Claims:1. A method for cutting a ply material based on splice detection, wherein the method comprises:
detecting a splice on the ply material by a splice detection unit (108) disposed on a conveyor (102) carrying the ply material; and
providing, by a control unit (110) coupled to the splice detection unit (108), a cutting command to a ply cutting unit (104) to cut the ply material based on the detection of the splice, such that the detected splice is away from ends of the ply material at least by a predetermined distance ?x.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method comprises:
determining, by the control unit (110), a distance of the detected splice from a leading end of the ply material, wherein the leading end is at a cut of the ply material made subsequent to detection of the splice; and
when difference between the distance of the detected splice from the leading end and a predefined length of the ply material is less than the predetermined distance ?x, executing the cutting command by the ply cutting unit (104) to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predetermined distance ?x in addition to the predefined length.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, the method comprising:
when difference between the distance of the detected splice from the leading end and the predefined length of the ply material is less than the predetermined distance ?x, bypassing a preset cut command, wherein the preset cut command, when executed, is to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predefined length.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, the method comprising:
when the distance of the detected splice from the leading end is determined to be less than the predetermined distance ?x, executing the cutting command by the ply cutting unit (104) to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predetermined distance ?x.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3, the method comprising:
when difference between the distance of the detected splice from the leading edge and the predefined length of the ply material is determined to be equal to or more than the predetermined distance ?x, executing the preset cut command by the ply cutting unit (104) to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predefined length.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined distance ?x is in a range of about 100 mm to about 150 mm.

7. A system (100) comprising:
a conveyor (102) to move a ply material;
a splice detection unit (108) disposed on the conveyor (102) to detect a splice on the ply material;
a ply cutting unit (104) disposed on the conveyor (102) to cut the ply material; and
a control unit (110) coupled to the splice detection unit (108) to provide a cutting command to the ply cutting unit (104) to cut the ply material based on the detection of the splice, such that the detected splice is away from ends of the ply material at least by a predetermined distance ?x.

8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the control unit (110) is to:
determine a distance of the detected splice from a leading end of the ply material, wherein the leading end is at a cut of the ply material made subsequent to detection of the splice;
determine difference between the distance of the detected splice from the leading end and a predefined length of the ply material; and
when said difference is determined to be less than a predetermined distance ?x, provide the cutting command to the ply cutting unit (104) to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predetermined distance ?x in addition to the predefined length.

9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein, when said difference is determined to be less than the predetermined distance ?x, the control unit (110) is to bypass a preset cut command, wherein the preset cut command, when executed, is to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predefined length.

10. The system (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein, when the distance of the detected splice from the leading end is determined to be less than the predetermined distance ?x, the control unit (110) is to provide the cutting command to the ply cutting unit (104) to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predetermined distance ?x.

11. The system (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein, when said difference is determined to be equal to or more than the predetermined distance ?x, the control unit (110) is to provide the preset cut command to the ply cutting unit (104) to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predefined length.

12. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the predetermined distance ?x is in a range of about 100 mm to about 150 mm.

FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 (39 of 1970) & THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See section 10, rule 13) 1. Title of the invention: PLY MATERIAL CUTTING BASED ON SPLICE DETECTION
2. Applicant(s)
NAME NATIONALITY ADDRESS
CEAT LIMITED Indian RPG HOUSE, 463, Dr. Annie Besant
Road, Worli, Mumbai-400 007, India
3. Preamble to the description
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it
is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The subject matter described herein, in general, relates to ply
material cutting, and in particular relates to systems and methods of cutting ply materials based on detection of splices on the ply materials.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Ply materials, made of rubber, are used for manufacturing tyres.
For manufacturing a tyre, one or more strips of ply material are wound over an inner lining on a drum, and two ends of each strip of ply material are joined together, or spliced. A strip of ply material of a specific length is cut and then wound over the inner lining on the drum before splicing the ends of the strip of ply material. The length of the strip of the ply material is dependent on the dimensions of the tyre to be manufactured.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0003] The features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will be
better understood with regard to the following description, and accompanying
figures. The use of the same reference number in different figures indicates
similar or identical features and components.
[0004] Fig. 1 illustrates a system for detecting splices on ply materials and
cutting the ply materials based on splice detection, in accordance with an example
implementation of the present subject matter.
[0005] Fig. 2(a) illustrates an initial set up of the system 100 before
initiating the operation of the system, in accordance with an example
implementation of the present subject matter.
[0006] Fig. 2(b) illustrates the ply material with a leading end at a cut
made subsequent to detection of a splice, and difference between the distance of
the detected splice from the leading end and the predefined length L being less
than the predetermined distance Δx, in accordance with an example
implementation of the present subject matter.
[0007] Fig. 2(c) illustrates the ply material with a leading end at a cut
made subsequent to detection of a splice, and the distance of the detected splice

from the leading end being less than the predetermined distance Δx, in accordance
with an example implementation of the present subject matter.
[0008] Fig. 3 illustrates a splice detection unit, in accordance with an
example implementation of the present subject matter.
[0009] Fig. 4 illustrates a method of cutting a ply material based on splice
detection, in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject
matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] Tyre manufacturing assemblies include one or more conveyors on
which a ply material is moved and cut to form strips. A strip of ply material from
one conveyor, or multiple strips of ply material from respective conveyors, may
be wound over an inner lining on a drum, and ends of the strip after being wound
are spliced together for manufacturing a tyre. A splice joining the ends of a strip
of ply material of a tyre may be referred to as a “building splice”.
[0011] The ply material, which is moved on the conveyor for cutting into
strips, is supplied from a continuous stock of ply material. The stock of ply material may be in the form of a ply material roll. The continuous stock of ply material is made by joining together several bands of ply material. Ends of two bands of ply material may be joined by way of splicing them together or overlap splicing. The stock of ply material, thus, has splices at the intersections of bands of ply material. A splice on the stock of ply material appears as a bulge on the surface of the ply material stock. Such a splice on the stock of ply material may be referred to as a “stock splice”.
[0012] The strip of ply material which is cut from the stock of plurality for
manufacturing a tyre may include a stock splice. When such a strip of ply material is wound on a drum with an inner lining and the ends of the strip are spliced together, it may happen that the building splice and the stock splice are close to each other. If the building splice is within a specific distance, for example, 100 mm, from the stock splice, the tyre suffers performance, commonly known as run¬out issues.

[0013] Conventional techniques involve tyre testing procedures which
determine the distance between the stock and building splices of a tyre. If the
distance is below a specific distance, then the tyre is rejected. A rejected tyre may
be processed or recycled for extracting materials therefrom which may again be
used for making tyres. The conventional techniques thus do not control the
distance between the stock and building splices and are not efficient as they lead
to wastage of material, and cost and time of manufacturing tyres.
[0014] The present subject matter is directed to systems and methods of
cutting ply materials into strips based on detection of splices on the ply materials. The systems and the methods of the present subject matter utilize a splice detection unit, which is disposed on a conveyor carrying the ply material for cutting into strips. The splice detection unit is placed before a ply cutting unit in the direction of motion of the ply material.
[0015] According to an example implementation of the present subject
matter, a splice, i.e., a stock splice, may be detected on the ply material by the
splice detection unit when the ply material is moved on the conveyor. A cutting
command may be provided to a ply cutting unit to cut the ply material based on
the detection of the splice. The ply material is cut based on the cutting command,
such that the detected splice is away from ends of the ply material at least by a
predetermined distance Δx. The ends of ply material, herein, refer to the free ends
of the ply material at which the ply material is cut by the ply cutting unit. In an
example, the predetermined distance Δx may be in a range of 100 mm to 150 mm.
[0016] By maintaining a distance of Δx or more between the stock splice
and the free ends of the ply material, the systems and the methods of the present
subject matter ensures that the stock splice is away from a building splice in a tyre
by the distance Δx or more. This minimizes the chances of manufacturing tyres
with stock and building splices within a distance of Δx from each other, which
thereby facilitates manufacturing of tyres without any run-out issues and reducing
wastage or material, and cost and time for manufacturing defect free tyres.
[0017] Further, the systems and the methods of the present subject matter
avoid cutting of the ply material at the positions of stock splices, which are

usually hard to cut. The systems and the methods of the present subject matter
thus facilitate in increasing the life of the ply cutting unit by prevent damage
which may otherwise be caused by cutting the ply material over stock splices.
[0018] The manner in which the systems and the methods of the present
subject matter shall be implemented has been explained in details with respect to Fig. 1 to Fig. 4. It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter.
[0019] Fig. 1 illustrates a system 100 for detecting splices on ply materials
and cutting the ply materials based on splice detection, in accordance with an example implementation of the present subject matter. A ply material may include rubber ply material, in the form of a sheet, used for manufacturing tyres. The system 100 includes a conveyor 102 on which a ply cutting unit 104 is disposed. The conveyor 102 may be operated using a servomotor (not shown). The ply material is moved in a direction A on the conveyor 102 and cut using the ply cutting unit 104 to form strips of ply material of predefined length L. In an example, the predefined length L may be 1500 mm or more, depending on the radial dimension of the tyre to be manufactured. The ply cutting unit 104 includes a cutting edge (not shown), which may be lowered for cutting the ply material, and raised upwards once the cutting is completed. A strip of ply material, obtained after cutting the ply material, is wound over a carcass drum 106 having an inner lining (not shown) for manufacturing a tyre. The inner lining may be made of a material, for example halobutyl rubber, which does not allow air to diffuse through, so that air pressure is maintained in the tyre.
[0020] The system 100 includes a splice detection unit 108 disposed on
the conveyor 102 to detect a splice, i.e., a stock splice, on the ply material. As shown, the splice detection unit 108 is placed before the ply cutting unit 104, such that the ply material passes through the splice detection unit 108 before reaching the ply cutting unit 104. The splice detection unit 108 may be placed at a distance in a range of 1000 mm to 2500 mm from the ply cutting unit 104. In an example, the splice detection unit 108 may be placed at a distance of about 1900 mm from the ply cutting unit 104. The configuration of splice detection unit 108 and

working of the splice detection unit 108 for detection of a splice are described in detail later with reference to description of Fig. 3.
[0021] The system 100 further includes a control unit 110
communicatively coupled to the ply cutting unit 104 and the splice detection unit
108. The control unit 110 may be coupled to the ply cutting unit 104 and the
splice detection unit 108 through a wired communication link or a wireless
communication link. The control unit 110 is configured to provide a cutting
command to the ply cutting unit 104 to cut the ply material based on the detection
of splice, such that the detected splice is away form end of the ply material,
obtained after cutting, at least by a predetermined distance Δx. In an example, the
predetermined distance Δx may be in a range of 100 mm to 150 mm.
[0022] The control unit 110 can be implemented through a combination of
any suitable hardware and computer-readable instructions. The control unit 110 may be implemented in a number of different ways to perform various functions for the purposes of cutting a ply material based on detection of a splice on the ply material. For example, the computer-readable instructions for the control unit 110 may be processor-executable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and the hardware for the control unit 110 may include a processing resource (e.g., processor(s)), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores instructions which, when executed by the processing resource, implements the control unit 110. The system 100 may include the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource (not shown) to execute the instructions. In an example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing the instructions may be external, but accessible to the processing resource of the system 100. In another example, the control unit 110 may be implemented by electronic circuitry.
[0023] The processing resource of the system 100 may be implemented as
microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities,

the processing resource may fetch and execute computer-readable instructions
stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the
processing resource of the system 100. The non-transitory computer-readable
storage medium may include, for example, volatile memory (e.g., RAM), and/or
non-volatile memory (e.g., EPROM, flash memory, NVRAM, memristor, etc.).
[0024] The description hereinafter describes an example procedure of
cutting a ply material based on detection of a splice on the ply material using the system 100. It may be noted that the ply material is to be cut to strips of the predefined length L. The control unit 110 is configured to provide a preset cut command, as a default command, to the ply cutting unit 104, where the preset cut command, when executed by the ply cutting unit 104, is to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predefined length L. The execution of the preset cut command thus results in a strip of ply material of the predefined length L. Further, before initiating the operation of the system 100 for cutting the ply material based of splice detection, the ply material is placed on the conveyor 102 such that the free end of the ply material is under the cutting edge of the ply cutting unit 104. If the distance between the splice detection unit 108 and the ply cutting unit 104 is more that the predefined length L, then it is ensured that the ply material between ply cutting unit 104 and the splice detection unit 108 does not have any splice. The ply material may be supplied from a stock of ply material, for example, a ply material roll.
[0025] For the purpose of description herein, consider a case where the
predefined length L of strip of ply material to be cut is 1500 mm, and the distance between the splice detection unit 108 and the ply cutting unit 104 on the conveyor 102 is 1900 mm.
[0026] Fig. 2(a) illustrates an initial set up of the system 100 before
initiating the operation of the system 100, in accordance with an example implementation. As shown in Fig. 2(a), the ply material 202 is placed on the conveyor 102 such that the free end 204 of the ply material 202 is under the cutting edge of the ply cutting unit 104. Also, since the distance between the splice detection unit 108 and the ply cutting unit 104 is more that the predefined

length L, the ply material between ply cutting unit 104 and the splice detection unit 108 does not have any splice.
[0027] To initiate the operation of the system 100, the servomotor coupled
to the conveyor 102 is switch ON and the conveyor 102 is moved to move the ply material in the direction A. Since no splice is present on the ply material between the splice detection unit 108 and the ply cutting unit 104, the control unit 110 provides the preset cut command to the ply cutting unit 104. The ply cutting unit 104 accordingly executes the preset cut command to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predefined length L and obtain a strip of ply material of the predefined length L.
[0028] While the ply material 202 is moved on the conveyor 102, the
splice detection unit 108 may detect a splice on the ply material 202. The control unit 110 records the position the detected splice and determines a distance of the detected splice from a leading end of the ply material 202. The leading end refers to an end of the ply material at a cut of the ply material made subsequent to detection of the splice. The control unit 110 may record the position of the detected splice and determine the distance of the detected splice from the leading end of the ply material based on an encoder count associated with the servomotor of the conveyor 102.
[0029] Upon determining the distance of the detected splice from the
leading end, the control unit 110 determines difference between said distance and the predefined length L. When said difference is determined to be less than the predetermined distance Δx, the control unit 110 bypasses the preset cut command and provides a cutting command to the ply cutting unit 104 to cut the ply material 202 after moving the ply material 202 by the predetermined distance Δx in addition to the predefined length L. The ply cutting unit 104 accordingly executes the cutting command to cut the ply material 202 after moving the ply material 202 by total distance L + Δx. As a result, a strip of ply material of length L + Δx is obtained. In such a strip of ply material, the splice is away from the free ends of the strip at least by a distance of Δx. 1Use of such a strip of ply material for tyre

manufacturing ensures that the stock splice is away from the building splice at least by a distance of Δx.
[0030] Fig. 2(b) illustrates the ply material 202 with a leading end 206 at a
cut made subsequent to detection of a splice 208, and difference between the distance of the detected splice 208 from the leading end 206 and the predefined length L being less than the predetermined distance Δx. As illustrated, the distance of the detected splice 208 from the leading end 206 is 1450 mm, which is less than 1500 mm by 50 mm. In this scenario, the control unit 110 bypasses the preset cut command and provides a cutting command to the ply cutting unit 104 to cut the ply material 202 after moving the ply material 202 by the predetermined distance Δx in addition to the predefined length L. The ply cutting unit 104 accordingly executes the cutting command to cut the ply material 202 to form a strip of ply material of length 1500 mm + 100 mm. In such a strip of ply material, the splice 208 is away from one free end of the strip by a distance of 150 mm and from another free end by a distance of 1450 mm.
[0031] Further, when the difference between the distance of the detected
splice from the leading end and the predefined length L is determined to be equal to or more than the predetermined distance Δx, the control unit 110 provides the preset cut command to the ply cutting unit 104 to cut the ply material 202 after moving the ply material 202 by the predefined length L. The ply cutting unit 104 accordingly executes the present cut command to cut the ply material 202 after moving the ply material 202 by the distance L. The strip of ply material of length L is obtained in which the splice is away from the free ends of the strip at least by a distance of Δx.
[0032] Further, upon determining the distance of the detected splice from
the leading end, the control unit 110 determines whether said distance is less than the predetermined distance Δx. When said distance is determined to be less than the predetermined distance Δx, the control unit 110 provides a cutting command to the ply cutting unit 104 to cut the ply material 202 after moving the ply material 202 by the predetermined distance Δx. The ply cutting unit 104 accordingly executes the cutting command to cut the ply material 202 after moving the ply

material 202 by Δx. As a result, a relatively short strip of ply material of length Δx and having a splice is obtained, which is discarded.
[0033] Fig. 2(c) illustrates the ply material 202 with a leading end 210 at a
cut made subsequent to detection of a splice 212, and the distance of the detected splice 212 from the leading end 210 being less than the predetermined distance Δx. As illustrated, the distance of the detected splice 208 from the leading end 206 is 50 mm, which is less than 100 mm. In this scenario, the control unit 110 provides a cutting command to the ply cutting unit 104 to cut the ply material 202 after moving the ply material 202 by the predetermined distance Δx. The ply cutting unit 104 accordingly executes the cutting command to cut the ply material 202 to form a strip of ply material of 100 mm. Such a strip of ply material with the splice 212 is discarded.
[0034] The above described procedure may be repeated continuously for
making every subsequent cut on the ply material by the ply cutting unit 104 depending on detection of a splice and its position with respect to the leading end of the ply material.
[0035] It may be noted that Fig. 1 shows one conveyor for the system 100.
In an example implementation, the system 100 may also include multiple conveyors, each having a ply cutting unit and a splice detection unit. The splice detection unit and the ply cutting unit on each conveyor may be operated in a similar manner described above, such that in the strips of ply material the stock splice is away from ends of the strips of ply material at least by the predetermined distance Δx. A single conveyor of the system 100 may be used for manufacturing single-ply tyres. Similarly, multiple conveyors of the system 100 may be used for manufacturing multi-ply tyres.
[0036] Fig. 3 illustrates a splice detection unit 300, in accordance with an
example implementation of the present subject matter. The splice detection unit 300 includes a roller assembly 302 and a sensor 304 for detecting a splice on the ply material. The roller assembly 302 is in direct contact with the ply material on the conveyor 102 of the system 100, where a roller 306 of the roller assembly 302 rolls over the ply material when the ply material is moved on the conveyor 102.

When a splice is encountered by the roller 306, the roller assembly 302 gets lifted upwards. The upward movement of the roller assembly 302 triggers the sensor 304 to detect the splice. The sensor 304 may be coupled to the control unit 110. The detection of a splice by the sensor 304 triggers the control unit 110 to record the position of the detected splice based on an encoder count associated with the servomotor of the conveyor 102.
[0037] As shown in Fig. 3, the splice detection unit 300 includes a vertical
frame 308-1 and 308-2 which is mounted on the conveyor 102. A horizontal frame 310 is connected between the vertical frame. The horizontal frame 310 has a sliding tube 312 mounted thereon, which can slide along the length of the horizontal frame 310. The position of the sliding tube 312 can be changed along the horizontal frame 310 depending on the width of the ply material on the conveyor 102. Further, a locking tube 314 is mounted on the sliding tube 312 and a bracket 316 is fixedly attached to the locking tube 314.
[0038] Further, a slotted clamp 317 is connected at the base of the bracket
316. The roller assembly 302 is mounted on the slotted clamp 317. The roller assembly 302 is movable up and down within a gap in the slotted clamp 317. The roller assembly 302 includes a roller mounting bar 318 having a plurality of holes. The roller 306 is connected to one of the plurality of holes in the roller mounting bar 318 using a locking pin 320.
[0039] In an example, the sensor 304 is an optical sensor. The sensor 304
is mounted on the bracket 316 through a sensor clamp 322. Further, the roller
assembly 302 includes a reflector plate 324 clamped on the roller mounting bar
318. The sensor 304 and the reflector plate 324 are positioned such that when the
roller assembly 302 is moved upwards the optical beam from the sensor 304 hits
the reflector plate 324, and when roller assembly 302 is moved downwards the
optical beam from the sensor 304 misses the reflector plate 324.
[0040] In operation, while the ply material is moving on the conveyor 102
the roller 306 is in contact of the ply material. When a splice is encountered by the roller 306, the roller assembly 302 experiences an upward movement. The upward movement align the reflector plate 324 in front of the sensor 304, whereby the

sensor 304 receives a back reflected optical beam from the reflector plate 324. The receiving of the back reflected optical beam by the sensor 304 is indicative of detection of the splice, and the sensor 304 accordingly triggers recording of the position of the splice.
[0041] Fig. 4 illustrates a method 400 of cutting a ply material based on
splice detection, in accordance with an example of the present subject matter.
Although the method 400 is described in context of the aforementioned system
100, other suitable systems may be used for execution of the method 400.
[0042] Referring to Fig. 4, at block 402 a splice on the ply material is
detected by the splice detection unit 108 disposed on the conveyor 102 carrying
the ply material. At block 404, a distance of the detected splice from a leading end
of the ply material is determined by the control unit 110. The leading end is at a
cut of the ply material made subsequent to detection of the splice.
[0043] At block 406, it is determined whether the distance of the detected
splice from the leading end is less than the predetermined distance Δx. When the
distance of the detected splice from the leading end is determined to be less than
the predetermined distance Δx (“Yes” branch from block 406), a cutting
command is provided by the control unit 110 to the ply cutting unit 104 at block
408 to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predetermined
distance Δx. Such a cutting command is executed by the ply cutting unit to cut the
ply material after moving the ply material by the predetermined distance Δx.
[0044] When the distance of the detected splice from the leading end is
determined to be more than the predetermined distance Δx (“No” branch from block 406), it is determined at block 410 whether difference between the distance of the detected splice from the leading end and the predefined length L is less than the predetermined distance Δx. When difference between the distance of the detected splice from the leading end and the predefined length L is determined to be less than the predetermined distance Δx (“Yes” branch from block 410), the preset cut command is bypassed and a cutting command is provided by the control unit 110 to the ply cutting unit 104 at block 412 to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predetermined distance Δx in addition to the

predefined length L. Said cutting command is received and executed by the ply cutting unit 104 to the cut the ply material accordingly.
[0045] When difference between the distance of the detected splice from
the leading edge and the predefined length of the ply material is determined to be equal to or more than the predetermined distance Δx (“No branch from block 410), the preset cut command is provided by the control unit 110 and is executed by the ply cutting unit 104 at block 414 to cut the ply material after moving the ply material by the predefined length L.
[0046] Although the disclosed subject matter has been described in
language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention of the present subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features are disclosed as example implementations for systems and methods of cutting ply materials based on detection of splices on the ply materials.