SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A STRIP OF MATERIAL WITH AN INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC COMPONENT

Abstract

The method for producing a strip of material with an integrated electronic component comprises the following steps according to the present invention: feeding a material web, cutting a first piece of material from the material web, lifting the first piece of material, applying an electronic component to the material web, once again feeding the material web with the electronic component located on it, cutting a piece of material from the material web to obtain a second piece of material on which the electronic component is located, and applying the first piece of material to the second piece of material so that the electronic component is accommodated between the first piece of material and the second piece of material.

Claims

1. A method for producing a strip of material (13) with an integrated electronic component (3), comprising: cutting a first piece of material (21a) from a material web; applying an electronic component (3) to the material web (4); positioning the first piece of material with respect to the electronic component; cutting a piece of second material (21b) from the material web (4) on which the electronic component (3) is located; and applying the first piece of material (21a) to the second piece of material (21b) so that the electronic component (3) is disposed between the first piece of material (21a) and the second piece of material (21b).

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first piece of material and the second piece of material are fully or partially composed of unvulcanized rubber.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying of the electronic component to the material web is carried out before the first piece of material and the second piece of material have been cut from the material web.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein positioning the first piece of material with respect to the electronic component comprises: lifting the first piece of material; and cutting the second piece of material simultaneous with the lifting of the first piece of material.

5. A method for producing a strip of material (13) with an integrated electronic component (3), comprising: cutting a first piece of material (21a) from the material web (4); cutting a second piece of material (21b) from the material web (4); applying an electronic component (3) to the second piece of material (21b); and applying the first piece of material (21a) to the second piece of material (21b) such that the electronic component (3) is disposed between the first piece of material (21a) and the second piece of material (21b).

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first piece of material and the second piece of material are fully or partially composed of unvulcanized rubber.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the cutting of the first piece of material and the cutting of the second piece of material are carried out simultaneously.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising: connecting the first piece of material to the second piece of material to obtain a strip of material with an integrated electronic component.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein the second piece of material is cut after the first piece of material has been cut.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the first piece of material and the second piece of material are cut from the same material web.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the connecting of the first piece of material to the second piece of material comprises applying pressure to the strip of material.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the first piece of material and the second piece of material are laminated, with the electronic component disposed therebetween.

13. The method of claim 5 wherein the electronic component has a memory and at least one antenna.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the electronic component is an RFID chip.

15. A system for producing a strip of material (13) with an integrated electronic component (3), comprising: a feeding device (5) for feeding a material web (4); a cutting device (1), an application device (2) for applying an electronic component (3) to the material web (4) or to a first or second piece of material (21b, 21a) which has been cut from the material web; and a positioning device (22) for positioning the first piece of material (21a, 21b) and for subsequently applying the positioned piece of material to the second piece of material (21b, 21a) so that the electronic component (3) is disposed between the two pieces of material (21a, 21b) to produce a strip of material with an integrated electronic component.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the material web is fully or partially composed of unvulcanized rubber.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the first piece of material is positioned by lifting.

18. The system of claim 15, further comprising a connecting device (23) for connecting the two pieces of material to obtain a strip of material with an integrated electronic component.

19. The system of claim 11 further comprising: a device for applying sequentially produced strips of material with an integrated electronic component to a transportation web and for winding the transportation web into a roll.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein the system is configured to carry out the method of claim 1.

21. The system of claim 15 wherein the system is configured to carry out the method of claim 5.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a system with a cutting device and a device for applying an electronic component to the material web according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a cutting device and a device for lifting a piece of material according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows devices according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention which are arranged after or downstream of the cutting device.

[0023] FIG. 4 shows a device for winding the strips of material with an integrated electronic component onto a transportation web which is adhesive on one side or onto a carrier web according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 5 shows a view from above of a strip of material with an integrated electronic component according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] FIG. 5 shows a view from above of a strip of material 13 with an integrated electronic component 3, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Because the electronic component 3 is arranged between two pieces of material, it cannot be seen from outside. FIG. 5 therefore shows the representation of the electronic component 3 only as a representation of its position within the strip of material 13.

[0026] An electronic component 3, according to the present invention, preferably has a memory and at least one antenna 12, wherein the antenna(s) can be used to exchange information, to write to and/or read from the memory and, if applicable, to supply power to the electronic component. In preferred embodiments, the electronic component is an RFID chip 11 with two antennas 12, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0027] In exemplary embodiments of the invention, the strip of material with an integrated electronic component can, for example, be 30 to 150 mm in length, in particular 50 to 120 mm in length, further preferably 50 to 70 mm in length. The width may be, for example, 3 to 50 mm, in particular 5 to 20 mm, further preferably 8 to 12 mm. The height may be, for example, 0.3 to 4 mm, in particular 0.5 to 1 mm, further preferably 0.6 to 0.8 mm.

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a system with a cutting device 1 and a device 2 for applying an electronic component 3 to a material web 4 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The material web 4 preferably consists of unvulcanized rubber.

[0029] The material web 4 is fed by a device 5 for feeding the material web. The material web 4 is first wound up on a roller 4a and unwound by the feeding device and fed to the cutting device 1 preferably via a driven guide roller or conveyor 6.

[0030] The material web 4 may be covered with an intermediate film or a protective material 7. This protective material 7 is deflected in the area of the guide roller 6, for example around a baffle or a wedge 8, to remove the protective material 7 from the material web 4. The protective material 7 can then be deflected by a further guide roller 9 and wound up via a roller 10.

[0031] The individual electronic components 3 may first be arranged between a blister tape 14a and a blister foil 14b which are wound on a roller 15. The blister tape 14a and the blister foil 14b are unwound from the roller 15 with the electronic components 3. The blister tape 14a is then wound up by a roller 16a and the blister foil 14b is wound up by a roller 16b. The blister foil 14b is deflected here by a baffle or a wedge 28 and the blister tape 14a is deflected by a pressing element 17. The pressing element 17 is preferably configured longitudinally with a round or oval cross section.

[0032] Although the electronic components 3 are wound up on a roller in the exemplary embodiment shown, they can also be fed to blister sheets according to the invention.

[0033] The pressing element 17 adjoins a transfer mechanism 18. The individual electronic components are transferred from this area (in which the blister tape 14a and the blister foil 14b are separated from one another) to the material web 4. For this purpose, the transfer mechanism 18 preferably has a rotatable roller 20 and a fixed magnetic area 19 arranged within the roller 20. An electronic component is held on the roller 20 by the magnetic force and then automatically released such as to remain lying on the material web 4.

[0034] Instead of the transfer mechanism 18 described above, the latter can also be configured with a partially magnetic belt (instead of a partially magnetic roller) or as a mechanism with a gripping system.

[0035] The material web 4 is then cut into individual pieces of material by the cutting device 1. This cutting device can be configured in numerous ways, for example with a knife passing through (for example a punching knife or a guillotine knife) which is moved from the top downward, with a rolling knife which is moved transversely to the material web, or with a knife which is located on a rotating roller (referred to as a cross-cutter).

[0036] The cutting device may be driven by a controller (not shown) such that alternately a first piece of material 21a on which there is no electronic component 3 is cut and then a second piece of material 21b on which there is an electronic component 3 is cut (See FIG. 2).

[0037] FIG. 2 shows a cutting device 1 and a device 22 for lifting a piece of material according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The device 22 positions the first piece of material 21a (without an electronic component), for example, by lifting, so that the second piece of material 21b with electronic component can be arranged in a preferred orientation with respect to the first piece of material, for example, underneath the first piece of material in instances wherein the first piece of material is lifted. The first piece of material 21a is then lowered again so that the electronic component 3 is disposed or accommodated between the two pieces of material 21a, 21b. For this purpose, the device 22 can have either a mechanical gripper or a vacuum gripper.

[0038] FIG. 3 shows devices according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention which are arranged after or downstream of the cutting device. Arranged after the device 22 for lifting a piece of material are two rollers of a device 23 for connecting the two pieces of material to obtain a strip of material 13 with an integrated electronic component. This device 23 is preferably a laminating device so that the pieces of material with the electronic component arranged therebetween are connected to one another with the application of pressure.

[0039] Furthermore, a device 24 can be provided to transfer information to the electronic component 3 (or, more precisely, to the memory of the electronic component via the at least one antenna 12) and/or to test the functioning of the electronic component 3. A provision can also be made for an inspection device to check the quality of the strip of material or of the RFID tag 13 and an expulsion device to separate off any faulty strips of material or RFID tags 13.

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a device for winding the strips of material (13) with an integrated electronic component onto a transportation web which is adhesive on one side or a carrier web 25 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The strips of material or the RFID tags are pressed onto the carrier web via a roller 27. The carrier web 25 together with the strips of material 13 or the RFID tags are then wound up onto a roller 26 so that they can then easily be fed again automatically at a tire production facility.

[0041] At the tire production facility, a strip of material 13 with an integrated electronic component 3 is connected to the rubber for the tire production and vulcanized together so that the electronic component is ultimately integrated in the tire.

[0042] Although the electronic component 3 is applied to the material web 4 before the cutting device in the exemplary embodiment explained above, it is also possible for an electronic component 3 to be applied to an already cut piece of material 21a, 21b after the cutting device.

[0043] It is also possible, according to the present invention, for the electronic component to be applied to the first piece of material 21a (instead of the second piece of material) or to that part of the material web 4 which is then cut as the first piece of material 21a, and then for the second piece of material 21b to be applied to the first piece of material 21a.

[0044] As would be realized by one of skill in the art, variations in arrangement and operation of the above-described system, and variations in the materials and sizes of components used in the method are possible and will still be considered within the scope of the invention, which is clearly set forth in the following claims.