Variable-diameter tire-building drum with elastic sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tire-building drums for manufacturing self-supporting run-flat tires differ from those for conventional tires, requiring specialized equipment due to the need for grooves to prevent air trapping during the tire-building process, limiting their versatility for producing tires of similar dimensions.
Innovation Solution
A variable-diameter tire-building drum with radially mobile sectors and an elastic circumferential sleeve, featuring disengageable locks that allow the sleeve to align with the receiving surface at different diameters, enabling the drum to be used for both self-supporting run-flat and standard tire production by adjusting the position of the sleeve relative to the groove.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a groove is added to the drum to prevent air trapping during self-supporting run-flat tire manufacturing, then the tire quality improves, but the device complexity increases and limits versatility for producing other tire types
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic circumferential sleeve is designed to be radially movable, allowing it to dynamically change position between two extreme positions. In the first position, the sleeve aligns with the receiving surface to enable standard tire production. In the second position, the sleeve engages with the groove to prevent air trapping during self-supporting run-flat tire manufacturing. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by allowing the drum structure to adapt its configuration based on the specific tire type being produced.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic circumferential sleeve serves multiple functions: it acts as a sealing element to prevent air trapping when engaged with the groove, and it acts as a alignment element with the receiving surface when in the retracted position. This multi-functionality allows a single drum structure to handle both standard tire manufacturing and self-supporting run-flat tire manufacturing, thereby reducing device complexity and increasing versatility.
2Manufacturing precision
If the drum is designed with a fixed groove structure for self-supporting run-flat tires, then the manufacturing precision for these tires improves, but the adaptability to produce different tire types decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic circumferential sleeve provides a dynamic solution that allows the drum to switch between two distinct configurations. When the sleeve is pressed against the groove, it provides precise alignment for self-supporting run-flat tire production. When the sleeve is retracted to align with the receiving surface, the drum is configured for standard tire production. This dynamic reconfigurability maintains high manufacturing precision for each tire type while enabling adaptability across different tire types.
Solution Approach 2:
The position of the elastic circumferential sleeve is changed between two extreme positions to adapt the drum for different tire types. This parameter change (radial position of the sleeve) allows the same physical groove structure to serve different purposes: precise groove engagement for self-supporting run-flat tires and recessed alignment for standard tires, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision while increasing versatility.
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
The drum can seamlessly switch between manufacturing self-supporting run-flat tires and standard tires by adjusting the sleeve's position, ensuring proper alignment and preventing air trapping, thus increasing its versatility and manufacturing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
which is pressed against the bottom of the groove under the effect of circumferential elastic tensions when the drum is placed at a laying diameter greater than the said first laying diameter
Data Source
AI summary
Variable-diameter tire-building drum intended for the manufacture of a green tire having a generally cylindrical receiving surface formed of radially mobile sectors and bearing elements the radially external part of which constitutes the receiving surface, the receiving surface comprising at least one circular groove containing an elastic circumferential sleeve which is held radially away from the bottom of the groove by pushers able to move radially with respect to the mobile sectors so as to align the radially external surface of the sleeve with the receiving surface when the drum is brought to a first laying diameter, and which is pressed against the bottom of the groove under the effect of circumferential elastic tensions when the drum is placed at a laying diameter greater than the said first laying diameter. Disengageable locks are able to keep the pushers in the position in which the radially external surface of the sleeve is aligned with the receiving surface regardless of the diameter to which the said receiving surface is brought.