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AssigneesCompagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin, Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A.
InventorsDavid Lung, John Hommerson, Michael Petrovich
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A system for the continuous extrusion, molding, and curing of tread for tires. An elongated strip of rubber material can be molded and cured shortly after extrusion such that the material retains much of the heat energy of extrusion and does not have to be stored. A plurality of discrete mold assemblies are conveyed adjacent to each other. As the mold assemblies are advanced sequentially, the uncured and unmolded strip of rubber material are extruded and positioned onto the mold assemblies. While the rubber strip advances, individual portions are sequentially molded and cured by passing through a mold press and then a curing press. A plug assembly is used to prevent the backflow of rubber material during the molding and curing.
A method for continuous molding and curing of tire tread using a plurality of movable mold assemblies arranged adjacent to each other along a conveying direction, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.