公开(公告)号：US06249949B1

公开(公告)日：2001-06-26

申请号：US09247077

申请日：1999-02-09

Applicant: Wiley E. Cross, Jr. ,  F. Linwood Hendricks

Inventor： Wiley E. Cross, Jr. ,  F. Linwood Hendricks

IPC: B23P1900

CPC classification number: B26D3/005 ,  B29B17/0206 ,  B29B17/0412 ,  B29K2021/00 ,  Y02W30/622 ,  Y02W30/625 ,  Y02W30/68 ,  Y10T29/49755 ,  Y10T29/49821 ,  Y10T29/49822 ,  Y10T29/53539

Abstract: An automated apparatus and method for removing the bead wires from discarded tires prior to further processing of the rubber of the tire casing employs an intermittently movable infeed conveyor that brings each tire to a position where it drops into a chute leading to a debeading chamber. In a particular embodiment, the tire comes to rest on pivoted gates in the chute, which open to drop a tire into the debeading chamber. In the debeading chamber, the tire rests upright on a spring-loaded platform that forms the floor of the debeading chamber. Side plates with cruciform die openings form sidewalls of the debeading chamber that confront the sidewalls of the tire. The tire is positioned so that the openings in the tire sidewalls are generally aligned with the die openings. Hooks of movable bead pullers extend through the vertical slots of the die openings and through the central openings of the tire sidewalls to positions where their downwardly open hooked ends overlap between the tire sidewalls. The platform then moves up, raising the tire so that the tire beads press against the hooks. The hooks then retract through the die openings; during this movement, the hooks grip the bead wires and pull the tire beads away from each other toward the die openings. As the retracting movement of the hooks continues, the bead wires, gripped by the hooks, are pulled through the horizontal slots of the die openings. The rubber encasing the bead wires cannot fit through the horizontal slots of the die openings and is stripped from the bead wires. As the hooks begin retracting, the platform moves downwardly to accommodate the distortion of the tire. The travel of the hooks is sufficient to pull an entire loop of bead wires through the die openings to a position outboard of the debeading chamber, where the bead wires drop from the hooks. When the retracting movement of the hooks is complete, a discharge member forming a rear wall of the debeading chamber moves forwardly, ejecting the tire casing from the debeading chamber and into to a chute leading to a collection area. Cutters carried on the side edges of the discharge member slide over the side plates and will shear off any stray bead wires extending into the debeading chamber through the die openings.