AU725177B2

AU725177B2 - An apparatus for removing a tyre wall from a tyre carcass

Info

Publication number: AU725177B2
Application number: AU68065/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Gregory Allan Chapman
Original assignee: CROCKFORD MICHAEL
Current assignee: Crockford Michael
Priority date: 1997-05-22
Filing date: 1998-05-22
Publication date: 2000-10-05
Anticipated expiration: 2018-05-22
Also published as: AU6806598A

Description

I-

P/00/0011I Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for service in Australia: Gregory Allan Chapman r-c~ceA. Qxoe~\~~r6 As Above ADDRESS FOR SERVICE

ALTERED

189 Kent Stre L~~jooo\8& QVA 46:5 S ydn e ew South Wales 2000 AN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING A TYRE WALL FROM A TYRE CARCASS Invention Title: Details of Associated Provisional Application: PO 6953 filed 22 May 1997 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us -2- AN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING A TYRE WALL FROM A TYRE

CARCASS

Field Of The Invention The present invention relates to apparatus for use in carrying out a preliminary step in the reclaiming of rubber from a vehicle tyre carcass.

Background Of The Invention When reclaiming rubber from a tyre, a preliminary step involves removing each side wall of the tyre leaving the outer peripheral tread zone of the tyre for subsequent reclaiming treatment. Over the years, there have been machines and techniques developed for the removal of the side walls oftyres.

However, there is always a need for a simpler and more cost efficient manner of tyre side wall removal.

Summary Of The Invention It is an aim of the present invention that in at least one embodiment, there 15 may be provided a relatively simple and efficient apparatus for use in removing the side walls from a tyre carcass.

In an aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for use in removing an annular tyre side wall from a tyre carcass, the apparatus including: 20 a support frame for supporting the tyre carcass; a rotatable driving element; a blade for cutting the tyre side wall from the tyre carcass; rotatable means against which the tyre side wall is able to be pressed by :a the driving element; 25 drive means for rotating the blade and the driving element; and operable means able to be operated to cause the blade to penetrate through the tyre side wall and such that the tyre side wall is pressed against the rotatable means by the driving element so as to be gripped there between; wherein the tyre carcass is able to be rotated relative to the support frame by the driving element when the tyre carcass is supported by the support frame and gripped between the rotatable means and the driving element, to thereby enable the tyre side wall to be cut from the tyre carcass by the blade.

DAA:.jjk:#25374 May 22,1998 -3- Usually, the operable means will include a linkage system arranged so as to be able to cause the driving element to press the tyre side wall of the tyre carcass against the rotatable means.

Generally, the driving element will be able to be swung from an initial position into engagement with the tyre side wall such that the tyre side wall is gripped between the driving element and the rotatable means.

The invention will now be described with reference to a number of preferred embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description Of The Accompanyin Drawings Figure 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the invention; Figure 2 illustrates the apparatus shown in fig. 1 in use; Figures 3 to 5 are schematic views illustrating the operation of a linkage system of the apparatus shown in fig. 1; and 15 Figure 6 is a perspective view showing an annular tyre side wall that has been cut from a tyre carcass.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of The Invention The apparatus shown in fig. 1 comprises a support frame 10 including a .*.table 12 able to be pivoted about pivot pin 14. The table is shown in a first 20 inclined position and a tyre carcass 16 is located on the table ready for the removal of the side wall 18 of the tyre.

~A drive unit 20 is mounted on the support frame 10 and is able to be raised and lowered relative to the support frame. The drive unit includes a motor connected to a drive shaft 22 carrying a driving element in the form of a 25 drive wheel 24 with a disc blade 26 of larger diameter clamped between two wheel sections forming the drive wheel. The outer peripheries 28 of the drive wheel are roughened to provide grip when brought into contact with the underside 30 of the tyre carcass during a cutting operation as illustrated in fig.

2.

As can be seen in that figure, drive unit 20 is pivotally mounted at 32 allowing the drive unit to be raised and lowered. A linkage system 34 to be DAA:ijk:#25374 May 22, 1998 -4described controls the raising and lowering of the drive unit and the simultaneous pivoting of table 12 about pivot pin 14.

The linkage system is illustrated in fig. 3 and comprises a lever 36 pivotable about the support frame at pivot point 38 and being able to be hand operated when gripped at end 40. The other end 42 of the lever 36 is pivotally connected to one end of a link member 44 which in turn is pivotally coupled to one end of an arm46 comprising one of a number of components forming a part of the linkage system generally indicated by the letter Y. The components of the Y arrangement further include an arm 48 and an arm The Y arrangement is able to be pivoted relative to the support frame about a common axis 52. A bearing assembly is located at a free end 54 of the arm 50 which rotatably receives drive shaft 22. Arm 48 is a stop arm able to engage a stop 56 to limit the rotation of arms 46 and 50 about common axis 52.

There is also provided a link brace 58 pivotally connected at end 60 to 15 arm 50 and at an opposite end 62 to table 12. As can be seen, the distance between common axis 52 to the axis of rotation of drive shaft 22 is greater than *"the radius from common axis 52 to the connection at point 60 so that as the Y arrangement is rotated about common axis 52, the drive wheel 24 is able to be received within through slot 64 defined in table 12 and be pressed against the 20 side wall 18 of the tyre carcass 16 when resting on the table.

In order to attain that position, the linkage system 34 is operated such that the Y arrangement rotates anti-clockwise about common axis 52 so that arm is swung to substantially upright orientation as shown in fig. 4. With further operation of the linkage system, the arm 50 progresses to a position beyond 25 vertical as indicated in fig. 5. In this condition, the axis of rotation of drive shaft 22 is to the left of common axis 52 as generally indicated by the numeral 66, and arm 44 is engaged with stop 56. Accordingly, it follows that any downwardly directed force applied to the drive wheel 24 (as occurs during the cutting process) will be opposed by the engagement of arm 48 with stop 56 and as such, there is no tendency during the cutting process for the Y arrangement to rotate in the release clock-wise direction.

DAA:jjk:#25374 May 22, 1998 It is also noted that point 62 at which link brace 58 is pivotally connected to the table 12 is located to the right relative to common axis 52 as generally indicated by the numeral 68 shown in fig. 5, and to the right of connection point It, therefore, follows that any downward thrust applied to the table 12 will again, not tend to cause the Y arrangement to rotate in the clock-wise release direction.

Turning once more to fig. 1, the apparatus is also shown as comprising a mast 70 carrying an arm 72 supporting rotatable means in the form of a freely rotatable pressure wheel 74. A circumferential groove 76 is defined in the outer periphery of the pressure wheel to receive the outer edge 78 of disk blade 26.

Accordingly, when the linkage system is operated to raise and swing drive wheel 24 about common axis 52, the tyre carcass 16 is caused to be gripped between disk blade 26 and pressure wheel 74 following pivoting of table 12 about pivot pin 14 from the initial position shown in fig. 1 to the inclined 15 position shown in fig. 2. As such, and with rotation of disk blade 26 by drive o shaft 22 with operation of the motor of the drive unit 20, the disk blade is able to cut through the side wall 18 of the tyre carcass so that the blade is received within groove 76 of pressure wheel 74 and the outer peripheries of drive wheel 24 press against the tyre carcass. This causes the tyre carcass to be rotated about 20 its centre on table 12 with the rotation of the drive wheel 24.

Abutment means in the form of a wheel 80 carried by arm 72 and which rotates about an axis substantially perpendicular with respect to the axis of rotation of pressure wheel 74, runs on the inner surface of the tyre carcass as the cutting operation proceeds. The engagement of the wheel 80 with the tyre S 25 carcass is induced by the tendency of the tyre carcass to move in the direction of the arrow shown in fig. 2 during the cutting process.

As will be clear from the above, in a tyre wall removal operation: 1. a tyre carcass 16 is placed on the table 12 as shown in fig. 1 with arm 72 carried by mast 70 extending into the interior of the tyre; 2. the lever 36 is operated so that linkage system 34 causes the Y arrangement to rotate about common axis 52 to the position shown in fig. 5 so that the tyre carcass is gripped between drive wheel 24 and pressure wheel 74 DAA:jjk:#25374 May 22, 1998 i 4 -6and furthermore, so that the disk blade 26 penetrates tyre side wall 18 and is received in groove 76 of wheel 74; 3. the tyre carcass is caused to be rotated between drive wheel 24 and pressure wheel 74 so that an annular ring is cut into the side wall of the tyre carcass as shown in fig. 6 by the rotation of disk blade 26; and 4. lever 36 is then operated so that table 12 is lowered to the initial inclined position to allow the tyre carcass to be removed following the motor of the drive unit 20 being turned off.

If desired, a pair of sprockets could be used instead of the drive wheel, wherein the sprockets are arranged such that the disk blade 26 is clamped between them and so that the radially extending spokes of each sprocket are able to engage the side wall of the tyre carcass to thereby provide grip to cause rotation of the tyre carcass relative to the table 12 in use.

While the invention has been described hereinbefore with reference to a 15 number of preferred embodiments, the skilled addressee will appreciate that Snumerous variations and modifications are possible without departing from the ""'"scope of the invention which is defined in the following claims.

S .I .a a DAA:jjk:#25374 May 22,1998

Claims

1. An apparatus for use in removing an annular tyre side wall from a tyre carcass, the apparatus including: a support frame for supporting the tyre carcass; a rotatable driving element; a blade for cutting the tyre side wall from the tyre carcass; rotatable means against which the tyre side wall is able to be pressed by the driving element; drive means for rotating the blade and the driving element; and operable means able to be operated to cause the blade to penetrate through the tyre side wall and such that the tyre side wall is pressed against the rotatable means by the driving element so as to be gripped there between; wherein the tyre carcass is able to be rotated relative to the support frame by the driving element when the tyre carcass is supported by the support frame and gripped between the rotatable means and the driving element, to thereby ""9"enable the tyre side wall to be cut from the tyre carcass by the blade.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the operable means includes a linkage system arranged to be able to cause the driving element to press the tyre side wall against the rotatable means.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the linkage system is arranged to be able to cause the driving element to be swung from an initial position into one in which the driving element is able to press the tyre side wall against the rotatable means.

4. An apparatus according to claims 2 or 3 wherein the rotatable means is arranged so as to be locatable within the interior of the tyre carcass and is able to receive the blade when the tyre side wall of the tyre carcass is pressed against the rotatable means by the driving element.

An apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the support frame includes a table for receiving the tyre carcass, the table being engaged with the linkage sysytem so as to be pivoted about a pivot axis from a first DAA:jik:#25374 May 22, 1998 -8- position to a second position when the operable means is operated to cause the tyre carcass to be gripped between the rotatable means and the driving element.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the table has a through opening through which the driving means is able to contact the tyre side wall of the tyre carcass when placed on the table and with operation of the operable means.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5 or 6 wherein the linkage system includes: a linkage member; a first arm with an end region supporting a drive shaft for rotating the driving element and being rotatable by the drive means; a second arm pivotally attached to the linkage member at one end region and at an opposite end region to an opposite end region of the first arm; and a link brace with one end region pivotally attached to the table; 15 wherein the first and second arms are rotatable about a common axis of rotation with movement of the linkage member to thereby be able to cause the driving element to press against the tyre side wall of the tyre carcass, and wherein an opposite end region of the link brace is pivotally attached to the first arm between an axis of rotation of the drive shaft and said common axis.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the linkage arrangement further includes a third arm able to be rotated about the common axis with the :first and second arms, and to contact a stop to thereby prevent further rotation of said first and second arms about said common axis.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7 or 8 wherein the linkage arrangement further includes a handle able to be pivoted about a further axis of rotation to cause the movement of the linkage member.

An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 further including DAA:jjk:#25374 May 22,1998 -9- at least one abutment means arranged to be able to contact an interior surface of the tyre carcass and thereby inhibit movement of the tyre carcass in a transverse direction with respect to a direction of rotation of the blade.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the abutment means is arranged to inhibit movement of the tyre carcass in a substantially perpendicular direction with respect to the direction of rotation of the blade.

12. An apparatus according to .claim 10 or 11 wherein the abutment means is a wheel having an axis of rotation that is substantially perpendicular with respect to an axis of rotation of the rotatable means.

13. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the blade is a cutting disc clamped between a pair of bodies forming the driving element.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13 wherein bodies are sprockets arranged such that spokes of the sprockets are able to engage the tyre side wall and so cause the tyre carcass to be rotated.

15 15. An apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to one or more of figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings. Dated this 22nd day of May 1998 GREGOR-Y A 7 AN CHAPMAN' Mlc eQ.oe CkroCXrd By His Patent Attomeys 20 CARTER SMITH BEADLE 0 S DAA:jjk:#25374 May 22, 1998