Abstract: In order to ascertain the placement of a rotation drum relative to the shaft axis of a spindle assembly, an alignment ascertaining device according to the present invention comprises a body portion made mountable on a mounting surface formed horizontally on the spindle assembly, the body portion having a guide face in the direction at right angles to the mounting surface; a linear guide portion mounted in an upward and down ward direction on a guide face; a slider mounted via a rolling member to the linear guide portion, the slider made movable in a direction in which the linear guide portion is installed; an arm member whose proximal end portion is attached to the slider and whose distal end portion extends toward the rotation drum; and a dial gauge mounted on the distal end portion of the arm member.

Abstract: Provided are a device and a method capable of suitable cooling of a fiber bundle without hindering nozzle maintenance work or preparation work before the start of manufacturing. The provided device includes a nozzle which allows the fiber bundle impregnated with thermoplastic resin to pass therethrough while forming the fiber bundle into a tape shape, a cooling roller for cooling the fiber bundle, and a supporting device. The supporting device supports the cooling roller rotatably so as to allow the cooling roller to be moved between a cooling position at which an outer periphery surface of the cooling roller makes contact with the fiber bundle having passed through the nozzle and a retraction position away from the nozzle beyond the cooling portion.

Abstract: Provided are a device and a method capable of suitable cooling of a fiber bundle without hindering nozzle maintenance work or preparation work before the start of manufacturing. The provided device includes a nozzle which allows the fiber bundle impregnated with thermoplastic resin to pass therethrough while forming the fiber bundle into a tape shape, a cooling roller for cooling the fiber bundle, and a supporting device. The supporting device supports the cooling roller rotatably so as to allow the cooling roller to be moved between a cooling position at which an outer periphery surface of the cooling roller makes contact with the fiber bundle having passed through the nozzle and a retraction position away from the nozzle beyond the cooling portion.

Abstract: A tire holding member for a tire testing machine includes: a bottom rim, which is attached to a bottom spindle that is able to rotate around a central axis in the vertical direction; a top rim, which is disposed above the bottom spindle and which is attached to the bottom end of a top spindle that is able to rotate around the central axis with the bottom spindle; and a convex-sided member. One of the bottom rim or the top rim has a hole with the central axis at the center thereof. The other of the bottom rim or the top rim has an end surface facing the one rim. The bottom rim and the top rim are positioned by each other in a state in which the center of each coincides at the central axis due to the protruding section and the hole engaging with each other.

Abstract: A tire testing machine includes a test station in which spindles to attach a tire on which a barcode is installed are provided, and first and second belt conveyors that feed the tire into a center position of the spindles. In order to stably grasp a position of identifying information of the tire and stop rotation of the tire at an arbitrary desired angle, before applying a lubricant to a bead portion on an inner periphery of the tire conveyed to the first belt conveyors by means of the lubricator and feeding the tire into the test station, a controller grasps a position of the barcode on the tire based on a rotation angle relative to the direction connecting a position where the barcode is detected by a barcode scanner and the center of the tire.

Abstract: In order to reliably supply a lubrication liquid to a lubricating brush portion by a simple configuration, a tire lubricator device of a tire testing machine of the present invention includes a lubricating brush portion that contacts a bead portion of a rotating tire and applies a lubrication liquid thereto; a tank that hermetically stores the lubrication liquid therein; a first pipe that connects the tank to the lubricating brush portion so as to supply the lubrication liquid stored in the tank to the lubricating brush portion; and a second pipe that is connected to the tank so as to supply pressurized air into the tank from the outside.

Abstract: A marking device of the present invention includes a sequence of two belt conveyers for conveying a tire after undergoing a test by a tire testing machine, a pair of laser sensors each installed in a predetermined position in a conveyance direction of the tire by the belt conveyer, and adapted to detect an edge of the tire, and a controller for controlling a motor for driving the belt conveyer based on an output from the laser sensor. The controller is operable to convey the tire by a conveyance distance calculated based on a distance from an installing position of the laser sensor to a print position, an outer diameter of the tire and a predetermined mark position when the edge of the tire is detected by the laser sensor, and then to stop the tire, whereby the mark position of the tire is aligned with the print position.

Abstract: A calibrating apparatus of a tire testing machine of the present invention calibrates force components along a lateral direction of a load cell on a tire testing machine provided with a rotary drum and the load cell mounted to a shaft portion of the rotary drum and capable of measuring force applied to the rotary drum, and has a hook member hooked on an outer peripheral edge of the rotary drum, a linear body, one end side of which is connected to the hook member, a load applying member connected to the other end side of the linear body and capable of generating a reference load toward a downward direction, and a pulley device around which the linear body is wound to convert the downward force by the load applying member into an upward force on one end side of the linear body.

Abstract: Provided is a tire testing machine including: a spindle shaft that rotatably attaches a tire as an inspection target thereto; a tire outer shape measurement sensor that moves close to the tire or moves away from the tire and detects a deformation amount of an outer shape and a diameter of the tire attached to the spindle shaft; and a collision preventing sensor that includes a probe formed in a linear material and a contact detecting portion detecting a state where the probe contacts the tire in order to prevent the tire outer shape measurement sensor from colliding with the tire, wherein the probe has a bent or divided shape in order to ensure a wider contact detecting range contacting the tire.

Abstract: A tire testing machine of the present invention performs tests on a tire in a testing station, and prints a mark based on the test result in a predetermined mark position of the tire after undergoing the tests by means of a marking device. A controller of the tire testing machine previously stores therein the contents of the tests for performing the tests, and causes the testing machine to perform the tests according to a recipe. In order to freely set the marking setting conditions for marking in the marking device, the controller of the marking device previously stores therein a first marking setting condition as the recipe, and also stores therein a second marking setting condition different from the recipe by an input device as a script. Marking is performed according to the contents of the marking setting condition described in either the recipe or script selected.

Abstract: To prevent occurrence of a slip between a tire and a drum and a flat spot on the tire and to reduce cycle time at a time of testing the tire, this tire testing method includes causing a control mechanism to control a motor to drive the tire to rotate at a predetermined rotational speed lower than a specified rotational speed if a linear sensor detects that the tire transported onto a center conveyor is sandwiched between an upper spindle and a lower spindle, and to control a moving mechanism to move a drum until the drum contacts the tire that rotates at the predetermined rotational speed. If a load cell detects the contact between the tire and the drum, then the control mechanism accelerates the rotation of the tire from the predetermined rotational speed to the specified rotational speed and increases a load applied to the tire by the drum, and the tire is tested.

Abstract: A tire testing machine of the present invention includes a bottom chuck that is mounted to a bottom frame, a top chuck that is mounted to a movable beam, a ball screw that causes the movable beam to ascend or descend, and a beam fixing member that fixes the movable beam so as not to ascend. The beam fixing member includes a disk that is fixed to the ball screw and is provided with a plurality of elongated holes and air cylinders that are fixed to the vertical frame and are inserted into the elongated holes. When the pins are inserted into the elongated holes formed in the disk, the top chuck is fixed to the bottom chuck through the movable beam so as not to ascend.

Abstract: A tire testing machine includes a test station in which spindles to attach a tire on which a barcode is installed are provided, and first and second belt conveyors that feed the tire into a center position of the spindles. In order to stably grasp a position of identifying information of the tire and stop rotation of the tire at an arbitrary desired angle, before applying a lubricant to a bead portion on an inner periphery of the tire conveyed to the first belt conveyors by means of the lubricator and feeding the tire into the test station, a controller grasps a position of the barcode on the tire based on a rotation angle relative to the direction connecting a position where the barcode is detected by a barcode scanner and the center of the tire.

Abstract: A tire conveyor includes a roller portion provided at a position, in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, without a conveying surface. The roller portion extends parallel to the conveying surface and is provided with a plurality of placement rollers forming a placement surface on which the tire is rotatably placed. An elevation mechanism includes a single actuator and a link mechanism connecting the roller portion or the conveyor to the actuator in a supported state and moves the placement surface of the roller portion upward and downward relative to the conveying surface by driving the actuator.

Abstract: A plurality of conveyors including a center conveyor are appropriately disposed without any gap or step and any interference between driving units.

Abstract: In order to ascertain the placement of a rotation drum relative to the shaft axis of a spindle assembly, an alignment ascertaining device according to the present invention comprises a body portion made mountable on a mounting surface formed horizontally on the spindle assembly, the body portion having a guide face in the direction at right angles to the mounting surface; a linear guide portion mounted in an upward and down ward direction on a guide face; a slider mounted via a rolling member to the linear guide portion, the slider made movable in a direction in which the linear guide portion is installed; an arm member whose proximal end portion is attached to the slider and whose distal end portion extends toward the rotation drum; and a dial gauge mounted on the distal end portion of the arm member.

Abstract: To effectively suppress a shift of a rotating axis of an upper chuck with respect to a rotating axis of a lower chuck due to a separating force. A tire testing device (1) includes: vertical frames (30a, 30b) which are supported by a lower frame (20); a beam (40) which bridges between the vertical frames (30a, 30b) and is movable in the vertical direction; an upper chuck (45) which is attached to the center of the beam (40), the center corresponding to the center of the beam in the longitudinal direction; and a lower chuck (25) which is attached to the lower frame. When viewed from the vertical direction, a rotating axis of an upper rotating member (47) is positioned at the center of a straight line formed by connecting supporting points where each of the vertical frames (30a, 30b) support the beam (40).

Abstract: A calibrating apparatus of a tire testing machine of the present invention calibrates force components along a lateral direction of a load cell on a tire testing machine provided with a rotary drum and the load cell mounted to a shaft portion of the rotary drum and capable of measuring force applied to the rotary drum, and has a hook member hooked on an outer peripheral edge of the rotary drum, a linear body, one end side of which is connected to the hook member, a load applying member connected to the other end side of the linear body and capable of generating a reference load toward a downward direction, and a pulley device around which the linear body is wound to convert the downward force by the load applying member into an upward force on one end side of the linear body.

Abstract: Provided is a loading device that is provided in a tire testing machine including a testing station (30) provided with a spindle (31) attached with a tire (50) to be tested and feeds the tire (50) from a predetermined standby position to a testing position where the center of the spindle matches the center of the tire (50) in the testing station (30). The loading device includes: conveyors (1, 2) that convey the tire (50) from the standby position toward the testing position in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the tire; and positioning devices (6B, 20) that position the tire to be tested to a position, in which a front end of the tire in the feeding direction matches a point separated from the spindle by a predetermined distance, as the standby position. Setting of the standby position based on the position of the front end of the tire (50) in the feeding direction shortens the feeding distance and the feeding time and hence shortens the testing cycle time.

Abstract: In order to improve general versatility that allows a user of a tire testing machine for testing a tire to flexibly change the contents of tests, a control mechanism for the tire testing machine is configured to include a tire testing controller for testing the tire according to a recipe, a changing test specification storage section for storing therein a changing test specification which is a program describing a criterion for determination of whether the order of next tests following the test described in the recipe is to be changed, as well as contents of changing of the order of the tests for the respective tests described in the recipe; and a changing determination section for determining whether the contents of the tests stored in the recipe are to be changed based on a measurement result given by the tire testing controller and the criterion for determination described in the changing test specification every time each test performed in the order described in the recipe is finished.