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AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
InventorsRamendra Nath Majumdar, Brian Matthew Logan, Lewis Timothy Lukich
Estimating the term…
A bond of a rubbery component to a virgin surface of a tire's cured innerliner which virgin surface has never been contaminated by the remnants of a release agent left after buffing with a wire brush and solvent-cleaning the cured innerliner, is unexpectedly stronger than a bond of the component to the contaminated but “cleaned surface”, cleaned as indicated. As an alternative, buffing with a wire brush results in a textured surface that impairs adhesion of a balance pad. Therefore, a pneumatic tire is provided with a virgin surface protected against contamination by a release agent at the curing temperature of the tire; protection is provided by a self-supporting barrier film of sulfur non-vulcanizable, expandable, thermoformable synthetic resinous material; and, a method is provided for maintaining a virgin cured surface within all or part of either the exterior or interior of a pneumatic tire's rubber carcass which is conventionally cured. The barrier film which is substantially inextensible at ambient temperature, is removable without tearing into pieces from the protected surface of the cured tire. When the interior surface is provided by an innerliner, any component to be included within the interior of the carcass may be adhesively secured to the virgin surface of the innerliner more securely than has been heretofore possible.
In a pneumatic rubber tire comprising a generally toroidal shaped carcass with a circumferential tread overlying plural belts, spaced-apart beads and connecting sidewall portions extending between the tread and beads which together provide the carcass with an exterior surface and an interior surface, the improvement comprising, a laminar self-supporting barrier film of non-sulfur vulcanizable synthetic resinous material less than 0.127 mm (5 mils) thick removably adhered to a chosen portion of the exterior or interior surface to be maintained free of contamination by a release agent, the film having a necking characteristic at 23° C. of at least 10% in a width of 10 cm and a thickness of 25.4 μm (0.0254 mm, 1 mil), the film being expandable in the range from about 5% to 100% at 23° C., formable in a temperature range of from about 121° C. (250° F.) to 200° C. (392° F.) in a curing press without fusing to itself and without tearing at curing temperature, and being integrally removable from the carcass without tearing.
A method for protecting a virgin exterior or interior surface of a green carcass of a pneumatic tire against contamination by release agent at the curing temperature of the tire, the method comprising,
A pneumatic tire having cured virgin exterior and interior surfaces within all or part of either, is protected against contamination by release agent at the curing temperature of the tire, the tire being produced by contacting at least a portion of either surface of a green tire carcass with a laminar self-supporting barrier film of non-sulfur vulcanizable synthetic resinous barrier film less than 0.127 mm (5 mils) thick removably adhered to a portion of the chosen surface to be maintained free of contamination by a release agent, the film having a necking characteristic at 23° C. of at least 10% in a width of 10 cm and a thickness of 25.4 μm (0.0254 mm, 1 mil), the film being biaxially expandable in the range from about 5% to 100% at 23° C., formable in a temperature range of from about 121° C. (250° F.) to 200° C. (392° F.) in a curing press without tearing and without fusing to itself, and being integrally removable and substantially inextensible with a force of 50 Newtons at 23° C.;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.