Method for manufacture of rubber granulate from old tires

An apparatus for manufacturing rubber granulate from tires of the type having a bead with a steel wire insert and a carcass comprised of rubber and steel cord, said apparatus comprising:

• means for pressing side-wall parts of a tire against each other;
• means for cutting a marginal strip from the tire containing the bead and steel wire insert;
• a cutting device for cutting the tire into pieces;
• a crushing mill for tearing the cut pieces;
• sieving and sorting devices for processing the cut pieces;
• and
• conveyor means for conveying the tire and cut pieces in a conveying direction from the cutting device, to the crushing mill, and to the sieving and sorting devices, the cutting device comprising a first cutting device with cutting edges extending in the direction of conveying of the tire for cutting longitudinally-extending strips, and downstream thereof a second cutting device having cutting edges extending at right angles to the direction of conveying for transversely cutting the longitudinally-extending strips.

A method for the continuous manufacture of rubber pieces from tires having carcasses and beads containing steel packets, in which a tyre is disintegrated and beads are separated from a rubber part of the carcass of the tire, the beads are rejected, and the rubber part of the tyre is disintegrated, said method comprising:

• pressing side walls of a tire to each other and removing the beads containing the steel packet in an initial operation;
• cutting and dividing said rubber part of the tire into strips along its perimeter in a first cutting operation;
• rejecting said beads containing said steel packets;
• and
• cutting through at least said strips which extend substantially in the direction of the tire perimeter and contain textile fibres in a second cutting operation in a direction which is oblique to the first cutting direction.

An apparatus for the continuous manufacture of rubber pieces from tires of the type having a carcass comprised of rubber and other materials and peripheral beads containing steel packets, said apparatus comprising:

• means for conveying a tire and its pieces in a predetermined conveying direction;
• first cutting means for cutting the tire into pieces and having a plurality of cutting edges extending in the direction of conveying of the tire for cutting longitudinally-extending strips;
• second cutting means downstream, in the conveying direction, of said first cutting means and having cutting edges extending at right angles to the direction of conveying for transversely cutting the longitudinally-extending strips;
• a rotary holder for the tire arranged upstream, in the conveying direction, of said first cutting means and including rollers for holding said tire in a circle;
• and
• cutter means having a cutting edge directed approximately tangentially to said circle for cutting the tire on said rotary holder along a perimeter of said beads of said tire and for separating said beads from the rubber part of said tire.