Resilient tires and wheels – Tires – resilient – Pneumatic tire or inner tube
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-14
2002-03-12
Knable, Geoffrey L. (Department: 1733)
Resilient tires and wheels
Tires, resilient
Pneumatic tire or inner tube
C152S548000, C152S563000, C156S126000, C156S130000, C156S133000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06354349
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a method of making components for laminated rubber products such as tires, and tire components and tires made by said method.
BACKGROUND ART
In the conventional method of making tires sized for use on passenger cars, light trucks and trucks, gum rubber plies and composite plies are laid up in sequence on a building drum and shaped into a tire. Prior to the building of the tire, reinforced composite plies such as carcass plies and belt plies are calendered to encase reinforcing cords in the ply rubber, and in some applications, belt packages are preassembled on a belt building drum. This procedure involves many interrelated steps and requires an inventory of each component and consequent warehousing of each component.
In addition, conventional preassembled tire components, by definition, have inherent boundaries, such as ply ends, belt edges, etc. that must be spliced, or in the case of belt edges, must be encased in rubber or other special components, to help prevent separation from other components in the tire.
It is a continuing goal in the art to reduce the number of steps in building a tire and to reduce the inventory of component parts that must be maintained. In the present invention this goal is accomplished, and in addition, carcass splices are eliminated, and in some embodiments belt edges are eliminated, as are additional components that are sometimes used to protect belt edges.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method for building a pneumatic tire comprises the steps of (a) laying up tire components on a tire building drum up to the point before a carcass ply is laid down on the building drum, (b) pulling a full sock of seamless netting material over and in surrounding relationship to the drum and previously applied tire components, and (c) continuing to build a tire without the addition of a carcass ply. The method may further comprise the step of pulling additional layers of belt width socks of seamless netting material over the full sock and locating the belt width socks so as to form belts in a shaped tire.
The method may comprise the further additional step of preparing the seamless netting material by dipping the material in an adhesive.
The netting material may be prepared to have 5 to 40 epi cords or filaments in a nominal warp direction and 5 to 40 epi cords or filaments in a nominal weft direction.
The netting material may be selected from the group consisting of polyamide, aromatic polyamide, polyester, polyolefin, steel filaments, steel cords, brass coated steel cords or filaments, and mixtures thereof.
Also included in the invention is a pneumatic tire comprising at least a pair of parallel annular beads, a sock of seamless netting material wrapped around said beads, an unreinforced inner liner disposed radially inwardly of the seamless netting material, tread rubber disposed radially outward of the netting material in a crown area of the tire, and sidewalls disposed between the tread and the beads. Belt reinforcement may be disposed in the tire between the seamless netting material and the tread.
Also provided is a tire carcass comprising at least a pair of parallel annular beads, a sock of seamless netting material wrapped around the beads, an unreinforced inner liner disposed radially inwardly of the seamless netting material, gum rubber disposed radially outward of the netting material, and sidewalls disposed adjacent to the beads.
Also provided is a tire carcass comprising at least a pair of parallel annular beads, a sock of seamless netting material wrapped around the beads, an unreinforced inner liner disposed radially inwardly of the seamless netting material, gum rubber disposed radially outward of the netting material, tread rubber disposed over the gum rubber in a crown area of the tire, and sidewalls disposed between the crown area and the beads.
Also provided is a method for building a pneumatic tire comprising the steps of (a) placing an inner liner and other optional gum components on a tire building drum, (b) pulling a sock of seamless netting material over and in surrounding relationship to the drum and previously applied tire components, (c) covering or coating the seamless netting material with at least one additional layer of rubber, (d) setting beads over the additional rubber layer on the tire building drum, and (e) covering the beads and the additional rubber layer with at least one further layer of gum rubber to form a first stage carcass. The method may comprise the further step of adding tread rubber to said first stage carcass on the tire building drum.
Additional steps may include expanding said first stage carcass to contact a preformed belt package and tread or expanding the first stage carcass in a tire mold and curing a tire.
Also provided is a tubular netting material comprising interwoven or interlocked thermoset polymer filaments or cords wherein the netting forms a seamless woven structure having nominal warp and weft filaments wherein the filaments having a round, oblong, trapezoidal, flat cross section shape, wherein the filaments form at least one regular pattern in the tubular material throughout its length, and wherein said filaments/cords are coated with an adhesive material. In one embodiment the tubular netting material may have a greater number of nominal warp filaments than the number of nominal weft filaments.
Also provided is an apparatus for making tubular netting material comprising an extruder having a die with inner and outer counter rotating circular heads, orifices in said heads being shaped to provide robust filaments in at least one dimension when molten material is extruded through the heads, and means for varying the speed of rotation of the inner and outer heads. The apparatus may include means for coating filaments/cords of the netting with an adhesive and means for drawing the tubular material to elongate the tubular material 200% to 1000% along its primary axis.
Also provided is a method for forming a tubular material comprising the steps of (a) extruding a molten polymeric material through counter rotating inner and outer circular dies forming polymeric filaments which cross over each other in at least a portion of the extrusion, (b) cooling the filaments to thermoset the polymer and fuse cross over junctions between the filaments, and (c) drawing the tubular material to elongate the tube of netting material 200% to 1000% along its primary axis. The method may further comprise the step of coating the filaments with an adhesive before drawing said tubular material. The method may include the steps of obtaining dies with various orifice diameters and shapes, and changing dies based on the filament size and strength desired and varying the rotation speed of the inner and outer circular dies to be the same or different, faster or slower, or variable, depending on the extrusion pattern desired or stopping the rotation of said dies for a portion of said extrusion.
DEFINITIONS
“Apex” refers to an elastomeric wedge of material placed next to a bead to provide a smooth transition for a carcass ply turn up and to minimize flexing around the bead.
“Bead” means that part of the tire comprising an annular tensile member wrapped by ply cords and shaped, with or without other reinforcement elements such as flippers, chippers, apexes, toe guards and chafers, to fit the design rim.
“Belt” refers to a layer of parallel reinforcing cords, woven or unwoven and embedded in an elastomeric material, unanchored to the bead, and when two or more belts are assembled into a “Belt Package” or “Belt Structure”, the package or structure has cord angles of 17 to 27 degrees with respect to the equatorial plane of the tire.
“Bias Ply” refers to a carcass with reinforcing cords extending diagonally from bead core to bead core at about 25 to 50 degrees with respect to the equatorial plane of the tire. When more than one carcass ply is used in a tire, reinforcement cords usually run at opposite angles in adjacent plies.
“Building Drum” refers to a cylindrical device on which shapeless materia
Knable Geoffrey L.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Wheeler David E
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