CA1112009A - Hub assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE:
Hub disassembly apparatus including a base, compri-sing first and second spaced portions, first and second guide rod members respectively mounted on the first and second por-tions of the base and extending toward each other in axial alignment and terminating short of each other, first and second slide carriages mounted respectively on the first and second guide rod members and each slide carriage being adapted to move between retracted inoperative positions and forward operative positions. The first and second slide carriages comprises res-pectively first and second locator shafts which shafts are adap-ted to enter the bore in a hub assembly to locate the hub assem-bly both axially and radially, a plurality of pulling fingers carried by each of the first and second slide carriages with each finger being mounted for rotative movement. The pulling fingers on each slide carriage are located at circumferentially spaced locations with respect to the axes of said locator shafts, each said pulling finger having first and second end portions, said first end portion of each of said pulling fingers having a radially extended portion which extends a circumferential dis-tance, sprocket means carried by said second end portion of each of said pulling fingers, a first chain connecting said sprocket means of said pulling fingers on said first slide carriage to-gether whereby the just referred to fingers rotate toghther, a second chain connecting said sprocket means of the pulling fingers on the second slide carriage together whereby the last referred to fingers rotate together. A declamping ring is mounted on the first slide carriage and is adapted to move axially with respect to the first slide carriage between operative and inoperative positions to engage and disengage a locking ring on a hub assem-bly, means for moving the declamping ring between the operative and inoperative positions, and means operatively connected to the base for securing a hub assembly during disassembly of same by the hub disassembly apparatus.

Description

The present invention is a division of the Canadian patent application No. 299,685 having as inventor Dolar Harshadrai Vaishnav.
The present invention relates to a hub disassembly apparatus, and particularly to a disassembly apparatus for automatically disassembling the two hub halves of the automatic hub assembly and also provides for the automatic removal of the hub halves from the central opening of a centrifugally cast tire mold after the centrifugal casting operation is completed.
In prior art disclosures relating to the centrifugal casting of vehicle tires it is known to form the mold enclosure which is the contour of the finished vehicle tire by means of core segments secured in place by two central hub halves and an outer tread ring and two opposed sidewall forming mold members.
In such prior art apparatus the core segments are held together by means of two hub halves that are clamped together securing the core pieces therebetween and these hub halves are held to-gether by means of screws or other mechanical fastening devi-ces. This prior art means of securing the hub halves together is extremely time consuming and laborious ln either assembling the halves together so as to secure the core segments or in disassembling the hub halves in order to remove the core seg-ments after a centrifugal casting operation has been comple-ted forming a vehicle tire.
The parent Canadian patent application No. 299,685 discloses an automatic hub assembly which is receptive or conducive to automatic assembly and disassembly operations which result in assembly and disassembly which is considerably faster than with conventional bolted-together type hub designs.
The automatic hub of the parent application No. 299,685 makes it possible to automate the assembly and disassembly opera-tions of centrifugal casting operations and thus make produc-tion faster as well as making the operations safer and less demanding of skill in the operators of the devices.
According to the present invention there is provided a hub disassembly apparatus including a base, said base com-prising first and second spaced portions, first and second guide rod members respectively mounted on said first and se-cond portions of said base and extending toward each other in axial alignment and terminating short of each other, first and second slide carriages mounted respectively on said first and second guide rod members and each said slide carriage being adapted to move between retracted inoperative positions and forward operative positions, said first and second slide car-riages comprising respectively first and second locator shafts which shafts are adapted to enter the bore in a hub assembly to locate the hub assembly both axially and radially, a plura-lity of pulling fingers carried by each of said first and se-cond slide carriages with each finger being mounted for rota-tive movement, said pulling fingers on each slide carriage being located at circumferentially spaced locations with res-pect to the axes of said locator shafts, each said pulling fin-ger having first and second end portions, said first end portion of each of said pulling fingers having a radially exten-ded portion which extends a circumferential distance, sprocket means carried by said second end portion of each of said pul-ling fingers, a first chain connecting said sprocket means of said pulling fingers on said first slide carriage together whereby said just referred to fingers rotate together, a se-cond chain connecting said sprocket means of said pulling fin-gers on said second slide carriage together whereby said lastreferred to fingers rotate together, a declamping ring mounted on said first slide carriage and adapted to move axially with respectto said first slide carriage between operative and ino-perative positions to engage and disengage a locking ring on a hub assembly, means for moving said declamping ring between said operative and inoperative positions, and means operatively connected to said base for securing a hub assembly during dis-assembly of same by said hub disassembly apparatus.
Other objects and a fuller understanding of this invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying dra-wings, in which:
Figure 1 is an elevational view of the automatic hub of the present invention securing core segments in place and taken generally along the line 1-1 of Figure 2, Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the automa-tic hub of the present invention taken generally along the line

2-2 of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus for assembling and disassembling the automatic hub ; 20 illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, Figure 4 is a view taken generally along the line 4-4 of Figure 3:
Figure 5 is a view taken generally along the line 5-5 of Figure 3;
Figure 6 is a view taken generally along the line 6-6 of Figure 3, and Figure 7 is a view taken generally along the line 7-7 of Figure 2.
The hub assembly shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings is indicated generally by the reference numeral 20.
The hub assembly 20 is illustrated as securing core segments 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 in assembled relationship in a condition where the hub assembly and core segments can be moved into a centrifugal casting machine to produce a centrifugally cast vehicle tire.
The hub assembly 20 includes a hub member 32 which comprises an annular member having an outer peripheral surface 34 and a bore defining an inner peripheral surface 36. In the embodiment shown, surface 36 is located on a bushing inserted into a bore in the hub member 32. The hub member has first and second axial end portions 38 and 39 respectively.
A plurality of circumferentially spaced and pivotally mounted latch members 41 are carried by the hub member 32 and each latch member has first 43 and second 44 end portions and each is movable between latched and unlatched positions. The full line position of the latch member 41 in Figure 2 shows the latched position and the dot-dash line position indicates the unlatched position of the latch member. Only one of the latch members 41 has been shown in each of Figures 1 and 2;
however, it is to be understood that there are five such latch members located in the hub member and positioned 72 apart. A
plurality of circumferentially spaced pin members 46 (five in number) extend into the hub member 32 from the first axial end portion 38 thereof. A first end portion of the pin members 46 is operatively connected to a first end portion 43 of a respective latch member. This operative connective is as illus-trated in Figure 2 and comprises a bifurcated portion on the latch member surrounding a pin which is carried by member 46.
The longitudinal movement of pin member 46 causes rotation of latch member about its pivotal mounting between latched and unlatched positions.
A locking ring 49 is carried by and located at the first axial end portion 38 of the hub member 32. A second end portion of the pin members 46 is operatively connected to the locking ring 49 as shown in Figure 2 and spring means 53 act on the locking ring to at all times urge the locking ring to its first position. In this embodiment the spring means com-prises five symmetrically spaced springs as last seen in Figure 1. The locking ring is movable between its first position in which it is shown in Figure 2 to a second position which is inwardly to the right as viewed in Figure 2. This movement of the locking ring between its first and second po-sitions moves the latch members between their latched and un-latched positions. The hub member 32 also includes a hub extension 54 which is secured to the hub member by threaded members 55. The hub extension 54 is also provided with a bore which provides a continuation of the inner peripheral surface 36. The hub extension is useful in utilizing the hub assembly on the hub disassembly apparatus according to the present in-vention and which will be discussed in greater detail herein-after.

The other so-called half of the hub assembly is iden-tified as a hub ring 56 which also comprises an annular member having an outer peripheral surface 58 and an inner peripheral surface 60. The hub ring has first and second axial end por-tions 63 and 64 respectively and is also provided with wall means which define a bore 66 extending through the first axial end portion. The hub ring 56 is provided with a latch recei-ving recess 68 which extends into the hub ring from the inner peripheral surface 60 thereof and this latch receiving recess is for the purpose of receiving the second end portions 44 of the latch members 41 so as to lock the hub member and ring member together in their assembled position.

A first core engaging flange 71 extends generally radially outwardly from the outer peripheral surface 34 of the hub member and extends completely therearound through 360 and is adapted to engage one side portion of the plurality of assembled core segments or sections 24-28 in a manner best illustrated in Figure 2. A second core engaging flange 73 extends generally radially outwardly from theouter peripheral surface 58 of the hub ring and is adapted to engage another si-de portion of the assembled core sections or segments 24-28 in the manner illustrated in Figure 2.
The hub member and hub ring as illustrated in Figure 2 are their assembled condition and in this position the hub ring 56 resides essentially on the hub member with the inner peripheral surface 60 engaging the outer peripheral surface 34 and with the second axial end portion 64 of the hub ring engaging the first core engaging flange 71 which is connected to the hub member 32. Also in this assembled condition the second end portions 44 of the latch members 41 reside in the latch receiving recess 68 to secure the hub ring and hub member together in the position shown in Figure 2. When the locking ring 49 is moved inwardly to the right, as seen in Figure 2, againt the urging of spring means 53, the latch members 41 are moved about their pivotal mountings removing the second end portions 44 of the latch members from the latch receiving recess and when in this condition the hub ring and hub member may be moved away from each other in an axial direction to separate the two members from each other. The dot-dash posi-tion of hub ring 56 in Figure 2 illustrates of movement of the same relative to hub member 32 when these two elements are being assembled and disassembled. When this has been accom-plished the assembled core segments 24-28 may be removed from the outer peripheral surface 58 of the hub ring 56. In their normal condition of removal the core segments are still sur-rounded by a centrifugally cast vehicle tire and the core seg-ments must be removed from the completed tire. This is accom-plished at another station of the manufacturing operation not illustrated herein.
The reassembly of the hub member and hub ring of the hub assembly is essentially the reverse of the procedure out-lined hereinabove in that the hub member and hub ring are brought together in an axial direction with the core segments assembled and positioned on the outer peripheral surface 58 of hub ring 56. As the two parts are brought together the locking ring 49 is pressed axially inwardly against the force of spring means 53 and this serves to move the latch members 41 to un-latched condition or in other words moves them to the dot-dash line position of Figure 2 which permits the hub ring to be brought into the position shown in Figure 2. When these two elements are positioned as shown then the core segments are held together between the flanges 71 and 73 at which time the locking ring is released which moves the second end portions of the latch members radially outwardly to their full line position shown in Figure 2. This brings the hub ring and hub member to their completely assembled position. At this stage of the procedure, however, and as the locking ring is released it is necessary that a certain amount of external pressure be maintained holding the hub member and hub ring together to assure an adequate clear-ance between the latch receiving recess and the latch members so that the latch members can move freely into the latch re-ceiving recess. The complete and proper engagement of the latch members is indicated by the locking ring moving all the way to its outermost position as illustrated in Figure 2, flush with the first end portion of the hub member. With this indication the external pressure can be removed from the hub member and hub ring and the assembly operation can be assumed to be complete.
The hub disassembly apparatus is best illustrated in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 and is indicated generally by the reference numeral 77. The primary function of the hub disassem-bly apparatus is to disconnect the hub member from the hub ring and remove these two elements from the inner circumferential periphery of a completed tire.
The hub disassembly apparatus 77 includes in combina-tion a base 79 which in turn comprises first and second spaced portions 81 and 82 respectively. In the illustration of Figure

3 it will be seen that the assembled hub member 32 and hub ring 56 with the secured core segments 24-28 are illustrated as being contained within the confines of a centrifugally cast tire 83 which in turn carries a tread ring 84 about its outer circum-ferential extent. The tread ring in turn is secured in position by means of ring 85. This entire assembly is moved into the position shown in Figure 3 between the first and second spaced portions 81 and 82 of the base 79 on a carriage 86 which is mounted on wheels 87 which in turn travel on a track 89.
First and second guide rod members 88 and 90 are mounted respectively on the first and second portions of the base and extend toward each other in axial alignment and ter-minate short of each other as illustrated in Figure 3. These guide rod members 88 and 90 are fixedly secured in position by means of threaded members 91, only one of which has been shown.
First and second slide carriages 94 and 96 are respectively mounted on the first and second guide rod members 88 and 90 and each of the referred to slide carriages is adapted to move between a retracted inoperative position and a forward opera-tive position. The forward operative positions are those illustrated in Figure 3.
Each of the first and second slide carriages 94 and 96 have respectively first and second locator shafts 99 and 101 which are adapted to enter the bore 36 in the hub assembly 20 which has been hereinbefore described, and this serves to locate the hub assembly both axially and radially. A first plurality of a pulling fingers 103 are carried by the first slide carriage 94 and a second plurality of pulling fingers 105 are carried by the second slide carriage 96. Each of the pulling fingers, whether on the first carriage 94 or second carriage 96, is mounted for rotative movement. The fingers are mounted in bea-rings and each has first and second end portions. Fingers 103 have radially extended portions 107 on their first end portions which are adapted to move into and out of a collar 115 on hub member 32 and fingers 105 have similar portions 108which are adapted to move into and out of another collar 116 on hub ring 56. Rotation of the fingers in one direction causes the radially extended portions to move into collars 115, 116 and rotation in the other direction causes the radially extended portions to move out of collars 115 and 116.
Sprockets 110 are carried by the second end portion of each of the pulling fingers and a first chain 112 connects all fingers 103 on the first slide carriage together and a second chain 113 over the sprockets of fingers 105 rotatively connects all fingers 105 on the second slide carriage 96 together. A rotary actuator 117 is connected to one of the fingers 103 and a rotary actuator 118 is connected to one of the fingers 105 on slide carriage 96. Rotation of the rotary actuators 117 and 118 by the proper signal causes rotation of _ g _ the fingers 103 and 105 to the appropriate positions. The rotary actuators 117 and 118 are hydraulically actuated, how-ever, for the purpose of the functioning of the herein disclosed device any means might be utilized to rotate the fingers.
An annular declamping ring 120 is carried by the first slide carriage 94 and is capable of moving axially between operative and inoperative positions. The declamping ring 120 shown in Figure 3 is in its inoperative position and is moved to its operative position by means of three hydraulic cylinders (only one of which is shown) identified by the reference nume-ral 122. Each of the hydraulic cylinders 122 includes a piston portion which is connected at 123 to the declamping ring and actuation of the hydraulic cylinders causes the declamping ring 120 to move to the right (as seen in Figures 2 and 3) thereby engaging the locking ring 49 moving it inwardly againt the for-ce of spring means 53.
In operation, the centrifugally cast tire 83 contai-ning the hub assembly 20, tread ring 84 and retaining ring 85 is moved into position between the spaced portions 81 and 82 of the base 79 by means of the carriage 86 which travels on wheels 87 which roll on tracks 89. The carriage is brought into this position with the slide carriages 94 and 96 in their re-tracted positions so that the tread ring 84 of the tire mold appropriately clears the locator shafts 99 and 101. After the completed tire has been properly positioned the slide carriages 94 and 96 are moved inwardly toward each other to position the locator shafts 99 and 101 within the bore 36 of the hub assembly 20. The position of the pulling fingers 103 and 105 while the silde carriages are being moved inwardly are in their inactive positions or out of alignment with collars 115 and 116 and after the slide carriages have been fully advanced to their most inward positions the pulling fingers are moved to their engaged positions in which they are shown in Figures 3,

4 and 5. This is accomplished by actuating the rotary actua-tors 117 and 118. The next step in the operation is to ac-tuate the hydraulic cylinder 122 moving the declamping ring 120 inwardly or to the right as illustrated in Figure 3 to engage the locking ring 49 moving it inwardly thereby unlat-ching the latch members 41 of the hub assembly 20. The slide carriages 94 and 96 are then retracted or moved away from each other and with the locking fingers engaged in the collars 115 and 116 the hub member 32 is moved outwardly to the left and the hub ring 56 is moved outwardly to the right. See dot-dash position of ring 56 in Figure 2. There is a subs-tantial amount of unbalanced force exerted in the removal of the two hub parts as aforementioned and in order to additio-nally support the tire tread ring and other associated compo-nents a supporting structure 127 is provided which is connec-ted to the base 79 and insures stability of the components during this disassembly.
With the two hub parts removed the hubless tire 82, tread ring 84 and retaining ring 85 are removed from the hub disassembly apparatus 77 in the same manner as they were moved into position. The declamping ring 49 is then released by deactuating the hydraulic cylinders 122 whereupon the spring means 53 move the locking ring 49 to the position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. The locking fingers 103 and 105 are then moved to their inactive positions by rotation thereof through means of the rotary actuators 117 and 118. The hub member 32 and hub ring 56 may then be removed from the respec-tive locator shafts on the carriages 94 and 96.
It will therefore be apparent from a review of the above-detailed description and disclosure that an automatic hub has been disclosed which is capable of conveniently securing the plurality of core sections that make up a core for the centrifugal casting of tires in a convenient and expedient manner which provides for quick disassembly of the core seg-ments and removal from the interior of a centrifugally cast vehicle tire. The hub disassembly apparatus which is disclo-sed in conjunction with the automatic hub is all part of the structure of facilitating the high production of centrifugally cast vehicle tires in a manner which reduces the unit cost of each tire produced.
Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims (6)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclu-sive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Hub disassembly apparatus including in combination a base, said base comprising first and second spaced portions, first and second guide rod members respectively mounted on said first and second portions of said base and extending toward each other in axial alignment and terminating short of each other, first and second slide carriages mounted respec-tively on said first and second guide rod members and each said slide carriage being adapted to move between retracted inoperative positions and forward operative posi-tions, said first and second slide carriages comprising res-pectively first and second locator shafts which shafts are adapted to enter the bore in a hub assembly to locate the hub assembly both axially and radially, a plurality of pulling fingers carried by each of said first and second slide carria-ges with each finger being mounted for rotative movement, said pulling fingers on each slide carriage being located at circum-ferentially spaced locations with respect to the axes of said locator shafts, each said pulling finger having first and se-cond end portions, said first end portion of each of said pul-ling fingers having a radially extended portion which extends a circumferential distance, sprocket means carried by said second end portion of each of said pulling fingers, a first chain connecting said sprocket means of said pulling fingers on said first slide carriage together whereby said just referred to fingers rotate together, a second chain connecting said sprocket means of said pulling fingers on said second slide carriage together whereby said last referred to fingers rotate together, a declamping ring mounted on said first slide carriage and adapted to move axially with respect to said first slide carri-age between operative and inoperative positions to engage and disengage a locking ring on a hub assembly, means for moving said declamping ring between said operative and inoperative positions, and means operatively connected to said base for securing a hub assembly during disassembly of same by said hub disassembly apparatus.

2. Hub disassembly apparatus including in combina-tion first and second opposed guide means, first and second slide carriages mounted respectively by said first and second guide means and movable toward and away from each other bet-ween first and second positions, a first plurality of pulling fingers on said first slide carriage, said fingers being mova-ble between operative and inoperative positions, means for mo-ving said first plurality of fingers between said positions, a second plurality of pulling fingers on said second slide carriage, said fingers being movable between operative and inoperative positions, means for moving said second plurality of fingers between said positions, said first plurality of pulling fingers adapted to engage a portion of a hub assembly in thier said operative position and said second plurality of pulling fingers adapted to engage another position of the hub assembly in their said operative position.

3. Hub disassembly apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 wherein first and second locator members are respectively car-ried on said first and second slide carriages and are adapted to enter opposed ends of a bore in a hub assembly in said first positions of said first and second slide carriages to secure and locate the hub assembly.

4. Hub disassembly apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein declamping means are carried by said first slide car-riage and are movable from an inoperative to an operative po-sition to unlock two parts of a hub assembly.

5. Hub disassembly apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said pulling fingers each have a radially extending portion which engages the hub assembly in said operative position of said fingers.

6. Hub disassembly apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said fingers of each of said first and second plurality of pulling fingers are arranged in a generally circumferential pattern and each finger is mounted for rotation, means are provided for applying a rotative force to at least one of said fingers of each plurality and mechanical means interconnect all of the fingers of a given plurality to cause the fingers of a given plurality to rotate in unison.