Robotic laser tire mold cleaning system and method of use
First Claim
1. A cleaning system (10) for removing residual material from a mold (12) having a molding surface (13), the system including a robot (14) including an arm (16) movable in a plurality of degrees of freedom, the arm having a free end (28b), a laser (18) connected with the robot and having an output end (19) mounted to the arm proximal to the free end so as to be positionable by the robot wherein the robot positions a cleaning system output end (20) with respect to the molding surface to direct radiation (18a) from the laser to impinge on the molding surface and remove residual material from the surface, the output end of the laser enclosed in a laser delivery head (32) containing one or more optical fibers (42) to deliver the laser radiation to a delivery end (44b) of the laser delivery head, the cleaning system characterized by:
- a plurality of the optical fibers extending from the output end of the laser, through the laser delivery head, to output ends (43) of the fibers located at the delivery end of the laser delivery head; and
the output ends of the plurality of optical fibers being aligned and spaced apart such that the laser radiation output from the plurality of optical fibers forms a stripe (18b) of radiation on the molding surface, the system output end (20) disposed to move to the molding surface wherein the direction of movement of the stripe is parallel to the axis of the stripe of radiation.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cleaning device (10) for removing residual material from a mold (12) having a molding surface (13) includes a robot (14) including an arm (16) movable in a plurality of degrees of freedom, the arm having a free end. A laser (18) is connected with the robot (14) and has an output end mounted to the arm (16) proximal to the free end so as to be positionable by the robot. An optical delivery system (38) includes a plurality of optical fibers, each fiber having a first end connected with the laser (18) and a second, output end attached to the free end of the arm of the robot (14). The output ends of the optical fibers (42) are aligned such that the laser forms a stripe of light (18b) on the molding surface (13). A controller (46) is connected with the robot (14) and is configured to direct the robotic arm (16) through at least one predetermined set of movements. A rotatable support (48, 54) is disposed proximal to the robot (14) the mold (12) being disposed on the support. The robot (14) positions the output end of the laser (18) with respect to the molding surface (13) to direct light (18a) from the laser to impinge on the surface and remove residual material from the surface as rotation of the support (48, 54) aligns different sections of the molding surface with the output end of the laser.
62 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A cleaning system (10) for removing residual material from a mold (12) having a molding surface (13), the system including a robot (14) including an arm (16) movable in a plurality of degrees of freedom, the arm having a free end (28b), a laser (18) connected with the robot and having an output end (19) mounted to the arm proximal to the free end so as to be positionable by the robot wherein the robot positions a cleaning system output end (20) with respect to the molding surface to direct radiation (18a) from the laser to impinge on the molding surface and remove residual material from the surface, the output end of the laser enclosed in a laser delivery head (32) containing one or more optical fibers (42) to deliver the laser radiation to a delivery end (44b) of the laser delivery head, the cleaning system characterized by:
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a plurality of the optical fibers extending from the output end of the laser, through the laser delivery head, to output ends (43) of the fibers located at the delivery end of the laser delivery head; and
the output ends of the plurality of optical fibers being aligned and spaced apart such that the laser radiation output from the plurality of optical fibers forms a stripe (18b) of radiation on the molding surface, the system output end (20) disposed to move to the molding surface wherein the direction of movement of the stripe is parallel to the axis of the stripe of radiation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
a programmable controller (46) connected to control the robot and configured to direct the arm of the robot through at least one predetermined set of movements.
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3. The cleaning system as recited in claim 2 characterized in that:
the controller is configured to interface the laser with the robot.
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4. The cleaning system as recited in claim 1 characterized in that:
the laser delivery head is curved so that the laser radiation output can be projected in a direction normal to the molding surfaces to be cleaned using standard motions of the robot.
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5. The cleaning system as recited in claim 1 characterized in that:
the laser delivery head further includes a plurality of optical deflectors (92, 94) positioned following the output ends of the plurality of fibers to further direct laser radiation from the plurality of optical fibers to the molding surfaces to be cleaned.
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6. The cleaning system as recited in claim 1 characterized in that:
the diameter (d) of each one of the plurality of optical fibers and the spacing distance (s) between adjacent ones of the plurality of optical fibers is such that the stripe of radiation has a length in a range of 1.92 cm to 3.81 cm, and a width in a range of 0.25 cm to 1.5 cm;
wherein the stripe of radiation is formed on the mold surface from a stand-off distance (ds) in a range of 1.92 cm to 3.81 cm.
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7. A method of cleaning residual material from the molding surface (13) of a mold (12), the method including:
- providing a laser (18) having a laser delivery head (32) with a delivery end (44b);
moving the laser delivery head to align the delivery end of the laser delivery head with the molding surface;
activating the laser such that laser radiation (18a) impinges on the molding surface and removes residual material disposed on the molding surface, the method characterized by;forming the laser radiation impinging on the molding surface into a stripe (18b) of radiation;
moving the stripe of radiation relative to the molding surface in a direction which is parallel to the axis of the stripe of radiation; and
curving the laser delivery head and moving the laser delivery head in a way that maintains a direction for the radiation which is normal to the molding surface. - View Dependent Claims (8)
providing a robot (14) having an arm (16) movable in a plurality of degrees of freedom;
connecting the laser with the robot;
mounting the laser delivery head to the arm; and
automatically moving the arm of the robot to align the delivery end of the laser delivery head with the molding surface;
characterized by;
directing the robot to move the laser delivery head through a set of movements predetermined for each unique mold shape, so that the laser radiation is directed to different sections of the molding surface.
- providing a laser (18) having a laser delivery head (32) with a delivery end (44b);
Specification