# US 8,771,447 B2 · Method of manufacturing pneumatic tire

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- Number: US 8,771,447 B2
- Document ID: US8771447B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 12/278,093
- Filed: 2007-02-26
- Published: 2009-02-05
- Granted: 2014-07-08
- Earliest claimed: 2006-02-27
- Assignees: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Hiroshi Hata
- Inventors: Hiroshi Hata
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8771447B2

## CPC

- B60C 5/14: with impervious liner or coating on the inner wall of the tyre
- B29D 30/0681: {Parts of pneumatic tyres; accessories, auxiliary operations}
- B29D 30/20: by the flat-tyre method, i.e. building on cylindrical drums
- B29D 30/3007: {by feeding a sheet perpendicular to the drum axis and joining the ends to form an annular element (bending sheets and joining the edges B29C53/42)}
- B60C 1/0008: {Compositions of the inner liner}
- B29D 2030/0682: {Inner liners}
- B60C 2005/147: {characterised by the joint or splice}
- B60C: VEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES
- B29D: PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE (making granules B29B9/00; making preforms B29B11/00)

## Abstract

Provided is a method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire, which causes no blister to take place during vulcanization molding even in a case where a cylindrical thermoplastic resin film is used as an air-permeation preventing layer while a rubber sheet material laminated onto the thermoplastic resin film has a thickness of 0.5 mm or more. The method includes the steps of: winding an unvulcanized rubber sheet material with a thickness of 0.5 mm or more around a cylindrical thermoplastic resin film which is placed around a making drum; and splicing one end portion and the other end portion of the rubber sheet material together so that the spliced part is step-shape. The method is characterized in that one end portion of the rubber sheet material is spliced onto the other end portion thereof with an auxiliary rubber sheet interposed between a step part of the spliced part of the rubber sheet material and the thermoplastic resin film, the auxiliary rubber sheet being thinner than the thermoplastic resin film.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire comprising the steps of:
winding an unvulcanized rubber sheet material with a thickness of 0.5 mm or more around a cylindrical thermoplastic resin film which is placed around a making drum; and
splicing a first end portion directly onto a second end portion of the rubber sheet material while overlapping the first end portion on the second end portion to form a step part at an end surface of the second end portion, which is in contact with the thermoplastic resin film;
wherein the first end portion of the rubber sheet material is spliced onto the second end portion with an auxiliary rubber sheet extending across the step part and interposed between the rubber sheet material and the thermoplastic resin film underneath the second end portion and an area of the rubber sheet material near the first end portion, the auxiliary rubber sheet being thinner than the rubber sheet material.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire as recited in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary rubber sheet has a thickness of less than 0.4 mm.

### Claim 3

A method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire including the steps of:
winding an unvulcanized rubber sheet material with a thickness of 0.5 mm or more around a cylindrical thermoplastic resin film which is placed around a making drum;
attaching a rubber strip piece having a wedge-shaped cross-section to an end surface on a second end portion of the rubber sheet material, which is in contact with the thermoplastic resin film, to form an inclined surface; and
splicing a first end portion directly onto the second end portion of the rubber sheet material while overlapping the first end portion on the second end portion to form a spliced-part;
wherein an average inclination angle θ of the inclined surface to the thickness direction of the rubber sheet material is determined in a range of 5° to 89° and in a range satisfying
θ(°)≧50t−25
where t denotes the thickness (mm) of the rubber sheet material.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire as recited in claim 1, wherein, after the rubber sheet material is wound around the cylindrical thermoplastic resin film, the spliced part is depressed with stitcher.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire as recited in claim 1, wherein the rubber sheet material is any one of a tie rubber sheet and a carcass material.

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire as recited in claim 3, wherein, after the rubber sheet material is wound around the cylindrical thermoplastic resin film, the spliced part is depressed with stitcher.

### Claim 7 (depends on 3)

The method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire as recited in claim 3, wherein the rubber sheet material is any one of a tie rubber sheet and a carcass material.