DESCRIPTION

TECHNICAL SECTOR

The present invention relates to a curing station and a curing method for a tread strip.

PRIOR ART

The cold retreading of a pneumatic tyre provides for the elimination of the worn out old tread from the pneumatic tyre and then the application of a new, already cured tread to the casing of the pneumatic tyre. In particular, both an

intermediate strip or cushion of green rubber and a preformed and cured tread strip (called PCT strip - Pre-Cured Tread Strip) are wrapped around the casing; then the casing wrapped in the cushion and in the cured tread strip is inserted in a curing autoclave and subjected to a further curing process in order to ensure an optimum adhesion of the tread to the casing by the bonding action of the cushion.

A pre-cured tread strip ready to be applied to the casing of a pneumatic tyre is described in the patent US5277727A1. A station for the cold retreading of a pneumatic tyre according to the methodology described above is described in the patent US6368439B1.

The construction of the pre-cured tread strip provides for the extrusion of a green rubber compound to obtain a continuous band of green tread that is subsequently cut transversally in order to separate a series of green tread strips of the desired length. Each green tread strip is inserted into a flat curing mold in order to undergo a curing process; at the conclusion of the curing process, the cured tread strip must be extracted from the curing mold, unwinding the cured tread strip from those elements of the curing mold that define the design of the tread in negative. In general, the flat curing mold is

comprised of a grabbing member that is initially integrated within the curing mold, that engages an extremity of the cured tread strip, and is raised upward and then pulled by a special actuation device in order to ensure progressive extraction of the cured tread strip from the curing mold.

Some examples of the extraction of the cured tread strip from a flat curing mold are described in the questions section of patents US2004197432A1, US2011148001A1 and WO2013136313A1.

During the extraction of a cured tread strip from a flat curing mold, the cured tread strip itself folds over on itself about 180°, at the extraction zone with a relatively small folding radius, subjecting the rubber to increased mechanical stresses that are concentrated in the extraction zone and may result in the formation of cracks (that is, thin and deep slits) that typically start from the grooves of the tread design. Of course, in the event that cracks form, the cured tread strip is unusable and must be discarded.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to supply a curing station and a method of curing for a tread strip that are free of the drawbacks described above (namely, they avoid the risk of damaging the cured tread strip during the extraction of the cured tread strip itself from the curing mold) and that, at the same time, can easily and economically be implemented.

According to the present invention, a curing station and a method for the curing of a tread strip are provided as set forth in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is now described in reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate several non-limiting exemplary embodiments, wherein:

• Figure 1 schematically illustrates a plant for the

implementation of a pre-cured tread strip;

• Figure 2 is a front schematic exploded view of a curing mold of a curing station of the plant of figure 1;

• Figures 3 and 4 are two front and schematic views of the curing station of figure 2 at the start and end of the extraction of a cured tread strip from the curing mold;

• Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of part of an upper shell of the curing mold of the curing station of figure 2;

• Figure 6 is a schematic sectional view according to line VI-VI of part of the upper shell of figure 5;

• Figure 7 is a schematic sectional view according to line VI-VI of part of the upper shell of figure 5 according to an alternative embodiment;

• Figures 8 and 9 are two schematic sectional views

according to line VI-VI of part of the upper shell of figure 5 according to a further embodiment, and in two different operating instants;

• Figures 10-13 are four front and schematic views of an alternative embodiment of the curing station in figure 2 during the extraction of a cured tread strip from the curing mold;

• Figure 14 is a schematic plan view of part of an extractor element of the curing station of figures 10- 13;

• Figure 15 is a schematic sectional view according to line XV-XV of part of the extractor element of figure 14;

• Figures 16 and 17 are two schematic sectional views

according to line VI-VI of part of the upper shell of figure 5 according to another embodiment and in two different operating instants; and

• Figures 18 and 19 are two sectional views of a cured

tread strip extracted from the curing mold of figures 16 and 17.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In figure 1, the reference number 1 indicates overall a plant for the realization of tread strips 2 to be utilized in the cold retreading of pneumatic tyres.

The plant 1 comprises a mixing device 3 wherein a green rubber compound is formed that is fed to an extruding device 4 in order to extrude the green rubber compound and obtain a continuous band 5 of green tread. Arranged downstream of the extruding device 4 is a cutting device 6, which separates a series of green tread strips 2 of the desired length from the continuous band 5 of green tread. Arranged downstream of the cutting device 6 is a curing station 7, which carries out the curing of the green tread strips 2 and therefore supplies cured tread strips 2 (which are normally referred to as PCT, which stands for Pre-Cured Tread) . Preferably, arranged downstream of the curing station 7 is a trimming device 8 that eliminates the residue generated by the curing process from each cured tread strip 2. As is illustrated in figure 2, the curing station 7 comprises a flat curing mold 9 that has a parallelepiped shape and that is composed of a lower shell 10 and an upper cover 11 that are coupled (joined) in order to close the curing mold 9 and therefore to allow for the execution of the curing process, and that are uncoupled (separated) in order to open the curing mold 9 and then allow for the insertion of a green tread strip 2 into the curing mold 9 or for the extraction of a cured tread strip 2 from the curing mold 9.

Within the interior of the curing mold 9, that is, between the lower shell 10 and the upper cover 11, a cavity 12 is defined that reproduces in negative the final desired shape of the tread strip 2 and that contains the tread strip 2 during the curing process. The cavity 12 is normally (but not required to be) divided into two semi-cavities respectively formed in the lower shell 10 and in the upper cover 11; as an alternative, the cavity 12 could be entirely arranged within the lower shell 10, and, therefore, the upper cover 11 becomes flat.

The tread design is reproduced in negative within the cavity 12 of the lower shell 10 of the curing mold 9, while the cavity 12 of the upper cover 11 is substantially smooth, that is to say, without parts in relief.

As illustrated in figure 2, the cured tread strip 2 has a wall 13 that exhibits the relief design of the tread and is in contact with the lower shell 10, and a wall 14, which is smooth, is opposite the wall 13 and is in contact with the upper cover 11. In particular, the lower shell 10 of the curing mold 9 comprises an irregular lower surface 15 that reproduces in negative the shape of the tread and determines the shape of the wall 13 of the tread strip 2; moreover, the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9 comprises a flat upper surface 16, which determines the shape of the wall 14 of the tread strip 2.

At the end of the curing process, the curing mold 9 is opened raising the upper cover 11; the raising of the upper cover 11 can be accomplished by a pure translation movement along a vertical direction of movement that is perpendicular to the tread strip 2, can be accomplished by a rototranslation movement or (a less frequent, but theoretically possible case) can be accomplished by a pure rotational movement.

The curing station 7 comprises an extractor element 17 that is suitable for extracting the cured tread strip 2 from the lower shell 10 once the curing operation is terminated; in the (non-limiting) embodiments illustrated in figures 2-9, the extractor element 17 is integrated into the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9, that is, the extractor element 17 is of one piece with the upper cover 11.

The extractor element 17 (integrated in this embodiment into the upper cover 11) is suitable for adhering to the wall 14 of the tread strip 2 along the entire length of the wall 14 itself; in other words, the extractor element 17 is suitable for adhering to the entire area of the wall 14 of the tread strip 2. Furthermore, the extractor element 17 (integrated in this embodiment into the upper cover 11) is movable

perpendicularly with respect to the wall 14 of the tread strip 2 in order to simultaneously raise the entire tread strip 2) from the lower shell 10 (as illustrated in figure 4) ; in other words, the opening of the upper cover 11 (that is, of the extractor element 17 integrated into the upper cover 11) at the end of the curing process ensures the raising of the entire tread strip 2 from the lower shell 10 all at once. To summarize, the cured tread strip 2 is not extracted a little piece at a time from the lower shell 10 by deformation of the tread strip 2 itself, rather, the tread strip 2 is extracted all in one piece from the lower shell 10 without any type of deformation of the tread strip 2 itself.

As illustrated in figures 5-9, the extractor element 17 (integrated in this embodiment into the upper cover 11) comprises a holding wall 18 that rests against the wall 14 of the tread strip 2; in this embodiment, the holding wall 18 defines the internal surface 16 of the upper cover 11

(integrating the extractor element 17), which rests against the wall 14 of the tread strip 2 during the entire curing process. Furthermore, the extractor element 17 (integrated in this embodiment into the upper cover 11) comprises a grabbing member 19, which is arranged at the holding wall 18 and is suitable for generating a suction that ensures the adhesion by suction of the tread strip 2 to the holding wall 18; in other words, the grabbing member 19 generates a depression (that is, a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure) at the holding wall 18 that ensures adhesion by suction of the tread strip 2 to the holding wall 18 itself.

As illustrated in figures 5-9, the grabbing member 19 comprises a plurality of suction holes 20 that open through the holding wall 18 itself and that are connectable to the suction source 21, which may be external (as illustrated in figures 6 and 7) to the extractor element 17 (that is, to the upper cover 11, which incorporates the extractor element 17) or may be internal (as illustrated in figures 8 and 9) to the extractor element 17 (that is, to the upper cover 11, which incorporates the extractor element 17) .

As illustrated in figure 5, the suction holes 20 are uniformly distributed over the entire area of the holding wall 18 (that is, over the entire internal surface 16 of the upper cover 11, which incorporates the extractor element 17) in such a way that the holding wall 18 can adhere in a complete and uniform way to the wall 14 of the cured tread strip 2.

According to the embodiment illustrated in figures 6 and 7, the suction holes 20 are connected to collector 22, which is formed inside the extractor element 17 (that is, in this embodiment inside the upper cover 11) and is connected to the external suction source 21. According to a preferred

embodiment, the grabbing member 19 comprises at least one porous baffle 23 that is permeable to the air and impermeable to the rubber and that is arranged at the suction holes 20 to close the suction holes 20 themselves. In other words, the porous baffle 23 has a plurality of micro-holes that permit the passage of the air, but that do not permit the passage of the rubber. The function of the porous baffle 23 is to prevent the rubber from creeping into the suction holes 20 during the curing process, thereby avoiding the formation of "hairs" (also called "pin vent") on the wall 14 of the tread strip 2; a further function of the porous baffle 23 is to permit the grabbing by suction of the tread strip 2 at the end of the curing process when the tread strip 2 itself must be extracted from the lower shell 10 of the curing mold 9. In other words, the porous baffle 23 must prevent the rubber from entering into the suction holes 20 during the curing process, instead

permitting the passage of air through the ventilation holes 20 during the subsequent extraction of the tread strip 2 from the lower shell 10 of the curing mold 9.

In the embodiment illustrated in figure 6, a single porous baffle 23 is provided that covers the entire holding wall 18, that is, a single porous baffle 23 covers all of the suction holes 20; according to the alternative embodiment illustrated in figure 7, a plurality of porous baffles 23 is provided, each of which is arranged within a corresponding suction hole 20.

According to the embodiment illustrated in figures 8 and 9, the suction source 21 is on the interior of the extractor element 17 (that is, in this embodiment the upper cover 11) . In this embodiment, the grabbing member 19 comprises for each suction hole 20 a corresponding piston 24, which is movable in the interior of the suction hole 20 itself in order to locally generate a depression; furthermore, the grabbing member 19 comprises an actuator device 25, which, during the curing process, keeps each piston 24 in a first position in which an external wall of the piston 24 is coplanar with the holding wall 18 (as illustrated in figure 8) and at the end of the curing process withdraws each piston 24 into a second position in which the external wall of the piston 24 is spaced apart from the holding wall 18 (as illustrated in figure 9) . The movement of each piston 24 generates within the corresponding suction hole 20 a depression (or a "vacuum") that makes it possible to grab the cured tread strip 2 by suction.

Indifferently, a single actuator device 25 common to all of the pistons 24 may be provided, or a plurality of actuator devices 25 may be provided, each of which actuates one or more pistons 24.

In the embodiment illustrated in figures 8 and 9, the presence of the porous baffle 23 is not necessary, because during the curing process the holding wall 18 (that is, the internal surface 16) is without holes because the external walls of the pistons 24 are coplanar with the holding wall 18 (as illustrated in figure 8) .

In the embodiment illustrated in figures 6 and 7, the suction holes 21 are more numerous and smaller (that is, of smaller diameter) because their internal parts are not involved with moving parts; instead, in the embodiment illustrated in figures 8 and 9, the suction holes 21 are less numerous and larger (that is, of larger diameter) because they must be spacious enough to accommodate the pistons 24 in a leak-tight manner .

Inserting the suction source 21 in the extractor element 17 (integrated in this embodiment into the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9) has the advantage of not requiring the presence of the porous baffle 23; it does however involve a major design complication; in fact, the presence of the porous baffle 23 is problematic because with the passing of the air it leads to losses in pressure that reduce the suction holding force and substantially retard the activation of the suction grab .

In the embodiments illustrated in figures 5-9, the extractor element 17 is integrated into the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9, that is, the extractor element 17 is of one piece with the upper cover 11; instead, in the embodiments illustrated in figures 10-15, the extractor element 17 is separate and independent from the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9. As illustrated in figures 10-13, once the curing process is terminated, the curing mold 9 is opened, raising the upper cover 11 (figure 11) and leaving the cured tread strip 2 inside the shell 10; subsequently, the extractor element 17 is rested against the wall 14 of the cured tread strip 2 that is left free and in view by the removal of the upper cover 11 (figure 12) and the holding wall 18 of the extractor element 17 is made to adhere by suction to the wall 14 of the cured tread strip 2 (figure 12) . Finally, the extractor element 17 is raised perpendicularly with respect to the wall 14 of the tread strip 2 in order to simultaneously raise the entire tread strip 2 from the lower shell 10 (figure 13) ; in other words, the raising of the extractor element 17 ensures the contemporaneous raising of the entire tread strip 2 from the lower shell 10. To summarize, the cured tread strip 2 is not extracted a little piece at a time from the lower shell 10 by a deformation of the tread strip 2 itself, rather, the tread strip 2 is extracted all in one piece from the lower shell 10 without any type of deformation of the tread strip 2 itself.

The raising movement of the extractor element 17 can be accomplished by a pure translation movement along a vertical direction of movement that is perpendicular to the tread strip 2, or can be accomplished by a rototranslation movement.

The extractor element 17 may also be utilized to feed the cured tread strip 2 that is extracted from the lower shell 10 of the curing mold 9 to a subsequent wrapping station in which the cured tread strip 2 is wrapped around a casing of a pneumatic tyre to be cold-retreaded; in this case, the

extractor element 17 can release the cured tread strip 2 above a conveyor that then forwards the cured tread strip 2 to the wrapping station, or the extractor element 17 can release the cured tread strip 2 directly into the wrapping station.

The extractor element 17, which is independent and separate from the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9 (as illustrated in figures 14 and 15) , is altogether analogous to the extractor element 17 integrated into the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9 (as illustrated in figures 5, 6 and 7) with the one substantial difference that the porous sector 23 is not provided (altogether unhelpful because the extractor element 17 is not involved in the curing process) . When the extractor element 17 is independent and separate from the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9, it is preferable that the suction source 21 is external to the extractor element 17 because such a solution is structurally much simpler (and in any case does not require the porous sector 23) .

Illustrated in figures 16-19 is one possible embodiment that is applicable only in the case in which the extractor element 17 is integrated into the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9; in this embodiment, the holding wall 18 (which is a part of the upper cover 11 that incorporates the extractor element 17) has a plurality of cavities 26, each of which has at least one undercut and is filled with rubber during the curing process in order to create a protuberance 27 of the tread strip 2 that mechanically links the tread strip 2 to the cover 11. The mechanical connection between the cured tread strip 2 and the upper cover 11 (which integrates the extractor element 17) established by the protuberances 27 is utilized to facilitate the extraction of the cured tread strip 2 from the lower shell 10 of the curing mold 9. Once the extraction of the cured tread strip 2 from the lower shell 10 of the curing mold 9 is completed, the cured tread strip 2 is separated from the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9, applying to the cured tread strip 2 a traction that is strong enough to elastically deform the protuberances 27 in order to force the

protuberances 27 to come out of the corresponding cavities 26. Once the tread strip 2 is separated from the upper cover 11 of the curing mold 9, the protuberances 27 are removed (typically cut off using a blade) as illustrated in figure 19; in

alternatives, the protuberances 27 could also remain in the cured tread strip 2 and therefore become a part of the retread pneumatic tyre by the cured tread strip 2 itself.

The curing station 7 described above offers numerous advantages .

In the first place, in the curing station 7 described above, the extraction of the cured tread strip 2 from the curing mold 9 (in particular from the lower shell 10 of the curing mold 9) is accomplished without subjecting the cured tread strip 2 to appreciable deformations and therefore without running the risk of damaging the cured tread strip 2 itself .

Moreover, the curing station 7 described above is easy and economical to produce because the predisposition of the suctioning extractor element 17 does not involve any design complications (particularly when the suctioning extractor element 17 is separate and independent from the upper cover 11) .