In the field of tire production, systems and methods make it possible to selectively carry out monopassage and multipassage rubber production sequences in a common rubber production facility. A tire is formed according to the methods described.

In the field of tire production, systems and methods make it possible to selectively carry out monopassage and multipassage rubber production sequences in a common rubber production facility. A tire is formed according to the methods described.

In the field of tire production, systems and methods utilize a feed belt (150) for directing a rubber mixture from an initial mixing installation (20) toward at least one of two mixing and cooling installations (100, 100′). It is possible to selectively carry out monopassage and multipassage rubber production sequences in a common rubber production facility. A tire is formed according to the methods described.

A thin film member forming device includes a reference roll fixedly disposed while being rotatably supported by a first bearing member, a movable roll disposed movably with respect to the reference roll while being rotatably supported by a second bearing member, a roll gap adjusting mechanism which adjusts a gap between the reference roll and the movable roll and a roll opening mechanism which expands the gap. The roll gap adjusting mechanism adds a load in a direction to narrow the gap to the second bearing member, and the roll opening mechanism adds a load in a direction to expand the gap to the second bearing member.

A process and a system are provided for controlling an addition of water to a rubber mixture during a mixing cycle in which the mixture is transported as a continuous sheet. The process includes obtaining data for the mixture, including a predetermined water flow rate, a predetermined air flow rate, and a target temperature and a target water content for the mixture; adding water to the continuous sheet during the mixing cycle; detecting an amount of water added at an elapsed time during the mixing cycle; determining, using a detection result, a predicted temperature and a predicted water content for the mixture at an end of the mixing cycle; comparing the target temperature with the predicted temperature, and the target water content with the predicted water content; and, before a next mixing cycle, adjusting an actual water flow rate when a comparison result indicates non-equivalence.

In the field of tire production, systems and methods utilize a feed belt (150) for directing a rubber mixture from an initial mixing installation (20) toward at least one of two mixing and cooling installations (100, 100). It is possible to selectively carry out monopassage and multipassage rubber production sequences in a common rubber production facility. A tire is formed according to the methods described.

A system and a method are provided for producing rubber mixtures. The system includes installations for performing a monopassage process and a multipassage process to produce a rubber mixture, and a transport system that transports the rubber mixture to one or more of the installations according to a selected recipe. The installations include a mixing and cooling installation that performs a mixing and cooling procedure in which the rubber mixture is formed into a sheet, the sheet is sprayed with water using at least one nozzle provided with water at a predetermined water flow rate and air at a predetermined air pressure, and evaporated water from the spraying of the sheet is evacuated at a predetermined air flow rate. The mixing and cooling procedure causes the rubber mixture of the sheet to reach target temperature and water-content values before a complementary mixing procedure is performed.

In the field of tire production, systems and methods make it possible to selectively carry out monopassage and multipassage rubber production sequences in a common rubber production facility. A tire is formed according to the methods described.

In the field of tire production, systems and methods make it possible to selectively carry out monopassage and multipassage rubber production sequences in a common rubber production facility. A tire is formed according to the methods described.

A protection tube thermocouple (5) includes a thermocouple (52), and a protection tube (51) which accommodates the thermocouple (52). The protection tube (51) includes a conical portion (511) formed on a front end (54) side of the protection tube (51); and a hollow portion (53) which extends in the length direction of the protection tube (51) for connecting between a front end (54) and a rear end (55) of the protection tube (51) in the inside of the protection tube (51), and into which the thermocouple (52) is received. The hollow portion (53) in the conical portion (511) has a tapered portion (532) configured such that the sectional area of the hollow portion (53) decreases toward the front end (54).