Heating press

Abstract

The invention relates to a heating press (1) for vulcanising a vehicle tyre (9), the heating press comprising an heating-press upper part (2) and a heating-press lower part (3), wherein a heated upper sidewall shell (4) is arranged on the heating-press upper part (2), wherein the heating-press lower part (3) has a heated lower sidewall shell (5), wherein the heating-press upper part (2) is mounted so as to be movable relative to the heating-press lower part (3), wherein the heating press (1) comprises a central mechanism (6) having gas outlet openings for filling a vehicle tyre with a heating medium, wherein seals (7) are arranged on a closure element (12) on the heating-press upper part (2) and / or on the heating-press lower part (3) for sealing the region enclosed by the heating-press upper part (2) and the heating-press lower part (3) with respect to the surrounding environment.

Description

[0001] 202402846

[0002] 1

[0003] Description

[0004] Heating press

[0005] The invention relates to a heating press for vulcanizing a vehicle tire, comprising a heating press upper part and a heating press lower part, wherein a heated upper side wall shell is arranged on the heating press upper part, wherein the heating press lower part has a heated lower side wall shell, wherein the heating press upper part is movably mounted relative to the heating press lower part, and wherein the heating press has a central mechanism with gas outlet openings for filling a vehicle tire with a heating medium.

[0006] Furthermore, the invention relates to methods for operating such a heating press and to a vehicle tire produced by such a method.

[0007] Known tire heating presses have valves that allow air to escape between the tire and the mold when the press is closed and the green part is pressed into the mold. A large number of these valves are required to facilitate air escape. These valves require a certain amount of maintenance to ensure their reliable function. To eliminate the need for these valves without damaging the tires, heating presses are known that create a vacuum around the tire and the molds, thereby removing the air between the mold and the tire. However, it has been shown that, given the required pressures and the given geometries, a long evacuation time is necessary to achieve a sufficiently low pressure.

[0008] Against this background, the invention is based on the objective of designing a heating press and a method in such a way that a sufficiently low pressure of about 20 to 200 mbar is generated during a short evacuation time.

[0009] This problem is solved with a heating press according to the features of claim 1 as well as a method and a vehicle tire according to 202402846

[0010] 2 dependent claims. The sub-claims relate to particularly advantageous further developments of the invention.

[0011] According to the invention, a heating press for vulcanizing a vehicle tire is provided, comprising a heating press upper part and a heating press lower part. A heated upper sidewall shell is arranged on the heating press upper part, and a heated lower sidewall shell is arranged on the heating press lower part. The heating press upper part is movably mounted relative to the heating press lower part, and the heating press has a central mechanism with gas outlet openings for filling a vehicle tire with a heating medium. Seals are arranged on the heating press upper part and / or on the heating press lower part to seal the area enclosed by the heating press upper part and the heating press lower part from the environment.The heating press upper part and / or the heating press lower part has a means for introducing a vacuum into the enclosed area, the means having a plurality of openings, the openings being arranged on the circumference of the heating press upper part and / or the heating press lower part.

[0012] It has been shown that the internal geometry of the heating press, i.e., the enclosed area, with its resulting gaps between the vehicle tires and the central mechanism, as well as the side panels and mold segments, significantly increases evacuation time compared to an empty enclosed area. Surprisingly, it was found that the evacuation time can be considerably reduced by applying negative pressure at multiple points around the circumference of the enclosed area.

[0013] A preferred embodiment provides that the openings are arranged over a wide area of ​​the circumference, preferably at least 180°, and more preferably at least 270°, of the upper part and / or the lower part of the heating press. This further increases the efficiency of the evacuation.

[0014] Another preferred embodiment provides that the means is formed as an annular hollow structure extending around the circumference, preferably around the entire circumference, of the heating press upper part and / or the 202402846

[0015] 3

[0016] The lower part of the heating press extends. A simple and particularly efficient solution is achieved.

[0017] Another preferred embodiment provides that the majority of openings have at least three openings, preferably five openings, more preferably at least eight openings, more preferably at least 16 openings, more preferably at least 36 openings, more preferably at least 72 openings, and more preferably at least 180 openings. It has been shown that increasing the number of openings leads to a further increase in evacuation efficiency.

[0018] Another preferred embodiment provides that the majority of openings are arranged uniformly around the circumference of the upper and / or lower parts of the heating press. Openings arranged uniformly around the circumference of the upper part of the heating press further increase the efficiency of the evacuation.

[0019] According to the invention, a method for operating a heating press according to the invention is provided, comprising the steps: a) loading the open heating press by inserting a vehicle tire to be vulcanized, b) moving a lower part of the heating press and an upper part of the heating press relative to each other to create an area enclosed by a heating press upper part and the lower part of the heating press from the environment, wherein a sealing element seals the enclosed area from the environment, c) applying a vacuum in the enclosed area through a plurality of openings of a means, d) bulging the vehicle tire with a heating medium, e) heating the vehicle tire, g) opening the heating press and unloading the vulcanized vehicle tire.

[0020] Surprisingly, it was found that the evacuation time can be significantly reduced by applying the vacuum at several points around the perimeter of the enclosed area. 202402846

[0021] 4

[0022] According to the invention, a vehicle tire is manufactured using a method according to the invention. A vehicle tire manufactured in this way can be produced in a particularly reliable and cost-efficient manner.

[0023] The invention allows for numerous embodiments. To further illustrate its basic principle, one of these is shown in the drawing and described below. This shows in

[0024] Fig. 1 shows a heating press with annular means with several openings.

[0025] Figure 1 shows a heating press 1 for vulcanizing a vehicle tire, comprising a heating press upper part 2 and a heating press lower part 3, wherein a heated upper side wall shell 4 is arranged on the heating press upper part 2. The heating press lower part 3 has a heated lower side wall shell 5. The heating press upper part 2 is movably mounted relative to the heating press lower part 3.

[0026] The heating press 1 has a central mechanism 6 with gas outlet openings for filling a vehicle tire with a heating medium. Seals 7 are arranged on a closure element 12 on the upper part 2 of the heating press to seal the enclosed area formed by the upper part 2 and the lower part 3 of the heating press from the environment. The lower part 3 of the heating press has a means 8 for introducing a vacuum into the enclosed area. The means 8 has a plurality of openings 9, the openings 9 being evenly distributed around the circumference of the lower part 3 of the heating press. The vacuum generated by a vacuum pump 11 is applied to the means 8 via a vacuum line 10.

[0027] 5

[0028] Reference symbol list

[0029] 1 heating press

[0030] 2 Heating press top

[0031] 3 Heating press lower part

[0032] 4 upper side wall shell

[0033] 5 lower side wall shell

[0034] 6 Center mechanism

[0035] 7 Seal

[0036] 8 Medium

[0037] 9 Opening

[0038] 10 Vacuum line

[0039] 11 Vacuum pump

[0040] 12 Locking element

Claims

202402846 6 Patent claims 1. A heating press (1) for vulcanizing a vehicle tire, comprising a heating press upper part (2) and a heating press lower part (3), wherein a heated upper sidewall shell (4) is arranged on the heating press upper part (2), wherein the heating press lower part (3) has a heated lower sidewall shell (5), wherein the heating press upper part (2) is movably mounted relative to the heating press lower part (3), wherein the heating press (1) has a central mechanism (6) with gas outlet openings for filling a vehicle tire with a heating medium, wherein seals (7) on a closure element (12) are arranged on the heating press upper part (2) and / or on the heating press lower part (3) for sealing the area enclosed by the heating press upper part (2) and by the heating press lower part (3) from the environment, wherein the heating press upper part (2) and / or the heating press lower part (3) comprising a means (8) for introducing a negative pressure into the enclosed area,characterized in that the means (8) has a plurality of openings (9), wherein the openings (9) are arranged on the circumference of the heating press upper part (2) and / or the heating press lower part (3).

2. Heating press (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the openings (9) are arranged over a wide area of ​​the circumference of the heating press upper part (2) and / or the heating press lower part (3), preferably at least over 180°, more preferably over at least 270°, of the heating press upper part (2) and / or the heating press lower part (3).

3. Heating press (1 ) according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the means (8) is formed as an annular hollow structure which extends over the circumference, preferably around the entire circumference, of the heating press upper part (2) and / or the heating press lower part (3).

4. Heating press (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plurality of openings (9) are at least three openings (9), 202402846 7 preferably has five openings (9), further preferably at least eight openings (9), further preferably at least 16 openings (9), further preferably at least 36 openings (9), further preferably at least 72 openings (9) and further preferably at least 180 openings (9).

5. Heating press (1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plurality of openings (9) are arranged uniformly over the circumference of the heating press upper part (2) and / or the heating press lower part (3).

6. Method for operating a heating press (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of: a) loading the open heating press (1) by inserting a vehicle tire to be vulcanized, b) moving a heating press lower part (3) and a heating press upper part (2) relative to each other to create an area enclosed by a heating press upper part (2) and the heating press lower part (3) from the environment, wherein a sealing element (12) seals the enclosed area from the environment, c) applying a vacuum in the enclosed area through a plurality of openings (9) of a means (8), d) bulging the vehicle tire with a heating medium, e) heating the vehicle tire, g) opening the heating press (1) and unloading the vulcanized vehicle tire.

7. Vehicle tires manufactured according to a method according to claim 6.

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