Tire Shape Measurement Sensor Cover for Contamination Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In tire production, non-contact sensors used for tire shape measurement often become contaminated with powder and other debris, leading to reduced measurement accuracy and increased maintenance needs, which disrupts the efficiency of the measurement process.
Innovation Solution
A tire shape measurement device and method that incorporate a cover portion to protect the sensor's detection unit during standby mode, preventing contamination from airborne debris, and a switching mechanism to transition between standby and measurement modes, allowing for efficient and accurate shape measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the sensor is exposed during standby mode, then measurement work efficiency is improved, but the sensor becomes contaminated with powder and debris
Solution Approach 1:
The cover portion is designed to dynamically switch between covering and uncovering the detection unit based on operational mode. During standby mode, the cover protects the sensor; during measurement mode, the cover is opened to allow measurement. This dynamic configuration resolves the contradiction by adapting the sensor's exposure state to the current operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover portion acts as an intermediary element between the sensor and the contaminated environment. It provides physical protection during standby mode while allowing full sensor functionality during measurement mode through the switching mechanism, thus mediating between the need for protection and the need for measurement capability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the sensor is covered during standby mode, then sensor contamination is suppressed, but measurement response time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cover portion is pre-positioned to quickly cover the detection unit when transitioning to standby mode, and the switching mechanism is designed to rapidly open the cover when measurement mode is activated. This preliminary positioning and rapid switching capability minimizes the time the sensor remains covered, thus reducing measurement response time while maintaining protection during standby.
3Measurement precision
If maintenance work is performed frequently, then measurement accuracy is maintained, but measurement work efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The cover portion performs preliminary protection by preventing powder and debris from adhering to the sensor during standby mode. This preliminary anti-contamination action significantly reduces the frequency and intensity of maintenance work required, thus maintaining measurement accuracy while minimizing the impact on measurement work efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a tire shape measurement device and a method. In a measurement mode in which air is injected into an inside of a tire mounted on a holding portion to inflate the tire and the tire and a non-contact sensor are relatively moved in a tire circumferential direction to detect a shape of a predetermined site of the tire over an entire circumference in the tire circumferential direction by the sensor, a detection unit of the sensor is covered with a cover portion is released. When the air is exhausted from the inside of the tire to an outside and the tire is deflated to remove the tire from the holding portion after the detection of the shape of the tire, a standby mode M1 in which the detection unit is covered with the cover portion is set.