Means for curing and molding solid rubber tires
AssigneeH & H Rubber Company, Inc.
InventorEdgar B. Isom
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and means of curing a solid rubber vehicle tire in which a mass of uncured rubber is attached to the outside of a rim, the rim placed in a mold, and heat applied to the rim causing heat to permeate outward through the rubber, producing a gradient of hardness wherein maximum hardness occurs in the rubber adjacent to the rim and thus where the rubber adheres to the rim. This is accomplished by means of two plates which form, with the rim, a sealed cavity interior of the rim to which cavity steam is applied.
Claims2
A tire molding machine for curing and molding a solid rubber tire from a tire blank, the tire blank consisting of an annular rim having two exposed outer opposite side edges and a mass of uncured rubber around the outer periphery of the rim, the machine comprising:
- an outer annular shell having opposite outer side edge surfaces and a peripheral inner surface, the latter adapted to support, encase, and form the periphery of the mass of uncured rubber of said blank;
- a first side closing plate member closing one side of said shell and having a first annular mating surface adapted to sealably engage one side edge surface of said shell, a second annular mating surface comprising a notch adapted to sealably engage a side edge of the rim of said blank when in place in said machine, and hot vapor entrance means comprising a vapor line radially interior of said second annular mating surface, said line extending from inside to outside of said plate member for introducing a hot vapor;
- a second side closing plate member closing the opposite side of said shell and having a first mating surface adapted to sealably engage the opposite side edge surface of said shell, a second annular mating surface comprising a notch adapted to sealably engage the opposite side edge of its rim of a tire blank, and hot vapor exit means comprising a vapor line radially interior of said last-named second annular mating surface, said line extending inside to outside of said second closing plate member for discharging a hot vapor;
- and
- closing means for selectively applying a force between said first and second side closing plate members, whereby said first and second side closing plate members may be selectively held in a closed configuration and said side closing members integrally forming the sides of a tire and providing a sealed cavity radially interior of the rim of a tire blank, whereby hot vapor pressure is directly and uniformly applied to the entire surface of said rim by passing a hot vapor through said cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.