The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Danielle Lucas

Paul Harry Sandstrom

Adel Farhan Halasa

Wen-Liang Hsu

David John Zanzig

Steven Kristofer Henning

Filomeno Gennaro Corvasce

Giorgio Agostini

James Oral Hunt

Ghislain Adolphe Thise

Jean-Paul Lambotte

Olivier Louis

The invention relates to a tire with a rubber tread of a cap/base construction wherein the tread cap is designed to be ground-contacting, wherein the tread base underlies said tread cap, is not intended to be ground-contacting, and is a matrix composition composed of at least one elastomer where the matrix composition contains a dispersed micro inclusion made of a particulate, high molecular weight thermoplastic polymer and wherein the tread cap is composed of a blend of elastomers without such micro inclusion.

Method of preparing tire with tread of cap/base construction

This invention relates to a tire with a rubber tread reinforced with silica and containing one or more additives designed to aid ice traction for the tread. Such additive is selected from at least one of (i) at least one organic fiber having hydroxyl groups on the surface thereof selected from cellulose fibers and wood fibers and (ii) small, hollow, spherical ceramic particles having silanol groups on the surface thereof. The rubber is composed of at least one or more diene-based sulfur vulcanizable elastomers having a Tg of less than -30.degree. C. and containing silica as predominant particulate reinforcement and other traditional rubber compound ingredients. In particular, a coupler is used to couple the silica as well as the said additive(s) to the elastomer(s) in the tire tread composition.

Tire tread for ice traction

The invention relates to a tire with a tread. The tread is composed of three basic elastomers, namely, medium cis 1,4-polybutadiene rubber, isoprene/butadiene copolymer and natural cis 1,4-polyisoprene rubber and which is reinforced with either carbon black or a combination of carbon black and silica reinforcing fillers.

Tire having silica reinforced tread

This invention reveals a process for preparing high vinyl polybutadiene rubber which comprises polymerizing 1,3-butadiene monomer with a lithium initiator at a temperature which is within the range of about 5.degree. C. to about 100.degree. in the presence of a sodium alkoxide and a polar modifier, wherein the molar ratio of the sodium alkoxide to the polar modifier is within the range of about 0.1:1 to about 10:1; and wherein the molar ratio of the sodium alkoxide to the lithium initiator is within the range of about 0.05:1 to about 10:1.

Process for preparing high vinyl polbutadiene rubber

This invention reveals an initiator system which is comprised of (a) a lithium initiator, (b) a sodium alkoxide, and (c) a polar modifier; wherein the molar ratio of the sodium alkoxide to the polar modifier is within the range of about 0.1:1 to about 10:1; and wherein the molar ratio of the sodium alkoxide to the lithium initiator is within the range of about 0.01:1 to about 20:1.

Initiative system

The invention relates to a tire with a rubber tread which is primarily reinforced with silica where the rubber of the said tread is composed of an elastomer base of at least three butadiene based synthetic rubbers comprised of two isoprene/butadiene copolymer elastomers having spatially defined Tg's, and a cis 1,4-polybutadiene elastomer.

Tire with silica reinforced tread

This invention reveals a high performance polybutadiene rubber blend comprised of (a) a first polybutadiene rubber, (b) a second polybutadiene rubber, and (c) a third polybutadiene rubber; wherein the first polybutadiene rubber, the second polybutadiene rubber, and the third polybutadiene rubber are selected from the group of consisting of super-high vinyl polybutadiene rubbers having a vinyl content which is within the range of 80 percent to 100 percent, high vinyl polybutadiene rubbers having a vinyl content which is within the range of 60 percent to 79 percent, medium vinyl polybutadiene rubbers having a vinyl content which is within the range of 35 percent to 59 percent, and low vinyl polybutadiene rubbers having a vinyl content which is within the range of 8 percent to 34 percent; wherein at least three members selected from the group consisting of super-high vinyl polybutadiene rubbers, high vinyl polybutadiene rubbers, medium vinyl polybutadiene rubbers, and low vinyl polybutadiene rubbers are included in the blend, wherein at least one of the polybutadiene rubbers in the blend has a vinyl content which is within 35 percentage points of the vinyl content of at least one other polybutadiene rubber in the blend, wherein the blend as a whole has a vinyl content of at least 40 percent, and wherein the blend contains at least 10 parts of the first polybutadiene rubber, at least 10 parts of the second polybutadiene rubber and at least 10 parts of the third polybutadiene rubber, based upon a total of 100 parts of rubber in the blend.

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Welsdorf, Luxembourg

Danielle Lucas