JP5670161B2 - Tire inspection equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection device for inspecting an inner peripheral surface of a tire.

  Normally, tubeless tires are formed by stacking members such as an inner liner, carcass, belt, and tread on a molding drum to form an unvulcanized tire, which is then placed in the mold and expanded by shaping using a bladder. The product tire is vulcanized by heating while pressing against the molding surface. At that time, in order to improve releasability from the bladder after vulcanization, a water-soluble release agent is applied to the inner liner of the inner surface of the unvulcanized tire.

  When the release agent is applied to the inner surface of the unvulcanized tire, the release agent penetrates into the joint portion of the inner liner and has a height of about 0.2 to 1.0 mm which is said to be an air pool on the inner peripheral surface of the tire. Swelling may occur.

  If there is an air pool on the inner peripheral surface of such a tire, there is a risk of air leakage and durability of the tubeless tire being reduced, so it is inspected whether there is an air pool before shipping the tire. (For example, see Patent Document 1 below).

  In Patent Document 1, light from the inner peripheral surface of a tire reflected by a mirror while rotating the tire and the photographing unit relative to each other around the tire axis while the illumination unit illuminates the inner peripheral surface of the tire is disclosed. An inspection apparatus for tires in which a photographing means photographs is disclosed.

  In a tire inspection apparatus such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, a mirror that reflects light from the inner peripheral surface of a tire to an imaging unit is inserted into a recessed portion that is recessed radially outward from the hollow portion of the tire. In such a case, if you try to enlarge the area that can be photographed in the circumferential direction of the tire, the inner peripheral surface of the tire has an arc shape, so insert the mirror deeply into the recessed part from the hollow part. The tip cannot be brought close to the inner peripheral surface of the tire. Therefore, if an attempt is made to shorten the time required to inspect the entire circumference of the tire by enlarging the area that can be photographed in the circumferential direction of the tire per unit time, the inner circumference of the tire that can be photographed by the photographing means There is a problem that the range of the surface becomes narrow and the inner peripheral surface of the tire cannot be inspected over a wide range.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-249012

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and in a tire inspection apparatus that photographs the inner peripheral surface of a tire using a mirror that reflects light from the inner peripheral surface of the tire, while reducing the inspection time. An object of the present invention is to provide a tire inspection apparatus capable of inspecting the inner peripheral surface of a tire over a wide range.

  A tire inspection apparatus according to the present invention includes an illumination unit that illuminates an inner peripheral surface of a tire, an imaging unit that captures an inner peripheral surface of the tire, and a curved inner surface of the tire that curves along the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the tire. An inspection unit having a mirror that reflects light that illuminates a peripheral surface to the photographing unit, and a drive unit that relatively rotates the tire and the inspection unit around an axis of the tire, and the illumination unit is While the inner peripheral surface is illuminated, the driving unit rotates the tire and the inspection unit relative to each other around the tire axis, while reflecting the mirror disposed along the inner peripheral surface of the tire. The imaging unit captures light from the inner peripheral surface.

  In the tire inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the mirror that reflects the light that illuminates the inner peripheral surface of the tire to the photographing unit is curved along the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the tire. Even if a long (large) mirror is provided, the mirror can be inserted deeply into a recessed portion that is recessed radially outward from the hollow portion of the tire so as to be close to the inner peripheral surface of the tire. Therefore, inspecting the inner peripheral surface of the tire over a wide range while reducing the time required to inspect the entire circumference of the tire by enlarging the area that the imaging unit can image in the circumferential direction of the tire per unit time Can do.

  In the present invention, the inner peripheral surface of the tire can be inspected over a wide range while reducing the inspection time.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a tire to be inspected by a tire inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a tire inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2. 1 is a plan view of a tire inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a tire inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the inspection apparatus of the tire which shows the state which moved the test | inspection part to the retracted position. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2. It is a perspective view of the tire inspection apparatus which concerns on the example of a change of this invention.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The tire T to be inspected in the present embodiment includes a tread portion 1, a pair of left and right bead portions 2, a pair of left and right shoulder portions 3 and sidewall portions 4 interposed between the tread portion 1 and the bead portion 2. It becomes more. On the inner side in the radial direction of the tread portion 1, a carcass ply 5 composed of one or a plurality of layers in which steel cords and high-strength organic fiber cords are arranged in the tire radial direction is disposed. The carcass ply 5 is locked by being rolled up from the inside to the outside of the bead core 6 by the bead portion 2 through the sidewall portions 4 on both sides from the tread portion 1. Further, a plurality of belts 7 made of steel cords are disposed on the outer side in the radial direction of the carcass ply 5 in the tread portion 1.

  In the final stage of the manufacturing process, the tire T configured as described above is inspected for the presence of bulging, which is referred to as air accumulation, on the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T by a tire inspection device (hereinafter referred to as an inspection device) 10 as shown in FIG. To do.

  The inspection apparatus 10 includes a rotary table 12 on which a tire T is placed with one side wall portion 4 facing down, a table driving unit 14 that rotates the rotary table 12, a mirror 36, an illumination unit 16, and a first imaging. The inspection unit 20 including the unit 18 and the second imaging unit 19, the inspection driving unit 22 that moves the inspection unit 20 in the horizontal direction, the table driving unit 14, the illumination unit 16, the imaging units 18 and 19, and the inspection driving unit 22. And a control unit 24 for controlling the driving of the motor.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the turntable 12 has a cavity 26, and an inspection unit 20 and an inspection drive unit 22 are disposed in the cavity 26.

  On the turntable 12, the tire T is mounted so that the rotation axis L1 of the turntable 12 and the rotation axis L2 of the tire T coincide. With the tire T placed on the turntable 12 in this way, the hollow portion 9 formed inside the bead portion 2 of the tire T and the hollow portion 26 of the turntable 12 are connected vertically.

  The rotary table 12 rotates the tire T mounted on the rotary table 12 around the rotation axis L2 by transmitting the power from the table driving unit 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the inspection unit 20 is attached to a support column 27 protruding upward from the cavity 26 of the turntable 12 via a support frame 28 and a support frame 29. The inspection part 20 is arranged in the hollow part 9 of the tire T by inserting the support column 27 from below into the hollow part 9 of the tire T placed on the turntable 12.

  A slider 32 is connected to the lower end of the support column 27 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction (left and right direction in FIGS. 2 to 4) on the rail 30 by receiving power from the inspection driving unit 22.

  A support frame 28 that fixes the mirror 36, the illumination unit 16, and the first imaging unit 18 is attached to the upper part of the support column 27, and a support frame 29 that fixes the second imaging unit 19 is attached below the support frame 28. ing.

  The mirror 36 is attached to the tip of a support member 34 extending in the horizontal direction from the support frame 28. The mirror 36 is curved along the circumferential direction C of the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the mirror 36 is disposed to face the inner surface of the tread portion 1 of the tire T and is curved along the inner surface of the tread portion 1 of the tire T. The curved mirror 36 has an inner surface (a surface opposite to the surface facing the tread portion 1 of the tire T) forming a mirror surface 36a, and first shoots light that illuminates the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T. Reflected to the unit 18.

  The illuminating unit 16 includes a base 38 formed at the upper end of the mirror 36 so as to protrude from the mirror surface 36 a, and a light emitting unit 40 provided on the lower surface of the base 38. The light emitting unit 40 includes a plurality of blue LEDs having an emission wavelength of 400 to 500 nm, emits light downward, and illuminates from the shoulder portion 3 to the bead portion 2 of the tire T.

  The first photographing unit 18 is composed of, for example, a CCD camera, and is fixed to the support frame 28 so that the optical axis r1 is inclined downward (see FIG. 3). The first imaging unit 18 shoots the light that is emitted from the light emitting unit 40 of the illumination unit 16 and that illuminates the region from the shoulder unit 3 to the bead unit 2 located below the tire T by the mirror surface 36a of the mirror 36. To do. That is, the first photographing unit 18 photographs the inner surface of the lower shoulder portion 3, sidewall portion 4, and bead portion 2 of the tire T projected on the mirror 36.

  The second photographing unit 19 is composed of, for example, a CCD camera, and the inner circumferential surface 8 of the tire T placed on the rotary table 12, specifically, the tire width of the tread portion 1 from the shoulder portion 3 positioned on the lower side. The inner surface up to the center in the direction W is photographed.

  In order to avoid interference between the mirror 36 fixed to the support frame 28, the illumination unit 16, and the first imaging unit 18, the second imaging unit 19 has an optical axis r2 of the second imaging unit 19 in a plan view. 18 is shifted from the optical axis r1 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

  In the present embodiment, a ring-shaped illumination unit 21 is attached around the lens unit of the second imaging unit 19, and is placed on a region where the second imaging unit 19 captures an image, that is, on the rotary table 12. The inner surface from the shoulder portion 3 located on the lower side of the tire T to the central portion in the tire width direction W of the tread portion 1 is illuminated. The illuminating unit 21 emits blue light having a light wavelength of 400 to 500 nm to illuminate a region captured by the second imaging unit 19.

  The inspection drive unit 22 slides the slider 32 connected to the lower end of the support column 27 along the rail 30 in the horizontal direction. Thereby, the inspection drive unit 22 moves the inspection unit 20 connected to the support column 27 via the support frame 28 and the support frame 29 in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the mirror 36 and the illuminating unit 16 provided at the tip of the support member 34 are retracted positions (see FIG. 6) located radially inward of the hollow portion 9 of the tire T placed on the rotary table 12. ) And the inspection position (see FIG. 3) close to the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T.

  The control unit 24 controls the table driving unit 14, the illumination unit 16, the first imaging unit 18, the second imaging unit 19, the illumination unit 21, and the inspection driving unit 22 on the basis of the program stored in the memory, and the rotary table. 12 is inspected.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the rotary table in a state where the inspection unit 20 is disposed at the retreat position so that the mirror 36 and the illumination unit 16 provided at the tip of the support member 34 do not interfere with the tire T. A tire T is placed on the tire 12. The position of the tire T placed on the turntable 12 is adjusted by a position adjustment mechanism (not shown) so that the rotation axis L1 of the turntable 12 and the rotation axis L2 of the tire T coincide.

  Next, the inspection drive unit 22 moves the inspection unit 20 from the retracted position to the inspection position so that the mirror 36 and the illumination unit 16 are close to the inner surface of the tread portion 1 of the tire T, and the first imaging unit 18 and the second imaging unit. The part 19 is brought close to the tire T.

  After moving the inspection unit 20 to the inspection position, the control unit 24 is reflected on the mirror 36 in a state where the light emitting unit 40 of the illumination unit 16 emits light to illuminate the shoulder portion 3 to the bead portion 2 of the tire T. The first photographing unit 18 photographs the lower shoulder portion 3 to the bead portion 2 of the tire T. Further, the control unit 24 illuminates the inner surface from the shoulder portion 3 located on the lower side of the tire T to the central portion in the tire width direction W of the tread portion 1 by photographing the first photographing portion 18 and causing the illumination portion 21 to emit light. In an illuminated state, the inner surface from the shoulder portion 3 located on the lower side of the tire T to the central portion of the tread portion 1 in the tire width direction W is photographed by the second photographing portion 19.

  And the illumination of the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T by the illumination part 16 and the illumination part 21 and the imaging | photography of the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T by the 1st imaging | photography part 18 and the 2nd imaging | photography part 19 were performed as mentioned above. While maintaining the state, the table driving unit 14 rotates the rotary table 12 and relatively rotates the tire T and the inspection unit 20 placed thereon around the rotation axis L2 of the tire T.

  Thereby, the 1st imaging | photography part 18 and the 2nd imaging | photography part 19 can image | photograph the inner peripheral surface 8 whole periphery of the tire T continuously.

  Data obtained by photographing from the first photographing unit 18 and the second photographing unit 19 is input to the control unit 24, and the control unit 24 collates with predetermined data stored in advance in a memory to obtain a reference value (for example, It is determined whether or not there is a bulge that deviates from a height of about 0.2 to 1.0 mm.

  When photographing is completed over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction C of the tire T, the lower half of the tire T in the width direction W (that is, from the bead portion 2 located on the lower side to the center portion in the tire width direction W of the tread portion 1). The inspection is completed, and the inspection driving unit 22 moves the inspection unit 20 from the inspection position to the retracted position.

  And the upper half of the width direction W of the tire T which has not been inspected earlier is placed on the turntable 12 by turning the tire T upside down, and the position of the tire T is adjusted again and inspected. While moving the part 20 from the retracted position to the inspection position and irradiating light from the illumination part 16 and the illumination part 21 to the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T, while rotating the tire T relatively around the rotation axis L2, The first photographing unit 18 and the second photographing unit 19 photograph the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T, and the control unit 24 compares the predetermined data stored in the memory in advance with the data obtained by photographing and serves as a reference. It is determined whether there is a bulge that deviates from the value.

  As described above, in the inspection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the mirror 36 that reflects the light that illuminates the region from the shoulder portion 3 to the bead portion 2 located on the lower side of the tire T to the first photographing unit 18 is the tire T. Since the mirror 36 is curved along the circumferential direction C of the tread portion 1, even if the mirror 36 is provided longer (larger) along the circumferential direction C of the tire T than when the mirror is not curved, the mirror 36 is It can be brought close to the inner surface of the tread portion 1 of T. For this reason, the first photographing unit 18 and the first photographing unit 18 are reduced in the circumferential direction C of the tire T per unit time while reducing the time required for inspecting the entire circumference of the tire by enlarging the region that can be photographed. The second photographing unit 19 can photograph the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T without making a blind spot, and can inspect the entire inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T.

  Moreover, in the inspection apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the illumination part 16 is formed in the upper end part of the mirror 36 so that it may protrude from the mirror surface 36a, and light is irradiated toward the inner surface from the shoulder part 3 of the tire T to the bead part 2. Irradiation and light that illuminates the inner surface from the shoulder portion 3 to the bead portion 2 of the tire T are reflected by the mirror 36 to the first photographing unit 18. With such a configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the traveling direction A of the light emitted from the illumination unit 16 and the first photographing unit 18 photograph the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T through the mirror 36. The photographing direction B can be appropriately shifted, and thereby, a bulge having a height of about 0.2 to 1.0 mm existing on the inner surface from the shoulder portion 3 to the bead portion 2 of the tire T can be photographed with good contrast. And inspection accuracy can be improved.

  Further, in the inspection apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 40 of the illumination unit 16 is made blue, so that the contrast does not occur even on the inner peripheral surface 8 of the black tire T without causing halation. Therefore, even if the tire T identification seal, which is said to be a stamped stamp, or dirt due to a release agent or oil adhered during the manufacture of the tire is on the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T, it exceeds the reference value. It becomes easy to determine whether or not there is such a bulge, and the inspection accuracy can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the tire T and the inspection unit 20 are relatively rotated by rotating the tire T with respect to the inspection unit 20, but the inspection unit 20 is configured to rotate. Also good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inspection unit 20 that inspects from the bead portion 2 positioned below the tire T placed on the turntable 12 to the center portion of the tread portion 1 in the tire width direction W is provided. 8, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the tire width direction W of the tread portion 1 from the bead portion 2 positioned above the tire T placed on the rotary table 12 in addition to the inspection portion 20. An upper inspection unit 50 that inspects up to the center portion may be provided in the hollow portion 9 of the tire T, and the lower and upper sides of the tire T may be inspected simultaneously by one rotation operation of the tire T.

  That is, the upper inspection unit 50 includes an upper mirror 76, an upper illumination unit 56, an upper first imaging unit 58, and an upper second imaging unit 59. The upper inspection unit 50 is attached to a support 67 that protrudes upward from the cavity 26 of the turntable 12 via a support frame 68 and a support frame 69. The upper inspection portion 50 is disposed in the hollow portion 9 of the tire T so that the support 67 is inserted from below into the hollow portion 9 of the tire T placed on the turntable 12 so as to avoid interference with the inspection portion 20.

  A support frame 69 to which the upper second imaging unit 59 is fixed is attached to the upper portion of the support 67. A support frame to which the upper mirror 76, the upper illumination unit 56, and the upper first imaging unit 58 are fixed below the support frame 69. 68 is attached.

  The upper mirror 76 is attached to the tip of a support member 74 that extends in the horizontal direction from the support frame 68. The upper mirror 76 is disposed to face the inner surface of the tread portion 1 of the tire T, and is curved along the inner surface of the tread portion 1 of the tire T. The upper mirror 76 is disposed above the mirror 36 provided in the inspection unit 20. The curved upper mirror 76 has an inner surface (a surface opposite to the surface facing the tread portion 1 of the tire T) forming a mirror surface 76a, and extends from the bead portion 2 to the shoulder portion 3 on the upper side of the tire T. The light illuminating the inner surface is reflected to the upper first photographing unit 58.

  The upper illumination unit 56 is formed on the upper end portion of the upper mirror 76 so as to protrude from the mirror surface 76a, emits light upward, and illuminates from the upper shoulder portion 3 to the bead portion 2 of the tire T. The light source of the upper illumination unit 56 is composed of a blue LED having a light emission wavelength of 400 to 500 nm.

  The upper first photographing unit 58 is composed of, for example, a CCD camera, and photographs the inner surfaces of the upper shoulder portion 3, the sidewall portion 4, and the bead portion 2 of the tire T projected on the mirror 36.

  The upper second photographing unit 59 is formed of, for example, a CCD camera, and photographs an inner surface from the shoulder portion 3 located on the upper side of the tire T to the central portion in the tire width direction W of the tread portion 1.

  The upper second imaging unit 59 has a plan view of the optical axis of the upper second imaging unit 59 so as to avoid interference between the upper mirror 76 fixed to the support frame 68, the upper illumination unit 56, and the upper first imaging unit 18. Is deviated from the optical axis of the upper first imaging section 58.

  When the inspection apparatus includes the upper inspection unit 50 in addition to the inspection unit 20, the lower side and the upper side of the inner peripheral surface 8 of the tire T can be inspected without reversing the upper and lower sides, thereby reducing the inspection time. Can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tread part 2 ... Bead part 3 ... Shoulder part 4 ... Side wall part 5 ... Carcass ply 6 ... Bead core 7 ... Belt 8 ... Inner peripheral surface 9 ... Hollow part 10 ... Inspection apparatus 12 ... Rotary table 14 ... Table drive part 16 ... illumination unit 18 ... first imaging unit 19 ... second imaging unit 20 ... inspection unit 22 ... inspection drive unit 24 ... control unit 26 ... hollow part 27 ... support 28 ... support frame 29 ... support frame 30 ... rail 32 ... slider 34 ... support material 36 ... mirror 38 ... base 39 ... plate surface 40 ... light emitting part C ... circumferential direction L1 ... rotation axis L2 ... rotation axis T ... tire

Claims (4)

An illumination unit that illuminates the inner peripheral surface of the tire, an imaging unit that images the inner peripheral surface of the tire, and the imaging unit that illuminates the inner peripheral surface of the tire curved along the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the tire An inspection section having a mirror for reflecting the light;
A drive unit that relatively rotates the tire and the inspection unit around the axis of the tire;
In a state where the illumination unit illuminates the inner peripheral surface of the tire, the drive unit is arranged along the inner peripheral surface of the tire while relatively rotating the tire and the inspection unit around the tire axis. An inspection apparatus for tires, wherein the photographing unit photographs light from an inner peripheral surface of a tire reflected by a mirror.   The said mirror is arrange | positioned along the inner surface of the tread part of a tire, and reflects the light which illuminated the inner surface from the sidewall part of a tire to a bead part to the said imaging | photography part. Tire inspection device.   The tire inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the illumination unit is provided on the mirror and irradiates light toward an inner surface of a sidewall portion of the tire.   The tire inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the illumination unit emits blue light.

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