Tire building apparatus and method

Abstract: Tire building apparatus and method for applying first station components of a tire carcass on a first drum located in a first position, interchanging the first drum with a second drum located at a second position by oscillating a hub on which the drums are mounted while inclining the axis of rotation of the hub to the horizontal so as to raise the drums over the floor, thereafter applying first station components of a tire carcass to the second drum located in the first position, concurrently shaping the tire carcass at the second station and applying second station components of a tire carcass on the first drum located in the second position and removing the tire carcass from the first drum at the second position.

Description: This invention relates to building tires and particularly to improvements in rapidly and accurately building belted high performance tire carcasses. Heretofore, apparatus for building tire carcasses has utilized a single drum rotatable on a turret between a first position where the first position components were applied and a second position where the tire carcass was shaped and second position components applied including a belt overlay and tread. A tire building apparatus incorporating a pair of tire building drums rotatable between a first position and a second position is known (EP-A-0242689) in which the first drum and second drum are coaxial and mounted on a rotatable hub supported in a turret member. High performance tires require the application of a large number of components in the first position. This has caused an underutilization of the building equipment with the drum at the second position, especially when the apparatus has two turrets and therefore two second positions for the drums. With the apparatus and method of this invention, two drums are mounted on one turret so that the high performance first station components can be applied to one drum in the first position while the rest of the components are applied to the tire carcass in the second position where the tire carcass is shaped. The drums are mounted on a supporting turret hub rotatable about a hub axis which is tilted or inclined to the horizontal during the movement of the drums between one position and the other. This makes possible the oscillation of the drums without requiring a hole in the floor and also makes possible the positioning of the drums at an angle to open up space adjacent the drums for the server equipment. In this invention, the two drums are oscillated between a first position and a second position and are maintained at a fixed relation so that the positions of the different drums will be identical in the first position and the second position. In accordance with the invention, there is provided a tire building process and a tire building apparatus as defined in the appended claims. To acquaint persons skilled in the art most closely related to the present invention, a certain preferred embodiment thereof illustrating a best mode now contemplated for putting the invention into practice is described herein by and with reference to the annexed drawings forming a part of the specification. IN THE DRAWINGS: Fig 1 is a fragmentary schematic plan view of a tire building machine embodying the invention with parts being broken away. Fig 2 is an enlarged plan view of the tire building machine turret with drums in first and second positions. Fig 3 is an enlarged elevation along the lines 3-3 in Fig 2. Fig 4 is an enlarged elevation like Fig 3 showing the hub tilted and rotated 90 degrees to place the drums in an intermediate position between the first position and second position. With reference to Fig 1, a tire building apparatus 10 is shown having a first position 12 for applying first position tire components and a second position 14 for applying second position tire components. A turret base 16 is located between the first position 12 and second position 14. A drum supporting hub 18 is rotatably mounted on the turret base 16 for rotation about a generally horizontal hub axis A-A. A first tire building drum 20 and a second tire building drum 22 are rotatably mounted about a first axis and a second axis positioned at an angle at 90 degrees on the hub 18 at locations on opposite sides of the hub axis A-A. As shown in Figs 2, 3 and 4 an independent drive means 24 is provided for the first drum 20 and an independent drive means 26 is provided for the second drum 22 to effect rotation of the drums about their axes as required. Other means for expanding the drums 20,22 may also be provided. As shown in Figs 3 and 4, the hub 18 is connected to a shaft 28 which is rotated by a spur gear 30 turned by suitable drive means to rotate the first drum 20 and second drum 22 about the hub axis A-A between the first position 12 and second position 14. The free end of shaft 28 may be moved vertically to tilt the hub axis A-A as shown in Fig 4 during oscillating movement of the first drum 20 and second drum 22 about the hub axis A-A so that the drums will not swing below the floor line F-F. As shown in Fig 1, servers 30 are provided at the first position 12 for applying the first position components such as a tire liner, toe guard, first and second plies, apexes and bead rings. These components are applied by rotating the first drum 20 about the first axis after which the first drum is rotated about the hub axis A-A to the second position 14. At the second position, sidewall servers 32 apply the sidewall. Meanwhile, at the breaker overlay tread station 34, servers 36 apply the overlay breaker and tread package to a collapsible drum 38 for transfer by a suitable transfer ring to the second position 14. The first drum 20 is then expanded to shape the tire carcass and urge it into engagement with the overlay breaker and tread package 38. The tire carcass is stitched and the transfer ring removed after the first drum 20 is contracted and the finished green tire carcass removed. Preferably the time required for applying the first position components and the time for applying the second position components including the transfer of the bead overlay tread package 38 is approximately the same for high performance tires and therefore the servers 30 and 36 are in operation substantially continuously without any delays. While the first drum 20 is in the second position 14, the second drum 22 is in the first position 12 and first position components of a second tire carcass are applied to the second drum by the servers 30 in substantially the same manner described hereinabove for the first drum 20. After the first position components are applied to the second drum 22 the finished green tire carcass is removed from the first drum in the second position 14 the shaft 28 is then rotated and the hub 18 tilted to rotate the first drum 20 about the hub axis A-A to the first position 12 for receiving the first position components and to rotate the second drum about the hub axis to the second position 14 for receiving the second position components. In accordance with this invention, the tire building process may include building a different tire carcass in another part of the apparatus utilizing a pair of drums supported on a rotatable hub of a second turret. The turret, hub 18 and drums 20,22 for performing the process of this invention may be incorporated in different mechanisms. However, the mechanism used for the best mode process described hereinabove is shown and described in a copending patent application entitled "Two Gear, Connecting Arm And Crank Apparatus" which was assigned to the assignee of this application and filed at the same time this application was filed.

Claims: A tire building process for building a tire carcass on a tire building apparatus (10) having a first position (12) and a second position (14) comprising; (a) placing a first drum (20) in said first position (12) for rotation about a first axis and placing a second drum (22) in said second position (14) for rotation about about a second axis; and maintaining said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) in a fixed relation to each other on a hub having a hub axis A-A in the same plane with said first axis and said second axis so that said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) will be in identical locations at said first position (12) and at said second position (14) after oscillating movement of said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) on said hub. (b) rotating said first drum (20) about said first axis and applying first position components to said first drum (20); characterized by: (c) moving said first drum (20) to said second position (14) on said supporting turret hub (18) rotatable about said hub axis (A-A) inclined to the horizontal during said movement whereby said first drum (20) is raised to clear the floor FF and simultaneously placing said second drum (22) in said first position (12) for rotation about said second axis positioned at an angle to said first axis; (d) rotating said second drum (22) about said second axis and applying first position components to said second drum (22); (e) rotating said first drum (20) about said first axis and applying second position components over said first position components on said first drum (20) in said second position (14) to complete a first tire carcass; (f) removing said first tire carcass from said drum (20); (g) moving said first drum (20) about said hub axis A-A which is inclined to the horizontal to said first position (14) on said supporting hub (18) and simultaneously moving said second drum (22) about said hub axis A-A to said second position (14) on said supporting turret hub (18); (h) rotating said second drum (22) about said second axis and applying second position components over said first position components on said second drum (22) in said second position (14) to complete a second tire carcass; and (i) and removing said second tire carcass from said second drum (22). The process of claim 1 wherein said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) are rotatably mounted on a turret hub (18) and placing said first drum (20) in said first position (14) includes oscillating said turret hub (18) to swing said first drum (20) into said first position (14). The process of claim 2 wherein said second drum (22) is in said second position (14) when said first drum (20) is in said first position (12) and moving said first drum (20) to said second position (14) and simultaneously placing said second drum (22) in said first position (12) includes oscillating said turret hub (18) to swing said first drum (20) from said first position (12) into said second position (14) and to swing said second drum (22) from said second position (14) into said first position (12). The process of claim 3 wherein said turret hub is rotatable about a generally horizontal hub axis A-A and said turret hub (18) is rotated 180 degrees to move said first drum (20) and said second drum (14) between said first position (12) and said second position (14). The process of claim 1 wherein said second station components include a belt and tread assembly (38) moveable axially over said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) in said second position (14), and said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) being expandable to urge said first station components into engagement with said belt and tread assembly (38). The process of claim 5 wherein the removing of said first tire carcass from said first drum (20) and removing said second tire carcass from said second drum (22) includes contracting said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) after application of said second station components. A tire building apparatus for building a tire carcass on a first drum (20) and a second drum (22) in fixed relation to each other at spaced apart positions, said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) being mounted on a rotatable hub (18) supported in a turret member (18), said first drum (20) being rotatable about a first axis, said second drum (22) being rotatable about a second axis, said hub (18) being rotatable about a hub axis A-A and said first axis, said second axis and said hub axis A-A being in the same plane to provide for interchangeable positioning of said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) upon rotation of said hub (18) about hub axis A-A characterized by said hub axis A-A being inclined to the horizontal during said interchangeable positioning of said first drum (20) and said second drum (22) and by said first axis being positioned at an angle to said second axis. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the angle of said first axis to said second axis is an angle of 90 degrees.

Inventors: BECKER MICHAEL LEE, BROYLES HENRY DAVID, CONGER KENNETH DEAN, HART JAMES MICHAEL, PECK ARLAND ARTHUR, STOKES JAMES DALE, TESTA DEAN CHARLES, BECKER, MICHAEL LEE, BROYLES, HENRY DAVID, CONGER, KENNETH DEAN, HART, JAMES MICHAEL, PECK, ARLAND ARTHUR, STOKES, JAMES DALE, TESTA, DEAN CHARLES
Applicants: GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER, THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B29D30
IPC codes: B29D30, B29K105, B29K21