitted onto the inner peripheral member MA. Then, in the shaping drum 2a, the outer peripheral surface of the inner peripheral member MA and the inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral member MB are brought into contact with each other, and the outer peripheral member MB is pressed toward the drum axis C2 while rotating the shaping drum 2a about the drum axis C2, thereby integrating the inner peripheral member MA, the outer peripheral member MB, and the pair of bead members MC to form a green tire G. Meanwhile, the materials M6 and M5 are wound around the other belt drum 4b in the same procedure as described above to form the outer peripheral member MB. Also, the inner peripheral member MA and the pair of bead members MC are fitted onto the other shaping drum 2b in the same procedure as described above.

[0051] Next, as illustrated in Fig. 25, the shape drum 2 is rotated counterclockwise by 180° about the rotation axis 2p. Thereafter, as illustrated in Fig. 26, the green tire G is removed from one of the shape drums 2a and transported to a vulcanizer 15.

[0052] As illustrated in Fig. 27, the green tire G is placed in a vulcanization mold 16 attached to a vulcanization device 15. The green tire G is then vulcanized between the closed vulcanization mold 16 and the inflated vulcanization bladder 17 to complete a tire T. Various known methods can be used for vulcanizing the green tire G. In this embodiment, a pneumatic tire T is manufactured, but the present invention can also be applied to the manufacture of various types of tires T.

[0053] In the above-mentioned process of forming the green tire G, when a predetermined number of green tires G are formed, the materials M1 to M6 stored in one of the supply units 5A to 10A become empty at the stock positions P1 to P6 for the respective materials M1 to M6.

[0054] As described above, at each of the stock positions P1 to P5, the slide conveyors 5d to 9d are arranged to slide in the width direction relative to the parallelly arranged supply units 5 to 9. Therefore, when the materials M1 to M5 stored in one of the supply units 5A to 9A become empty, the slide conveyors 5d to 9d are slid in the width direction of the parallelly arranged supply units 5 to 9, so that the materials M1 to M5 can be supplied from the other supply unit 5B to 9B. That is, the slide conveyors 5d to 9d are slid forward of the other supply unit 5B to 9B to place the materials M1 to M5 cut to the fixed length on the slide conveyors 5d to 9d. After that, the slide conveyors 5d to 9d are slid to a position where they are aligned vertically with the supply conveyors 5e to 9e, and the materials M1 to M5 cut to the fixed length are transferred and supplied to the supply conveyors 5e to 9e. Then, while the materials M1-M5 cut to a fixed length are being supplied to the supply conveyors 5e-9e from the other supply unit 5B-9B, the one supply unit 5A-9A which has been emptied of the materials M1-M5 is replaced with a new supply unit 5A-5B which has the materials M1-M5 stocked therein.

[0055] Also, at the stock position P6, the material M6 can be supplied by switching to one of the supply units 10 arranged in parallel. Therefore, when the material M6 stored in one supply unit 10A becomes empty, the material M6 can be supplied from the other supply unit 10B. Then, while the material M6 is being supplied from the other supply unit 10B, the one supply unit 10A that has become empty of the material M6 is replaced with a new supply unit 10A in which the material M6 is stocked. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the molding process of the green tire G being stopped due to the replenishment of the materials M1 to M6.

[0056] Furthermore, when the pair of bead components MC of one bead supply unit 11A becomes empty, a pair of bead components MC can be supplied from the other bead supply unit 11B. Then, while the pair of bead components MC is being supplied from the other bead supply unit 11B, the one bead supply unit 11A that has become empty of bead components MC can be rotated from the supply position to the standby position to replenish the bead supply unit 11A with a new pair of bead components MC, thereby preventing the molding process from being stopped due to the replenishment of the pair of bead components MC.

[0057] Accordingly, in order to reduce time loss caused by replenishing the materials M1 to M5, it is not necessary to place and stock excess amounts of the materials M1 to M5 on the respective supply conveyors 5e to 9e. Accordingly, the length of each of the supply conveyors 5e to 9e can be minimized. In addition, since each of the materials M1 to M6 is stocked in the respective supply units in a wound state, this is advantageous for making the molding device 1 compact.

[0058] In addition, the drum axis C1 of the band drum 3 and the shape drum 2 when transferring the inner peripheral member MA is set coaxially, and the drum axis C2 of the belt drum 4 and the shape drum 2 when transferring the outer peripheral member MB is set coaxially. Therefore, the band transfer device 12 and the belt transfer device 13 only need to be moved in the directions of the common drum axes C1 and C2 of the respective drums 2, 3, and 4, which is further advantageous for making the molding device 1 compact. As a result, it is advantageous for manufacturing tires T with good productivity while making the molding device 1 compact.

[0059] By cutting the materials M1 to M5 to a fixed length, the materials M1 to M5 shrink over time, and the degree of shrinkage varies. In this embodiment, the materials M1 to M5 are stored in the form of long bodies at the respective stock positions P1 to P5, and the materials M1 to M5 are fed from the supply units 5 to 9 and cut to the fixed length. Then, the materials M1 to M5 cut to the fixed length are supplied to the corresponding drums 3 and 4 via the corresponding slide conveyors 5d to 9d and supply conveyors 5e to 9e. In this way, cutting the materials M1 to M5 to a fixed length immediately before forming the green tire G is advantageous in minimizing the shrinkage of the materials M1 to M5 over time and the variation in the amount of shrinkage, compared to the case where the materials are cut to a fixed length in advance and stored. As a result, this contributes to improving the quality of the manufactured tire T.

[0060] At each of the stock positions P1 to P5, one of the supply units 5A to 9A is set as the main supply unit, and the corresponding slide conveyor 5d to 9d is slid and fixed to a position in front of the main supply unit 5A to 9A, whereby a supply path for the corresponding drum 3, 4 can be formed by the main supply unit 5A to 9A, the fixedly arranged slide conveyor 5d to 9d, and the corresponding supply conveyor 5e to 9e. In the supply path for each of the materials M1 to M5 thus formed, it is not necessary to slide the slide conveyor 5d to 9d, so that the green tire G can be formed more quickly, which is advantageous for improving the forming efficiency. It also contributes to reducing the energy required for forming the green tire G.

[0061] However, when the materials M1 to M5 are supplied from the other supply units 5B to 9B, the slide conveyors 5d to 9d need to be slid every time the materials M1 to M5 are supplied from the supply units 5B to 9B to the corresponding supply conveyors 5e to 9e. This is disadvantageous in improving the molding efficiency of the green tire G and in reducing the energy required for molding the green tire G.

[0062] In this case, when the materials M1-M5 of the same specifications are stocked in the parallel supply units 5-9 at the respective stock positions P1-P5, when the materials M1-M5 stocked in the main supply units 5A-9A become empty, the corresponding slide conveyors 5d-9d are slid to a position in front of the new main supply units 5A-9A and fixed therein as soon as the work of replacing the empty main supply units 5A-9A with new main supply units 5A-9A stocked with the materials M1-M5 is completed. Then, the new main supply units 5A-9A, the fixed slide conveyors 5d-9d, and the corresponding supply conveyors 5e-9e form a supply path for the corresponding drums 3 and 4, and the materials M1-M5 can be supplied from the new main supply units 5A-9A.

[0063] In this way, forming the supply path for the materials M1-M5 by suppressing the frequency of sliding the slide conveyors 5d-9d is more advantageous in improving the molding efficiency of the green tire G than the case where the materials M1-M5 are continuously supplied from the other supply units 5B-9B, and further contributes to reducing the energy required for molding the green tire G. To use the main supply units 5A-9A as the supply path for the materials M1-M5 for a long period of time rather than the other supply units 5B-9B, for example, the stock amount of the materials M1-M5 in the supply units 5A-9A is made larger than the stock amount in the other supply units 5B-9B. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1 Molding equipment 2(2a, 2b) Shaped drum 2p pivot 3. Band Drums 3r guide rail 4(4a, 4b) Belt drum 4p pivot 5(5A, 5B) Inner liner supply unit 5c Cutter 5d Slide Conveyor 5e Supply conveyor 6(6A, 6B) Carcass material supply unit 6c Cutter 6d Slide Conveyor 6e Supply Conveyor 7(7A, 7B) Side supply unit 7c Cutter 7d Slide conveyor 7e Supply conveyor 8(8A, 8B) Belt material supply unit 8c Cutter 8d Slide Conveyor 8e Supply conveyor 9 (9A, 9B) Tread supply unit 9c Cutter 9d Slide Conveyor 9e Supply conveyor 10 (10A, 10B) Belt reinforcement supply unit 10c Cutter 10d Festoon Section 10e Head 11 (11A, 11B) Bead supply unit 11P Swivel Axis 12 Band transfer machine 13 Belt transfer machine 14 Bead transfer machine 15 Vulcanizing equipment 16 Vulcanization mold 17 Vulcanizing bladder M Tire parts MA Inner circumference side member MB Outer periphery MC bead material M1 Inner Liner M2 Carcass Material M3 Side M4 Belt Material M5 tread area M6 Belt Reinforcement G Green Tire T Vulcanized tire (finished tire)

Claims

1. A tire manufacturing method in which a green tire is formed by stacking a plurality of types of tire components and vulcanizing the green tire, The tire components include at least an inner circumferential side component having an inner liner, a carcass material, and a side portion as materials, an outer circumferential side component having a belt material and a tread portion as materials, and a bead member; stocking each of the materials at each stock position, arranging a plurality of supply units around which the respective materials are wound in parallel at each stock position of the materials, arranging a slide conveyor that slides in a width direction for each of the supply units, and stocking a predetermined number of pairs of the bead members in the plurality of bead supply units at the bead stock positions; The material of each of the inner peripheral side members is supplied by each of the supply conveyors from each of the stock positions via the corresponding slide conveyors in a state in which the material has been cut to a fixed length in advance to a band drum, and the inner peripheral side member is formed using each of the materials in the state in which the material has been cut to a fixed length in the band drum; The material of each of the outer peripheral side members is supplied by each of the supply conveyors from each of the stock positions via the corresponding slide conveyors to a belt drum in a state in which the material has been cut to a fixed length in advance, and the outer peripheral side members are formed using the material in the state in which the material has been cut to the fixed length in the belt drum; The inner peripheral side member is transferred from the band drum to the shape drum using a band transfer machine, the outer peripheral side member is transferred from the belt drum to the shape drum using a belt transfer machine, and the pair of bead members from any one of the bead supply units is fitted onto the inner peripheral side member using a bead transfer machine; The drum axis centers of the band drum and the shape drum are set coaxially when the inner peripheral side member is transferred, and the drum axis centers of the belt drum and the shape drum are set coaxially when the outer peripheral side member is transferred, In the shape drum, the green tire is shaped using the inner peripheral member, the outer peripheral member, and the pair of bead members, A tire manufacturing method in which, when the material stored in one of the supply units becomes empty at the stock positions for each of the materials, the material is supplied from the other supply unit, and while the material is being supplied from the other supply unit, the emptied supply unit is replaced with a new supply unit in which the material is stocked.

2. 2. A tire manufacturing method as described in claim 1, wherein each of the materials is stored in a long body state at each of the storage positions, each of the materials is fed from the supply unit and cut to a fixed length, and each of the materials cut to a fixed length is supplied via the corresponding slide conveyor and supply conveyor.

3. 3. A tire manufacturing method as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein at the stock positions for each of the materials, any one of the supply units is set as a main supply unit, and the corresponding slide conveyor is slid and positioned in front of the main supply unit, thereby forming a supply path to the corresponding drum by the main supply unit, the slide conveyor and the corresponding supply conveyor.

4. 4. The method for manufacturing a tire according to claim 3, wherein when the material stored in the main supply unit becomes empty, as soon as the operation of replacing the empty main supply unit with a new main supply unit in which the material is stocked is completed, the corresponding slide conveyor is slid and positioned in front of the new main supply unit, and the material is supplied from the new main supply unit.

5. A tire manufacturing system including a molding device having a shape drum in which a green tire is molded by stacking a plurality of types of tire components, and a vulcanizing device in which the green tire is vulcanized, The tire components include at least an inner circumferential side member having an inner liner, a carcass material, and a side portion as materials, an outer circumferential side member having a belt material and a tread portion as materials, and a bead member; a storage location in which each of the materials is stored; At the stock position of each of the materials, a plurality of supply units on which the respective materials are wound are arranged in parallel, and a slide conveyor that slides in a width direction is arranged for each of the supply units, a bead stock position at which a predetermined number of pairs of the bead members are stocked, and a plurality of bead supply units are disposed at the bead stock position; A supply conveyor that supplies each of the materials for the inner peripheral side members from each of the stock positions to a band drum in a state in which the materials are cut to a fixed length via the corresponding slide conveyor, and a band drum in which the inner peripheral side members are formed using each of the materials in a state in which the materials are cut to a fixed length; a supply conveyor that supplies the material of each of the outer peripheral side members from each of the stock positions to a belt drum in a state in which the material has been cut to a fixed length via the corresponding slide conveyor; and a belt drum on which the outer peripheral side members are formed using the material in a state in which the material has been cut to a fixed length; The apparatus includes a band transfer machine that transfers the inner peripheral side member from the band drum to the shape drum, a belt transfer machine that transfers the outer peripheral side member from the belt drum to the shape drum, and a bead transfer machine that fits the pair of bead members from one of the bead supply units onto the inner peripheral side member, The drum axis centers of the band drum and the shape drum when the inner peripheral side member is transferred are set coaxially, and the drum axis centers of the belt drum and the shape drum when the outer peripheral side member is transferred are set coaxially, In the shape drum, the inner peripheral member, the outer peripheral member, and the pair of bead members are used to shape the green tire, A tire manufacturing system configured such that, at each of the stock locations for the materials, when the material stored in one of the supply units becomes empty, the material is supplied from the other supply unit, and while the material is being supplied from the other supply unit, the emptied supply unit is replaced with a new supply unit in which the material is stocked.

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