US4032785A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Tire inspection machine presenting an x-ray image of the entire width of the tire
Assignee: United States Steel Corp
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Filing: 1974-03-28
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Granted: 1977-06-28
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Expires: 1994-03-28
Abstract
Abstract An X-ray machine for production line inspection of tires places each tire in turn with one sector of the tire inside of a U-shaped arrangement of three fluorescent screens so that one screen faces the tread and the other two face the sides of the tire. An X-ray source inside the bead circle of the tire produces X-ray shadow pictures on the screens, which are separately viewed by a video camera, with an image of the picture on each screen transferred to a third of the target of a storage tube, so that a composite image of the entire width of the tire sector can be displayed on a picture tube. The tire is rotated stepwise for display of still pictures of every sector of the tire.
Inventors
- 👤 Donald T. Green
- 👤 Edward DE Benedetti
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 21:58
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01N; G01N23/00; G01N23/02; G01N23/06; G01N23/18; G01N23/185; G01M; G01M17/00; G01M17/007; G01M17/02; G01M17/028; G01N23/083; G01N2223/00; G01N2223/60; G01N2223/627
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
196 words
An X-ray inspection system for a pneumatic tire, comprising: a. a support for a tire, b. means for stepwise rotation of a tire on the support, c. a plurality of fluorescent screens extending essentially around the entire width, from bead to bead, of the outside of a sector of a tire on the support, d. at least one X-ray source, e. means for directing X-rays from the X-ray source to each fluorescent screen in turn through the wall of the said sector of a tire on the support to form essentially adjoining shadow pictures of different parts of the sector of the tire on the several fluorescent screens, f. a video camera, g. means for exposing the video camera to each fluorescent screen in turn through paths of essentially equal optical length to produce a sequence of electronic images of the said adjoining shadow pictures, h. means for transferring the several electronic images in the video camera in turn to adjacent positions in a storage device, to produce an essentially complete composite image of the said sector of a tire, and i. means for displaying the said composite image as a still picture on a monitor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
196 words
An X-ray inspection system for a pneumatic tire, comprising: a. a support for a tire, b. means for stepwise rotation of a tire on the support, c. a plurality of fluorescent screens extending essentially around the entire width, from bead to bead, of the outside of a sector of a tire on the support, d. at least one X-ray source, e. means for directing X-rays from the X-ray source to each fluorescent screen in turn through the wall of the said sector of a tire on the support to form essentially adjoining shadow pictures of different parts of the sector of the tire on the several fluorescent screens, f. a video camera, g. means for exposing the video camera to each fluorescent screen in turn through paths of essentially equal optical length to produce a sequence of electronic images of the said adjoining shadow pictures, h. means for transferring the several electronic images in the video camera in turn to adjacent positions in a storage device, to produce an essentially complete composite image of the said sector of a tire, and i. means for displaying the said composite image as a still picture on a monitor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
A system as in claim 1, in which the fluorescent screens are placed edge to edge to generate shadow pictures which collectively depict essentially the entire width of the sector of the tire.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
A system as in claim 2, in which mirrors reflect the shadow pictures on the several fluorescent screens into a single video camera.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
A system as in claim 3, in which a mirror adjacent to the video camera is provided with means for stepwise rotation to positions for reflecting the images from the several fluorescent screens in turn.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system as in claim 4, in which the optical path from each fluorescent screen through the mirrors to the video camera is in a single plane.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
A system as in claim 5, in which an X-ray source is positioned so that the axis of the X-ray beam directed to each fluorescent screen crosses the axis of each of the X-ray beams directed to the other screens.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
A system as in claim 5, including means for stepwise positioning of the tire for successive exposure of different sectors.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
A system as in claim 7, in which composite images are received alternately in different storage devices with the image on one storage device being displayed continuously during the entire interval for composing a composite image in another storage device and for moving the tire to a position for exposing another sector of the tire.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
A system as in claim 8, including means for display of two successive composite images simultaneously on adjacent bands of a single monitor.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1980-06-27 | 1980-12-27 | 1981-06-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-06-27 | 1984-12-27 | 1985-06-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-06-27 | 1988-12-27 | 1989-06-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |