Apparatus for manufacturing tyres for vehicle wheels
AssigneePirelli Tyre S.p.A.
InventorsStefano Cazzanti, Alfredo Balini
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a method for manufacturing tires for vehicle wheels, a green tire, once formed, is transferred into a vulcanization mold and pressed against the holding walls of a molding cavity. Concurrently with the pressing step, a fluid present between the green tire and the holding walls is evacuated through vent valves. The tire is brought into contact with the closing head of each valve so as to push it toward a closed position of the valve itself. The closing head has a distal portion facing the molding cavity and includes at least one grip element for the tire blend, so that the closure member is pulled toward the open position while the molded and cured tire is moved away from the inner surface of the molding cavity.
Claims32
An apparatus for manufacturing a tyre for a vehicle wheel, comprising:
- devices designed to form a green tyre;
- at least one vulcanisation mould, having holding walls defining an inner surface of a moulding cavity, said inner surface conforming in shape to the final conformation to be given to the green tyre, and
- said vulcanisation mould comprising a plurality of vent valves for said moulding cavity, at least one of said valves comprising:
- a duct having an inlet end opening onto said inner surface of said moulding cavity, and
- a closure member having a closing head that is axially movable relative to the duct between:
- a closed position, at which said closing head forms a contact seat with an inner wall of said duct, said contact seat being defined in said inlet end;
- and
- an open position, at which said closing head and inner wall of said duct confine a passage for connection with said moulding cavity, said closing head having at least one grip element to be mechanically engaged with the green tyre pressed against the inner surface of the moulding cavity in order to bring the closure member back to the open position when the tyre is separated from said inner surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.