Vacuum Heating Press for Tire Vulcanization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heating presses for vulcanizing vehicle tires require numerous ventilation valves in the vulcanizing mold to remove air, which leads to defects, maintenance issues, and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A heating press system that allows for vacuum vulcanization without the need for ventilation valves in the mold, utilizing a press plate and vacuum-tight seals to create a sealed environment for tire vulcanization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If ventilation valves are provided in the mold parts to remove air during vulcanization, then air can be discharged from the mold cavity, but the valves become dirty with rubber ingress and require frequent exchange or cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful air is extracted from the mold cavity by creating a vacuum in the hood interior space, eliminating the need for ventilation valves in the mold parts. The vacuum system removes air through the hood rather than through valves embedded in the mold, thereby avoiding rubber ingress and maintenance issues
Solution Approach 2:
A vacuum tank is introduced as an intermediary component between the pump and the hood interior space. The vacuum tank serves as a buffer that accumulates vacuum and allows the pump to be disconnected during vulcanization, enabling continuous operation without direct pump connection to the mold cavity
2Object-generated harmful factors
If ventilation valves are installed in the vulcanizing mold to remove air, then air can be discharged radially and axially outward, but the mold parts require extensive modification and the valves need frequent replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The air removal function is extracted from the mold parts and relocated to the hood vacuum system. This eliminates the need for complex modifications to the mold parts, including the installation of thousands of ventilation valves, while maintaining effective air removal capability
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum system in the hood serves multiple functions: it removes air from the mold cavity, prevents rubber flash formation, and eliminates the need for ventilation valves. This multi-functional approach simplifies the overall system by consolidating air management functions in the hood rather than distributing them through complex mold part modifications
3Temperature
If the hood upper part is moved onto the heating press lower part to form a closed hood interior space, then temperature insulation is improved, but the sealing becomes complex under vacuum conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing of the hood interior space is performed as a preliminary action before vacuum generation. The hood upper part is moved onto the heating press lower part to establish the sealed environment first, and only then is the vacuum applied. This sequence simplifies the sealing requirement by avoiding the need to seal under vacuum conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing mechanism uses a copy of the existing heating press sealing interface, adapting it for vacuum purposes. The hood upper part and heating press lower part use the same sealing interface design, allowing the existing sealing structures to serve dual purposes for both atmospheric and vacuum operations
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
Enables reliable and defect-free vulcanization of vehicle tires under vacuum conditions, reducing maintenance and operational costs by eliminating the need for ventilation valve management.
Implementation Method 1
a pump and a vacuum tank, by means of which a vacuum can be generated in the interior space of the hood after the first stroke, are provided
Data Source
AI summary
A heating press (1) for vulcanizing a vehicle tire under a vacuum, having a heating press upper part (3) and a heating press lower part (6), wherein a circular-ring-shaped hood upper part (4) with a container (2) having the mold parts (14, 16, 17, 18, 21) of a vulcanizing mold is arranged on the heating press upper part (3), and wherein the heating press upper part (3) can be moved in an axial direction (P1) in such a way that the hood upper part (3) can be moved onto the heating press lower part (6) to form a closed hood interior space (12), wherein a press plate (23) is arranged above the container (2) in the hood upper part (4) such that this press plate (23) and thus the container (2) can be moved in the axial direction (P1).