TYRE PROVIDED WITH A TEMPORARY IDENTIFICATION LABEL
20250353266 ยท 2025-11-20
Inventors
Cpc classification
G06K7/10366
PHYSICS
G06K19/07764
PHYSICS
B29D30/0016
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29D2030/0077
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29D30/0061
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B60C2019/004
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
G06K7/10356
PHYSICS
B60C19/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
B29D30/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B60C19/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B65G1/137
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
G06K7/10
PHYSICS
Abstract
A tyre having: a toroidal carcass, which has a central cavity and consists of at least one body ply, which is partially folded onto itself and, hence, laterally has two turn-ups, each having an edge of the body ply resting against an intermediate portion of the body ply; two annular beads, each surrounded by the body ply and having a bead core and a bead filler; and an identification label, which is fixed in a removable manner by means of gluing, is arranged in the area of an annular bead and supports a temporary RFID device, which can be read from a distance.
Claims
1. A tyre comprising: a toroidal carcass having a central cavity; two annular beads, each having at least one bead core; and an identification label, which is attached in a removable manner to a peripheral surface of said tyre, preferably by means of gluing or of an adhesive, and supports a temporary RFID device, which can be read from a distance; wherein said identification label is arranged in the area of an annular bead; and wherein said identification label has a radially outer portion attached to the tyre and with a radially outer end and a radially inner end, and a radially inner portion, which projects from the tyre in a free manner without being attached to the tyre and is connected to the radially inner end of the outer portion; the tyre being wherein the temporary RFID device is arranged only and exclusively on the radially inner portion of said identification label so that the RFID device is not present at all in the radially outer portion.
2. The tyre according to claim 1, wherein the radially inner portion projects like a flag, from a radially innermost annular edge of the area of an annular bead of the tyre towards a centre of the central cavity.
3. The tyre according to claim 1, wherein the radial distance between the radially outer end and the radially inner end of the outer portion of the identification label is in the range of 85 to 15 mm, preferably in the range of 55 to 35 mm.
4. The tyre according to claim 1, wherein the outer portion of the identification label has a connection surface, which is attached to the tyre in the area of the bead core.
5. The tyre according to claim 4, wherein the inner portion of the identification label has no connection surface, is not glued to the area of an annular bead and is completely free and hanging in the air, namely all the surfaces of the inner portion are in the air.
6. The tyre according to claim 1, wherein said temporary RFID device comprises an antenna and said antenna is arranged only on the inner portion without extending to the outer portion.
7. The tyre according to claim 6, wherein: the antenna comprises a first antenna element and a second antenna element; and said first antenna element is electromagnetically connected to said second antenna element.
8. The tyre according to claim 1, wherein said identification label is positioned on a perimetral surface located axially outside the bead core.
9. The tyre according to claim 1, wherein said identification label is positioned on a perimetral surface located axially inside the bead core.
10. A warehouse for tyres comprising a plurality of tyres each of which is according to claim 1 and thus is provided with an identification label; wherein the tyres are arranged in stacks.
11. The warehouse according to claim 10 and comprising: a reader device, which is designed to read the RFID devices from a distance and comprises at least one antenna; and a handling device configured to place a stack of tyres to be identified close to the antenna of the reader device, in particular under the antenna or next to the antenna, so that the antenna faces and is aligned with a central cavity of the tyres making up the stack.
12. The warehouse according to claim 10, wherein the reader device comprises a plurality of antennas, which are alternatively activated to increase an area covered by the reading.
13. A method to handle a warehouse for tyres according to claim 1 and comprising the steps of: applying the identification label to each tyre; and stacking the tyres in stacks.
14. The handling method according to claim 13 and comprising the further steps of: installing a reader device, which is designed to read the RFID devices from a distance and comprises at least one antenna; and placing a stack of tyres to be identified close to the antenna of the reader device, in particular under the antenna or next to the antenna, so that the antenna faces and is aligned with a central cavity of the tyres making up the stack.
15. The handling method according to claim 13, wherein the reader device comprises a plurality of antennas, which are alternatively activated to increase an area covered by the reading.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, showing a non-limiting embodiment thereof, wherein:
[0013]
[0014]
[0015]
[0016]
[0017]
[0018]
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0019] In
[0020] Inside the warehouse 1 there are a plurality of support elements 3, each designed to support a vertically oriented stack of tyres 2 at a given distance from the ground (i.e. from the floor of the warehouse 1); in other words, the support elements 3 are shelves or racks, which support the stack of tyres 2 keeping them lifted from the ground. It should be pointed out that a stack of tyres 2 can be oriented vertically (as shown, for example, in
[0021] A series of forklifts 4 operate inside the warehouse 1, namely they move the stack of tyres 2 and, in particular, place the stack of tyres 2 coming from the production lines on the support elements 3 as well as retrieve the stack of tyres 2 from the support elements 3 in order to insert the stack of tyres 2 into containers or trucks.
[0022] Each forklift 4 is an operating means provided with wheels, which is operated by an electric motor, a Diesel engine or a gas engine and comprises a holding device 5, which is arranged at the front and is designed to pick up a stack of tyres 2. In the embodiment shown in the accompanying figures, the holding device 5 consists of a pair of forks (only one of them being visible in the accompanying figures), which lift the stack of tyres 2 from the bottom; according to a different embodiment which is not shown herein, the holding device 5 consists of a clamp, which laterally clamps the stack of tyres 2.
[0023] According to
[0024] According to
[0025] On the opposite sides of the carcass 8 there are two annular beads 10, each surrounded by the body ply 9 (namely, surrounded by the turn-ups of the body ply 9) and having a bead core 11, which is reinforced with a number of metal wire loops, and a bead filler 12; in other words, the bead core 11 consist of steel wires embedded in rubber and ensures a perfect coupling between the tyre 2 and the rim. As a consequence, each bead core 11 is basically made up of metal material, namely it mainly is a metal object covered by a relatively thin rubber layer.
[0026] The carcass 8 supports an annular tread 13; between the carcass 8 and the tread 13, a tread belt 14 is interposed, which comprises two tread plies 15. Each tread ply 15 comprises a number of metal cords (not shown), which are embedded within a rubber belt, are arranged alongside one another with a given pitch and form an angle of inclination determined in relation to an equatorial plane of the tyre 2.
[0027] Inside of the body ply 9 there is an innerliner 16, which is impermeable to air, constitutes an inner coating and has the function of holding air inside the tyre 2 in order to preserve the inflation pressure of the tyre 2 over time.
[0028] The body ply 9 supports a pair of sidewalls 17, which are arranged on the outside of the body ply 9 between the tread 13 and the beads 10.
[0029] Finally, the body ply 9 supports a pair of abrasion gum strips 18, which are arranged on the outside radially inside the sidewalls 17 and in the area of the beads 10.
[0030] According to
[0031] According to a preferred embodiment, each temporary RFID device 20 can store the so-called Unique Item Identifier-UII for applications in the tyre industry in accordance with the ISO 20910 standards and coded with a SGTIN-96 coding (96 bits-Serialized Global Trade Item Number) according to the GS1 EPC Tag Data standard.
[0032] It should be pointed out that, in each tyre 2, the temporary RFID device 20 is only used inside the warehouse 1 and, if necessary, during the transportation of the tyre 2 to the end user, but it is normally removed from the tyre 2 (and, hence, thrown away) before fitting the tyre 2 on the rim. The temporary RFID device 20 is used because it can (much) more easily be read when the tyre 2 is in a stack (as discussed below) compared to a permanent RFID embedded inside the tyre (shown in
[0033] In each tyre 2, the identification label 19 (supporting the temporary RFID device 20) is arranged in the area of an annular bead 10 and, in particular, radially overlaps the bead core 11.
[0034] Preferably the identification label 19 radially overlaps the bead core 11 and radially extends past the bead core 11 at least in the radially inner direction.
[0035]
[0036] Preferably the identification label 19 is attached to the tyre (2) on a perimetral surface located axially outside the bead core 11.
[0037] Preferably the identification label 19 is attached to the tyre (2) on a perimetral surface located axially inside the bead core 11.
[0038] According to
[0039] The radially outer portion 21 of each identification label 19 has a radially outer end 211 and a radially inner end 212; the radially inner portion 22 is connected to the radially inner end 212 of the outer portion 21.
[0040] Preferably the radial distance between the radially outer end 211 and the radially inner end 212 of the outer portion 21 of the identification label 19 is in the range of 85 to 15 mm, preferably in the range of 55 to 35 mm, more preferably in the range of 50 to 25 mm and even more preferably about 45 mm.
[0041] The radially inner portion 22 of the identification label 19 projects like a flag, from a radially innermost annular edge of the area of an annular bead 10 of the tyre 2 towards a centre of the central cavity 6.
[0042] In each identification label 19, the outer portion 21 of the identification label 19 has a connection surface 23, which is attached (in particular glued by means of a glue) to the peripheral surface of the tyre 2.
[0043] Preferably the outer portion 21 is attached to the tyre 2 in the area radially outside the bead core 11.
[0044] Preferably the outer portion 21 is attached to the tyre 2 in the area radially overlapping the abrasion gum strip 18.
[0045] Preferably the outer portion 21 is attached to the tyre 2 in the area radially overlapping the sidewall 17.
[0046] Preferably the outer portion 21 is attached to the tyre 2 in the area radially overlapping the sidewall 17 and the abrasion gum strip 18.
[0047] Preferably the outer portion 21 is attached to the tyre 2 in an area of the peripheral surface of the tyre 2 having the smallest curvature.
[0048] In each identification label 19, the inner portion 22 of the identification label 19 is completely free and hanging in the air, namely all the surfaces of the inner portion 22 are in the air and do not touch any part of the tyre 2.
[0049] Each identification label 19 is attached (glued) to a peripheral surface of a tyre 2 by means of a glue or adhesive, which allows the identification label 19 to be subsequently removed in a relatively simple manner; for example, it is possible to use a non-drying re-stick glue or adhesive 23, which, hence, allows the identification label 19 to be relatively easily removed from the outer surface of the corresponding tyre 2.
[0050] The terms radial, radially or axial, axially and their derivates used herein and hereafter should have the common meaning understood in the tyre industry and are according to the reference given in
[0051] The terms outer or inner in combination to the radial and axial directions can be clearly identified by the following example with reference to
[0052] According to a preferred embodiment shown in
[0053] The identification label 19 comprises a temporary RFID device 20. The temporary RFID device 20 is arranged only and exclusively on the radially inner portion 22 of said identification label 19 so that the RFID device 20 is not present at all in the radially outer portion 21.
[0054] The temporary RFID device 20 comprises an antenna and said antenna is arranged only in the inner portion 22 without extending to the outer portion 21.
[0055] In a preferred embodiment shown in
[0056] Both the first antenna element 24 and the second antenna element 25 are arranged only in the inner portion 22 without extending to the outer portion 21.
[0057] The temporary RFID device 20 comprises a microchip 26.
[0058] The microchip 26 is electrically connected to the antenna.
[0059] The microchip 26 is electrically connected to the first antenna element 24.
[0060] The first antenna element 24 is electromagnetically connected to the second antenna element 25.
[0061] The outer portion 21 of the identification label 19 has a connection surface 23 suitable for being attached (in particular glued by means of a glue or fixed by means of adhesives) to the peripheral surface of the tyre 2.
[0062] Furthermore, the microchip 26 (namely, a miniaturized electronic circuit) is provided with a non-volatile memory (typically, an EEPROM or FRAM memory, the latter being more expensive, but more technologically advanced).
[0063] The microchip 26 can be provided with an automatic tuning mechanism, which is capable of automatically adjusting its inner impedance in order to optimize and improve readability performances, thus allowing for a greater tolerance in the production and in the positioning of the identification labels 19.
[0064] Each identification label 19 comprises a support 27, on which the temporary RFID device 20 is housed and which typically consists of a thin sheet of Mylar, plastic such as PET or PVC or other similar materials.
[0065] According to a preferred embodiment shown in
[0066] According to
[0067] In other words, each stack of tyres 2 to be identified is placed close to the antenna 30 of the reader device 28, in particular under the antenna 30 or next to the antenna 30, so that the antenna 30 faces and is aligned with a central cavity 6 of the tyres 2 making up the stack.
[0068] According to a preferred embodiment, one single antenna 30 is sufficient to read all the temporary RFID devices 20 of the tyres 2 of a stack of tyres 2, namely said single antenna 30 is arranged at one single end (above, under or beside) of the stack; alternatively and for greater certainty (confidence) two antennas 30 can be used to read all the temporary RFID devices 20 of the tyres 2 of a stack of tyres 2, namely the two antennas 30 are arranged opposite one another at the two ends (above, under or beside) of the stack.
[0069] However, it should be pointed out that, theoretically speaking, an antenna 30, regardless of its orientation, could anyway read the temporary RFID devices 20 of the tyres 2 of stacks that are arranged both vertically and horizontally.
[0070] In use, a stack of tyres 2 to be identified is placed in the reading field of an antenna 30 (namely, under the antenna 30 or beside the antenna 30) of a reader device 28 so as to allow the reader device 28 to read the temporary RFID devices 20 of all the tyres 2; in particular, a stack of tyres 2 (generally carried by the holding device 5 of a forklift 4) can briefly be stopped in the area of an antenna 30 of a reader device 28 or can be caused to slowly move forward in the area of the antenna 30 of a reader device 28. If, besides reading the temporary RFID devices 20 of all the tyres 2, the reader device 28 happened to also read one or more permanent RFID devices 7, the reading of the permanent RFID devices 7 would simply be redundant relative to the reading of the temporary RFID devices 20 and could be ignored as a double without causing any kind of problem. In particular, according to the RFID EPC Gen2 GS1 protocol, when two RFID devices 7 and 20 with the same name and, hence, without univocal EPCs are read, one single RFID device 7 or 20 present in the reading field is signalled following the interrogation of the reader device 28.
[0071] Owing to the above, the warehouse 1 is evidently provided with a logistics system, which allows the handling of the tyres 2 to be managed in a highly automated manner thanks to an autonomous reading (namely, without the manual intervention of an operator) of the temporary RFID devices 20 coupled to the tyres 2. In particular, the reader devices 28 are connected to a control server 31 of the warehouse 1 (schematically shown in
[0072] According to a possible (though, non-binding embodiment, in order to allow the operator of a forklift 4 to quickly and confidently make sure that a reader device 28 has read all the temporary RFID devices 20 of the tyres 2 making up a stack carried by the holding device 5 (a stack of TBR truck tyres 2 generally consists of five to eight TBR tyres 2 on top of one another or next to one another, depending on the size of the tyres 2), the operator, each time, has to enter (type in) the number of tyres 2 loaded on the holding device 5 using the tablet computer 32 (the software installed in the tablet computer 32 could already suggest to the operator a predefined limited selection of numbers of tyres 2 loaded on the holding device 5); the software installed in the tablet computer 32 checks whether the number of temporary RFID devices 20 read by the reader device 28 corresponds to (namely, is the same as) the number of tyres 2 loaded on the holding device 5 of the forklift 4 (provided by the operator): in case the numbers are the same, the software provides a positive signal (for example, by means of a green light) and the reading operation undergone by the temporary RFID devices 20 is concluded, whereas, in case the numbers are not the same, the software provides a negative signal (for example, by means of a red light and an acoustic warning) and the reading operation undergone by the temporary RFID devices 20 must be repeated.
[0073] It should be pointed out that a same reader device 28 could comprise several antennas 30 arranged in different positions (anyway, close to one another) and activated in different instants by the electronic control unit; in this way, a driver of a forklift 4 transporting (at least) a stack of tyres 2 does not have to follow with precision a predetermined set route, but can even (more or less accidentally) deviate from the predetermined set route, as the plurality of antennas 30 allow the operator to cover a relatively large area around the predetermined set route.
[0074] In the embodiment shown in
[0075] The tyre 2 described above has numerous advantages.
[0076] First of all, the tyre 2 described above allows for an efficient (quick) and effective (confident) identification of all the tyres 2 making up a stack by means of a reader device 28 provided with one single antenna 30 arranged in a fixed position (hence, by means of a simple, economic and simple-to-use reader device 28). This result is obtained thanks to the particular positioning of the identification labels 19, which allows them to always be read in a confident manner, even when the tyres 2 are stacked; indeed, the central cavities 6 of the tyres 2 (where the identification labels 19 are located) are always free from electromagnetic shielding (due to the Faraday cages created by the metal elements of the tyres 2) even when the stacked tyres 2 are handled.
[0077] Furthermore, the particular conformation of the identification labels 19 and the resulting positioning of the temporary RFID devices 20 allows the usable reading distance of the temporary RFID devices 20 to be maximized, since the positioning in the air of the radially inner portion 22 allows the temporary RFID devices to be distant from any metal mass (namely, the bead cores 11) of the tyres 2, which, would be a disturbing element.
[0078] Some experiments have shown that a reader device 28 provided with one single antenna 30 oriented horizontally or vertically is capable of reading the temporary RFID devices 20 of all the tyres 2 of a stack up to a distance of 6-8 metres from the tyre 2 of the stack that is the farthest from the antenna 30.
[0079] In addition, the positioning of the identification labels 19 inside the tyres 2 (namely, in the area of the central cavity 6 of the tyres 2, projecting towards the inside starting from a bead 10) makes the identification labels 19 extremely protected and, hence, substantially unaffected by damages or unintentional detachments; indeed, the areas of the beads 10 are never touched in any way during the handling thereof.
[0080] Finally, the identification labels 19 are inexpensive (and thus represent negligible part of the total manufacturing cost of the tyre), as the temporary RFID devices 20 can have relatively small antenna elements 24 and 25.
[0081] Besides, it should be pointed out that for each tyre 2 it is always sufficient to apply one single identification label 19, since even one single identification label 19 is always read from the top, regardless of the orientation of the tyre 2 and of the way in which the stack is held; anyway, it should be pointed out that coupling one single tyre 2 to two or more identification labels 19 is not forbidden (even though it is substantially useless).
[0082] The invention finds advantageous application in the handling of so-called TBR (Truck and Bus Radial) tyres 2, but, anyway, it can be applied to tyres 2 of any type (larger or also smaller than so-called TBR tyres 2).
LIST OF THE REFERENCE NUMBERS OF THE FIGURES
[0083] 1 warehouse [0084] 2 tyres [0085] 3 support element [0086] 4 forklift [0087] 5 holding device [0088] 6 central cavity [0089] 7 permanent RFID device [0090] 8 carcass [0091] 9 body ply [0092] 10 beads [0093] 11 bead core [0094] 12 bead filler [0095] 13 tread [0096] 14 tread belt [0097] 15 tread ply [0098] 16 innerliner [0099] 17 sidewalls [0100] 18 abrasion gum strip [0101] 19 identification label [0102] 20 temporary RFID device [0103] 21 inner portion [0104] 22 outer portion [0105] 23 connection surface [0106] 24 first antenna element [0107] 25 second antenna element [0108] 26 microchip [0109] 27 support [0110] 28 reader device [0111] 29 electronic control unit [0112] 30 antenna [0113] 31 control server [0114] 32 tablet computer [0115] 33 support device