Cleaning tire molds by ultrasonic wave energy
AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
InventorsRobert H. Johnston, Ralph O. Kline
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Method and apparatus for cleaning a tire curing mold by immersion in liquid cleaning agent bath, wherein the complete upper assembly of the mold is immersed in the bath and slowly rotated. Super or ultrasonic energy sources are particularly located and aimed, so that in combination with the relative motion of the mold assembly relative to the sources no portion of the surfaces to be cleaned is hidden by any other part from the direct impingement thereon of the sound wave energy. Efficiency of mold cleaning is materially advanced.
Claims8
In a method of cleaning tire molds, particularly tire molds of the segmented tread ring type, by immersing at least one mold part having a surface to be cleaned in a liquid bath having at least one ultrasonic wave energy emission means mounted to direct ultrasonic energy into said bath whereby the liquid and the ultrasonic wave energy cooperate to clean said part,
- the improvement comprising suspending an assembly of a plurality of parts of said mold to be cleaned in said bath, rotating said assembly as an entity about a vertical axis coincident with the axis of said assembly, and disposing a plurality of emission means for emission of sound wave energy between said axis and the surface to be cleaned of said mold parts such that no part of any said surface can lie between and thus shelter any other part of said surface from sound wave energy emitted by the nearest of said emission means.
In apparatus for cleaning a tire mold, particularly of the segmented tread ring type having a surface to be cleaned, by immersing at least one part of said mold in a liquid bath and by subjecting said at least one part to ultrasonic wave energy from emission means providing a source thereof mounted to direct energy into said bath whereby the liquid and the ultrasonic wave energy from said means cooperate to clean said part,
- the improvement comprising a tank containing said bath and having a rotatable ring supported thereon about the perimeter of the bath, a lifting frame having fastening means for attaching an assembly of a plurality of mold parts thereto to be suspended in said bath, pilot means cooperating with said ring to register said lifting means for corotation about a vertical axis of the frame while said frame is supported on said ring, and drive means for rotating said ring while the lifting frame and said assembly supported thereby are rotated about said vertical axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.