Patent ID: 7001164

Claim:
A locking and unlocking mechanism of a post-curing inflator in which compressed gas is allowed to blow into a tire after it is cured, and the tire is cooled and molded in a state in which the tire is expanded, said locking and unlocking mechanism comprising: a pair of flanges for closing openings formed in left and right side surfaces of the tire, and a lock mechanism provided between said flanges for supporting an expansion load of the tire, wherein the flanges comprise a lower flange on which the tire is horizontally placed, and an upper flange disposed above the lower flange such that the upper flange can be hoisted and lowered, said lock mechanism comprises a male rod projecting from a surface of said lower flange, and a female mold of said upper flange with which a tip end of said male rod is engaged, an adjust mechanism for setting a length of said male rod is connected to a base portion of said male rod, said male rod is provided with a slide portion extended as the tire is expanded, the slide portion is slidably lowered by its own weight at the time of unlocking motion, a distance between said flanges is set in accordance with a width of the tire by said adjust mechanism, and an expansion load of said tire is supported by said male rod and said female mold.