Method of producing a semi-pneumatic tire assembly

Details Method of producing a semi-pneumatic tire assembly Method of producing a semi-pneumatic tire assembly

2000-05-16

2001-09-18

Vargot, Mathieu D. (Department: 1732)

Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes

With severing, removing material from preform mechanically,...

Making hole or aperture in article

C264S262000, C264S263000, C264S326000, C264S328300

Reexamination Certificate

active

06290886

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention pertains to methods and apparatuses for forming semi-pneumatic tires, and more specifically to methods and apparatuses for forming semi-pneumatic tires having a lining member that includes a contoured inward surface to provide a pneumatic cavity of predetermined dimensions between the lining member and an associated wheel rim.
BACKGROUND ART
Tires for use in off-road applications, such as mine service tires, are subjected to conditions which require the tires to withstand punctures, especially in the tread regions. Solid-fill tires have been used in such applications. However, disadvantages of solid-fill tires include the facts that they generally run hotter than pneumatic tires and do not provide the cushioned ride of pneumatic tires.
Alternatives to solid-fill tires have been proposed in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,810 to Lambe discloses a tire and rim combination wherein the cavity between an inner surface of the tire and the rim may be partially filled with a resilient foam. Generally, the resilient foam is said to adhere to the wheel rim to form an air-tight seal. The foam may allegedly be prevented from adhering to the wheel rim at certain points to allow the introduction of compressed air through the wheel rim. The foam is compressed in the presence of introduced air or expanded to fill the cavity in the absence of air.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,893 to O'Coin discloses a reusable shield for use within a tire casing. The outer surface of the shield mates with the inside surface of the casing and the inner surface of the shield is contoured to minimize the thickness at a flex point of the tire in order to purportedly reduce heat build-up and fatigue. A base ring fills the space between the wheel rim and the shield. Alternately, a pneumatic tube can be used in place of the ring. The outer surface of the shield does not adhere to the inside surface of the casing in order to allow removal and reuse of the shield. The shield is molded by fitting the base ring between a casing and a wheel by cutting a slit in the ring. The ring is also equipped with pull tabs to assist removal. An opening passage is formed through either the ring or the casing. Liquid urethane is then injected between the ring and the casing under pressure and allowed to harden.
There still exists a need in the art for a tire and method of producing such for use in off-road applications which provides puncture-resistance, especially in the tread region, which provides better performance than solid-fill tires.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The inventive semi-pneumatic tire
10
includes a tire assembly
12
for mounting on an associated rim
14
. The tire assembly
12
includes a tire casing
22
and a lining
26
. Tire casing
22
encloses a predetermined volume between an inner surface
38
thereof and the associated rim
14
. The lining
26
occupies a portion of the enclosed volume with the remainder of the enclosed volume being an inflation chamber
18
.
The lining
26
comprises a radially inward surface
30
and a radially outward surface
32
. The radially outward surface
32
conforms to the shape of the inner surface
38
of a tire casing
22
. The inward surface
30
of the lining
26
cooperates with associated wheel rim
14
to define boundaries for inflation chamber
18
.
The inventive method can be summarized by the following steps:
positioning a molding member
50
relative to a tire casing
22
, the tire casing including a pair of spaced beads
120
,
122
;
mounting the tire casing
22
and the molding member
50
on an associated rim-like member
56
;
seating the beads
120
,
122
on bead-receiving areas of the rim-like member by introducing air through a rim valve
106
;
introducing flowable, curable fill material
96
into a cavity
57
between the outer surface
54
of the molding member
50
and an inner surface
30
38
of the tire casing through the rim valve
106
;
curing the material so that the material solidifies to fill the cavity and forms an inward surface
30
; and leaving the molding member inside the wheel tire assembly for the introduction of variable air pressure to control ride characteristics.
The molding member
50
is substantially ring-shaped having a first contoured surface
54
. The first contoured surface
54
of the molding member
50
includes a tread-underlying portion, shoulder-underlying portions, and bead-underlying portions. The shape of the molding member
50
determines the contour of inward surface
30
of lining
26
and also the shape of the inflation chamber
18
. The tread-underlying portion
58
of first surface
54
is generally parallel to the tread region
42
as indicated by the straight line between points
62
,
64
. The shoulder-underlying portions
68
of the first surface
54
are convex in cross section and symmetric about the circumferential centerline
76
. The mating lining inward surface
30
therefore is concave in cross-section near the shoulder regions
78
of the tire casing
22
. Points
82
,
84
indicate flex points on the first surface
54
. The bead-underlying portions
90
of the first surface
54
are concave in cross-section and also symmetric about the circumferential centerline
76
.
After curing, the tire assembly
12
is ready for in-service operation. In a preferred embodiment, the molding member
50
remains in the tire assembly
12
to produce an enclosed inflation chamber
18
.


REFERENCES:
patent: 1218431 (1917-03-01), McCrimmon
patent: 1428726 (1922-09-01), Warth
patent: 1455038 (1923-05-01), Bledsoe
patent: 1477425 (1923-12-01), Cataldo
patent: 2009353 (1935-07-01), Budd
patent: 3022810 (1962-02-01), Lambe
patent: 3794706 (1974-02-01), Christie et al.
patent: 3866651 (1975-02-01), Gomberg
patent: 3993114 (1976-11-01), Hinderks
patent: 4013111 (1977-03-01), Powell
patent: 4049767 (1977-09-01), Vaidya
patent: 4071386 (1978-01-01), Gomberg
patent: 4197893 (1980-04-01), O'Coin
patent: 4722377 (1988-02-01), Dobson
patent: 4751951 (1988-06-01), Dobson
patent: 5031679 (1991-07-01), Shoner
patent: 3 711 785 (1988-10-01), None
patent: 352 045 (1990-01-01), None
patent: 1 283 182 (1961-12-01), None
patent: 2 354 192 (1978-01-01), None
patent: 2 024 118 (1980-01-01), None

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