# Patent

## Title
Apparatus and method for loading and unloading a tire press

## Abstract

A tire press has an upper mold fixedly attached to a top plate. A bottom mold is fixedly attached to a bottom plate. The tire press has a plurality of guide posts adapted to maintain proper alignment of the upper mold and the lower mold as the tire press opens and closes. A plurality of lock rods, which are independent of the guide posts, are positioned about the tire press. Each of the lock rods has a first end and a second end. The lock rods may have an adjustment mechanism positioned on the first end of the lock rods to adjust the various mold heights. Locking means are a part of the tire press, which are adapted to selectively engage the second end of the lock rods. Further, each of the lock rods has cylinder mechanism operatively connected to the locking means. The cylinder mechanism is adapted to force the locking means to the surface of the lock rods. The cylinder mechanism is a hydraulic cylinder having the piston disposed within the chamber. The piston has a release side and a squeeze side, such that when fluid is introduced on the squeeze side, a substantially equal amount of tension is placed on the lock rods to lock the tire press. When fluid is introduced on the release side, the locking means can be removed from the lock rods and the tire press can be opened.

## Background
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/318,289, filed Dec. 23, 2005, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING A TIRE PRESS” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/054,568, filed Feb. 9, 2005 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,857), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/222,742, filed Aug. 16, 2002 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,584).


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application is a continuation application claiming priority from a utility patent application filed on Aug. 16, 2002, having Ser. No. 10/222,742. Inventorship remains the same.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to the art of methods and apparatuses for locking a tire press. More specifically, the present invention pertains to the art of methods and apparatuses for locking a tire press wherein a cylinder mechanism is utilized to provide substantially equal tension in all locking rods such that the tolerances for the length of each of the lock rods is not as critical as in known locking devices.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
It is known in the art for tire presses to have a locking mechanism so that a tire mold is secure during a curing cycle. Current devices utilize lock rods which must be substantially identical in length. As such, the lengths must be very precise and is very critical. The dimension is very critical because when a tire press closes and locks, if any of the lock rods are slightly longer than another one, the shorter rod sees more forces and loads. This results in an uneven load distribution which results in uneven strains and stresses. This may eventually cause tire defects because upper and lower tire molds may no longer be parallel. Further, the lock rods need to be over designed to take into consideration the fact that some of the lock rods may encounter more loads than others.
In other known designs, tension is place on the lock rods; however, the lock rods and the guide posts of the tire press are the same mechanism. In this case, guide posts that have a locking mechanism integrated therein encounter increased maintenance. This is because guide posts should only be used for guiding the upper and lower mold halves open and closed during curing cycles. When actual forces are placed on guide posts through a locking mechanism, forces may cause deflection in the guide posts over time. As such, guide posts need routine maintenance.
The present invention provides methods and apparatuses for locking a tire press, which has independent lock rods and guide posts, and does not require the lock rods to be exactly equal in length, and yet, provides equal tension and axial forces in all the lock rods when the tire press is closed and locked.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, a new and improved locking mechanism for a tire press is provided. A tire press has an upper mold fixedly attached to a top plate. A bottom mold is fixedly attached to a bottom plate. The tire press has a plurality of guide posts adapted to maintain proper alignment of the upper mold and the lower mold as the tire press opens and closes. A plurality of lock rods, which are independent of the guide posts, are positioned about the tire press. Each of the lock rods has a first end and a second end. The lock rods may have an adjustment mechanism positioned on the first end of the lock rods to adjust for various mold heights. Locking means are a part of the tire press and are adapted to selectively engage the second end of the lock rods. Further, each of the lock rods has cylinder mechanism operatively connected to the locking means. The cylinder mechanism is adapted to extend the locking means to the surface of the lock rods. The cylinder mechanism may be a hydraulic cylinder having the piston disposed within the chamber. The piston has a release side and a squeeze side, such that when fluid is introduced on the squeeze side, a substantially equal amount of tension is placed on the lock rods to lock the tire press. When fluid is introduced on the release side, the locking means can be removed from the lock rods and the tire press can be opened.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus having a lock rod with first end, a second end, and a surface; locking means operatively connected to the lock rod; and, cylinder mechanism operatively connected to the locking means, wherein the cylinder mechanism is adapted to extend the locking means to the surface of the lock rod, the cylinder mechanism also being adapted to place tension on the lock rods.
Still yet, another object of the present invention is to provide a tire press where the locking means is a split lock ring.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tire press wherein the lock rod is moveable relative to the top plate.
Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a tire press, wherein the lock rod is threaded on the first end.
Still yet, another object of the present invention is to provide a tire press, wherein tension in each of the lock rods is substantially equal.
Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a method for locking the tire press comprising the steps of:
providing a tire press having an upper mold and a lower mold, a lock rod having a first end and a second end, the lock rod having a surface, locking means, and, cylinder mechanism operatively connected to the locking means, wherein the cylinder mechanism is adapted to extend the locking means to the surface of the lock rod;
closing the tire press;
locking the locking means to said lock rod;
placing tension on the lock rod with the cylinder mechanism; and,
locking the tire press.
Still, another object of the present invention is to provide a method for locking the tire press wherein the step of placing tension on the lock rod with the cylinder mechanism further comprises the step of injecting a fluid on the squeeze side of the piston.
Still, another object of the present invention is to provide a method for unlocking the tire press further comprising the steps of:
injecting fluid on the release side of the piston;
removing fluid from the squeeze side of the piston;\
releasing the locking means; and
unlocking the tire press.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved loader/unloader system with the tire press.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tire press that is more compact in size such as to eliminate the need for a pit in the factory floor and additional width.
Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hydraulic curing press.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the top of a lock rod disposed within the top plate of the tire press in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the second end of a locking rod showing the cylinder mechanism and the locking means.
FIG. 4 is a top, cross-sectional view of a lock ring.
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the loader, unloader and green tire holder of the tire press.



DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for purposes of limiting the same, FIGS. 1-5 show the present invention.
With reference to FIGS. 1-4 a tire press 10 is shown. A tire press 10 may take the form of two single cavity machines that work independently. The tire press comprises a top plate 12 having an upper mold 14 rigidly affixed thereto. A bottom mold 18 is fixedly attached to the bottom plate 16. The bottom mold 18 and upper mold 14 contact each other and maintain alignment through a plurality of guide rods 20.
The tire press 10 further comprises a plurality of lock rods 22, which passes through the top plate 12. Each of the lock rods has a first end 24, a second end 26, and a surface 32. The second end 26 may be notched. The purpose of the lock rods 22 is to maintain tight and even seal between the upper mold 14 and bottom mold 18 during a curing cycle. It is important that the lock rods 22 be independent from the guide rods 20. In order to achieve optimal sealing and closure between the upper and bottom molds 14, 18, only the lock rods 22 should be utilized. If guide rods 20 are utilized to perform a locking function in the tire press 10, the guide rods 20 will experience unwanted deflection, which could ultimately result in imperfect sealing of the molds 14, 18 during a curing cycle.
With reference to FIG. 2, the first end 24 of the lock rod 22 may comprise an adjustment mechanism 28. Any adjustment mechanism may be utilized that is chosen with sound engineering judgment; however, as shown in the figures, the adjustment mechanism 28 shown is threads 30. The adjustment mechanism 28 has an adjusting screw sprocket 36, which attaches to an adjusting nut 34. Because the lock rods 22 pass through the top plate 12, the lock rod 22 is moveable relative to the top plate 12 through the adjustment mechanism 28 described herein. A top adjusting thrust washer 38 and a bottom adjusting thrust washer 40 are shown. These washers 38, 40 are adapted to take up any thrust and axial load experienced during the locking of the tire press 10. Further, an adjusting nut spacer 42 and adjusting nut retaining ring 44 aid the adjustment mechanism 28 and the lock rod 22. The lock rod 22 passes through a hole in the bottom plate 16. A top heat shield 46, middle heat shield 50 and bottom heat shield 52 are utilized to prevent excessive heat from escaping the mold. Further, a lock rod anti-rotation bracket 48 prevents rotation of the lock rods 22.
With reference to FIG. 2, the heat shields 46, 50 and 52 will now be explained in further detail. The top heat shield 46 is attached to the top plate 12. The middle heat shield 50 is attached to the lock rod 22, and the bottom heat shield is attached to the bottom plate 16. Because a middle heat shield 50 is attached to each of the lock rods 22 at the proper dimension, this enables the middle heat shield 50 to automatically adjust to the proper height to shield the mold. As such, heat shield adjustment is concurrent with lock rod adjustment.
With reference to FIG. 4, locking means 54 is shown. Locking means 54 may take the form of a split lock ring 56. The split lock ring 56 may comprise a first arm 58 and a second arm 60. First and second arms 58, 60 define a hole 62 therebetween. The opening and closing of these lock rings 56 may be controlled by a pneumatic cylinder 64. As depicted in FIG. 4, each locking means 54 may include one pneumatic cylinder 64 per split lock ring 56. Further, the lock ring 56 may further comprise a proximity switch sensor 66 so that the first and second arms 58, 60 maintain the appropriate position during the opening and closing of the lock ring 56. To open and close the lock ring 56, the pneumatic cylinder 64 applies force along a line (not shown) which bears at least one of a tangential relationship to the split lock ring 56 and a parallel relationship to a line tangent to the split lock ring, as shown in FIG. 4.
With reference to FIG. 3, cylinder mechanism 90 is shown in the squeeze condition (left side) and the release condition (right side). In the present invention, the cylinder mechanism may take the form of a hydraulic squeeze cylinder 92. The cylinder 92 comprises a chamber 94 having a floating piston 96 disposed therein. The piston 96 has a squeeze side 98 and release side 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the lock ring 56 is adapted to encircle the notched second end 26 of the lock rod 22. A fluid is introduced into the squeeze side 98 of the piston 96, which results in a downward axial force, which pushes down on the lock ring 56, which then contacts and pushes down on the lock rod 22, resulting in tension in the lock rod 22. In other words, the cylinder mechanism is adapted to move or force the locking means to the surface of said lock rod. The stroke of the piston 96 may be an inch or any other distance chosen with sound engineering judgment. Separate locking means 54 and cylinder mechanism 90 may be used for each of the lock rods 22. It is also contemplated that the cylinder mechanism 90 may have a spring to bias the piston 96 upwards (not shown).
As previously stated, the length of lock rods in previous devices is very critical because shorter lock rods will bear more stress and strain than longer lock rods. This results in increased cost to provide for bigger and stronger lock rods, as well as increased maintenance. Because the self-adjusting stroke length of the piston 96 and the common supply of pressure to the cylinder mechanism 90, equal force will be applied to each lock rod regardless of the varying lengths of the individual lock rods 22. Any imperfections in the threads 30 of the adjustment mechanism 28 and/or any imperfections in the lengths of the lock rods 22 are resolved through the tension produced by the hydraulic cylinder 92.
By means of the adjustment mechanism 28, and more specifically, through the multiple nuts 34, the nuts 34 are turned in unison by a connection, which may be a chain drive, which in turn elevates the lock rods 22 to the desired height for a particular mold. This allows for a correct mold height to be set as different molds are changed within the tire press 10. This can be done automatically with proximity sensors (not shown). During a mold change, the lock rods 22 of the tire press 10 are in their most upright position. When the tire press 10 is closed on the molds, the lock rods 22 are driven down until it is sensed that they are in the locking position. At such time, the proximity sensors will sense the locking position and automatically stop the mold height adjustment.
When the hydraulic cylinder 92 is energized, it will push to the position shown in the left side of FIG. 3 and put force on the lock rod 22. The rod 22 is pulling on the upper mold 14 and into the lower mold 18. The axial forces experienced by the lock rods 22 are very even because the top plate 12 is being brought down by three points, which will level itself through hydraulic cylinders 92 which are all connected together with the same hydraulic supply line. Hydraulic oil pressure enables this equalization and gives a very equal and parallel pull down. This results in a more even and parallel squeeze of the mold.
When the cylinder mechanism 90 pushes down on each of the lock rods 22, a centerline through the shaft of all three lock rods 22 will have equal pull down at the same time. The pressure is evenly distributed among each lock rod 22. Thus, an advantage is gained on equal distribution of stresses and equal deflection on the bottom plate 16 and top plate 12. Further, while deflection is occurring with the lock rod 22, the guide rods 20 experience virtually zero axial forces since they are independent of the lock rods 22.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, springs may be utilized to conform with guide tubes 82. When the hydraulic cylinders 92 pull the lock rods 22 downward, it is possible that deflection would reach the guide tubes 82. The springs would actually release the guide tubes 82 to allow its conformity with the axis of the guide rods 20. More specifically, a flange would lift so that the guide tube 82 would continue to experience little or no axial forces or bending forces.
Because the lock rods 22 are equally spaced and are utilized in conjunction with floating pistons 92, the balanced tension results in a perfect parallel plane between the top and bottom plates 12, 16. Each of the lock rods 22 experiences equal deflection, which is no more than 0.005 inches. This is attributed to the lock rods 22 being equally spaced about the perimeter of the molds 14, 18 and the thickness of the top and bottom plates 12, 16, which have a height up to six inches. This configuration also results in a very flat, parallelism and concentricity of the molds 14, 18. Another advantage of this configuration is the elimination of irregularly shaped welded structural supports for the top plate 12 and/or bottom plate 16 to secure the top and bottom molds 14, 18. Welds in the squeeze area and load path are eliminated.
Having just described the present invention, its operation will now be described. A tire press 10 as previously described is provided. The tire press 10 is closed by lowering the upper mold 14 to the bottom mold 18. The locking means 54 is locked to the second end 26 of lock rod 22. More specifically, the pneumatic cylinder 64 is actuated so that the first and second arms 58, 60 of split lock ring 56 encircle the notched second end 26 of the lock rod 22. Upon closure of the lock ring 56, the locking means 54 is secured to the second end 26 of the lock rod 22. Next, fluid, such as a hydraulic fluid, is injected on the squeeze side 98 of the piston 96. The pressure created by the fluid forces the piston 96 downward, thus pushing down on the lock ring 56. The lock ring 56 moves downward until it contacts the lock rod 22. As such, tension is placed on the lock rod 22 with the cylinder mechanism 90. This result is a locked tire press 10. In order to unlock the tire press 10, fluid is injected on the release side 100 of the piston 96. Fluid is then removed from the squeeze side 98 of the piston 96. The lock ring 56 moves upward and the first and second arms 58 can be opened. Upon release of the lock ring 56, the tire press 10 is unlocked.
The guide rods 20 are offset at an angle in order to reduce the overall width of the tire press 28. It is advantageous to make the tire press 10 as compact as possible so that it can be accommodated by existing factory spaces. The orientation of the guide rods 20 and lock rods 22 provide for such an advantage. Further, because of the present invention, the overall height of the tire press 10 is reduced, such that pits may not be needed to accommodate the tire press 10.
With reference to FIG. 5, the tire loader assembly 83 is attached to the top plate 12 and travels up and down with the movement of top plate 12. As shown, the tire loader assembly 83 includes a plurality of green tire chucks 100 and moving means 104 for moving the chucks 100 into the tire press. When the loader assembly 83 is moved in under top plate 12 top plate 12 is lowered to place the tire over the bladder mechanism and into the bottom half of the mold. This method provides for a faster press cycle time, elimination of a separate lifting mechanism for the loader, and better precision placement of the tire onto the bladder mechanism.
The tire unloading mechanism 84 extends into the press to remove the cured tire by lifting it vertically over the bladder and then horizontally out the rear side of the press. The unloading mechanism then retracts down vertically and deposits the cured tire on the take away conveyor 140 or it can delay placement of the tire on the take away conveyor and maintain the tire on the unloader arms 150 during the next cure cycle so that the cured tire cools in a level position and does not strike any objects such as conveyor rolls while in a hot and sensitive condition. When the unloader does retract fully down it passes through and below the take away conveyor at the rear of the press. This allows better access to the rear of the press for operation, mold change and maintenance. It also provides for a more gentle and exact placement of the tire onto the take away conveyor.
The green tire holder 85 receives a green or uncured tire from a man or other mechanical delivery device. As shown, the green tire holder 85 includes a base member 120, a holder arm 124 and a tire tray 130. The holder arm 124 then rotates horizontally about base member 120 to a location centered under the loading mechanism 83. The holder arm 124 then lifts the tire vertically until the loading mechanism 83 can expand and attach to the tire. The holder arm 124 then retracts down and rotates back to the starting position for the next tire. This method reduces the motions of the loader assembly, causes the loader to be more precise for the final placement of the tire into the mold, and provides more safety for the operator than in the case where a loader drops to take a tire from a fixed holder.
The preferred embodiments have been described, hereinabove. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above methods may incorporate changes and modifications without departing from the general scope of this invention. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

## Claims

1. A tire press, comprising:
a lower mold supported by a bottom plate;
an upper mold supported by a top plate;
the lower and upper molds being adapted for relative vertical movement;
at least one guide rod for guiding vertical movement between the upper and lower molds;
at least one locking mechanism connected to one of the top and bottom plates and having a split lock ring and a locking cylinder, the split lock ring including first and second ring arms connected for pivotal relative movement about a hinge joint, and the locking cylinder being adapted to pivot at least one of the first and second ring arms about the hinge joint to open and close the split lock ring; and
at least one lock rod for holding the upper mold in engagement with the lower mold, each of the lock rods being separate from each of the guide rods, each lock rod having a first lock rod end connected to one of the top and bottom plates and a second lock rod end spaced longitudinally from the first lock rod end and adapted for clamping engagement with a respective one of the split lock rings.

2. The tire press of claim 1, wherein the at least one locking mechanism includes a squeeze mechanism adapted to apply tension to the lock rod.

3. The tire press of claim 2, wherein the squeeze mechanism includes an annular floating piston adapted to exert a tensioning force on the lock rod through the split lock ring.

4. The tire press of claim 1, including an adjustment mechanism operative to move at least one lock rod vertically relative to the top and bottom plates.

5. The tire press of claim 1, wherein the lock rod includes a locking surface forming a locking shoulder and being adapted for clamping engagement with the split lock ring.

6. The tire press of claim 5, including a squeeze mechanism adapted to exert pressure on the locking shoulder to apply tension to the lock rod.

7. The tire press of claim 1, wherein the locking cylinder applies force along a line which bears at least one of a tangential relationship to the split lock ring and a parallel relationship to a line tangent to the split lock ring.

8. The tire press of claim 1, wherein each locking mechanism includes one locking cylinder per split lock ring.

9. A tire press, comprising:
a lower mold supported by a bottom plate;
an upper mold supported by a top plate;
the lower and upper molds being adapted for relative vertical movement;
at least one guide rod for guiding vertical movement between the upper and lower molds;
at least one locking mechanism connected to one of the top and bottom plates and having a split lock ring and a locking cylinder, the split lock ring including first and second ring arms connected for pivotal relative movement about a hinge joint, and the locking cylinder being adapted to pivot at least one of the first and second ring arms about the hinge joint to open and close the split lock ring;
at least one lock rod for holding the upper mold in engagement with the lower mold, each of the lock rods being separate from each of the guide rods, each lock rod having a first lock rod end connected to one of the top and bottom plates and a second lock rod end spaced longitudinally from the first lock rod end, each second lock rod end including a locking surface forming a locking shoulder and being adapted for clamping engagement with the split lock ring; and
a squeeze mechanism adapted to apply tension to the lock rod by exerting pressure to bring the split lock ring into pressured contact with the locking shoulder of the second lock rod end.

10. The tire press of claim 9, wherein the squeeze mechanism includes an annular floating piston adapted to exert a tensioning force on the lock rod through the split lock ring.

11. The tire press of claim 10, wherein the squeeze mechanism exerts the tensioning force on the lock rod from a position longitudinally between the first and second lock rod ends.

12. The tire press of claim 9, including an adjustment mechanism operative to move at least one lock rod vertically relative to the top and bottom plates.