The present invention relates to an arrangement in the production of air-filled tires, as is indicated in the introduction to claim 1.

More specifically the present invention has to do with pressure-compression mould, that is to say a vulcanisation mould, for the vulcanisation of tires.

The present invention has especially to do with the las step, that is to say the vulcanisation step, during the production of tires, and relates particularly to the reuse o old worn down tires during the utilisation of a recapping or tread application process.

When the wearing surface of a tire is worn down, for example down towards the pattern depth which the authorities accept, the tire can be used again on recapping or applying tread.

On recapping the tread is completely ground away. That is to say that all the old design is completely removed down to fresh rubber and without damaging the cord in the casing. A portion of the old rubber on the sides of the tire can als be removed. By dissimilar techniques a new unvulcanised trea can be applied. On the sidewalls there can also be deposited a thin layer of unvulcanised rubber. After the tread is applied a flexible tube can be placed inside the tire, if desired the vulcanisation mould comprising a bellows or bein

tubeless. The mould is heated in advance to about ca. 150- 170°C by conducting heated steam through ducts in the mould, if desired the mould being heated by electrical resistance heating. When the raw tire is heated and is pressed out at the same time against the walls of the mould by supplying an internal pressure, the newly applied rubber material in the tire is moulded and vulcanised, the rubber mixture being converted from a mouldable plastic material to a solid elastic material. Vulcanising is the description of the chemical reaction which occurs between the rubber material and sulphur under the influence of high temperature and pressure. The time which is needed to complete the vulcanisation process is dependent on both the pressure, temperature and the thickness of the rubber during vulcanisation. During the day's automobile tire production, zinc oxide, stearic acid and other compounds which accelerate the vulcanisation are also added to the rubber mixture, besides sulphur.

Based on the above, there can also be used, for recapping automobile tires, factory-ready treads which are adapted for the different tire dimensions and breadths and which have a finished design and are ready vulcanised. On the finished worn down tire casing a thin layer of unvulcanised bonding rubber is first placed, and on the outside there is drawn a sleeve (envelope) . The vulcanisation itself takes place by putting the entire tire in an autoclave where it is supplied with pressure and it is heated to a temperature of ca. 98°C. Since the tread is vulcanised in advance it is only the said bonding rubber which is to be vulcanised. This method is mentioned in US Patent Specification No. 3,839,123. When a tire is recapped thus by a heat vulcanisation as is indicated above, it is really the last step of the new tire manufacture which is repeated whereby the tread is renewed. Even if the dimension designations and the diameters on

the reconstructed tires are correct relative to the metal mould which the tires are to be vulcanised in, the volumes of the tires can be dissimilar as a consequence of variations in the length and shape of the sidewalls of the tires. Thus if the sidewalls of the vulcanisation mould do not agree with the sidewalls of the tire or the tire volume in this side portion, an undesirable deformation of the tire will arise during the vulcanisation. If the mould for example is dimensioned for a greater tire volume than the tire which is to be recapped, significant tensile forces will arise in the cord casing beyond those designed to be withstood. The danger is thereby great for permanent deformation of the tire to occur. This disagreement in volume between the side surface portions of the tire and the manufacturing mould leads to unfortunate deforming flows of the rubber material during the pressing.

This problem can be solved, as for example is known from DE patent publication 2,038,878, by making the sidewalls of the tire thrust against a flexible and elastically annular disc-shaped membrane which is arranged on each side of the sidewalls of the mould. Furthermore the membrane acts against an external annular groove-shaped hollow space which is recessed in the mould in which there is established a given fluid pressure, where the fluid can be for example air, P2, and the membrane will thus close accurately to the length and shape of the sides of the tire. During the vulcanisation step the pressure P2 is regulated in the hollow spaces so that the pressure here is lower the whole time than the pressure PI in the hollow space of the mould. With this vulcanisation mould tires which are both large and small can be vulcanised in the same mould, there being achieved a controlled tension in the sidewalls of the tire and one avoids the tire being exposed to damage from deformation. With the arrangement is achieved limiting outwardly

directed movement in the sidewalls by the cord construction of the tire, while the metal portion of the mould determines the remaining shape of the tire.

The disadvantage with this vulcanisation mould is that unvulcanised rubber, in the region which borders the membrane, does not get the desired outward flow and finish in connection with the vulcanisation. Besides the membranes have a tendency to vulcanise firmly in the unvulcanised rubber which is applied to the sidewalls of the tire before placing in the mould.

The object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement with which the afore-mentioned disadvantages in manufacture and recapping of tires can be eliminated.

The object of the present invention is to also fashion the portions which bear against sidewalls of the tire by a metallic material as in the remaining metal matrix.

The arrangement according to the present invention is characterised by the features as indicated in the characterising portion of the following claim 1. Preferred embodiments are evident from the associated dependent claims. In the following description the invention will be explained further with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section through a tire. Fig. 2 shows a cross-section (that is to say the one half) of a vulcanising mould according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged section of the left half of the vulcanisation mould according to the invention. Fig. 3a shows an enlarged section of the mould in order to illustrate how the plates which during the vulcanisation are to be arranged between the tire sidewall and the membrane, are fastened in the mould.

Fig. 4 shows in a radial section the membrane protective plates in order to illustrate how the plates can be arranged

in overlapping relationship, according to an embodiment of the invention.

In order to better explain the significance of the present invention, the following will comprise a summing up of constructions of dissimilar tires. With reference to Fig.

1 a tire consists of a tread 11, shoulder 12, sidewall 14, a tire foot 16 with a tire toe 18, tire heel 20, wire core 22, together with cord casing 24, protective layer/breaker/belt

26 plus a sealing layer 28 when the tire is tubeless. An automobile tire is in principle a receptacle for compressed air. It is the air which carries the load which the wheel is exposed to. The tire's own rigidity is insignificant in relation to the load it shall carry, something one sees if one is unlucky enough to have a puncture- the tire collapses instantly.

A diagonal tire consists in principle of three main portions, tread, textile skeleton and tire foot.

The unvulcanised tread is produced on a so-called tuber which operates according to the same principle as a mincing machine. The tread rubber is forced by means of a screw out through a mouthpiece which gives the tread a specific profile all according to which dimension it is to be used for. The tread passes thereafter through a cooling plant, is cut up into specific dimensions and is controlled as to quality and weight.

The rubber of an automobile tire tread and of the sidewalls of the tire usually consists of two dissimilar mixtures. The tread of the tire which later comes makes contact with the road, shall have properties which provides high wear strength. The rubber on the side, which is to form the sidewalls of the tire, shall first and foremost tolerate the constant flexing which the sides of the tire are exposed to. The preparation of these different rubber mixtures takes place in the tuber plant. The casing is constructed of cord which are threads

which consist of steel, nylon, rayon or other fibres.

Before the cord is built into the tire, it is covered with rubber. This is carried out by pressing the threads, together with the rubber mixture, between steel rolls in a calender which is a machine for smoothing and pressing. It is very important that the rubber penetrates well in between the cord threads so that each thread becomes wrapped in rubber. Otherwise the threads will gradually be able to be rubbed in pieces at the points of intersection. The covered cord will later be cut up into specific breadths at a specific angle. The third main component of the tire is the tire foot. Several different types of tire foot are used, but common to them is that they consist of steel threads which are covered with a layer of brass (copper/zinc) . The individual threads are collected for a thread core where the number of individual threads can vary in breadth. The thread core is covered with rubber, after which it is spun up on a steel wheel the diameter of which is dependent on the tire dimension the thread is to be used for. In a diagonal tire the casing consists of two or more layers of cord. The innermost layer is laid so that the threads extend obliquely over the tire at a specific angle to the centre line of the tread, usually ca. 32-36°. The next layer is laid so that the threads cross the preceding layer and form the same cord angle with the centre line of the tread.

A radial tire is constructed and built up in another way from the diagonal tire. In the casing of the tire of a private automobile rayon cord is usually employed, while belt layers of steel cord are employed. In truck tires steel cord is employed both in the casing and in the belt layers. In the radial tire the cord threads of the casing form an angle of ca. 90° with the centre line of the tread. The radial tire is built up with one or two layers in the casing. Between the tread and the casing of the tire there is placed a rigid

belt. This belt consists of 2-4 layers of cord. The cord layers are laid so that the individual cord layers form an angle of 15-20°.

A diagonal belt tire is a combination of a diagonal and a radial tire. The cord angle on the diagonally constructed casing is about 40°. Between the casing and the tread of the tire there is placed a stabilising belt with an angle of ca. 20°. This type of tire is produced mostly in the U.S.A. where it has the designation "Bias belted", while it is little used in Europe.

The vulcanisation mould according to the present invention is used on tires of the type which are illustrated in Fig. 1, and which are referred to in the introduction of this specification. The invention concerns a vulcanisation mould (that is to say really the matrix of a vulcanisation machine) which is illustrated schematically in Fig. 2 by the reference numeral 30. The mould 30 comprises two mould halves 32a,32b which form an annular mould hollow space 34 wherein the tire 10 which is to be vulcanised is mounted. In each of annular sidewall mould portions 36a,36b of the vulcanisation mould there is formed a continuous circular cavity. An elastic and flexible membrane 38a,38b formed as an annular disc, is arranged over the cavity. In this way there is formed a closed annular hollow space 40a,40b, one on each side of the mould hollow space 34, and each of these is defined by the sidewall mould portion and the membrane. The membranes 38a,38b can according to one embodiment be pressed into the annular groove in the metal material in the respective inner 42 and outer 44 diameters of the mould and fastened in a suitable manner. The most preferred solution is however, as is illustrated in Fig. 3a, to mount both the membrane 38 and the plates 66,68 to the mould material at 42 (and 44) by installing and fixing their peripheral fastening edges in a hook-shaped formation 80 of the mould. The fixing can be done

by tightening an annular clamping ring 82, for example of metal, in towards the hook formation 80 over the membrane 38 and the element 66,68 which are thereby clamped fast. The clamping ring 82 is designed so that it forms together with the portions of the mould uniform surface transitions against the tire. With such a fastening solution membranes and protective plates can be readily released and taken out when they have to be replaced or repaired. The border lines drawn in on Figs 2 and 3 between the mould halves 32a,b and between the sidewall mould portion 36a,36b and the mould halves 32a,b are to illustrate that these apparatus parts of metal can be mutually displaced in parallel and be separated relative to each other in order to install in or take a tire out of the mould. The apparatus according to Fig. 2 really constitutes the inner matrix portion of a greater vulcanising machine, where for one thing there are designed in the external machine parts (which are not shown in the Figure) ducts for steam having higher temperatures in order to heat up the vulcanising rubber. The membranes have a breadth which corresponds in height to sidewalls 14a,14b of the tire 10, and have a suitable thickness. The membranes can be made of a partially elastic, plate-formed material, and are preferably of a rubber material. The protective plates can have a small thickness since they are not exposed to tensile forces. Thus the thickness can be from 0.1 millimetre and up to 5 millimetres, and a thickness of ca. 1.0 mm will normally be well suited depending upon what one finds most appropriate for the dissimilar plate materials and tire dimensions. With a pump 46 fluid can be conducted from a source 48 through a conduit 50 to a branching point 52 from which a first conduit 54 leads in to the mould hollow space 34, while a second conduit 56 is further branched into two conduits 58,60 which lead in to the respective outer annular spaces. When a tire is to be vulcanised, it is placed in the mould as

is illustrated by the broken line in Fig. 2. Fluid (in the form of air) is pumped into the mould hollow space 34 to a pressure PI while the outer peripheral ring spaces 40a,b are pressure set to a pressure P2. By adjusting a control valve 62 the pressure is mutually adjusted in the two circuits so that the mould hollow space pressure PI is higher than the annular space pressure P2. Thereby, as a consequence of the excess pressure, sidewalls 14 of the tire will be flexed outwards and thrust against the membrane. When the vulcanisation is complete the pressure relief from the hollow spaces occurs via a discharge valve 64.

According to the invention vulcanisation of the membrane 38 fast to the sides of the tire is avoided by arranging an annular disc-shaped plate element 66, 68 on the inside of each membrane, that is to say in towards the mould hollow space 34. Reference is also made here to Fig. 3 which illustrates an enlarged section of the mould of Fig. 2. The element is split up in the circular plane into two annular disc plates 66a, 68a where the one annular disc plate 66a is fastened in the outer diameter 42 of the mould, while the other annular disc plate 68a is fastened in the inner diameter 44 of the mould. The annular disc plates are preferably split up in the circular plane so that the inner peripheral edge 70 of the annular disc plate 66a which is fastened to the outer periphery 42 of the mould, overlaps the outer peripheral edge 72 of the annular disc plate 68a which is fastened in the inner periphery 44 of the mould. In addition to the splitting up in the circular plane with overlapping, the plates are also split up and overlap each other in the radial plane. On operation of the apparatus the plates also become situated between the rubber membrane 38 and the external side wall 14 of the tire.

According to an alternative solution the radially split up plate 66a extends from the outer periphery 42 (Fig. 3) and completely down to the inner periphery 44. In this instance

the free lower edge of the plate 66a will, on operation of the apparatus, slide between the tire and the metal material of the mould. Alternatively the radially split up inner plate 68a can have such a design where it projects completely up to the outer periphery of the mould. In such an instance a construction is possible where the split up protecting plate only partially stretches over the membrane.

It is also possible that there are certain portions of the tire not needing to bear against a protecting plate, that is to say that it can make direct contact with the membrane 38a.

According to a further construction the plates can only be fixed above (alternatively below) and lie free in a groove below (alternatively upper) where they are largely freely movable.

The splitting up of the annular disc plates is more clearly evident from Fig. 4 which shows a plan view in a direction outwards from interior 34 of the mould and shows outer 42 and inner 44 "diameter" of the mould plus the annular disc-shaped protecting plates 66a, 68a. The plates in the circular plane are split up into two plates, as explained in connection with Fig. 3. Furthermore, in the radial plane, both the outer plate 66a and the inner plate 68a are split up into a number of smaller plates, such as 8 plates as is illustrated by A-H for the outer plate 66 (one shall not be tied to the construction with 8 plates which is illustrated in Fig. 3) . The full lines show one visible edge of each part plate (A-H) , while the dotted lines show the one end edge which lies overlapping and concealed under the next plate in the series. Thus for example the one visible end edge of the plate A lies at 72 while the other end edge 74 lies under the next plate B in the series.

As is illustrated in Fig. 4 the radial splitting up of the interior plate is displaced relative to the radial splitting up of the exterior plate. This is done so that the

plates shall not impede one another's movements during the use of the apparatus. For example the thrusting against each other of edge portions of the plates is avoided during said movement of the plates. While the membrane is formed of an elastic and flexible material, such as rubber, the plate-shaped membrane-protec¬ ting elements 66a,68a are made of a non-elastic material, but bendable (less rigid) material. A plate material of metal or plastic will be well suited. The plate material is preferably made of metal, and especially of aluminium or steel. These metals exhibit low or no adhesion capability towards vulcanising rubber.

When a tire 10 is mounted in the mould the outer side surfaces of the tire side walls 14 will consequently form an abutment against the membrane-protecting elements 66,68. When the pressure in the mould hollow space 34 increases to the necessary level above the pressure in the annular spaces 40a,40b, the tire sides 14 are pushed somewhat outwards in order to try to reestablish the pressure equilibrium. While the rubber membrane is flexed outwardly and is stretched as a result of its elasticity, the protecting plates will only be flexed outwardly in the same degree. But the plates will not be able to be stretched because of lacking the elasticity, and the respective outer and inner peripheral edges 70,72 will then relatively speaking be mutually displaced each in its respective direction, sliding against each other. The plates are dimensioned with such a breadth that the end edges will not slide from each other during the outward flexing, and therefore there will not be formed any gap between the plates.

When the vulcanisation is complete, the pressure is relieved and the tire is taken out of the mould.

As a result of the protection plates of metal exhibiting higher rigidity, there is achieved the occurrence of a pressure balancing during the vulcanisation when the membrane

presses the protecting plates towards the tire sidewalls. There will arise a transport/outward flow of the uneven unvulcanised rubber from regions with higher abutment pressure to regions with lower abutment pressure. In this way cuts or concavities in the side faces of the tire will be filled up by flowable rubber material, and the side of the tire is smoothed out as a result of the tire impacting against a material which is more rigid than rubber. In addition the earlier problem with rubber material which vulcanises fast in the membrane is avoided. The rubber material has as mentioned a much lower adhesion to aluminium than to the membrane of rubber.

By the present invention there is consequently achieved a big advance in the vulcanisation of tires.