ES2292532T3 - PROCEDURE AND APPLIANCE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TIRES. - Google Patents

Abstract

Procedure for providing a semi-finished product (2) made of elastomeric material towards an assembly and / or handling station of semi-finished products, said product (2) being supported on a release fabric (5) and stored in concentric turns in a coil for storage (6) by associating the release fabric (5) with the semi-finished product (2) before storing the semi-finished product (2) in said coil (6), the process comprising the steps of: a) carrying out a unwinding braking of said turns from said storage coil (6); b) detaching said release tissue (5) from said semi-finished product (2) by imposing said tissue (5) and said semi-finished product (2) from different directions of advancement; c) leading said release fabric (2) towards a collection bar (20), said bar (20) being rotated about the axis thereof by means of motor means (21); d) driving said semi-finished product (2) to said assembly and / or handling station of the semi-finished products; e) applying to said release fabric (5) an attractive force adapted to carry out said braking unwinding, said force being applied at an intermediate point in the path of said fabric (5) between said coil (6) and said bar (twenty).

Description

Procedure and apparatus for manufacturing tires

The present invention relates to a procedure to provide a semi-finished product made of elastomeric material used to make an article of rubber.

More in particular, the present invention is refers to a procedure to provide a product semi-finished on the surface of a mounting drum used to make a rubber article.

Even more particularly, the present invention refers to a procedure to provide a product semi-finished used in a procedure for the manufacture of a tire.

On the other hand, the invention relates to a apparatus for providing said semi-finished product.

In this description and in the following claims, the expression "product semi-finished "indicates an elongated element, that is, it has a preponderant dimension (length) with respect to the other two dimensions (width and thickness), made of elastomeric material, which has a constant thickness or a variable thickness along a transverse direction with respect to the same semi-finished product, used - together with other elements - as components of A rubber item.

Said semi-finished product may be a tape, that is an element consisting solely of material elastomeric, or a band, that is an element comprising strands, ropes, fibers or other reinforcing elements at least partially included within a tape of said material elastomeric

It is indicated here that the expression "material elastomeric "indicates the rubber mixture as a whole, that is, the mixture formed by at least one polymer base suitably mixed with reinforcing fillers and / or process additives different types.

In general, a tire comprises: a housing of toroidal reinforcement comprising at least one fabric housing that has ends associated with a pair of heel cables that form the reinforcement of the heels, that is, portions of the tire attached to the wheel rim; a pair of flanks, made of elastomeric material and superimposed on said fabric of housing in laterally opposite positions; a band crown of rolling arranged around said housing, and a structure of reinforcement, known as a waist structure, arranged between the carcass fabric mentioned above and the tread.

In the procedures for the manufacture of tires known in the art, the elastomeric material as such is used, for example, to produce the flanks, the band of rolling and air-tight layer, technically called lining, which internally covers a tire's casing without a camera, that is, it does not require the use of an air chamber. On the other hand, the coating is generally coupled to a additional layer that has a limited thickness, also of material elastomeric, which fulfills the function of facilitating adhesion between the coating itself and the shell fabric.

An additional element made entirely of elastomeric material and mainly used in manufacturing of a giant tire; that is, a tire used in heavy or similar vehicles, is the so-called padding under the waist, which consists of an elastomeric tape that has a thickness quite considerable, which, once mounted, is located between the shell fabric and the ends of the waist structure.

In a giant type tire, the edges of heel reinforcement, shell fabric and waist structure they comprise, on the other hand, a reinforcement structure included in the elastomeric material, said structure being constituted by a plurality of textile or metal strands or ropes arranged at appropriate angles to the circumferential direction of the tire.

All these semi-finished products are produced usually as continuous bands and stored in coils before Your next use.

During the manufacturing process of a pneumatic, the semi-finished products mentioned above are they supply, according to a specific sequence of stages, a machine assembly which generally comprises at least one drum of assembly on which these products are arranged and mounted semi-finished with each other to form the finished tire.

Said assembly machine is served by a plurality of auxiliary devices (feeders) adapted for feed the mounting drum with all the different types of semi-finished products required in the procedure of mounting.

In general, semi-finished products are unwound by respective storage coils and feeding, and conducted on said drums where it is achieved manual or automatic placement of a first end of the product semi-finished, or the first ends in the case of unwinding simultaneous more bands of material, such as for example flanks and fillings under the belt.

Once said first end has been arranged on the surface of the mounting drum, the drum is rotated until that it gets a partial winding of a product semi-finished on the generally cylindrical surface of the drum mounting

Said rotation is not done completely, of so that the semi-finished product can undergo a custom cutting operation and can then join, manual or automatically, by coupling the second end, obtained by means of said cutting operation, at the first end previously attached to the surface of the drum. This union of first and second ends may be of the end union type, or it may comprise a partial overlapping of the ends to what length of a portion of limited length.

In general, in the case of manufacturing a giant tire, the procedure involves, in order, the placement of the flanks, the lining, the edges, the fabric of casing and low waist fillers on a first drum called drum of "first stage" (in which also takes out the placement of the pair of heel cables), while the Waist structure and tread are supplied and placed on the housing after the latter has formed toroidally on a second drum, called "second drum" stage ", after which the raw tire is already completed and ready to undergo a procedure of vulcanization at the end of which the tire is obtained finished.

The manufacturing procedures of semi-finished products, either when they are made only of elastomeric material or when they include a reinforcement, include a stage of association of said products semi-finished to at least one protective sheet adapted for keep the surface of the semi-finished product as free as possible of dust or other impurities with which said elements may come into contact during traditional storage and / or the transport stages, to preserve the adhesiveness of said semi-finished products, which is essential for reciprocal mounting next.

In prior art procedures, said protective sheet, generally defined as "fabric of release ", consists mainly of a textile material, such such as Meraclon®, and it is usually coupled to the semi-finished product, manufactured in a continuous way, for example by extrusion, die cutting or profiling, following said manufacturing stage

The semi-finished product, associated with the tissue of release, it is then wrapped in concentric turns around of a cylindrical surface, such as the core of a storage coil; said storage coils, loaded each with a specific semi-finished product, then charged to the assembly machine, arranged in particular in the apparatus for providing said semi-finished products to said drums of assembly mentioned above.

During the assembly procedure of a pneumatic, each semi-finished product is unwound from the corresponding storage coil and detaches from the fabric of release, to which the semi-finished product has been coupled previously, so that only the semi-finished product continues its path to the mounting drum while the fabric of release is recovered to be reused.

This description refers to a procedure to provide a semi-finished product made of elastomeric material and an apparatus to achieve said operation as foreseen in the procedure of mounting a tire. Plus in particular, the present description refers to the stage of detached from the release fabric of the semi-finished product, when which tissue is attached. The operational techniques of drums mentioned above and, in general, of a mounting machine as a whole they will not be described below because they are known in the art and are not relevant to the purposes of The present invention.

Let the applicant know, the prior art describes performing said procedure of detaching a tissue from release of a semi-finished product of elastomeric material by using a detachment device, such as for example an idle roller. More in detail, the product semi-finished, coupled to the release tissue, unwinds from its corresponding storage coil and is carried on the surface of said detachment element, where a sudden change of direction of the release tissue with respect to the transport direction of the semi-finished product, to facilitate the detachment of the release tissue from the semi-finished product. He release tissue is then led to a device collection, usually a bar, which rotates by means of a motor.

In said prior art procedure, It is the aforementioned motorized bar that extracts the product semi-finished storage coil, exerting an action of traction directly on the release tissue, separating the same of the release tissue and pushing it towards the drum mounting

To regulate the supply procedure, the storage coil mentioned above is interconnected with a braking device in such a way that, during unwinding and as a consequence of the variation in the quantity of product semi-finished wound around the coil and therefore the weight thereof, the coil does not undergo substantial changes in its speed of rotation and, more particularly, does not increase its speed, thus causing an accumulation of the semi-finished product before said idle roller, serving as counterweight, at least partially, to the tensile action exerted by the bar pickup and making the takeoff procedure harder before mentioned.

Moreover, the tissue collection bar release is properly controlled by a device of control or clutch, so that when the tissue mass of release rolled around the surface of the bar will increases, the speed of said pickup bar can be varied in time to ensure a traction action substantially constant on the release tissue, to extract the product Semi-finished above mentioned as uniformly as possible.

In other words, product supply Semi-finished to the mounting drum is controlled by traction exerted on the release tissue by said bar motorized collection.

Within the framework of the procedures of known supply of this class, US 4,580,738 indicates unwind a thin coating material in a band of elastic plastic material from a supply roller, directing the coating material around a roller detached mounted on the distal end of an oscillating arm mounted adjacent to the supply roller and on a roller inactive placed in a position that results in a component of force acting on the tension arm in the cladding it is in the direction of the supply roller to drive the peel roller against the supply roller.

JP Japanese patent application 60-089344, on the other hand, describes an apparatus that allows to feed a rubber material accompanied by a drum coating alternately placing the surface upper and lower surface of the rubber material on the drum. At this point, the rubber material separates from the coating on a roller and then sticks directly to the drum or passes along an inversion roller that rotates the material of rubber.

The applicant has perceived that, to preserve the dimensional and structural characteristics of a product semi-finished, which is in plastic state and therefore easily deformable, the supply of said semi-finished product from a respective storage coil must be carried out of way to avoid stretching on the product semi-finished itself in the winding stages of the coil, peeling off the release and transport tissue of said product semi-finished to the mounting drum or other assembly and / or device of handling semi-finished products.

The applicant has observed that the type of supply carried out according to the aforementioned procedure of the prior art causes uncontrollable stretching of the semi-finished product, particularly undesirable because the semi-finished product, being made of elastomeric material in crude, therefore still plastic, undergoes modifications permanent

In other words, stretching before mentioned cause such tensions within the product semi-finished to cause a change in size and functional characteristics of the latter, thus preventing production or, in any case, making the assembly process more difficult, particularly when carried out with a device automatic.

The applicant, in fact, has perceived that release tissues used in the prior art, such as for example Meraclon®, have considerable extensibility, which transfers part of the tensile action exerted by the bar on the release fabric to the semi-finished product to which said tissue is attached. Also the tissue detachment operation release, as well as the driving action towards drum, produces tensions and deformations of the semi-finished product.

The applicant has found that it is possible substantially eliminate the stresses and deformations imparted to the semi-finished product using a guiding device and detached from the fabric comprising a plurality of rollers, of which at least one is motorized, instead of the roller inactive of the prior art, the product being semi-finished preferably associated with a release tissue inextensible

Said guiding and detaching device from the woven, hereinafter also defined as a winch traction, apply a drag action on the fabric in it point at which the detachment of the product tissue occurs semi-finished

The tensile force developed by the bar of collection and by means of said traction winch is totally absorbed by the inextensible release tissue and is not transferred, even partially, to the semi-finished product during the unwinding stage of this the coil of storage.

The applicant has found that by providing said plurality of rollers and motorizing at least one of said rollers, by means of said at least one roller, is possible to impart to said semi-finished product, once this last one has been released from the tissue release, a speed of translation substantially equal to that given to it semi-finished product by means of conduction arranged previously in the mounting drum and adapted to drive said semi-finished product towards said drum.

More in detail, the applicant has found that, moving at least one traction winch roller with a rotation speed equal to that of a plurality of additional rollers arranged next to said device and belonging to the aforementioned driving means, called in the technique "roll and stand table", the speed of translation of the semi-finished product that leaves the coil of feed is equal to the product translation speed semi-finished on those feet. In other words, the device guide and detachment of the fabric according to the invention ensures a semi-finished product transfer at a constant speed and predetermined, said semi-finished product being neither pushed nor pushed dragged. This fact allows to avoid the appearance of tensions within the semi-finished product itself.

In a first aspect of it, the present invention relates to a method of providing a semi-finished product made of elastomeric material, supported on a release tissue and stored in concentric turns in a coil, towards an assembly and / or handling station semi-finished products, to mount a rubber article, such such as a tire, as defined in the attached claim 1.

Preferably, the procedure before mentioned comprises the step of applying said tensile force at the same point of imposition of said directions of advancement different.

In a second aspect thereof, the invention refers to an apparatus for providing a semi-finished product of elastomeric material, supported on a release fabric and stored in concentric turns in a coil, towards a assembly and / or handling station for semi-finished products, to mount a rubber article, such as for example a tire. Said apparatus comprises:

a) a braking device to adjust the unwind speed of said turns from said coil of storage;

b) a peel-off device said release tissue of said semi-finished product;

c) a collection bar to collect said release tissue; Y

d) first motorized means to rotate said busbar on its axis,

and is characterized by the fact that it comprises also a few second motorized means to rotate said device  of detached.

In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus before mentioned comprises at least three guiding devices of the fabric, arranged at an intermediate point along the trajectory of said tissue between said coil and said bar, one of said devices being also a device of detached to detach the tissue from the semi-finished product.

Preferably, said guide devices are arranged, with respect to the unwinding direction of the fabric, as follows:

- the first guiding device, which also constitutes said detachment device, it is then provided  of the storage coil;

- the third guide device is arranged to anterior to the tissue collection bar, in a position spacing of the semi-finished product's driving path towards the assembly and / or handling station of the products semi-finished, for example the mounting drum;

- the second guide device is arranged in an intermediate position between the first and third devices of guide, in a more spaced position of said trajectory of conduction of the semi-finished product with respect to the position of both said first and third guiding devices.

Additional features and benefits will appear more clearly evident from recent description  of some preferred embodiments of the present invention.

This description refers to the drawings attached, supplied by way of example and without a purpose limiting, in said drawings:

- Figure 1 shows a cross section, in partial view, of a tire for medium / heavy vehicles manufactured by the procedure and the apparatus according to the invention;

- Figure 2 shows a partial side view of an apparatus according to the invention, adapted to provide a semi-finished product towards a tire mounting drum type of figure 1;

- Figure 3 schematically shows a view partial side of a detail of a second embodiment of a apparatus according to the invention;

- Figure 4 schematically shows a view partial side of a detail of a third embodiment of a apparatus according to the invention;

- Figure 5 schematically shows a view in perspective of a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention comprising product delivery devices semi-finished mounted in a separate container associated in a way removable to a plant for mounting tires.

The following description refers to a procedure and to an apparatus for supplying a product semi-finished made of elastomeric material used in a process for mounting a tire, for example a giant tire 100 illustrated in Figure 1. However, the procedure and the apparatus according to the invention are not limited to a method for mounting a tire, but can be applied to any type of process that requires a stage of supply of a semi-finished product made of a plastically material Reformable, such as elastomeric material.

The tire 100 comprises a housing that includes at least one shell fabric 101 provided with preferably metal reinforcement ropes that are arranged in radial planes, that is, containing the axis of rotation of the tire. The ends 101a of the shell fabric are folded axially, from the inside outwards, about two annular metal cores 102, usually known as cores of heel, which form the heel reinforcement, that is, the ends radially internal of said tire. As said with previously, the heels ensure that the tire can be mounted on a corresponding mounting wheel C. In Figure 1, the tire 100 is supported on a tire called "ribbed", in which the support bases for the heels of the tire are conically outwardly divergent according to An angle w equal to approximately 15 °.

A tread 103 made of material elastomeric, in which a relief design is formed that ensures the contact of the tire 100 with the ground, is arranged as a crown around said housing. Tread 103 has a predetermined thickness and is delimited between a surface outside, intended to come into contact with the ground, and a internal surface coated with a thin sheet 103 ', made of elastomeric material specifically adapted to promote necessary adhesion between tread 103 and structure underlying waist 104.

The aforementioned waist structure is a annular reinforcing structure, virtually inextensible circumferentially, disposed between the housing 101 and the band of rolling 103. Usually, said waist comprises at least two radially overlapping layers 104a, 104b, made of fabric rubber coated, internally provided with metal ropes of reinforcement. Said strings are arranged in parallel with each other in each layer 104a, 104b and inclined with respect to the strings of a layer adjacent; preferably, said strings are arranged symmetrically with respect to the equatorial plane of the tire. Preferably, the aforementioned waist structure it comprises a third additional layer 104c of metal ropes of high elongation type, circumferentially wound around the underlying waist layers in width complete, or only in the axially external positions of this last to include only the ends of said waist layers underlying. Said additional layer, in cooperation with the layers underlying, increases the ability of the waist to support the stresses that act on the tire during its operation and linked to the inflation pressure and centrifugal force, and ensuring high driving performance, particularly during the offset in curves.

Figure 2 shows an apparatus 10 according to the invention, adapted to provide a semi-finished product 2 made of elastomeric material, for example a tread or a flank, stored in a storage coil 6 from which the semi-finished product is extracted and is directed towards a mounting drum 3, which rotates by means of a motor 4 after the separation of a release tissue 5, recovered by a collection device 20.

As already said, the semi-finished product 2 is associated with a protective sheet, or release tissue 5 the which, according to the present invention, is made of a material substantially inextensible and has such characteristics as to keep the adhesiveness of the semi-finished product 2 unchanged, but it adheres to said semi-finished product in a fairly weak, so that the takeoff stage of the latter is not difficult

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the applicant has found it advantageous to use a sheet of a commercially known material with the name of Mylar®.

The semi-finished product 2 is manufactured in a special plant, for example an extruder, and it is immediately associated with release tissue 5; then, the semi-finished product 2 is rolled in concentric turns around storage coil 6, ready for use later. When the semi-finished product 2 is to be used, the coil 6 is loaded on the assembly plant, in particular on a Semi-finished product feeding apparatus, the end tissue-free tissue is carried to a device pickup 20. The aforementioned device rotates to perform the unwinding of said turns of the coil 6 and the recovery of said tissue. The rotation of the coil is adjusted by a braking device 7, which, as mentioned with previously, it allows to keep the peripheral speed constant tangential of the storage coil at any time of the unwinding stage, both when the coil has the diameter maximum, because the unwind has just begun and the product Semi-finished fully loads the coil, as when the coil It has the minimum diameter because the unwind has almost Completed completely and the coil is almost empty.

According to the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the apparatus 10 comprises a coil 6, a braking device 7 for said coil, a bar 20 for collecting the release tissue 5, a motor 21 adapted to impart a rotation speed suitable for the aforementioned beam, and three guiding devices of fabric, preferably three rollers 17, 18, 19 around the which release tissue 5 is wound during the trajectory from coil 6 to bar 20. Rollers 17, 18, 19 preferably they have the same diameter and in the tissue of release 5 along a non-wavy path, which is will be described below in the present description.

It should be noted that the expressions "coil of Storage "and" pick-up bar "do not have a limiting purpose; they are used to simplify the description, to indicate any type of device, respectively to store the semi-finished product and to collect the release tissue, usable as an alternative to said coil and bar, such as for example a bar of storage and a tissue collection coil.

On the other hand, figure 2 shows a roller table 22 and one foot 8, the foot 8 also being provided of a series of rollers, to drive the semi-finished product 2 on the cylindrical surface of said drum 3. Because the Figure 2 shows a partial schematic view of the apparatus of supply according to the invention, this figure does not take into account actual distances between coil 6 and the drum of assembly 3, and it does not show a plurality of elements additional known that do not fall within the scope of the present invention For example, Figure 2 does not show the system of conveyor belts (one or more) generally present for withstand the semi-finished product in its trajectory from the fabric detachment device to the roller table. In In particular, Figure 2 does not show the system of festoons arranged between the feed coil 6 and the roller table 22, required to separate the product supply area semi-finished of your handling area; for example said system allows to change the coil without interrupting the manufacturing cycle, that is, ensuring continuous feeding to the mounting drum 3.

The axes of coil 6, bar 20 and rollers 17, 18, 19, as well as those of rollers 22 of the table and foot 8, are all parallel to each other, and perpendicular to a common product feeder support frame semi-finished, represented by the plane of figure 2.

According to the present invention, the rollers 17, 18 and 19 are arranged in such a way that they guide the tissue of release 5 along a non-wavy path adapted to facilitate the supply without tension of the semi-finished product. By at least one of said rollers constitutes the device for detached between semi-finished product 2 and release tissue 5, because it imposes directions of advancement other than said tissue and said semi-finished product. In particular, in the exit of said roller, the directions of advance of the product semi-finished and woven are diverged from each other according to an angle preferably not less than 60 °, and more preferably, close to 90º.

On the other hand, at least one of the rollers mentioned above is motorized, to apply a force of traction to said release tissue, in addition to or replacing the force exerted by the bar, to achieve unrolled braking mentioned above of the semi-finished product returns that the storage coil, as-mentioned with prior- that the semi-finished product 2 can be transferred from coil 6 to mounting drum 3 at a constant speed, without causing tensions of the same semi-finished product. Preferably, as shown in the embodiment of the figure 2, the first roller 17 is moved by a motor 23.

The motorized roller or rollers rotate at a constant speed that has a value that is a function of diameter of the same rollers, said diameter being comprised between 40 mm and 80 mm. Moreover, the outer surface of said rollers is preferably coated with a material high hardness elastomer (for example, a hardness included between 60º and 70º Shore A) to increase fiction between the roller and tissue release, thus facilitating the action of Drag of the latter.

According to the embodiment shown in Figure 2, said guide devices are three and are arranged with their axes substantially coinciding with the vertices of a triangle inverted that has a face faced with the semi-finished product 2, moving towards the mounting drum after peeling off the release tissue 5.

More particularly, said side forms a small angle with the direction of transport A of the semi-finished product 2, such that only the detachment device (roller 17) is in contact with said release tissue.

The spatial configuration of the rollers 17, 18, 19 mentioned above is such that the release tissue 5 follows a non-wavy path determined by the two sides of said triangle that do not face the semi-finished product, that is those represented by the line that joins the axes of the rollers 17 to 18 and 18 to 19.

More particularly, in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 can be seen that the roller 19 is separated from the semi-finished product 2 so as not to interfere with the displacement of said semi-finished product.

With reference to the realization of this invention shown in figure 2, the procedure for supply a semi-finished product 2 to a mounting drum 3 it then implies the unwinding of said semi-finished product coupled to the release tissue from a coil of Storage 6. The semi-finished product 2 and the fabric of release 5 coupled to it move (arrow B of figure 2) towards the first roller 17 by the dragging action exerted on the fabric by means of the collection bar 20 and / or by the roller 17. The release fabric detaches from the product semi-finished 2 on the first roller 17 and forced to follow a non-wavy path (arrows C, E, F) around rollers 18, 19 until collection on bar 20. The product semi-finished 2, on the other hand, continues (arrow A) towards the drum assembly 3 once it has been separated from the fabric of release 5.

With reference to the configuration shown in the Figure 2, along said path, the release tissue 5 comes into contact on the first surface thereof by a curvilinear portion of rollers 17 and 19 and on the surface opposite with a curvilinear portion of roller 18.

Preferably, said curvilinear portions correspond to a roller surface arc between 90º and 180º but, more preferably, not less than 135º.

Said triangular type configuration with the corresponding non-wavy trajectory with sudden changes of address taxes to manufacturing fabric 5 transforms the set of rollers in a traction winch capable of exercising on the fabric a dragging action of a constant and high value, Usable in combination with or replacing the action of drag exerted by bar 20.

As mentioned previously, according to the present invention, the semi-finished product 2 is associated with a release fabric 5 made of inextensible material, and so both capable of withstanding the dragging action applied by said traction winch or by said bar without suffering No elongation. Preferably, said release tissue 5 It is made of Mylar® and is between 0.1 mm thick and 0.5 mm

Figure 3 shows a further embodiment of the apparatus 10 according to the present invention, specifically applicable when semi-finished product 2 (arrow B) is provided of a pair of release tissues respectively arranged on both surfaces of the semi-finished product. More particularly, the semi-finished product 2 (for example, the flanks or tapes of metallic fabric in the case of a process for manufacturing a giant tire) is provided with a first release fabric 5 arranged on one of its surfaces, as illustrated in the Figure 2, and of a second 5 'release tissue, generally different from fabric 5 and consisting of a film of polyethylene. The second 5 'release tissue and the first tissue Release 5 perform protective functions before mentioned on the two opposite surfaces of the product semi-finished 2.

As can be inferred from the figure 3, the first release tissue 5 is detached by an apparatus 10 according to the present invention, and it is sent (arrow C) to a Pickup bar, not shown. The second 5 'release tissue, on the other hand, it is detached by a separation device 9 of the so-called knife type, which is fixed with respect to the frame support, and leads (arrow D) to a pickup bar different 11.

In this alternative embodiment (Figure 3), the roller 19 is arranged at the same level as roller 17 with respect to the surface of the semi-finished product, so that also said roller 19 contacts the semi-finished product 2.

Said embodiment is particularly advantageous. when also the roller 19 is of motorized type, thus facilitating the transfer at a predetermined and constant speed of semi-finished product 2 (arrow A) towards the mounting drum 3.

In Figure 3, the apparatus 10 according to the present invention further comprises a support element 12 (for example, a roller table or a conveyor belt) interposed between the rollers 17 and 19 and adapted to provide a plane of parallel support to the semi-finished product 2 that moves (arrow A) towards a mounting drum (not shown). Said element of support 12 performs the function of supporting the product semi-finished 2 particularly when the latter is done only of an elastomeric material and does not have any reinforcement structure

Said element 12, therefore, prevents the semi-finished product 2 may suffer undulations or curvatures that they can cause tensions and / or deformations of the material in the space between rollers 17 and 19.

Figure 4 shows a further embodiment of the supply apparatus 10 according to the present invention, in the which path followed by release tissue 5 is different from that shown in figure 2. In fact, according to said further embodiment, the release tissue 5 does not detach from the semi-finished product 2 in the first roller 17, but in the second roller 18. In this way, this means that the product semi-finished, still coupled to the release fabric 5, is shifts along a surface portion of both rollers 17 and 18, and the release of said release tissue 5 takes place in the second roller 18 and not in the roller 17, as it has been described above.

Moreover, an additional difference from the embodiment shown in figure 4 with respect to that in figure 2 it consists in the fact that all rollers 17, 18, 19 are motorized and in the fact that the motor 13 drives both the aforementioned rollers such as pick-up bar 20, as is shown in figure 4 by the path of the common chain 14.

In a further embodiment of the invention (not shown), also the feed coil 6 is driven together with rollers 17, 18, 19 and bar 20.

On the other hand, Figure 4 shows partially also the festoon formed by semi-finished product 2 (for example, a waist band) arranged next to the apparatus of supply 10. More in detail, Figure 4 shows a festoon of maximum width 2 'and a festoon of minimum width 2' ', the length of the which is controlled by a pair of photoelectric cells 50; that read the height of the curve formed by the festoon. According said reading, the aforementioned photoelectric cells adjust the length of the festoon, activating and deactivating the device supply to maintain, prior to the mounting drum, the necessary quantity of semi-finished product to ensure the continuity of the manufacturing process in case of replacement of the power coil or in case of line failure.

In a further embodiment (shown in the Figure 5), the devices of the supply apparatus according to the present invention are arranged in a box 24 that can be connected removably to the assembly plant and, more particularly, to the frame of the feeding apparatus of each semi-finished product specific to a mounting drum.

The box 24 allows a quick change of the apparatus of supply 10 as long as, for example, they are required maintenance operations, or when the assembly machine, to the which said apparatus 10 is coupled, must change its production and achieve the requirements of variation of dimensions and / or shape of the semi-finished product 2 to be sent to the mounting drum 3.

In a technical delivery apparatus previous, to achieve the requirements of a production different, it was necessary to load a coil of storage loaded with semi-finished product before Start said production. Suppose there is a plant on the floor storage coil still partially loaded with the semi-finished product used in the previous production; in this case, it is necessary to unwind the tissue from the bar release collector and rewind it over the storage coil, it is say about the semi-finished product, coupled to said fabric of release, still stored in the storage coil.

Next, it is necessary to extract said storage coil and replace it with the coil storage loaded with the semi-finished product corresponding to the new production, and then start the new operating cycle.

Suppose it is necessary to feed the drum of assembly with a semi-finished product of type already used in the previous cycle, and wind a coil already started and discharged from the plant at the end of said previous cycle; in this case, it is it is necessary to load the storage coil on the device supply, unwind from the storage coil the fabric of release already detached from the previous semi-finished product previously used and roll it over the collection bar until the storage coil set formed by the semi-finished product coupled to the release fabric available again At this point, a new cycle can begin of production.

The apparatus according to the present invention eliminates the various operations mentioned above and the technical times required to carry out a product change semi-finished In fact, to immediately change a cycle operating at a later different cycle is simply necessary remove the box 24 and replace it with a new box 24, which Contains the new type of semi-finished product desired, without import if the previous box has finished coil 6 or if the new one box is provided with a new coil 6.

As shown in Figure 5, box 24 it comprises a frame 25 on which the axis of the storage coil 6 with the respective coil, the axis of the collection bar 20 with the respective bar, the axes of the rollers 17, 18, 19 with the same rollers, and the axes of a plurality of free rollers to support the semi-finished product until the exit of the box.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, at least the axes of the coil 6, of the bar 20 and of the roller 17 can be rotatably connected integrally with respective drive pins mounted on a non-rack shown of the feeding apparatus, prior to the drum of assembly, which in addition to the driving motors, said pins they further comprise the braking device 7 of the coil 6, and a computerized system not shown for synchronized control of such devices.

The box 24 is mounted on said frame by associating these axes with the corresponding ones pins protruding perpendicularly from said frame: the Semi-finished product delivery procedure is carried to perform then without substantial differences with respect to the described in advance When coil 6 is empty, the box will replaces with another box provided with a new coil of storage.

If the semi-finished product supply must be interrupted when the coil is partially charged, for example due to a product change or for other reasons, the box it is removed without rewinding the release tissue over coil 6; the same box can be reused on it or on another assembly plant starting again without delay starting of the condition in which the box was previously removed from the feeder.

The following table 1 shows the values of the main operating parameters of an apparatus 10 according to the invention, used to respectively supply the flanks and the lining of a tire.

TABLE I

one

According to the present invention, a system computerized controls the operation of the apparatus 10 according to the default production procedure.

First, said system adjusts the rotation speed of the storage coil 6 by a braking device 7 as a function of product quantity semi-finished unwind.

Said computerized system, in fact, acts on the braking device 7 while maintaining the fabric of release permanently in tension, but simultaneously varying the rotation speed of the coil 6, preferably according to a default law, such as the quantity of semi-finished product provided varies, to ensure a constant flow and Default semi-finished product to the mounting drum.

An objective of the supply apparatus 10 of In fact, it is to be able to supply the semi-finished product 2 at a constant speed equal to the speed that the latter has in the mounting drum, speed than in said final portion of the trajectory is imparted to the semi-finished product through rotation of motorized rollers 22.

The rotation speed setting of the coil 6 can be obtained, for example, by providing the braking device 7 a plurality of photoelectric cells arranged in front of a coil face, and with a fountain light arranged in front of the other side of the coil. During the unrolled the semi-finished product, when the coil 6 is emptied, the photoelectric cells are progressively illuminated by the light source and transmit to the computerized system the measurement of actual diameter of the coil still loaded with the product semi-finished In this way, the computerized system corrects the Rotation speed of the coil based on the level of emptying reached.

Similarly, the computerized system controls the motor 21 which controls the speed of the bar collection 20 by means of a clutch device, such that the drag action exerted on the release tissue 5 is constant over time without being affected by variation of mass that supports the bar 20 due to the increase in the amount of collected tissue release. The speed adjustment of rotation of the bar 20, that is, the decrease in the value of the same while the release tissue is being rolled, allows transfer the semi-finished product 2 at a constant speed and default without creating undesirable stresses in the material because release tissue is inextensible according to the invention.

The constant transfer speed of semi-finished product, as stated above, also it is had thanks to the motorization of at least one roller of the apparatus 10 according to the invention. In fact, said motorization allows complement the drag action exerted by the bar 20 on the release fabric 5 to which the product is attached semi-finished 2, thus facilitating the transport of the latter without unwanted stresses towards the mounting drum 3.

The computerized system receives the real data of the parameters involved (speed, positions and dragging mentioned above) during the stages of the process of mounting; the computerized system carries out the corrections necessary to restore the operation of the device in the programmed conditions by comparing the votes stored and actual data, in the presence of possible deviations from the default limit values.

The procedure and the apparatus according to the present invention allow to achieve a semi-finished product supply without create tensions in the semi-finished product and causing variations dimensions thereof along the path covered between the storage coil 6 and the mounting drum 3.

This result is particularly desired for provide semi-finished products to the mounting drum free of deformations and structural modifications that may affect Negatively the quality of the finished product.

For example, when the semi-finished product is a shell fabric, the absence of longitudinal dilations ensures that the metal strings that form the fabric are arranged, during the configuration stage of the housing, with the predetermined density calculated to obtain a resistance default housing under the operating conditions of the tire.

On the other hand, it should be noted that a high tension of release tissue 5, made possible by use of a substantially inextensible fabric, contributes significantly to the uniform unwinding and without tensions of semi-finished product 2 from storage coil 6.

The present invention is not strictly limited to what has been described previously, because the it also includes all those alternative solutions and measures that, although not described, can be easily inferred by one skilled in the art based on the present description.

For example, the apparatus 10 may comprise a different number of rollers compared to what has been illustrated in the figures, only two rollers or even more than three, provided for that at least one is motorized, and the general disposition of rollers is such as to impart a tension on the fabric of release capable of transferring, without tensions, the product semi-finished 2 towards the mounting drum 3.

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References cited in the description

This list of references cited by the Applicant is shown solely for the convenience of the reader. Do not It is part of the European Patent document. Although it has been A great precaution when collecting references, do not know may exclude errors or omissions and the European Patent Office declines any responsibility in this regard.

Patent documents cited in the description

US 4580738 A [0029]

JP 60089344 A [0030]

Claims (16)

1. Procedure to provide a product semi-finished (2) made of elastomeric material towards a station of assembly and / or handling of semi-finished products, being said product (2) supported on a release fabric (5) and stored in concentric turns in a storage coil (6) by associating the release tissue (5) with the product semi-finished (2) before storing the semi-finished product (2) in said coil (6), the process comprising the steps of: a) carry out unrolled braking of said turns from said storage coil (6); b) detaching said release tissue (5) from said semi-finished product (2) by imposition on said fabric (5) and said semi-finished product (2) of different directions of advancement; c) leading said release tissue (2) towards a collection bar (20), said bar (20) being rotated around the same axis by means of motor means (twenty-one); d) driving said semi-finished product (2) towards said product assembly and / or handling station semi-finished; e) applying to said release tissue (5) a attractive force adapted to carry out said unwind braking, said force being applied at an intermediate point of the trajectory of said tissue (5) between said coil (6) and said bar (20). 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the step of applying said tensile force at the same point of imposition of said different forward directions. 3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of guiding devices (17, 18, 19) are provided and winding said release fabric around arc portions of said plurality of guiding devices ( 17, 18, 19). Method according to claim 3, characterized in that three successive guiding devices (17, 18, 19) are provided and at least two of said guiding devices (17, 18, 19) are motorized. 5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said release fabric (5) is separated from said semi-finished product (2) in the first (17) of said guide devices (17, 18, 19). Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said storage coil (6) is braked as a function of the diameter of said coil (6) loaded with said semi-finished product (2) during the unwind stage. 7. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said release tissue (5) is inextensible in tension. 8. Apparatus (10) for supplying a product semi-finished (2) made of elastomeric material, supported on a release tissue (5) and stored in concentric turns in a storage coil (6) in a mounting station and / or handling of semi-finished products, which includes: a) a braking device (7) to adjust the unwind speed of said turns from said coil of storage (6); b) a peel-off device said release tissue (5) of said semi-finished product (2); c) a collection bar (20) to collect said release tissue (5); Y d) first motor means (21) to rotate said busbar (20) on its axis of rotation, characterized in that the apparatus comprises a second motor means for rotating said detachment device. 9. Apparatus (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that it is provided with a plurality of guiding devices (17, 18, 19) for guiding said tissue (5), at least one of said devices being guide (17, 18, 19) motorized. 10. Apparatus (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that said detachment device is a roller.

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11. Apparatus (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises at least a first guide device (17) and the second guide device (18) successive to the first, said first guide device (17) being ) motorized and being arranged after the output of the semi-finished product (2) leaving the storage coil (6), said second guide device (18) being in a displaced position with respect to said first guide device (17) and between said first guide device (17) and said pick-up bar (20). 12. Apparatus (10) according to claim 11, characterized in that the axes of said first (17) and said second (18) guiding devices are parallel to the axis of the pick-up bar (20), and by the fact that said release fabric (5) is wound around an arc portion of said first guide device (17) with a first surface thereof, and around an arc surface of said second guide device (18) with the opposite surface with respect to the first. 13. Apparatus (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises at least three guiding devices (17, 18, 19), the first guiding device (17) being arranged next to the storage coil (6), the third guide device (19) being arranged before the pick-up bar (20) and in a lower position with respect to the transport direction of the semi-finished product (2) towards said assembly station and / or handling, the second guide device (18) being arranged between the first (17) and the third (19) guide devices in a lower position with respect to both devices (17, 19), the axes of said guide devices being ( 17, 18, 19) parallel to each other and parallel to the axis of the pick-up bar (20). 14. Apparatus (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises a removable box (24) with respect to said mounting and / or handling station of a rubber article, said box (24) being provided with a base on which the rotation axes of the cylindrical feeding and collecting surfaces of said detachment device are freely supported. 15. Apparatus (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that said release tissue (5) is of the inextensible type. 16. Apparatus (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that said release tissue (5) is made of Mylar®.