The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Michael Alois Kolowski

Stephanie Carol Brown

Anthony J Scarpitti

Frederick W Miller, Iii

Paul Bryan Maxwell

Keith Carl Trares

Frederick William Miller

Donald W Gilliam

Efimia Ellen Rohweder

Richard L Galante

William M Hopkins

Darrell E Covert

Billy Joe Ratliff, Jr

Daniel J Lindner

Charles W Roberts

Harold D Fetty

Andy Ngoc Hoang

Timothy Michael Rooney

Kevin Alan Reid

Terry John Waibel

John E Lynch

Andy N Hoang

Chester J Gasowski

Terrence M Ruip

John C Smithkey

Henry L Gresens

Andrew N Hoang

Billy Joe Ratliff

Leo Joseph Hitzky

Sean David Montag

Rene Goergen

Robert A Brightwell

David John Balter

Thomas L Ford

Herbert Hedges Schad, Deceased

George J Siefert

John F Duderstadt

Ramendra Nath Majumdar

Sean D Montag

Ronald L Loeffler

Ray Allison Young

Ronald Thomas Harris

John Kevin Clark

Jeffrey W Kahrs

Henry T Kwee

Herbert H Schad, Jr, Deceased

Stephenie C Brown

Method and apparatus for post-cure correction (PCC), either partial or substantial, of various tire nonuniformities which have been detected during a tire manufacturing process by a tire uniformity machine (TUM), preferably testing a tire which has been nominally cooled down (i.e., nominally completed curing) after removal from a tire curing mold. The method comprises the steps of: (1) selecting the tire during a tire manufacturing process after the selected tire has been rejected by a tire uniformity test due to at least one tire uniformity defect; (2) providing 360 degree circumferential tread restraint which holds the tread in an ideal tread shape, concentric to the axis of rotation and nominally perpendicular to the equatorial plane; (3) sealingly holding the beads concentric to, and equidistant from, the axis of rotation, and symmetrically spaced about the equatorial plane; and (4) inflating the selected tire to a controlled pressure, and holding the controlled pressure for a controlled time while the tread is restrained and the beads are sealingly held. An optional additional step before the inflating step (4) comprises heating the selected tire, preferably to a controlled temperature above a glass transition temperature of the tire's ply cord material; and before the end of the controlled time cooling the selected tire below the glass transition temperature. The method steps can be repeated if the corrected tire is still rejectable as determined by a repeated TUM test. An apparatus (PCC device) is provided suitable for implementing the inventive method.

Post cure correction of tire uniformity

Tire tread

Method and apparatus for constrained post cure inflation (CPCI), for improvement of tire uniformity, footprint shape factor, and tread wear. The method comprises the steps of: (1) initiating the method on a tire after the tire has been removed from a tire curing mold (preferably while the tire is still hot); (2) providing 360 degree circumferential tread restraint which holds the tread in an ideal tread shape, concentric to the axis of rotation and nominally perpendicular to the equatorial plane; (3) sealingly holding the beads concentric to, and equidistant from, the axis of rotation, and symmetrically spaced about the equatorial plane; and (4) inflating the tire to a controlled pressure, and holding the controlled pressure for a controlled time while the tread is restrained and the beads are sealingly held. Optional additional steps include: before the inflating step, heating the tire, preferably to a controlled temperature above a glass transition temperature of the tire's ply cord material; and before the end of the controlled time, cooling the tire below the glass transition temperature. An apparatus (CPCI device) is disclosed which is suitable for implementing the inventive method.

Constrained post cure inflation

An on/off-road tread ( ) for passenger or light truck tire ( ) has an off-road tread ( ) including a central on road tread ( ). The tread ( ) extends from at or above a radial location of the maximum section width S of the tire ( ) but less than a radial location of 65% of the section height S of the tire ( ).

On/off-road tread

A pneumatic radial tire combination for four-wheeled automobile or light truck vehicles. The tire combination has a pair of front steer position tires and a pair of rear position tires. The front steer position tire has a footprint when the tire is normally inflated for normal load that has a footprint shape factor of greater than 1.00 at a 50% load, and about 1.00 at both 85% load and 100% load, the footprint shape factor being defined as the maximum circumferential extent of the tire's footprint at the centerplane of the tire's footprint width divided by the average of the circumferential extent of the tire's footprint width as measured at 40% of the footprint from both sides of the central plane of the footprint. The rear position tire footprint, when the tire is normally inflated for normal load, has a footprint shape factor of about 1.00 at 50% load, and 1.00 or less than 1.00 at 85% load and 100% load when measured similar to the method described for the front position tires.

Footprints for nonrotatable automobile and light truck tires

A pneumatic radial tire combination for four-wheeled automobile or light truck vehicles. The tire combination has a pair of front steer position tires and a pair of rear position tires. The front steer position tire has a first tread arc when the tire is normally inflated for normal load but unloaded, of decreasing radii extending toward the lateral edges and a straight line drawn between the intersection of the tread arc curvature and the centerplane is inclined at an angle &thgr; of greater than 5&deg; relative to a tangent line L, L being tangent to the tread arc at the centerplane and parallel to the axis of rotation R. The rear tire 20 when similarly measured has a tread arc having an angle &thgr; of less than 5&deg;.

Front tires and rear tires for automobile or light truck

On/off road radial pneumatic light truck or automobile tire

Growing community of inventors

Mogadore, OH, United States of America

Michael Alois Kolowski