Kobe Steel, Ltd.

Akira Sakurai

Yasuhiko Fujieda

Hisashi Mitamura

Kazuto Okada

Hirohiko Fukumoto

Kazuhisa Fujisawa

A tire press comprising a center post vertically movably extended through a center part of a lower ring mechanism and vertically moving an upper ring with respect to a lower ring mechanism , a heater arranged in an outer peripheral position of the center post on the tire inner peripheral side of a green tire held by the lower ring mechanism and the upper ring , heater to apply a heat to the green tire , a first driving mechanism such as a tubular member vertically moving cylinder capable of vertically moving the heater to a suitable height position so as to move the heater to a suitable position independently of vertical movement of the center post , and a second driving mechanism such as a driving motor capable of rotating the heater . By the provision of such a mechanism as described, press molding relative to a green tire can be completed in a sufficiently short period of time.

Center mechanism of tire press and tire press

A bladder for a vulcanizer includes, as a constituent member, a low elongation material with stable properties at vulcanization temperatures. During a vulcanization-molding process, the bladder is pressed against the inner surface of a green tire using a pressurized medium. The pressurized medium can be at vulcanization temperatures. The bladder has substantially the same shape as the inner wall surface of the tire that is formed using the bladder. As a result, irregularities in the shape of the inner wall surface of a tire rarely occur, and the frequency of exchange of bladders can be reduced. The vulcanizer bladder can include a conductive material or a magnetic material, both of which can be heated by using an induction heating coil. The use of both heat from the pressurized medium and heat generated in the bladder to vulcanize a green tire can shorten the period of time required for vulcanizing-molding.

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Kobe, Japan

Akira Sakurai