Abstract: A tire manufacturing apparatus and a tire manufacturing method capable of efficiently manufacturing quality tire by uniformly expanding the diameter of an annular tread and mounting the tread on a base tire without axial deviation. The tire manufacturing apparatus for mounting an annular tread on the outer periphery of a base tire includes a drum for securing a base tire, a plurality of holding means each having a holding surface for holding the outer periphery of the annular tread, a moving means for moving the holding means along the central axis of the base tire, a sealing means for sealing the opening on one side of the annular tread, and an air supplying means for supplying air into a space surrounded by the annular tread and the sealing means.

Abstract: An in-wheel motor system for mounting a direct drive motor to a steering wheel comprises a first knuckle 4 which is connected to the non-rotary side of a geared motor 3 by a connection member I0 having elastic bodies and direct-moving guides for limiting movement to a vertical direction and locked in a steering direction by upper and lower suspension arms 5a and 5b and a second knuckle 7 which is connected to a steering rod 8 and fitted with a brake unit 9 and a wheel 2 through a hub 6. This second knuckle 7 is connected to the above first knuckle 4 in such a manner that it can turn on a king pin axis J in the steering direction and to the output shaft of the above geared motor 3 by a connection shaft 20 having constant velocity joints 21 and 22 at both ends, thereby reducing an increase in steering torque.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accurately detecting the shape of a tire side by performing an image processing of removing a knurled region from the tire side. An actual image of a tire side having a knurled region obtained by a light-section method is Fourier-transformed into a Fourier-transformed image by a Fourier-transformed image creating unit of an image processing means. Cross-shaped peaks appearing discretely at predefined frequency intervals on a straight line in the Fourier-transformed image are identified as peaks attributable to the knurled region by a knurled component identifying unit. The cross-shaped peaks are removed from the Fourier-transformed image by a knurl component removing unit, and the Fourier-transformed image from which the peaks are removed is inverse-Fourier-transformed into an actual image by an inverse-Fourier-transforming unit. And the acceptability of the shape of the tire side is determined using the actual image.

Abstract: A method for accurately determining internal failures, such as separations, of a tire without affecting tire behaviors. Radial acceleration signals of a tire during vehicular travel are detected by an acceleration sensor (11) attached to the inner surface of the tire at the axial center of the tread. A frequency analysis is performed on the radial acceleration signals to obtain a frequency spectrum. A band value Xab is calculated of a specific frequency band [fa, fb] within the range of 100 Hz-400 Hz, which includes the frequency of the second lowest peak of the peaks appearing in the frequency spectrum. Then a check is made to see whether or not the difference between this band value Xab and a predetermined band value Yab of a normal tire exceeds a threshold value K. And when Yab?Xab>K, it is determined that an internal failure, such as a separation, is present in the tire.

Abstract: A method capable of estimating a snowy road surface condition during vehicular travel in finer classification. In this method, tire vibrations in the circumferential direction, road surface temperature (T), and tire-generated sound are detected by an acceleration sensor, a road surface thermometer, and a microphone, respectively. Then band values P11, P12 and P13 for a pre-leading-edge region (R1), band values P21, P22 and P23 for a leading-edge region (R2), band values P31, P32 and P33 for a pre-trailing-edge region (R3), band values P41 and P42 for a trailing-edge region (R4), and band values P51, P52 and P53 for a post-trailing-edge region (R5) are calculated from the tire vibration data. A sound pressure level ratio (Q)=(PA/PB), which is the ratio of a band power value (PA) of a low frequency band to a band power value (PB) of a high frequency band, is calculated from data on the tire-generated sound.

Abstract: A tire manufacturing apparatus for precisely mounting an annular tread on a base tire with the width center of the base tire aligned with the width center of the annular tread. The tire manufacturing apparatus includes a drum to which a base tire is secured, a holding means for holding the annular tread by its inner periphery, and a moving means for having the holding means approach or separate from the drum along the rotation axis of the drum. The holding means is provided with a conveying means to have the annular tread, which is held by the holding means, approach or separate from the base tire. And the conveying means mounts the annular tread on the outer periphery of the base tire by conveying the annular tread in the approaching direction at a conveyance speed which is equal to the travel speed of the holding means in the separating direction.

Abstract: The degree of wear of a tire is estimated with constant accuracy. An acceleration sensor (11) is installed on the inner surface in the inner liner region of a tire to detect the acceleration of the tread in the radial direction of the tire. The peak level on the leading edge side or the trailing edge side of the tread appearing in the differentiated waveform of the detected acceleration is calculated and used as an index V of deformation speed of the tread. The degree of wear of the tire is estimated on the basis of the calculated index V of deformation speed and an M-V map (16B) showing a predetermined relationship between the degree M of tire wear and the index V of deformation speed.

Abstract: A pneumatic tire capable of improving snowy road performance while controlling the occurrence of uneven wear of the tire due to buckling deformation. A tire 10 having a block pattern is provided with raised bottom portions 19 in lug grooves 15 extending in a direction intersecting with a main groove 13 and shoulder grooves 12, 14. The raised bottom portion 19 crosses the shoulder groove defining the center blocks 16 and shoulder blocks 17. The height of the raised bottom portion 19 is in a range of 10 to 20 percent of the groove depth of the shoulder groove. As a result, the edge components in the circumferential direction of the tire are increased and the rigidity in the axial direction of the tread 11 is uniformized without causing a decline in the draining characteristics.

Abstract: A method and system for manufacturing high-quality cable beads with efficiency. The method includes the steps of arranging a plurality of carriages carrying a core and a reel wound with a wire around a reel revolving means having at least two arms, attaching the core to a core rotating means for rotating the core in a circumferential direction by holding it with one of the arms and positioning the reel on one side of the core by holding it with the other of the arms, manufacturing a cable bead by revolving the reel by holding it alternately with each of the two arms, and returning the cable bead and the reel to the carriage using the two arms. Thus, the setting of the reel and the core, the manufacturing of a cable bead, and the returning of the cable bead and the reel back to the carriage are performed automatically.

Abstract: A method, featuring robustness against changes in tire size, is provided for determining a road surface condition by dividing a time-series waveform of tire vibrations into windows without resorting to detection of the peak positions or measurement of the wheel speed. A time-series waveform of tire vibrations detected by a tire vibration detecting unit is windowed by a windowing unit. Time-series waveforms are extracted from the respective time windows, feature vectors X are calculated therefor, and then likelihoods Z for road-surface HMMs (hidden Markov models) are calculated. The likelihoods Z1 to Z5 calculated for the respective road-surface HMMs are compared with one another, and a road surface condition corresponding to the road-surface HMM showing the highest likelihood is determined to be the condition of the road surface on which the tire is running.

Abstract: A belt monitoring system which can accurately monitor the condition of a conveyor belt by correcting it for the effect of belt deviation. Wear detecting magnets (11), which are rubber magnets spanning the entire belt width, are embedded at intervals along the circumferential direction of the conveyor belt (2). Also, position determining magnets (12, 12z) are embedded in positions a predetermined distance apart from the wear detecting magnets (11). In addition, a plurality of magnetic field detecting means (13: 13A-13G) for detecting the magnetic fields from the magnets (11, 12, 12z), which are arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the conveyor belt (2), are disposed in a position spaced apart from the surface of the conveyor belt (2).

Abstract: On a pneumatic tire provided with a lug-grooved rib 14 having a circumferentially continuous rib portion 14a and wing portions 14b defined by lug grooves 15, chamfers 14c of depth D2 and width L2 are formed on the wing portions 14b on the side facing a circumferential groove 11d. At the same time, the depth D2 and the width L2 of the chamfers 14c are so set that the ratio of the chamfer depth D2 to the groove depth D1 of the circumferential groove 11d satisfies 0.015?(D2/D1)?0.200 and the ratio of the chamfer width L2 to the axial length L1 of the lug grooves 15 satisfies 0.1?(L2/L1)?0.85, so that the load to be borne by the wing portions 14b is effectively shifted to the rib portion 14a. In this manner, the pitch noise caused by the lug grooves can be reduced without changing the basic features of the tread pattern, and thus the quietness of vehicular operation is improved.

Abstract: A simple method and apparatus for accurately estimating the contact patch shape of a moving tire. The vibration waveforms of a tire (20) with sipe rows (25A, 25B) formed at the respective pitches (Pa, Pb) in the left and right shoulder lands (24a, 24b) are detected by an acceleration sensor attached to a knuckle of the vehicle. Rotational order spectrums are obtained by performing a rotational order analysis on the vibration waveforms. The peak height (Za) of the rotational order (na) corresponding to the pitch (Pa) and the peak height (Zb) of the rotational order (nb) corresponding to the pitch (Pb) are extracted from the rotational order spectrums.

Abstract: A brass-plated steel wire for reinforcing rubber articles capable of surely improving adhesiveness between brass-plated steel wire and rubber and a method for manufacturing the same.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a base tire ensuring a cure-molding of a green tire therefor without overcure or undercure in the thin-walled shoulder portions of the tread region and the bead regions, a curing machine that preferably enables the base tire manufacturing method, and a base tire thus manufactured are provided. To that end, a base tire is enclosed within a curing mold, the side regions of the base tire are heated by a first heating means, the tread region of the base tire is heated by a second heating means, and a cure-molding is performed such that the amount of heat given to the tread region by the second heating means is smaller than the amount of heat given to the side regions by the first heating means.

Abstract: A inspection apparatus arranged with a plurality of cameras located at relatively displaced circumferential positions and set for the respective shooting positions different from each other in the axial direction of the tire. Thus the images of the inner circumferential surface of the tire are shot by the plurality of cameras as the tire is rotated circumferentially relative to the plurality of cameras. During this operation, markers are inserted at the same time in the images shot by all of the cameras. The images are synthesized using these markers as reference positions in aligning the shot images in accordance with the relative displacements of the cameras in the circumferential direction.

Abstract: Provided is a tire contact state estimating method using a tire for estimating a contact state having a block row, in which a plurality of blocks having different lengths in a tire circumference direction are arrayed, and having a tread pattern, in which the kicking ends of two adjacent blocks of the block row are formed at a constant period. The method detects the periodic vibrations, which are generated when the kicking ends to be propagated from the tire to the knuckle leave the road surface sequentially, by an acceleration sensor attached to a knuckle. The method detects such a vibration level of the frequency waveform in a detection frequency band as is calculated from both a wheel speed and that period, to estimate the grounding state of the tire. Thus, without attaching any sensor to the tire, the grounding state of the running tire can be precisely estimated.

Abstract: An intra-tire power generating apparatus capable of producing high power is provided. The apparatus includes rotary magnets and rotary weights, which rotate in response to variations in centrifugal force and circumferential acceleration working on the tire of a running vehicle, and a coil unit, which is located between two rotary magnets facing each other and generates voltages through electromagnetic induction from the rotary magnets. In the apparatus, the rotary magnets and the rotary weights have an identical center line of rotation. The rotary weights are so formed as to have their center of gravity dislocated from the center line of rotation. The rotary magnets are each provided, in the plane orthogonal to the center line of rotation, with an even number of regions adjoining in the circumferential direction around the center line of rotation, the adjoining regions having different magnetic poles from each other.

Abstract: A tire appearance inspection apparatus and method employing image processing is capable of performing tire appearance inspection with great accuracy. The tire appearance inspection apparatus includes a sectional shape acquiring device for acquiring cross-sectional shapes of a tire in the radial direction along the circumference of the tire, an arc fitting device for fitting an arc to each of the cross-sectional shapes, an arc center position calculating device for calculating the center positions of the arcs, and a sectional shape aligning device for aligning the cross-sectional shapes using the center positions of the arcs for the cross-sectional shapes.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting the state of wear of the tire tread with accuracy and durability are provided. Acceleration of the inner surface of the tire tread is detected by an acceleration sensor installed in an inner liner region of the tire. From a thus detected time-series waveform of acceleration, an acceleration waveform in the leading edge region including a leading peak which occurs when the block engages with the road surface or an acceleration waveform in the trailing edge region including a trailing peak which occurs when the block disengages from the road surface is extracted. A frequency band value Pf is calculated which is the magnitude of acceleration in a predetermined frequency region of a frequency spectrum obtained through a frequency analysis of the extracted acceleration waveform. And the degree of tire wear is determined by comparing the frequency band value Pf with a preset threshold K(v).