Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho

The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Kobe Steel, Ltd.

Bridgestone Tire Company Limited

Itaru Amano

Yasuhiko Fujieda

Katsumi Ichikawa

Kashiro Ureshino

Masahide Kanzawa

Shikao Misumi

Takumi Mizokawa

Kazuhiko Nakagawa

Masaki Naoi

Keiji Ozaki

Toshio Yanagihara

Seisuke Fukumura

Katumi Ichikawa

Kageki Yokoyama

Hideo Miyauchi

Tatsuya Tanaka

Masanobu Kurumaji

Hiroaki Kondo

Ko Takakura

Tsutomu Nagaoka

Yoshimata Maikuma

Larry Eugene Steidl

Bryan E Nixon

Hiromi Kihara

Yasuo Morita

Seiji Yasui

Seisuke Hukumura

Yasuhiko Hujieda

Koji Kuroda

Kou Takakura

Seiichi Suzuki

Mitsunori Asada

Masakatsu Kawahara

Hisaaki Onishi

Hisaaki Ohnishi

An injection molding process for forming high strength, long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin, and for holding damage to the pellet-shaped thermoplastic resin to a minimum even when being plasticized, and maintaining the fiber length of pellet-shaped fiber bundles while unwinding the fibers and melting the resin. After the long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin has been heated and melted, pressure is applied to unwind the long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin while melted, and injection molding then performed.

Injection molding unit for long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin

It is the object of the present invention to firstly provide a loading system and loading method of high working efficiency, and secondly, to provide a loading system and method in which a high precision of loading onto a center mold can be regularly assured without the need for repeated correction checks. The loading system includes a transport car 2 movable along a plurality of tire vulcanizing presses 1 arranged in a line; a robot arm 3 mounted on said transport car 2 for movement in three XYZ dimensions to a prescribed position in a desired stance; and a green tire chuck 6 fixed to the end of said robot arm 3. A load method essentially comprises the steps of picking-up, transportation, loading and chucking during shaping, of a green tire largely through movement of the robot arm of said system. Further, a position detection sensor such as a visual sensor is mounted on the end of the robot arm 3 together with the chuck 6, and said position detection sensor is used to monitor a prescribed datum such as a tally mark of said vulcanizing press and thereby effect the positioning of said robot arm in at least two dimensions XY.

Loading system and method for a tire vulcanizing machine

A tire vulcanizing system capable of performing high accuracy transportation of a green tire by a loader and of performing high accuracy transportation of a vulcanized tire by an unloader including a group of tire vulcanizing presses having many tire vulcanizing presses 1 arranged in a row and manipulators 2 arranged along the group of the tire vulcanizing presses in such a way that they may freely run. The tire vulcanizing presses 1 are constructed such that the upper and lower molds 80, 81 are stored between the engaging or disengaging upper and lower press members in such a manner that they may be fastened with the green tire mounting table 7 and the post-cure inflator 8 arranged around them. The manipulators 2 are provided with slides 31 which can be connected to the upper press member in such a way that they may be lifted up or descend, loader 32 for transporting the green tire from the center of the green tire mounting table 7 to the centers of the molds 80, 81, and unloader 33 for transporting the vulcanized tire from the centers of the molds 80, 81 to the center of the post-cure inflator 8 or its near center. The manipulators 2 are provided with the position setting element 34 for stopping in respect to the desired tire vulcanizing press 1. At least one of the loader 32 and the unloader 33 is provided with a centering corrector for accommodating for an error in stopping position by the position setting element 34.

Tire vulcanizing system

A steam done type vertical tire press includes an upper dome for holding an upper mold through an upper mold mounting member and a lower dome for holding a lower mold through a lower mold mounting member. The upper dome and the lower dome are abutted at respective connection edges. A dome ring is engagable with the connection edges of the upper and lower domes. A central mechanism is vertically movably located at a central position of the lower mold mounting member. A mold clamping cylinder has a pressure rod connected to the lower mold mounting member. A cylinder support extends downwardly from the lower dome through a press base for supporting the mold clamping cylinder. A mold height adjusting device is provided outside a dome space defined by the upper and lower domes for adjusting a height between the upper and lower molds. A heat/pressure medium seal is interposed at least between an outer circumferential surface of the loweer mold mounting member and an inner circumferential surface of the lower dome and between the connection edges of the upper and lower domes.

Steam dome type vertical tire press

Disclosed is a tire vulcanising press wherein a plurality of sectors provided for gripping the upper bead of a green tire loaded in position between a pair of upper and lower die elements to carry the green tire in a suspended condition will not form an obstruction to an elastic forming member for shaping. The tire vulcanizing press includes an inner cylinder mounted for up and down movement on the upper die element and having at a lower end portion thereof a bead ring which is capable of forming part of the upper die element, and a sector housing mounted for up and down movement in the inner cylinder and carrying thereon the sectors for movement between an open position and a closed position. The upper bead of the green tire can be gripped between the bead ring and sectoral portions of the sectors, and the sectoral portions of the sectors are accommodated in the lower end portion of the inner cylinder when the sectors are in the closed position. Also a ring fitting portion is provided for receiving and retaining therein during vulcanization an upper mounting ring on which the elastic forming member is provided.

Tire vulcanizing press

A slide falling prevention device in a tire vulcanizer including a vulcanizer frame, a fixed lower die fixedly located on the vulcanizer frame, a slide adapted to be lifted and lowered along the frame, a movable upper die retained to the slide and adapted to be vertically opened and closed relative to the lower die, a vertically moving member provided at a central position of the slide for opening and closing the upper die, a hollow pressure member provided at the central position of the slide for applying pressure to the upper die, said hollow pressure member being located diametrically outside the vertically moving member in such a manner as to be concentrical to and separate from the vertically moving member, a pressure device mounted to the vulcanizer frame in such a manner as to surround the hollow pressure member, an upper die height adjusting mechanism for connecting the slide with the hollow pressure member; and a movable pressure member provided in the pressure device and a locking member disengageably mounted to the movable pressure member in such a manner as to surround the hollow pressure member, wherein when the hollow pressure member is lifted to open the upper die, the locking member is engaged with a lower end of the hollow pressure member, while when the hollow pressure member is lowered to close the upper die, the locking member is engaged with an intermediate position of the hollow pressure member.

Slide falling prevention device in a tire vulcanizer

An unloader machanism for removing a cured tire from a lower mold of a vulcanizing machine and which includes a horizontally movable frame body, a fluid cylinder fixedly mounted on the frame body and a grappling unit being vertically movable by the fluid cylinder coaxially of the lower mold of the machine. The grappling unit includes a plurality of angularly uniformly spaced fingers being movable into an opening defined by an upper bead portion of the tire for engaging the upper bead portion. Under the application of a lifting force of the fluid cylinder, the fingers strip the tire directly from the lower mold and an upper ring of a bag well unit disposed centrally of the lower mold.

Unloader mechanism for use with a vulcanizing machine

A central mechanism in a tire vulcanizing press including a shaping bladder, a hot pressure supply source, an upper bladder clamp supporting center post, a lower bladder clamp supporting post through which is inserted the center post vertically movably, a mechanism for vertically independently moving both posts, and a latch mechanism for preventing the descent of the support post during vulcanizing press for a tire, the latch mechanism being driven selectively in opening and closing directions relative to the support post by means of a latch opening/closing device, the latch opening/closing device including a drive mechanism capable of moving vertically along a vertical axis, member for converting a vertical linear motion of the drive, a mechanism into a rotational motion around the vertical axis and means for transmitting the thus -obtained rotational motion to the latch mechanism. A lower portion of a housing well which surrounds the support post is closed with two upper and lower partition walls which are interconnected in a vertically spaced relation to each other and the space between the partition walls is filled with a heat insulator, and a cylindrical heat insulating structure which surrounds the housing well is attached to the base side of the vulcanizing press.

Central mechanism in a tire vulcanizing press

A mold clamp mechanism for a tire curing press, including a press base, a lower mold cavity provided on the press base, an upper mold cavity mounted opposingly to the lower mold cavity and vertically movable toward and away from the lower mold cavity, center mechanisms provided at the center of said upper and lower mold cavities, respectively, a lock means for releasably locking the upper and lower mold cavities to each other, and a mold pressing means located beneath the lower mold cavity for directly pressing same, the mold clamp mechanism comprising: means for resiliently supporting the lower mold cavity on the press base; means for fixing a lower mold in the lower mold cavity to the press base; and mold pressing means interposed between the lower mold cavity and the lower mold.

Mold clamping mechanism for tire curing machines

A tire vulcanizer which includes a lower mold assembly secured to a press base, an upper mold assembly held movably up and down on a press side frame and provided to be opened and closed with respect to the lower mold assembly, a molding bladder expansible with respect to a center mechanism of the lower mold assembly and pressurized heating medium supplying means, wherein for maintaining a parallelism of the upper and lower mold assemblies, a torsion shaft for maintaining the parallelism which is movable up and down and rotatable about an axis in synchronism with the upper mold assembly is mounted at a position parallel to the press base, at a right angle to the side frame and not interfering with the upper and lower mold assemblies.

Tire vulcanizer

A green tire vulcanizing press including a lower die having a heat source, an upper die capable of being opened and closed relative to the lower die and having a heat source, a shaping bladder received in a bladder well disposed in a central part of the lower die, and a hot pressure medium supplied into the bladder, the bladder well is made movable vertically and an upper clamp ring for the shaping bladder is held stationary while a lower clamp ring is provided vertically movably, whereby the shaping for a green tire as well as the separation of the bladder from the tire and removal of the tire after the vulcanizing press work are performed through vertical movements of the lower clamp ring and the bladder well under a fixed state of the upper clamp ring.

Vulcanizing method for a tire press

A mold clamp mechanism for a tire press with upper and lower molds, the clamp mechanism including a plurality of rod locking holes formed around the press center of the upper and/or lower mold; a corresponding plurality of clamp rods vertically received in rod receptacle holes in a fixed mold support structure, each clamp rod having a T-shaped head portion protrudable into a locking hole in the mold and lockable therein when the clamp rod is turned a 90 degree angle; a drive cylinder having rod operating arms connected to the piston rod thereof for movements toward and away from the clamp rod; rod rotating members mounted on the clamp rod and on one of the rod operating arms and engageable with each other when the piston rod is advanced toward the clamp rod to turn the same a 90 degree angle; and rod pull members mounted on the clamp rod and the rod operating arms and engageable with each other when the piston rod is further advanced toward the clamp rod after a 90 degree angle of rotation so as to clamp the mold to the fixed mold support structure.

Mold clamp mechanism for tire press

An apparatus for unloading a cured tire from a tire vulcanizing press, said apparatus including a tire support member tiltably mounted on a liftable support member; a mechanism for moving the tire support member horizontally toward and away from the center forming mechanism of the tire curing press for receiving and unloading a cured tire; a mechanism for tilting the tire support member toward a tire discharging side of the press at a lifted position over the center forming mechanism thereof; and a guide cam member fixedly located in association with the lifted tilting position of the tire support member for guiding the same toward a lower tire discharge point in a predetermined tilted posture.

Apparatus for unloading cured tires from a tire vulcanizing press

A mold clamping mechanism for a tire curing press, including a press base, a lower mold cavity provided on the press base, an upper mold cavity opposingly mounted to the lower mold cavity and vertically movable toward and away from the lower mold cavity, center mechanisms provided at the center of said upper and lower mold cavities, respectively, a lock mechanism for releasably locking the upper and lower mold cavities to each other, and a mold pressing mechanism located beneath the lower mold cavity for directly pressing same, the mold clamp mechanism a mechanism for resiliently supporting the lower mold cavity on the press base; mechanism for fixing a lower mold in the lower mold cavity to the press base; and a mold pressing mechanism interposed between the lower mold cavity and the lower mold.

A tire press has a feature decoupling the mold closing force torque from the platens 3 and 22 supporting the press mold halves 4 and 11 using a spherical seat located between the platens 3 and 22 and the press member supplying the closing force to provide self-alignment of the mold halves 4 and 11 upon closing of the press.

Growing community of inventors

Kobe, Japan

Itaru Amano