The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Raymond Merx

Gilbert M Feller

Michel Clementz

Craig David Miller

Bernard Byron Jacobs

Helmut Dernbach

Veronique Moris-Herbeuval

Klaus Schmitt

Decorative band for a tire sidewall

An improved tire sidewall 12 for a tire 10 has an annular outer surface 11, the annular outer surface 11 having a design pattern having a first pattern 15 and a second pattern 17. The second pattern 17 is superimposed over a portion of ridges 20 of the first pattern 15. The improvement has the ridges 20 of the first pattern 15 within a sidewall sector 13 defined by parallel planes passing through a plane (T) parallel to the equatorial plane of the tire 10 and perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the annular tire sidewall 12 to form lines 21 all having the same slope (x/y). Preferably the ridges 20 have a substantially triangular cross section having an included angle of about 100.degree. at the apex. The sectors 13A, 13B, 13C and 13D can be any portion of the tire sidewall 12, preferably the sectors 13 being quadrants, halves, or the whole annular surface 11. The resulting patterns yield a decorative sidewall 12 having unique contrasting light and dark appearance.

Tire sidewall

An apparatus for providing a vacuum in a segmented tire mold includes an upper sidewall assembly and lower sidewall assembly, a plurality of radially moveable tread mold segments operable with the upper sidewall assembly and lower sidewall assembly to define a tire mold cavity. A conical actuating ring assembly surrounds the tire mold segments and engages the mold segments to provide radial movement of the mold segments. The apparatus includes a first seal between the conical actuating ring assembly and the lower mold assembly, as well as a second seal between the conical actuating ring and the upper sidewall assembly, thereby sealing the space defined by the tire mold so that a vacuum can be drawn on the tire mold cavity upon the closing of the mold.

Ventless segmented tire mold and method therefore

Growing community of inventors

Junglinster, Luxembourg

Raymond Merx