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AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
InventorsFilomeno Gennaro Corvasce, Tom Dominique Linster, Georges Thielen
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The present invention relates to a rubber composition containing a starch/plasticizer composite and to pneumatic tires having at least one component comprised of such rubber composition. Such tire component can be, for example, its circumferential tread or other component of the tire. The starch/plasticizer composite can be a composite of starch and plasticizer such as, for example, poly(ethylenevinyl alcohol) and/or cellulose acetate or any suitable plasticizer which results in such starch/plasticizer composite having a melting point below that of the starch alone, and particularly below about 160.degree. C., and to thereby enable the starch to be more processable with conventional elastomer composition processing equipment. In the practice of this invention, a rubber composition comprises at least one elastomer, a starch/plasticizer composite, optionally at least one coupler and, optionally, at least one of carbon black and silica reinforcement alone or in conjunction with another reinforcing or non-reinforcing filler.
A rubber composition is provided which comprises (A) 100 parts by weight of at least one diene-based elastomer, (B) about 0.1 to about 120 phr of at least one reinforcing filler for said elastomer(s) comprised of at least one starch/synthetic plasticizer composite and (C) a coupler for said starch composite, where said coupler has a moiety reactive with hydroxyl groups contained on the surface of said starch composite and another moiety interactive with the said elastomer;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.