US 11,911,982 B2
Method and system for applying a sealing agent to the surface of an internal cavity of a pneumatic tyre
Roberto Pontone, Rome (IT)
Assigned to Bridgestone Europe NV/SA, Zaventem (BE)
Appl. No. 16/764,138
Filed by Bridgestone Europe NV/SA, Zavenlem (BE)
PCT Filed Dec. 18, 2018, PCT No. PCT/IB2018/060285
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 14, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/123275, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 27, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 102017000147528 (IT), filed on Dec. 20, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0391456 A1, Dec. 17, 2020
Int. Cl. B29D 30/06 (2006.01); B29C 73/22 (2006.01)
CPC B29C 73/22 (2013.01) [B29D 30/0685 (2013.01); B29D 2030/0694 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. System for applying a sealing agent to the surface (5) of an internal cavity of a pneumatic tire; the system comprises:
an applicator device, that is provided with a nozzle and that is suitable for supplying a strip of sealing agent that is applied to the surface;
a first opto-electronic device that is integral to and arranged upstream of the nozzle and provided with a first sensor element configured to acquire a first plurality of images of the surface that is devoid of the sealing agent;
a second opto-electronic device that is integral to and arranged downstream of the nozzle and provided with a second sensor element configured to acquire a second plurality of images of the surface provided with the sealing agent;
a third opto-electronic device provided with a third sensor element that is able to acquire a third plurality of images of the entire surface and to provide a plurality of signals that are indicative of said third plurality of acquired images; and
an electronic processing system, which is connected to the first, second, and third opto-electronic devices and to the applicator device and that is configured in such a way as to:
control an open loop application of the sealing agent as a function of a first plurality of signals that are indicative of the first plurality of images captured by the first opto-electronic device;
control a closed loop application of the sealing agent as a function of a second plurality of signals that are indicative of the second plurality of images captured by the second opto-electronic device; and
process the signals that are indicative of the third plurality of acquired images to determine the surface profile of the entire internal cavity and in such a way as to drive the applicator device as a function of the surface profile of the entire internal cavity.