The Gates Corporation

Donald James Burlett

Ramesh Sivarajan

Henning Richter

Viktor Vejins

John Graeme Knox

A method for preparing a 'preblend' of nanostructured carbon, such as nanotubes, fullerenes, or graphene, and a particulate solid, such as polymer beads, carbon black, graphitic particles or glassy carbon involving wet-mixing and followed by optional drying to remove the liquid medium. The preblend may be in the form of a core-shell powder material with the nanostructured carbon as the shell on the particulate solid core. The preblend may provide particularly improved dispersion of single-walled nanotubes in ethylene-&#x3b1;-olefin elastomer compositions, resulting in improved reinforcement from the nanotubes. The improved elastomer compositions may show simultaneous improvement in both modulus and in elongation at break. The elastomer compositions may be formed into useful rubber articles.

Carbon nanostructure preblends and their applications

A method for preparing a 'preblend' of nano-structured carbon, such as nanotubes, fullerenes, or graphene, and a particulate solid, such as polymer beads, carbon black, graphitic particles or glassy carbon involving wet-mixing and followed by optional drying to remove the liquid medium. The preblend may be in the form of a core-shell powder material with the nano-structured carbon as the shell on the particulate solid core. The preblend may provide particularly improved dispersion of single-wall nanotubes in ethylene-&#x3b1;-olefin elastomer compositions, resulting in improved reinforcement from the nanotubes. The improved elastomer compositions may show simultaneous improvement in both modulus and in elongation at break. The elastomer compositions may be formed into useful rubber articles.

A method for preparing a 'predispersion' of carbon nanotubes in a wax or wax blend involving melt-mixing, cooling and grinding the blend, preferably multiple times. The wax predispersion may provide particularly improved dispersion of single-wall nanotubes in ethylene-&#x3b1;-olefin elastomer compositions, resulting in improved reinforcement from the SWCNT. The improved elastomer compositions may show simultaneous improvement in both modulus and in elongation at break. The inventive elastomer compositions may be formed into useful rubber articles.

Method for rubber reinforced with carbon nanotubes

A method for preparing a 'preblend' of nano-structured carbon, such as nanotubes, fullerenes, or graphene, and a particulate solid, such as carbon black, graphitic particles or glassy carbon involving wet-mixing and followed by optional drying to remove the liquid medium. The preblend may be in the form of a core-shell powder material with the nano-structured carbon as the shell on the particulate solid core. The preblend may provide particularly improved dispersion of single-wall nanotubes in ethylene-&#x3b1;-olefin elastomer compositions, resulting in improved reinforcement from the nanotubes. The improved elastomer compositions may show simultaneous improvement in both modulus and in elongation at break. The elastomer compositions may be formed into useful rubber articles.

A snap-in tire valve for mounting in a valve hole in a wheel rim, having a valve body and a resilient member having an overall shape including a groove and a rib adapted to snap into and be retained in the hole. The resilient member may include a rubber that is the reaction product of ethylene-propylene copolymer elastomer, a peroxide curative, zinc diacrylate or zinc dimethacrylate, and a high-density inert filler, such as barium sulfate. The resilient member may include a first and second rubber members of different compositions from each other and defining two layers under the groove. The thickness of the layer of the first rubber member is preferably greater than the thickness of the layer of the second rubber member.

Rubber composition and design for snap-in tire valve

A power transmission belt incorporating an adhesive treatment system and method for bonding fiber to rubber which includes an optional primer coat based on a low-molecular-weight isocyanate, followed by an overcoat including: (a) a prepolymer based on an isocyanate-terminated diene oligomer, and optionally (b) a low-molecular-weight isocyanate, and/or (c) a thermoplastic urethane comprising the reaction product of the same prepolymer with MDI and EHD. A polyester, aramid, or carbon fiber tensile cord for rubber reinforcement may be treated with the primer coat and the overcoat. A power transmission belt or other dynamic rubber product having ethylene-alpha-olefin elastomer as the primary rubber constituent may be reinforced by the tensile cord.

Growing community of inventors

Oxford, MI, United States of America

Donald James Burlett