Patent Description:
<CIT> describes a self-repairing safety tire, which comprises a tire, wherein a leak-proof tight-fitting layer is arranged on the inner wall of the tire, and the leak-proof tight-fitting layer is adhered to the inner wall of the tire; the leak-proof tight-fitting layer consists of the following components in parts by weight: <NUM>-<NUM> parts of modified rubber polymers, <NUM>-<NUM> parts of terpene resin, <NUM>-<NUM> parts of petroleum resin, <NUM>-<NUM> parts of naphthenic oil, <NUM>-<NUM> parts of wax, <NUM> part of an antioxidant, <NUM> parts of pigments and <NUM> parts of coupling agents. Tyres are important components of various vehicles. In use, a tyre directly contacts the road surface, withstands and absorbs the shock and vibration arising from the traveling of the vehicle, and ensures the vehicle to have a superior riding comfort and a favorable running smoothness. However, as the tyre is in direct contact with the ground, it may often be punctured by sharp objects (for example, nails, glass cullet and the like) on the road surface, resulting in air leakage, tyre burst, etc., which severely reduces the driving safety of vehicles.

In order to avoid these problems, various tyres such as explosion-proof tyres, puncture-proof tyres sprayed with hot-melt adhesives, and the like have been developed. The explosion-proof tyres, also known as run-flat tyres, are tyres capable of supporting the vehicle by tyre walls after the air in the tyres have been leaked, so as to allow the vehicle to continue running a distance.

The tyre walls of the explosion-proof tyres are thickened and reinforced, resulting in that the explosion-proof tyres are slightly hard, and thus reducing the ability of the tyres to absorb the impacts and vibrations and reducing the riding comfort of the vehicle.

The puncture-proof tyres sprayed with hot-melt adhesives have broad market prospects. When such tyres are punctured by sharp objects, the hot-melt adhesive layer thereon may close the openings punctured in the tyres, so the air may hardly or rarely escape from the tyres, avoiding the occurrence of possible accidents.

However, the current process for manufacturing such tyres (for example, the process for spraying hot-melt adhesives) is relatively backward. On one hand, the current process is not highly automated, in particular, the spraying operation requires deep intervention of operators and thus excessively depends on the experience of operators, resulting in insufficient operation precision and making it difficult to guarantee the spraying quality.

On the other hand, the current process requires a long cooling time in the spraying operation, resulting in that it takes a very long time to obtain a finished tyre, and resulting in that it is difficult to manufacture such tyres in a large-scale.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to improve the prior art process and system. According to the present invention said object is solved by a process for manufacturing an HSST tyre having the features of the independent claim <NUM>. Moreover, said object is also solved by a system for manufacturing an HSST tyre having the features of the independent claim <NUM>. Preferred embodiments are laid down in the dependent claims.

In a first aspect of the present invention, a process for manufacturing an HSST tyre is provided. The process may include: a cleaning step for cleaning a tyre to be treated to remove impurities on an inner liner of the tyre to be treated; a spraying step for spraying the heated high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre to be treated; and a forced-cooling step for forcibly cooling the tyre to be treated that has been sprayed with the high molecular organic material.

The cleaning step includes: a soaking procedure, in which the tyre to be treated is soaked in an alcohols solution or a graphitic solution for <NUM> seconds; a scrubbing procedure, in which the inner liner of the tyre to be treated is scrubbed for <NUM> seconds; a sprinkling procedure, in which the alcohols solution or a graphitic solution is sprinkled onto the tyre to be treated that has been scrubbed to rinse inner and outer sides of the tyre to be treated; an upright rotating procedure, in which the tyre to be treated that has been rinsed is brought into an upright rotating state at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm; an air-drying procedure, in which the alcohols solution or a graphitic solution on the tyre to be treated is evaporated with air-drying gases with the tyre to be treated being maintained in the upright rotating state at the rotational speed of <NUM> rpm, wherein the air-drying procedure lasts for <NUM> minutes.

The spraying step includes: a tyre-accelerating procedure, in which the tyre to be treated is maintained in the upright rotating state and the rotational speed is accelerated to <NUM> rpm; a spraying procedure, in which the heated high molecular organic material is sprayed onto the inner liner of the tyre to be treated in an amount of <NUM>/min so as to form on the inner liner of the tyre a layer of high molecular organic material having self-sealing functions, the heated high molecular organic material being at a temperature ranging from <NUM> to <NUM>; and a centrifugal-rotation-maintaining procedure, in which the tyre to be treated is kept in an upright rotating state at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm after the spraying is stopped until the temperature of the high molecular organic material is cooled down to <NUM> naturally, so as to enhance the adhesive and the uniformity of the layer of high molecular organic material.

In the forced-cooling step, the temperature of the layer of high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre to be treated is cooled to <NUM> within <NUM> minutes by using cooling gases, thereby forming the HSST tyre.

According to an embodiment, in the forced-cooling step, the tyre to be treated is maintained in an upright rotating state at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm.

According to an embodiment, in the forced-cooling step, the cooling gases are ejected onto the inner liner of the tyre to be treated at an ejection velocity of <NUM><NUM>/h.

According to an embodiment, in the forced-cooling step, the ejection velocity of the cooling gases is adjusted according to a cooling rate of the layer of high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre to be treated.

According to an embodiment, in the air-drying procedure of the cleaning step, the air-drying gases are fed at a feeding speed of <NUM><NUM>/h.

According to an embodiment, in the air-drying procedure of the cleaning step, waste gases generated in the air-drying procedure are sucked at a suction speed of <NUM><NUM>/h.

According to an embodiment, the waste gases generated in the air-drying procedure are treated to meet the emission standards.

According to an embodiment, the temperature of the air-drying gases is heated to about <NUM>. According to an embodiment, the air-drying gases are air.

According to an embodiment, the air-drying gases are forced to form a uniform convection by at least one gas circulation mechanism.

According to an embodiment, the cooling gases are air.

According to an embodiment, the process for manufacturing the HSST further comprises a heating step for heating the high molecular organic material ready for spraying to a use temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the heating step is performed concurrently with the cleaning step, the spraying step and the forced-cooling step.

According to an embodiment, the heating step includes: a preheating procedure, in which the high molecular organic material previously fed in a heating furnace is heated to <NUM>, an amount of the high molecular organic material previously fed being <NUM>% of a volume of the heating furnace; a feeding procedure, in which the high molecular organic material in the form of cube-shaped blocks is fed in the heating furnace at a predetermined speed; and a heating procedure performed concurrently with the feeding procedure, in which the temperature inside the heating furnace is maintained between <NUM> and <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the heating step further includes a delivering procedure for delivering the melted high molecular organic material, wherein in the delivering procedure, the melted high molecular organic material is heated and maintained at the use temperature.

According to an embodiment, the delivering procedure is performed concurrently with the feeding procedure and the heating procedure.

According to an embodiment, the high molecular organic material comprises <NUM>-<NUM>% of synthetic rubber, <NUM>-<NUM>% of petroleum resin, <NUM>-<NUM>% of naphthenic oil, <NUM>% of softner, and <NUM>% of antioxidant.

According to an embodiment, the alcohols solution is an isopropanol solution.

According to an embodiment, the high molecular organic material is sprayed on the inner liner of the tyre to be treated in a range of tread width of the tyre to be treated.

According to an embodiment, a thickness of the layer of the high molecular organic material is <NUM>.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a system for manufacturing an HSST is provided. The system may include: a cleaning station for cleaning a tyre to be treated to remove impurities on an inner liner of the tyre to be treated; a spraying station for spraying the heated high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre to be treated; and a forced-cooling station for forcibly cooling the tyre to be treated that has been sprayed with the high molecular organic material.

The cleaning station comprises: a soaking tank containing an alcohols solution or a graphitic solution for soaking the tyre to be treated; a scrubbing device for scrubbing the inner liner of the tyre to be treated, the scrubbing device including a brush for performing the scrubbing operation; a sprinkling device including a sprinkler head for sprinkling the alcohols solution or a graphitic solution onto the tyre to be treated that has been scrubbed o rinse inner and outer sides of the tyre to be treated; a tyre upright-rotating device comprising two spaced-apart rotatable rollers configured to rotate the tyre to be treated by friction between a surface of the tyre to be treated and the rotatable rollers; and an air chamber for evaporating the alcohols solution or a graphitic solution on the tyre to be treated with air-drying gases, an inlet end of the air chamber being provided with an air inlet for supplying the air-drying gases into the air chamber, and an outlet end of the air chamber being provided with an air outlet for discharging waste gases from the air chamber.

The spraying station includes: a tyre accelerating-and-maintaining device configured to accelerate the tyre to be treated to a predetermined rotational speed and maintain the tyre to be treated at the predetermined rotational speed; and a spraying device for spraying the heated high molecular organic material onto the inner liner of the tyre to be treated to form thereon a layer of high molecular organic material having self-sealing functions, the spraying device comprising a nozzle, and a delivery pipe connected to the nozzle for delivering the heated high molecular organic material to the nozzle.

The forced-cooling station includes: an air-cooling device for ejecting cooling gases to perform forced cooling, the air-cooling device including a body provided with a plurality of air outlets and a delivery pipe connected to the body; and a real-time temperature detecting device for detecting the real-time temperature on the inner liner of the tyre to be treated.

According to an embodiment, the scrubbing device is provided on a scrubbing platform, and a lifting device is provided on a side of the scrubbing platform for lifting and lowering the tyre to be treated and thus automatically loading and unloading the tyre to be treated.

According to an embodiment, the lifting device comprises a receiving component for receiving the tyre to be treated and a driving component for driving the receiving component.

According to an embodiment, the receiving component is configured as a plate comprising a plurality of sections which could be folded to a certain degree relative to each other, so as to receive and hold the tyre to be treated.

According to an embodiment, the driving component is configured as a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder having an extensible shaft.

According to an embodiment, the scrubbing platform is provided with a tyre-holding device comprising a blocking mechanism to constrain the tyre to be treated in four locations of an upper side, a lower side, a left side and a right side.

According to an embodiment, the blocking mechanism comprises a plurality of extensible posts.

According to an embodiment, the brush of the scrubbing device is configured to be movable in a width direction of the tyre to be treated.

According to an embodiment, the sprinkler head of the sprinkling device is configured to be movable in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction.

According to an embodiment, the scrubbing device is configured integrally with the sprinkling device.

According to an embodiment, the brush of the scrubbing device and the sprinkler head of the sprinkling device are mounted on the same movable support.

According to an embodiment, the air chamber is further provided therein with an upright rotation-maintaining mechanism comprising two spaced-apart rotatable rollers and a blocking mechanism disposed under the rotatable rollers, the blocking mechanism including a body and at least one extendable post disposed on the body.

According to an embodiment, the cleaning station is provided with a heater to heat the air-drying gases.

According to an embodiment, the heater is a temperature-controlled heater.

According to an embodiment, the nozzle of the spraying device is configured to be movable in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

According to an embodiment, the nozzle of the spraying device is configured to spray the high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre to be treated in a range of tread width of the tyre to be treated.

According to an embodiment, the air-cooling device is fixed to a robot and is movable along with the robot.

According to an embodiment, the body of the air-cooling device is configured to be rotational such that the cooling gases can be rotationally ejected.

According to an embodiment, the forced-cooling station includes a conveying device so that the tyre to be treated is conveyed towards the outlet of the forced-cooling station while being subjected to forced cooling.

According to an embodiment, the forced-cooling station includes a control device that adjusts a conveying speed of the conveying device and/or an air output of the air-cooling device based on real-time temperatures detected by the real-time temperature detection device, so that the tyre to be treated that has been sprayed with the high molecular organic material is cooled at a stable rate.

According to an embodiment, the real-time temperature detection device is configured as an infrared temperature sensing device.

According to an embodiment, the system for manufacturing the HSST further comprises a heating station for heating the high molecular organic material ready for spraying to a use temperature. The heating station includes: a heating furnace including a heating device and a stirring device; and a delivery pipe for delivering the melted high molecular organic material to the spraying device, wherein temperature sensors and heaters are provided at different locations of the delivery pipe to maintain the high molecular organic material at the use temperature. The above-mentioned features as well as the manner in which they are disclosed will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, in which several embodiments are shown. It should be understood, however, that the present invention may be implemented in many different ways and is not limited to the example embodiments described below. In fact, the embodiments described hereinafter are intended to make a more complete disclosure of the present invention and to adequately explain the protection scope of the present invention to a person skilled in the art. It should also be understood that, the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide many additional embodiments.

It should be understood that, the wording in the specification is only used for describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention.

All the terms used in the specification (including technical and scientific terms) have the meanings as normally understood by a person skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined.

For the sake of conciseness and/or clarity, well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail. The singular forms "a/an" and "the" as used in the specification, unless clearly indicated, all contain the plural forms. The words "comprising", "containing" and "including" used in the specification indicate the presence of the claimed features, but do not preclude the presence of one or more additional features.

The applicant has developed a high self-sealing tyre (also called "HSST tyre"), in which a self-sealing layer having memory function is formed evenly on a tread portion of the tyre using an intelligent composite material. This self-sealing layer has active self-sealing properties. When the HSST tyre is punctured by sharp objects, the intelligent composite material at the punctured position in the self-sealing layer may be reorganized immediately at the moment of extracting the sharp objects, resulting in the self-sealing of the tyre and thus ensuring that no air escapes from the tyre.

The self-sealing layer in the HSST tyre developed by the applicant forms an active pneumatic protection system, which guarantees the driving safety of vehicles equipped with such HSST tyres. The HSST tyre can withstand the piercing of a sharp object with a diameter less than or equal to <NUM> without secondary repair, and the intelligent composite material forming the self-sealing layer is not liquefied and does not flow and thus has a stable performance at temperature ranging from -<NUM> to <NUM>. Further, the intelligent composite material and the self-sealing layer formed thereby can effectively block acoustic waves from the ground and reduce noises, making it more comfortable to drive the vehicle equipped with the HSST tyres.

In order to achieve large-scale production of the HSST tyre as described above and guarantee the production quality, the applicant has further developed a process for manufacturing the HSST tyre and a system for carrying out such a process.

The process and the system substantially achieve the automation of all procedures without deep intervention of operators and thus without relying on the experience of the operators.

By accurately designing and controlling each step and procedure of the process, the process and the system may not only substantially shorten the time for manufacturing the HSST tyre, but also may guarantee the performance stability and consistency of the manufactured HSST tyre, thus making it possible to produce the HSST tyre in a large scale.

Referring to <FIG>, a process for manufacturing an HSST tyre according to the present invention and a system for carrying out the process will be described. It should be noted that the process for manufacturing the HSST tyre according to the present invention mainly focuses on the step of spraying and curing an intelligent composite material on inner liners of a tyre to be treated to form the HSST tyre.

In an embodiment, the intelligent composite material is a high molecular organic material. The high molecular organic material may comprise <NUM>-<NUM>% of synthetic rubber, <NUM>-<NUM>% of petroleum resin, <NUM>-<NUM>% of naphthenic oil, <NUM>% of softner, and <NUM>% of antioxidant.

The components of the high molecular organic material are chosen to achieve the following relationship between the flowability (viscosity) and the temperature of the high molecular organic material: the high molecular organic material is generally stagnant when the temperature is less than <NUM>; the Engler viscosity of the high molecular organic material is between <NUM>-<NUM> when the temperature is between <NUM>~<NUM>; and the Engler viscosity of the high molecular organic material is about <NUM> when the temperature is more than <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the process for manufacturing the HSST tyre according to the present invention may include a cleaning step <NUM>, a spraying step <NUM>, and a forced-cooling step <NUM>.

The cleaning step <NUM> will be described at first. A tyre <NUM> to be treated needs to be cleaned, so as to remove impurities such as oily release agent, glue, dust and the like remaining on an inner liner of the tyre <NUM>. The main component of the oily release agent is organosilicon. If the organosilicon is not completely removed from the inner liner of the tyre, it may form an isolating layer on the inner liner and thus may make the high molecular organic material hard to adhere on the surface of the inner liner.

Therefore, the cleaning step <NUM> is one of key steps that determine whether the high molecular organic material can be uniformly and firmly affixed to the inner liner of the tyre <NUM> and thus determine the performance stability of the final HSST tyre.

In an embodiment, the alcohols solution or the graphitic solution may be used for the cleaning. The alcohols solution may be an isopropanol solution, and the like.

The alcohols solution or the graphitic solution could break the silicon-oxygen bond (Si-O) in the oily release agent, make the oily release agent fall off from the inner liner of the tyre in a film form, and thus expose the rubber polymer surface of the inner liner of the tyre, so as to facilitate the easy adhesion of the intelligent composite material according to the present invention on the rubber polymer surface of the inner liner of the tyre.

In an embodiment, the cleaning step <NUM> may include the following procedures: a soaking procedure <NUM>, a scrubbing procedure <NUM>, a sprinkling procedure <NUM>, an upright rotating procedure <NUM>, and an air-drying procedure <NUM>.

All the procedures of the cleaning step <NUM> may be carried out in a cleaning station of the system for manufacturing the HSST tyre according to the present invention, which will be described in detail below.

In the soaking procedure <NUM>, both the inner and outer sides of the tyre <NUM> are soaked in the alcohols solution or the graphitic solution for <NUM> seconds, so as to remove the oily release agent remaining on the inner liner of the tyre <NUM>.

The soaking procedure <NUM> is carried out in a soaking tank provided in the cleaning station. The tyre <NUM> is conveyed into the soaking tank using an automatic conveying device disposed in front of the soaking tank.

The automatic conveying device may be configured to be of any suitable type. For example, the automatic conveying device may be an endless conveyor belt, the rear portion of which may be disposed above the soaking tank. When to be conveyed, the tyre <NUM> may be placed directly on the conveyor belt.

The automatic conveying device may also be a chain conveyor, which may include endless chains disposed on left and right sides of the conveyor and optionally a flexible support surface between the endless chains. When to be conveyed, the tyre <NUM> may ride on the endless chains of the left and right sides or be placed on the flexible support surface (if present). The automatic conveying device may be driven by any suitable motors, such as a stepper motor and the like.

Following the soaking procedure <NUM>, the scrubbing procedure <NUM> is performed. After the tyre <NUM> has been kept in the soaking tank for <NUM> seconds, the tyre <NUM> is taken out of the soaking tank with a robot and is then conveyed to a scrubbing device disposed in the cleaning station with an automatic convey device to scrub the inner liner of the tyre <NUM>, so as to continue to remove the impurities such as oily release agent, dust and the like remaining on the inner liner of the tyre <NUM>. The scrubbing procedure <NUM> may last for thirty seconds.

As shown in <FIG>, the scrubbing device is provided on a scrubbing platform <NUM> with a height from the ground. In order to convey the tyre <NUM> to the scrubbing device on the scrubbing platform <NUM> automatically, a lifting device <NUM> may be provide at a side of the scrubbing platform <NUM> for lifting and lowering the tyre and thus for loading and unloading the tyre automatically.

The lifting device <NUM> may comprise a receiving component <NUM> for receiving the tyre and a driving component <NUM> for driving the receiving component <NUM>. One end of the receiving component <NUM> is hinged to a frame of the scrubbing platform <NUM> at a height from the ground, and the other end of the receiving component <NUM> may contact the ground and may be lifted or lowered under the action of the driving component <NUM>, so as to load or unload the tyre. In an embodiment, the receiving component <NUM> may be configured as a plate.

The plate may be consisted of a plurality of sections which could be folded to a certain degree relative to each other, so as to receive and hold the tyre. For example, when receiving the tyre, one section of the plate that contacts with the ground may be laid flat on the ground, so that the tyre may be moved to the plate easily; and when the tyre has been moved to the plate, the section of the plate that contacts with the ground may be folded to a certain degree to form a recess for receiving and holding the tyre (as shown in <FIG>), which could prevent the tyre from falling in the process of lifting and lowering.

In an embodiment, the driving component <NUM> may be configured to have an extensible shaft (such as in the form of a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder).

One end of the driving component <NUM> is hinged to the frame of the scrubbing platform <NUM> in a location close to the ground, and the other end of the driving component <NUM> is hinged to the receiving component <NUM> in a location far away from both ends of the receiving component <NUM>.

Thus, when the shaft of the driving component <NUM> is extended, the receiving component <NUM> could be lifted to load the tyre onto the scrubbing platform <NUM>; and when the shaft of the driving component <NUM> is retracted, the receiving component <NUM> could be lowered to unload the tyre from the scrubbing platform <NUM>. The driving component <NUM> could also be configured to have any other suitable form.

A tyre-holding device <NUM> may also be provide on the scrubbing platform <NUM>. The tyre-holding device <NUM> is configured to prevent the tyre <NUM> from bouncing or falling down while maintaining the rotation of the tyre <NUM>. The tyre-holding device <NUM> may comprise a driving mechanism <NUM> for driving the tyre into rotation and a blocking mechanism <NUM> for preventing the tyre from bouncing or falling down.

As shown in <FIG>, the driving mechanism <NUM> may comprise two spaced-apart rotatable rollers <NUM>. The tyre <NUM> may be positioned on the rotatable rollers <NUM> uprightly and could be rotated by the rotatable rollers <NUM>.

The blocking mechanism <NUM> could be provided on the both sides of the tyre <NUM> (only the blocking mechanism <NUM> positioned on the right side of the tyre <NUM> is shown in <FIG>) to prevent the tyre <NUM> from bouncing or falling down.

As shown in <FIG>, The blocking mechanism <NUM> may comprise a body <NUM> and at least one extensible post <NUM> provided on the body <NUM>. The extensible post <NUM> may move between an extended configuration in which the extensible post <NUM> could stop and prevent the tyre <NUM> from bouncing in a direction along the length of the rotatable roller <NUM> or falling down and a retracted configuration in which the extensible post <NUM> does not stop the tyre <NUM> and thus the tyre <NUM> could move in the direction along the length of the rotatable roller <NUM>.

The extensible post <NUM> could be driven by a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>). A portion of the extensible post <NUM> that contacts with the tyre <NUM> may be configured to be rotatable around a central axis of the extensible post, so that the friction force between the tyre and the extensible post <NUM> may be reduced during the rotation of the tyre <NUM>.

The blocking mechanism <NUM> may be arranged under the rotatable roller <NUM>. In this situation, the blocking mechanism <NUM> may be provide with a recess <NUM> through which the rotatable roller <NUM> extends.

As shown in <FIG>, in an embodiment, the blocking mechanism <NUM> is configured to comprise a plurality of extensible posts <NUM>. The plurality of extensible posts <NUM> may constrain the tyre <NUM> from four locations of an upper side, a lower side, a left side and a right side, which could limit the bouncing of the tyre in the left to right direction and in the up to down direction. This is particularly beneficial for a tyre with a bad roundness or a tyre with a poor homogeneity due to the tread wear.

Since the blocking mechanism <NUM> with such a configuration could avoid the bouncing in the left to right direction and in the up to down direction caused by the defects of the tyre itself, the consistency and the accuracy of the scrubbing procedure as well as the subsequent spraying procedure could be guaranteed.

The scrubbing device may include a brush for performing a scrubbing operation. The brush performs the scrubbing operation with the tyre <NUM> rotating, so that the whole inner surface the tyre <NUM> could be scrubbed.

The brush may be configured to be automatically moved in a width direction of the tyre (i.e., in an axial direction), so that the inner liner of the tyre <NUM> may be scrubbed by the brush along the entire width of the tyre <NUM>. In an embodiment, the brush may be mounted on a movable support, such as a support rod. The movement of the support rod may be controlled by a control device, so as to drive the brush to be moved. The brush may also be configured to be rotatable about its own central axis to facilitate the scrubbing. The bristles of the brush may be made of nylon.

Following the scrubbing procedure <NUM>, the sprinkling procedure <NUM> is performed. The sprinkling procedure <NUM> is configured to sprinkle the alcohols solution or the graphitic solution onto the tyre <NUM> that has been scrubbed, so as to rinse the inner and outer sides of the tyre <NUM>.

The sprinkling procedure <NUM> is performed with a sprinkler head. The sprinkler head may be configured to be movable in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, so as to sprinkle the inner and outer sides of the entire tyre <NUM>. Like the brush, the sprinkler head may also be mounted on a movable support such as a support rod. The movement of the support may be controlled by a control device to drive the sprinkler head to move in the vertical and horizontal directions.

The sprinkler head may be configured to be disposed on a separate sprinkling device or may be configured to be disposed on the aforementioned scrubbing device.

In the embodiment where the sprinkler head is configured to be disposed on the scrubbing device, the brush and the sprinkler head may be mounted on the same support and the movement of the brush and sprinkler head may be controlled with the same control device.

In addition, it is also possible to integrate the brush and the sprinkler head in a single component such that this single component has double functions of scrubbing and sprinkling. Such configurations may simplify the system according to the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the brush and the sprinkler head may be mounted on different supports and controlled separately with different control devices, which may endow the system according to the present invention with greater flexibility.

Following the sprinkling procedure <NUM>, the upright rotating procedure <NUM> is performed. The upright rotating procedure <NUM> is configured to bring the tyre <NUM> into an upright rotating state at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm. The upright rotating procedure <NUM> may be performed on a tyre uprightly-rotating device. The tyre <NUM> may be transferred from a previous device to the tyre uprightly-rotating device using a robot.

The tyre uprightly-rotating device may be configured to include two spaced-apart rotatable rollers. The tyre <NUM> is erected between the two spaced-apart rotatable rollers and is brought into rotation by the latter via a friction between the surface of the tyre and the rotatable rollers.

A conveyor belt may be placed below the rotatable rollers. The conveyor belt may be configured to move along a length direction of the rotatable rollers, such that the tyre <NUM>, while being kept in rotation, can be moved along the length direction of the rotatable rollers and be further conveyed into the air chamber for the next air-drying procedure <NUM>. Specifically, the conveyor belt may be configured to be in contact with a bottom portion of the tyre <NUM> to generate a frictional force, by which the tyre <NUM> is moved along the length direction of the rotatable rollers while being kept rotated.

The rotational speed of the rotatable rollers and the speed of movement of the conveyor belt may be adjusted by a control device, such that the tyre <NUM> may reach a rotational speed of about <NUM> rpm when conveyed to the inlet of the air chamber. This may save and optimize the duration of the whole process.

After the tyre <NUM> is conveyed into the air chamber, the air-drying procedure <NUM> is performed. The air-drying procedure <NUM> is configured to evaporate the alcohols solution or the graphitic solution on the tyre <NUM>.

An inlet end of the air chamber is provided with an air inlet for feeding air-drying gases into the air chamber, and an outlet end of the air chamber is provided with an air outlet for discharging waste gases from the air chamber.

In an embodiment, the air-drying gases are fed into the air chamber at a speed of <NUM><NUM>/h via the air inlet.

This may be done using a suitable source of pressurized gas or a suitable pumping mechanism. The air-drying gases may be air or any other suitable gases. A heater may be provided to heat the air-drying gases. The heater is configured to heat the air-drying gases to about <NUM> prior to being fed to the air chamber, so as to accelerate the air-drying procedure of the tyre <NUM>. The heater may be a temperature-controlled heater.

In order to form a uniform convection of the air-drying gases in the air chamber, a gas circulation mechanism for promoting circulation of the air-drying gases may be provided in the air chamber. The gas circulation mechanism may be configured to be of any suitable type. For example, the gas circulation mechanism may be configured to a circulating fan. In an embodiment, a plurality of gas circulation mechanisms may be disposed in the air chamber. For example, there may be one gas circulation mechanism every <NUM> meters.

The waste gases may be withdrawn from the air chamber via the air outlet at a speed of <NUM><NUM>/h with a suction mechanism. As the isopropanol solution which is a flammable organic substance is used in both soaking procedure <NUM> and the sprinkling procedure <NUM>, the waste gases withdrawn from the air chamber shall be introduced into a waste gas recovery device for treatment, such that the waste gases may meet relevant emission standards.

In a preferred embodiment, while the air-drying procedure <NUM> is performed in the air chamber, the tyre <NUM> is still kept in the upright rotating state at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm. An upright rotation-maintaining mechanism for maintaining the tyre <NUM> in the upright rotation station, which is similar to the tyre-holding device <NUM>, may be provided in the air chamber.

In an embodiment, thorough drying of the tyre <NUM> may be fulfilled in the air chamber within <NUM> minutes. On the contrary, it will take about <NUM> minutes to air-dry the tyre by conventional methods. Therefore, the air-drying procedure <NUM> according to the present invention substantially reduces the time taken to air-dry the tyre <NUM>, and thus significantly improves the production efficiency.

The tyre <NUM> that has been air-dried is conveyed to a spraying station of the system for manufacturing the HSST tyre according to the present invention to implement the spraying step <NUM>, such that the heated high molecular organic material may be sprayed on the inner liner of the tyre <NUM>.

The spraying step <NUM> may include the following procedures: a tyre-accelerating procedure <NUM>, a spraying procedure <NUM>, and a centrifugal-rotation-maintaining procedure <NUM>.

In the tyre-accelerating procedure <NUM>, the tyre <NUM> is accelerated to reach and be kept at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm. This aims to create a sufficient centrifugal force in the tyre <NUM>, such that the sprayed high molecular organic material can be evenly spread over the inner liner of the tyre. The tyre-accelerating procedure <NUM> may be implemented with a tyre accelerating-and-maintaining device.

The tyre accelerating-and-maintaining device may be configured as a rotatable roller like the rotatable rollers <NUM>. A control device may be used to adjust the rotational speed of the tyre accelerating-and-maintaining device and, after the tyre <NUM> is accelerated to a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm, maintain the tyre <NUM> at this speed.

After the tyre <NUM> reaches the rotational speed of <NUM> rpm, the rotational speed is maintained and the spraying procedure <NUM> is performed to spray the heated high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre.

When performing the spraying procedure <NUM>, the high molecular organic material has been heated to a temperature higher than <NUM>, and preferably between <NUM>~<NUM>. The applicant finds in practice that, by heating the high molecular organic material to a temperature higher than <NUM> and preferably between <NUM>~<NUM>, the Engler viscosity of the high molecular organic material could be maintained around <NUM>.

In this situation, the high molecular organic material could be sprayed evenly on the inner liner of the tyre by rotating the tyre <NUM> rapidly, and thus an even and smooth layer of the high molecular organic material is formed. In an embodiment, the high molecular organic material is sprayed with an amount of <NUM> kilogram per minute. The thickness of the layer of the high molecular organic material is controlled in <NUM> centimeter.

The spraying procedure <NUM> is implemented with a spraying device <NUM>. The spraying device <NUM> may be configured to include a nozzle <NUM> and a delivery pipe connected to the nozzle. The delivery pipe is adapted to deliver the heated high molecular organic material to the nozzle so that the high molecular organic material may be ejected through the nozzle.

The delivery pipe may be configured as a flexible delivery pipe. The nozzle may be configured to be movable in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. For example, the nozzle may be mounted on a movable support, such as a support rod, for movement therewith.

As shown in <FIG>, in an embodiment, the nozzle <NUM> carries out a spraying operation at a height above the inner liner of the tyre (such as <NUM> centimeters). An infrared distancer <NUM> could be provided in the front end of the spraying device, so as to accurately position the nozzle during the spraying operation. In addition, the nozzle <NUM> may also reciprocate along a width direction (i.e. an axial direction) of the tyre at a speed (such as <NUM>/sec) while carrying out the spraying operation, such that the spraying operation may be implemented on the inner liner of the tyre over the entire tread width L of the tyre.

Laser locators <NUM> could also be provided on both sides of the spraying device to accurately determine the moving distance of the nozzle in the width direction of the tyre, so as to guarantee that the high molecular organic material will not be sprayed in a location beyond the tread width L of the tyre. Furthermore, the laser locators <NUM> may also be used to position the nozzle <NUM> in the center of the tyre at the initial spraying stage.

By spraying the high molecular organic material on the inner liner of tyre only in a range of the tread width L of the tyre the following advantages could be achieved: as shown in <FIG>, since the tread surface of the tyre is perpendicular to the ground when travelling, the high molecular organic material sprayed in the tread width L is also perpendicular to the ground, which could guarantee that the centrifugal force F generated by the rotation of the tyre will not drag the high molecular organic material away from its initial position to result in a poor dynamic balance.

If the high molecular organic material is sprayed in a range beyond the tread width L of the tyre, the centrifugal force F generated by the rotation of the tyre will generate a lateral component F1 in the high molecular organic material, which will drag the high molecular organic material to the both sides of the tyre and will result in the deformation of the layer of the high molecular organic material, so that the homogeneity as well as the dynamic balance of the coating of the high molecular organic material will be compromised.

With the aid of the automatic position of the laser locator <NUM>, the accuracy of the spraying operation is dramatically improved, and thus the consistency and stability of the coating quality are guaranteed.

Following the spraying procedure <NUM>, the centrifugal-rotation-maintaining procedure <NUM> is performed, which may be carried out on the tyre accelerating-and-maintaining device.

In the centrifugal-rotation-maintaining procedure <NUM>, the nozzle is first moved out of the tyre <NUM> while the tyre <NUM> is kept on rotating in an upright rotating state with a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm, so that the high molecular organic material sprayed on the inner liner of the tyre <NUM> is allowed to uniformly flow on the inner liner of the tyre <NUM> by means of centrifugal force but not be deposited on the bottom of the tyre before being cooled, thereby ensuring the spraying uniformity of the high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre <NUM>.

In addition, the carbon chain of the high molecular organic material according to the present invention, which is broken in the high temperature, will be re-connected in the low temperature, so that the centrifugal force generated by the rotation in the process of the cooling of the high molecular organic material will make the molecular arrangement of the high molecular organic material become more orderly and thus generate a more stable structure as well as an improved ability of self-memory, as shown in <FIG>.

When the temperature of the high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre <NUM> is cooled down to about <NUM> naturally in the centrifugal-rotation-maintaining procedure <NUM>, the adhesion of the high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre is generally completed.

At this time, while being kept in the upright rotating state, the tyre <NUM> may be conveyed to a forced-cooling station of the system for manufacturing the HSST tyre according to the present invention to implement the forced-cooling step <NUM> to expedite the cooling of the tyre <NUM>.

The tyre <NUM> may be conveyed to the forced-cooling station by a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt may be placed below the rotatable roller. The speed of movement of the conveyor belt may be adjusted by a control device, such that the tyre <NUM> is conveyed to the cooling station in a predetermined time period (such as <NUM> minutes).

The forced-cooling step <NUM> may include the following procedures: an air-cooling device setting up procedure <NUM>, a forced-cooling procedure <NUM>, and an adjusting procedure <NUM>. The air-cooling device setting up procedure <NUM> is configured to set up the position of an air-cooling device with respect to the tyre <NUM>.

In an embodiment, the air-cooling device may be configured to include a body provided with a plurality of air outlets, and a delivery pipe connected to the body. The delivery pipe is adapted to deliver cooling gases to the body so that the cooling gases may be ejected through the air outlets. The air-cooling device may be fixed to a robot and move therewith.

The body of the air-cooling device may be configured to be rotational, such that the cooling gases can be rotationally ejected, which may accelerate the cooling of the tyre <NUM>.

In the air-cooling device setting up procedure <NUM>, the air-cooling device may be moved by the robot to the inside of the tyre, so as to be positioned at a height of <NUM> above the inner liner of the tyre <NUM> and at a middle position in the width direction of the tyre <NUM>. Further, the air outlets of the air-cooling device are configured to face the inner liner of the tyre <NUM>.

In the air-cooling device setting up procedure <NUM>, the tyre <NUM> sprayed with the high molecular organic material is always kept in an upright rotating state at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm. This may be implemented by an upright rotation-maintaining mechanism the same as the upright rotation-maintaining mechanism, and thus will not be described herein.

Following the air-cooling device setting up procedure <NUM>, the forced-cooling procedure <NUM> is performed. In the forced-cooling procedure <NUM>, the air-cooling device ejects the cooling gases at a speed of <NUM><NUM>/h to cool the layer of high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre <NUM>. During the cooling, the air-cooling device and the tyre <NUM> also move toward an outlet of the forced-cooling station at the same speed with the relative position of the air-cooling device and the tyre <NUM> being maintained. This may be done with a conveying device, such as a conveyor belt.

The adjusting procedure <NUM> may be implemented concurrently with the forced-cooling procedure <NUM>. The adjusting procedure <NUM> is configured to adjust parameters such as the conveying speed of the conveying device and the air output of the air-cooling device, so that the tyre can be conveyed to the outlet of the forced-cooling station just about three minutes later, and meantime the temperature of the high molecular organic material on the inner liner of the tyre may be lowered to <NUM>.

In order to fulfill the adjustments, a plurality of real-time temperature detecting devices may be provided at a plurality of different positions of the forced-cooling station, so as to detect the inner liner temperature of the tyre when the latter is moved to a respective position.

Reference temperature at each position may be set in advance. When the tyre <NUM> is moved to a position, the real-time temperature detecting device disposed at this position detects the real-time temperature of the tyre <NUM> and transmits the detected real-time temperature to the control device, which compares the real-time temperature with the reference temperature at this position.

If a difference between the real-time temperature and the reference temperature at this position exceeds a threshold, the control device adjusts the conveying speed of the conveyor belt and/or the air output of the air-cooling device, so that the cooling rate of the tyre <NUM> may meet a predetermined requirement.

The control device may calculate an amount of adjustment with a corresponding algorithm. For example, the control device may calculate the amount of adjustment with an interpolation algorithm, and then adjust the conveying speed of the conveyor belt and/or the air output of the air-cooling device based on the calculated amount of adjustment. Of course, the control device may also calculate the amount of adjustment with other algorithms.

In an embodiment, the real-time temperature detecting device may be configured as an infrared temperature sensing device.

The adjusting procedure <NUM> can, on one hand, ensure that the tyre <NUM> sprayed with the high molecular organic material has a stable cooling rate, thereby guaranteeing the performance stability and consistency of the manufactured HSST tyre; and on the other hand, ensure that each step of the process and the system may be completed within a predetermined period of time, which may guarantee the controllability of the operation of the entire system.

In addition, with the forced-air cooling step <NUM>, the time taken to cool the tyre is also shortened from the conventional duration of about <NUM>-<NUM> minutes to <NUM> minutes, which significantly improves the production efficiency.

When the tyre <NUM> sprayed with the high molecular organic material is cooled to below <NUM> in the forced-cooling station, the tyre <NUM> may be removed from the conveyor belt and kept in an environment of not higher than <NUM> for <NUM> hours, in order to sufficiently stabilize the properties of the high molecular organic material and form the final HSST tyre <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the forced-cooling station may be provided with a lifting device <NUM> as shown in <FIG> to unload the tyre <NUM> from the conveyor. According to another embodiment, the forced-cooling station may be provided with a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder having an extensible shaft. With the aid of the extensible shaft of the hydraulic cylinder or the pneumatic cylinder, the tyre may be pushed down from the conveyor.

Returning to <FIG>, the process for manufacturing the HSST tyre according to the present invention may further include a heating step <NUM> for heating the high molecular organic material <NUM> to a use temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>.

The heating step <NUM> is performed in a heating station.

The heating step <NUM> may be performed concurrently with the cleaning step <NUM>, the spraying step <NUM> and the forced-cooling step <NUM> of the tyre <NUM> as described above.

The heating step <NUM> may include the following procedures: a preheating procedure <NUM>, a feeding procedure <NUM>, and a heating procedure <NUM>.

The preheating procedure <NUM> is configured to preheat the high molecular organic material previously fed in a heating furnace, and the amount of the high molecular organic material previously fed is about <NUM>% of a volume of the heating furnace. The preheating procedure may be performed prior to the cleaning step <NUM> of the tyre <NUM>.

In the preheating procedure <NUM>, a heating device is started firstly to heat the high molecular organic material in the heating furnace to <NUM>. Then, a stirring device is started to agitate the high molecular organic material, so that the high molecular organic material may be uniformly heated. When the high molecular organic material in the heating furnace is heated to <NUM>, the preheating procedure <NUM> is completed.

After the preheating procedure <NUM> is completed, the feeding procedure <NUM> is performed. In the feeding procedure <NUM>, the packaged high molecular organic material <NUM> is cut into cube-shaped blocks of <NUM> x <NUM> x <NUM>. The cube-shaped blocks are fed into the heating furnace at a speed of <NUM> minutes/block in a state where the high molecular organic material in the heating furnace reaches the temperature of <NUM>.

The heating procedure <NUM> may be performed concurrently with the feeding procedure <NUM>. In the heating procedure <NUM>, the temperature inside the heating furnace is maintained between <NUM> and <NUM> using an automatic temperature control device, and the stirring device is rotated at a speed of <NUM> rpm to uniformly agitate the high molecular organic material in the heating furnace. In an embodiment, the heating furnace has a capacity of about <NUM> liters and requires a heating power of about <NUM> kW/hr.

A delivering procedure may be carried out concurrently with the feeding procedure <NUM> and the heating procedure <NUM>. In the delivering procedure, a delivery pipe may be used to deliver the melted high molecular organic material to the spraying device, so as to implement the spraying step <NUM>. In an embodiment, the diameter of the delivery pipe may be configured to be <NUM>.

In order to ensure that the temperature of the high molecular organic material does not decrease during the delivering procedure, temperature sensors and heaters may be disposed at different positions of the delivery pipe, so that the high molecular organic material may be maintained at the temperature ranging from <NUM> to <NUM> when ejected from the nozzle of the spraying device.

In an embodiment, there is one temperature sensor and one heater for every <NUM> along the length of the delivery pipe. In an embodiment, the temperature sensor and the heater may be replaced with a temperature-controlled heater having both temperature sensing and heating functions, so as to simplify the system.

In an embodiment, different control devices may be provided to control the operation of corresponding devices in different stations.

However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a central controller capable of simultaneously controlling and/or regulating the operation of each device in all the stations may be provided in the system for manufacturing the HSST tyre according to the present invention.

The process and the system for manufacturing the HSST tyre according to the present invention may achieve the following advantages:.

Claim 1:
A process for manufacturing an HSST tyre (<NUM>), comprising:
a cleaning step (<NUM>) for cleaning a tyre (<NUM>) to be treated;
a spraying step (<NUM>) for spraying a high molecular organic material on an inner liner of the tyre (<NUM>),
a forced-cooling step (<NUM>) for forcibly cooling the tyre (<NUM>) that has been sprayed with the high molecular organic material, wherein
the cleaning step (<NUM>) includes:
a soaking procedure (<NUM>), in which the tyre (<NUM>) is soaked in an alcohol solution for <NUM> seconds;
a scrubbing procedure (<NUM>), in which the inner liner of the tyre (<NUM>) is scrubbed for <NUM> seconds;
a sprinkling procedure (<NUM>), in which the alcohol solution is sprinkled onto the tyre (<NUM>) that has been scrubbed;
an upright rotating procedure (<NUM>), in which the tyre (<NUM>) is brought into an upright rotating state at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm; and
an air-drying procedure (<NUM>), in which the alcohol solution on the tyre (<NUM>) is evaporated with air-drying gases while keeping the tyre (<NUM>) in the upright rotating state at the rotational speed of <NUM> rpm, wherein the air-drying procedure (<NUM>) lasts for <NUM> minutes;
characterized in that
the spraying step (<NUM>) includes:
a tyre-accelerating procedure (<NUM>), in which the tyre (<NUM>) to be treated is maintained in the upright rotating state and the rotational speed is accelerated to <NUM> rpm;
a spraying procedure (<NUM>), in which the high molecular organic material, being heated at least <NUM>, is sprayed onto the inner liner of the tyre (<NUM>) in an amount of <NUM>/min while keeping the tyre (<NUM>) in the upright rotating state, thereby a high molecular organic material layer having self-sealing functions is formed on the inner liner of the tyre (<NUM>); and
a centrifugal-rotation-maintaining procedure (<NUM>), in which the tyre (<NUM>) is kept in an upright rotating state at a rotational speed of <NUM> rpm until the temperature of the high molecular organic material is cooled down to at least <NUM> naturally, so as to enhance the adhesive and the uniformity of the high molecular organic material layer; wherein
in the forced-cooling step (<NUM>), the temperature of the high molecular organic material layer on the inner liner of the tyre (<NUM>) is cooled to lower than <NUM> using cooling gases.