Elastomer Strip Centering in Tyre Building Drum Winding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tyre building methods are inadequate in centering elastomer strips around building drums, especially when the strips are deformed, leading to suboptimal balance and asymmetry in tyre construction.
Innovation Solution
A method involving two horizontally arranged belt conveyors with an optical measuring device to cyclically measure the transverse position of the elastomer strip, calculating and adjusting for average head and tail misalignments, and distributing these adjustments evenly during the winding process to ensure precise centering of the elastomer strip with respect to the building drum.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the second feed conveyor is moved transversely to center the elastomer strip, then the centring is acceptable in majority of cases, but it is never optimal and inadequate when the elastomer strip is particularly deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the elastomer strip into two separate measurement sequences: head portion measurements and tail portion measurements. This segmentation allows independent calculation and correction of misalignment for each end of the strip, enabling optimal centring even when the strip is deformed or non-uniform in shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention performs preliminary measurement and calculation of the average out-of-centre position for both the head and tail portions of the elastomer strip before the winding operation begins. This preliminary action allows the system to pre-determine the correct transverse position of the second feed conveyor, ensuring optimal centring from the start rather than relying on average positioning that may be inadequate for deformed strips.
2Measurement precision
If an optical measuring device cyclically measures transverse position to calculate average out of centre, then measurement capability is provided, but the centring remains suboptimal for deformed strips
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different measurement and correction approaches to different parts of the elastomer strip. The head portion and tail portion are measured and corrected independently, allowing each local region to be optimally centered according to its specific geometry and deformation characteristics, rather than applying a single average correction to the entire strip.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical measuring device performs preliminary measurement of the transverse position of both head and tail portions before winding. This preliminary measurement data is used to calculate the average out-of-centre positions, which then guide the transverse positioning of the second feed conveyor to achieve optimal centring for each portion of the strip.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method significantly improves the centring of elastomer strips, even when they are deformed, resulting in better balance and symmetry of the tyre, and is simple and cost-effective to implement without requiring hardware modifications.
Implementation Method 1
an optical measuring device to cyclically measure the transverse position of the elastomer strip
Data Source
AI summary
A tire building method comprising: feeding an elastomer strip in a feed direction towards a building drum by means of a first and a second feed conveyor arranged in succession; cyclically determining the transverse position of both sides of the elastomer strip in a centring direction perpendicular to the feed direction; calculating an average head out of center on a head portion of the elastomer strip; and moving the second feed conveyor transversely in the centring direction by an amount equal to the average head out of center, before winding the elastomer strip around the building drum.