TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology relates to a method and a device for manufacturing a rubber coated cord, and particularly relates to a method and a device for manufacturing a rubber coated cord that can provide accelerated cord replacement work and improved productivity in continuous manufacture of a rubber coated cord including an outer circumferential surface coated with unvulcanized rubber.

BACKGROUND ART

At the steps of manufacturing a rubber product such as a tire, a rubber coated cord including an outer circumferential surface coated with unvulcanized rubber is used. For manufacture of a rubber coated cord, an outer circumferential surface of a cord is coated with unvulcanized rubber by extruding the unvulcanized rubber into a coating head installed in a rubber extruder and causing the cord to pass through the coating head (for example, see Japan Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-272966). In the continuous manufacture of a rubber coated cord in this manner, in a case where, for example, all of the cord passing through the coating head is paid out of a reel or the cord is cut in the middle, replacement work of setting a next cord in the coating head is required.

The replacement work is cumbersome work involving, for example, disassembling a head part, causing a leading edge portion of the next cord to pass through the head, and re-assembling the head part, and thus requires a significant amount of time. During the cord replacement work, production of a rubber coated cord is interrupted, and thus there is room for enhancement in improving productivity.

SUMMARY

The present technology provides a method and a device for manufacturing a rubber coated cord that can provide accelerated cord replacement work and improved productivity in continuous manufacture of a rubber coated cord including an outer circumferential surface coated with unvulcanized rubber.

A method for manufacturing a rubber coated cord according to an embodiment of the present technology is a method for manufacturing a rubber coated twisted cord, the method including manufacturing a rubber coated cord by causing a cord to pass through a coating head while filling the coating head with unvulcanized rubber extruded from a rubber extruder and coating an outer circumferential surface of the cord with the unvulcanized rubber, the method including manufacturing the rubber coated cord including a preceding cord by installing a plurality of the coating heads, selecting one head of the plurality of coating heads as a preceding head, and causing a preceding cord, which is to be used in advance as the cord, to pass through the preceding head while filling the preceding head with the unvulcanized rubber, and manufacturing the rubber coated cord including a next cord by selecting, as a next head, one head differing from the preceding head, setting a leading edge portion of a next cord, which is to be used next as the cord, in a state where the leading edge portion of the next cord has passed through the next head in advance, manufacturing a predetermined length of the rubber coated cord including the preceding cord, and subsequently causing the next cord including a leading edge portion side range bonded to a trailing edge portion of the rubber coated cord including the preceding cord to pass through the next head while switching from the preceding head to the next head and filling the next head with the unvulcanized rubber.

A device for manufacturing a rubber coated cord according to an embodiment of the present technology is a device for manufacturing a rubber coated cord, the device including a pay-out unit and a draw-out unit for a cord, a rubber extruder, and a coating head installed between the pay-out unit and the draw-out unit and filled with unvulcanized rubber extruded by the rubber extruder, an outer circumferential surface of the cord being coated with the unvulcanized rubber by causing the cord moving from the pay-out unit to the draw-out unit to pass through the coating head filled with the unvulcanized rubber, the device including a plurality of the coating heads, one of the plurality of the coating heads being selected as a preceding head through which a preceding cord to be used in advance as the cord passes, one head differing from the preceding head being selected as a next head through which a next cord to be used next as the cord passes, the device including a switching mechanism that selectively feeds the unvulcanized rubber to any one of the preceding head or the next head, a leading edge portion holding machine that holds a leading edge portion of the next cord having passed through the next head in advance, a trailing edge portion holding machine that holds a trailing edge portion of a predetermined length of the rubber coated cord manufactured by using the preceding cord, and a bonding mechanism that bonds the trailing edge portion to a leading edge portion side range of the next cord.

According to an embodiment of the present technology, while a rubber coated cord is being manufactured in advance by using a preceding head and a preceding cord, a next cord can be set to a next head. Then, immediately after the rubber coated cord including the preceding cord is manufactured, a leading edge portion side range of the next cord is bonded to a trailing edge portion of the rubber coated cord including the preceding cord, and the next cord is caused to pass through the next head. Accordingly, a rubber coated cord including the next cord can be manufactured continuously. Thus, this is advantageous in accelerating replacement work of the preceding cord and the next cord, and accordingly improving the productivity of the rubber coated cord.

