Tire downsizing apparatus
AssigneeTechnical Rubber Company, Inc.
InventorSamuel Salvadori
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for downsizing tires are disclosed. An automated downsizing apparatus comprises a cradle, mandrel table, cutting apparatus, and a control unit. A tire mounted on the cradle may be received by the movable and rotatable mandrel table, and positioned for engagement with the cutting apparatus. A user may customize a cutting configuration to be executed by the control unit. The control unit positions the mandrel table and cutting apparatus to remove portions from the tire, according to the cutting configuration. During operation, one or more system parameters may be monitored to determine compliance with the selected configuration, and the automated execution may be manually overridden.
Claims9
A tire downsizing system comprising:
- a tire cradle comprising retractable arms to receive and secure a tire;
- a mandrel table comprising a mandrel extending from a top surface of the mandrel table, the mandrel table being movable to receive the tire from the tire cradle by positioning the mandrel in a center of the tire, and adjusting a position of the mandrel table to remove the tire from the tire cradle, wherein the mandrel table is further movable to adjust an orientation of the tire mounted on the mandrel table;
- a cutting apparatus comprising an upper blade positioned opposite a lower blade, and a power unit oppositely driving the upper blade and the lower blade in a shearing motion;
- a control unit to receive, through a user interface, one or more instructions indicative of an automated cutting operation to remove a plurality of pieces from a bead of the tire, while leaving the bead of the tire intact, and synchronize movements of the mandrel table and the cutting apparatus in accordance with the tire cutting operation,
- wherein the synchronized movements comprise:
- adjusting the mandrel table to horizontally position the tire between the blades of the cutting apparatus;
- oppositely driving the upper and lower blades to shear a piece from the bead of the tire;
- rotating the tire a predetermined amount after the piece has been removed;
- repeating the shearing and rotating motion until the plurality of pieces have been removed from the bead of the tire;
- and
- a conveyor belt to receive and transport the at least one piece removed from the bead of the tire.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.