Irregular Segment Profiles for Belt and Tread Drum
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing belt and tread drums used in tire manufacturing often produce undesirable imprints and bulges due to their rigid segment profiles, leading to resonance and vibration issues in finished tires, as they cannot accommodate varying tire diameters without causing out-of-round circumferences and irregular surface patterns.
Innovation Solution
The belt and tread drum features segments with irregular longitudinal profiles, including alternating slots and fingers of non-uniform lengths along its outer surface, allowing for radial movement and adjustment to accommodate different tire diameters while minimizing imprint formation through a tortuous interface between segments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the belt and tread drum uses rigid arcuate segments with fixed radius of curvature, then the segments can maintain structural integrity and apply pressure to form the tire component, but the segments create regular imprint patterns and bulges on the tire surface leading to resonance and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by providing segments with irregular outer profiles that are not perfectly arcuate. The segments have varying distances from the longitudinal axis, creating non-uniform interfaces between adjacent segments. This asymmetric design breaks the regular pattern of imprints and bulges that cause resonance, while the segments maintain sufficient structural integrity to apply the necessary forming pressure to the tire component.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the belt and tread drum circumference is adjusted to accommodate larger tire diameters, then the drum can be used for multiple tire sizes, but the fixed radius of curvature of segments causes the drum to become out-of-round creating regions where the interface curves radially inward or outward
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the segment profiles adaptable to different drum circumferences. The irregular outer profiles of the segments allow them to accommodate varying distances from the longitudinal axis while maintaining proper alignment. This dynamic adaptability enables the drum to remain in-round across different tire diameters, preventing the out-of-round conditions that would otherwise occur with fixed arcuate segments.
3Volume of moving object
If the segments are positioned at a distance from the longitudinal axis exceeding the radius of curvature, then larger tire diameters can be accommodated, but regions appear where the interface between adjacent arcuate surfaces curves radially inwardly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the profile characteristics of different segments around the drum circumference. Each segment has an irregular outer profile with specific local geometries that compensate for the increased distance from the longitudinal axis. This localized adaptation ensures that the interfaces between adjacent segments maintain proper alignment and do not curve radially inward, even when accommodating larger tire diameters.
4Volume of moving object
If the segments are positioned at a distance from the longitudinal axis less than the radius of curvature, then smaller tire diameters can be accommodated, but regions appear where the interface between adjacent arcuate surfaces curves radially outwardly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing segments with irregular profiles that adapt to different radial positions. When the drum is configured for smaller tire diameters, the segment profiles locally adjust to prevent radially outward curving of the interfaces. This localized geometric adaptation ensures consistent interface alignment across the entire circumference, regardless of the specific tire diameter being manufactured.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved belt and tread drum incorporating an improved segment is disclosed. Segments are mounted in side-by-side relationship about a central axis for radial movement inwardly and outwardly with respect to the central axis and include arcuate outer surfaces that collectively define an outer circumferential working surface of the drum. The segments each define opposite first and second longitudinal side margins, at least one of the first and second longitudinal side margins defining an irregular longitudinal profile.