Manufacturing of inner tubes for tires
AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
InventorsDonald R. Thompson, Paul R. Matvey, William J. Hampshire
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Self-curing elastomeric compounds in liquid suspension are sprayed onto a warmed rotating former having preferably a form developed from the radial dimensions of the inner tube to be made. The tube is cured and complete on the form by transposing one end of the sleeve to the opposite axial end of the former where the one end is seamed to the other end of the sleeve. Both the process and the tube produced by the process have advantages in manufacturing cost, in material saving, and at least equal quality performance relative to conventional inner tubes and methods of making them.
Claims10
The method of making an inner tube for a vehicle tire comprising rotating a rigid former about an axis, spraying a self-curing elastomeric composition in liquid suspension on the surface of the former while the latter rotates to form on the surface a continuous, homogenous, single layer sleeve, drying the sleeve to a non-tacky elastic state while the sleeve remains on the former, transposing one circular edge of the sleeve axially over the intermediate portion of the sleeve to a position on the sleeve near its other edge, then joining the two edges of the sleeve to form a closed toroid, and then removing the cured toroidal tube from the former.
An apparatus for making an innertube for a vehicle tire, comprising a former defined by a bell-shaped curve revolved about the axis of the former, said curve having a contour length corresponding to the length of the periphery of a transverse cross-section of said tube and successive increments of said contour length being distant from said axis equally with respect to the radial distance of corresponding increments of said periphery from the axis of said innertube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.