Hot tire forming method
AssigneeThe Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
InventorKarl J. Siegenthaler
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hot tire forming method whereby at least some of the elements constituting each tire are formed starting from respective masterbatches, which are mixed with given chemical compounds inside respective continuous mixers to obtain respective final mixes, which are hot-fed to respective continuous production means, such as extruders, for obtaining semifinished products, which are hot-fed onto a green tire building drum, with the completed green tire then being transferred, hot, to a curing department; the transfer from the continuous mixers to the curing department being performed in such a manner as to preserve, inside each green tire entering the curing department, at least part of the initial mixing thermal energy and at least part of the initial continuous production thermal energy.
Claims15
A method of hot-forming tires including a number of component elements, each of said component elements being formed at least partially from a respective final mix of non-precured elastomeric material, said component elements defining an internal carcass and an external annular package assembled together in a green tire assembly department including at least one tire building drum, said carcass comprising an impermeable inner layer and at least one outer body ply, and said external annular package comprising a number of superimposed tread plies and an outer tread wherein the method includes the steps of:
- (a) producing final mixes of elastomeric material at a temperature greater than room temperature so that each said mix will absorb thermal energy, wherein at least one of said final mixes is obtained by mixing respective masterbatches with respective chemical components within respective mixers, said mixing including the transfer of thermal energy to at 1 east one final mix to impart a temperature to said at least one final mix, at the output of said mixer, which is greater than room temperature;
- (b) feeding each said a least one final mix for the continuous production of a continuous strip prior to dissipation of the thermal energy which is imparted to each at least one final mix during step (a);
- (c) forming at least some of said elements by cutting semifinished products, each in the form of respective continuous strips produced by direct continuous production of the respective final mixes of step (b), said direct continuous production involving a given transfer of thermal energy to each of said continuous strips and conferring to each of said strips an output temperature greater than room temperature;
- (d) hot-feeding at least some of the directly produced and cut continuous strips directly onto said one tire building drum for assembling a finished green tire on said drum, wherein said hot-feeding of at least some of said produced and cut continuous strips preserves at least part of the thermal energy imparted to said produced and cut continuous strips during said producing step and said forming step, so that each of said cut continuous strips are maintained at a total final temperature greater than room temperature;
- (e) subjecting each finished green tire to a curing operation prior to dissipation of the thermal energy imparted to said continuous strips during said forming step, and prior to dissipation of the thermal energy imparted to said mixes during said producing step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.