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AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
InventorsDonald Chester Kubinski, Michael Wallace Smith
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A method and apparatus are provided for a sub forming an elastomeric extrusion into a bead apex filler and for applying the same to an annular bead (120) to form a bead/apex subassembly for use in the construction of a pneumatic tire. The apex filler (100) is formed from a triangular shaped extrusion (8) that is initially wrapped around a rotating mandrel (40) having a diameter of between about 50% to about 75% of the outer diameter of the annular bead to which the filler is attached. A helical former (50, 60) disposed around the mandrel causes the extrusion to move in a helical path as it traverses the mandrel. As the extrusion is removed from the mandrel, the extrusion is sufficiently uncoiled to relieve and compressive or tensile stresses. Then, the partially uncoiled extrusion is wrapped around the outer periphery of the bead to form a bead/apex filler subassembly (118) which is substantially without compressive or tensile stresses when mounted onto the tire being constructed.
In a method of producing a pneumatic tire comprising a tire carcass, including a pair of annular beads, at least one flexible ply having side edges wrapped around the beads, a pair of sidewalls, the edges of the carcass ply forming turn-ups terminating radially above the beads, and an apex filler in contact with the outer periphery of each bead and extending radially outwardly therefrom between the carcass ply and the turn-up, the method comprising the steps of:
A method of producing an apex filler comprising extruding an elastomeric compound through a die to form an extrusion having a triangular cross-section with a base and a pair of sides converging toward a peak, the method further comprising:
An apparatus for forming a triangular elastomeric extrusion for use as an apex filler in a filler/bead subassembly for a pneumatic tire, the apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.