The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Kuo-Chih Hua

Shingo Futamura

Wen-Liang Hsu

Kenneth Allen Bates

Paul Harry Sandstrom

Adel Farhan Halasa

Ping Zhang

Bruce Raymond Hahn

Marc Weydert

Aaron Scott Puhala

David Charles Poling

Eric John Marazzi

David Andrew Benko

Joseph Kevin Hubbell

Daniel Ray Beha

Xiaoping Yang

Ling Du

James Joseph Golden

Leh-Yeh Hsu, Legal Representative

Rachel Rebekah Barnette

Douglas Andrew Till

The subject invention is directed towards tire components comprising rubber compositions comprising (1) about 2 phr to about 45 phr of a trans-1,4-isoprene-butadiene copolymer which has about 4 weight percent to about 16 weight percent butadiene repeat units and from about 84 weight percent to about 96 weight percent isoprene repeat units, wherein the trans-1,4-isoprene-butadiene copolymer has a Mooney ML 1+4 viscosity which is within the range of about 35 to about 80; and (2) about 55 phr to about 98 phr of at least one other elastomer, preferably a diene based elastomer. The most preferred tire components are those which contain cord reinforcements and require adequate green strength to enhance the tire building and shaping process to maintain cord integrity in the final cured tire.

Rubbery blend containing trans isoprene-butadiene copolymer

The invention relates to a tire having a tread of a cured rubber composition which contains dual silica moieties in a sense of containing both hydrophilic precipitated silica and in situ hydrophobated precipitated silica.

Tire with tread rubber composition which contains dual silica moieties

A tire is provided having a component comprised of a rubber composition containing at least one conjugated diene-based elastomer and a combination of rubber reinforcing fillers composed of rubber reinforcing carbon black, precipitated silica and granular functionalized mineral comprised of at least one of aluminum hydrate (ALOOH) and titanium dioxide. The granular mineral is functionalized by pretreatment with a coupling agent. The granular mineral fillers are pretreated with a coupling agent to promote a combination of rubber reinforcing effect for the mineral fillers and to promote a hydrophobation of the mineral fillers to promote their dispersability in the rubber composition.

Tire with rubber component containing combination of carbon black, silica and functionalized mineral

This invention relates to a precipitated silica reinforced conjugated diene-based elastomer composition containing an alkoxysilane coupled, in-chain functionalized, conjugated diene-based elastomer and to a tire having at least one component thereof. Said in-chain functionalized conjugated diene-based elastomer is a conjugated diene-based elastomer which contains a plurality of at least one of in-chain p- and m-(2-pyrrolidinoethyl) styrene (PES) and m-(2-pyrrolidino-1-methylethyl) alpha-methylstyrene (PAMS) groups.

Rubber composition containing an alkoxysilane coupled in-chain functionalized elastomer and tire with component thereof

The invention relates to a tire having a lug and groove configured rubber tread having an outer rubber cap layer with a running surface and an underlying specialized transition rubber layer. The transition rubber layer is specialized in a sense of containing at least one of partially depolymerized rubber, particulate pre-cured rubber and coal dust. The outer tread cap layer is comprised of ground-contacting tread lugs with the tread running surface and associated tread grooves positioned between said tread lugs. The tread grooves may extend radially inward through the outer tread cap layer and, optionally, into the transition tread layer. The rubber tread configuration may also optionally also include a tread base rubber layer underlying the transition rubber layer.

Tire with tread having an outer cap layer and underlying transition layer containing at least one of depolymerized rubber, pre-cured rubber and coal dust

The invention relates to a tire having a circumferential tread of a cap/base configuration composed of an outer tread rubber cap layer with a running surface of the tread and an underlying tread rubber base layer, wherein said tread cap layer is composed of two longitudinal adjacent zones, namely a primary tread cap zone and a minor lateral outboard control element (zone). The primary tread cap zone and the lateral outboard tread cap element provide a significant gradation of cold dynamic storage moduli (G') at &#x2212;25&#xb0; C. and hot tan delta values at 100&#xb0; C., yet similar warm dynamic storage moduli (G&#x2032;) at 60&#xb0; C. The primary tread cap zone and lateral outboard control tread cap element are load bearing in the sense of extending from the running surface of the tread radially inward to the unitary (non-zoned) tread base rubber layer. The zoned rubber tread cap layer and unitary rubber tread base layer are an integral tread composite in a sense of being co-extruded. In one aspect of the invention, the primary tread cap zone rubber composition is silica-rich and the lateral, outboard element rubber composition is carbon black-rich and which furthermore provide a gradation of filler reinforcement content; provide a gradation of silica to carbon black ratio and provide a gradation of cis 1,4-polybutadiene rubber content.

Tire with circumferential rubber tread having a lateral outboard control element

This invention relates to the preparation of silica-containing rubber compositions which contain precipitated silica reinforcement and use of an oligomeric organomercaptosilane coupling agent containing a plurality of mercapto and silane moieties, and a minimal content, if any, of ethoxy groups and is thus substantially free of ethoxy groups. The interaction of the plurality of mercapto moieties, or groups, of such oligomeric organomercaptosilane with the diene-based elastomer can promote a significant viscosity build up of the uncured rubber composition in a preliminary non-productive mixing stage and therefore present significant rubber processing difficulties during the mixing of the rubber composition. A challenge is therefore presented for reducing such viscosity buildup for such uncured silica-containing rubber composition.

Silica reinforced rubber composition and use in tires

This invention relates to the preparation of a cis 1,4-polyisoprene rubber-rich rubber composition containing precipitated silica which has been pre-treated with a fatty alcohol and/or epoxidized soybean oil together with an organosilane containing polysulfide coupling agent and to tires having at least one component comprised of such rubber composition. The invention particularly relates to a process of (a) preparing a natural rubber-rich rubber composition comprised of pre-treating precipitated silica aggregates prior to blending with, or in the presence of, dry natural rubber with a fatty alcohol and/or epoxidized soybean oil to the exclusion of sulfur curative for the natural rubber, mixing an organalkoxysiloxane based polysulfide coupling agent with said dry natural rubber coincidentally with or subsequent to said precipitated silica aggregate fatty alcohol and/or epoxidized soybean oil pre-treatment to form a composite thereof, to the exclusion of sulfur curative, followed by (b) mixing the resulting rubber mixture with sulfur curative and (c) curing the resulting rubber composition.

Preparation of silica reinforced polyisoprene-rich rubber composition and tire with component thereof

The invention relates to a tire having at least one component comprised of a rubber composition which contains a hydrophobated, pre-silanized silica, namely a pre-silanized silica hydrophobated with an epoxidized soybean oil and/or epoxidized rubber tree seed oil in situ within said rubber composition. Such tire component may be, for example although not limited to, a tire tread, sidewall and/or sidewall insert.

Growing community of inventors

Richfield, OH, United States of America

Kuo-Chih Hua