Patent Application
20130048180
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire and a method for manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a pneumatic tire capable of reducing internal noise by distributing noise energy causing generation of resonance in the tire, or changing generated frequency without a risk of shear deformation generated between a sound-absorbing material and the tire, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Resonance sound in a tire is noise generated in the tire and this noise is of great interest to vehicle and tire companies. In case of air-filled tires, such noise is transferred via vehicle route due to variation in pressure caused by irregular shape of a road surface during travelling on a rough road surface, and sound having sharp peaks is generated in vehicles, causing driver discomfort and deterioration in ride comfort. In accordance with the trends toward low flatness and increase in inch in specification of tires mounted on vehicles, resonance sound in tires is becoming a more important issue.
In order to reduce resonance sound in tires, conventional various tires capable of reducing noise have been suggested. Specifically, Korean Patent Laid-open No. 2006-125502 (Patent document 1) discloses a method for mounting a specific sponge capable of absorbing noise in tires. Korean Patent Laid-open No. 2005-102110 (Patent document 2) discloses a method for reducing noise by mounting a ring in tires or wheel rims to change the internal area of the tire, or adhering fur or the like to the surface of wheels.
In another method, Japanese Patent Publication 2002-240507 (Patent document 3) discloses a method for reducing a tire resonance noise by mounting a spherical sound-absorbing material having a size of 40 to 100 mm in the tire such that the sound-absorbing material is not fixed thereon. The method is suitable for the specification of tires for vehicles and does not require adhesion to prevent heat generation, but problems such as deformation or unbalance of spherical shape may occur, when the tire rotates in a state in which the material is not fixed in the tire.
Further, Korean Patent Laid-open No. 2009-18418 (Patent document 4) discloses a method for reducing tire noise by adhering a sound-absorbing material having a size corresponding to ¼ or ⅛ of the circumferential direction of the tire to the outer surface of inner liner in the tire. In this case, there is inconvenience in that the sound-absorbing material should be adhered two or more times.
It is one aspect of the present invention to provide a pneumatic tire capable of reducing internal noise by distributing noise energy causing generation of resonance in the tire, or changing generated frequency without a risk of shear deformation generated between the sound-absorbing material and the tire.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing the pneumatic tire through a simple process.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, provided is a pneumatic tire comprising: a porous sound-absorbing material adhered via a sealant layer to the inside surface of an inner liner, wherein the sealant layer comprises 100 to 400 parts by weight of polyisobutylene, 10 to 100 parts by weight of an inorganic additive and 1 to 15 parts by weight of a vulcanizing agent, with respect to 100 parts by weight of a butyl rubber.
The polyisobutylene may have a weight average molecular weight of 1000 to 3000 g/mol.
The inorganic additive may be selected from the group consisting of carbon black, silica, calcium carbonate, calcium silicate, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, barium sulfate, talc, mica and mixtures thereof.
The sealant layer may have a thickness of 1 to 5 mm.
A thickness ratio of the sealant layer and the porous sound-absorbing material may be 1:1 to 1:3.
The porous sound-absorbing material may be selected from the group consisting of sponge, a polyester-based non-woven fabric, a polystyrene-based non-woven fabric and a laminate thereof.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, provided is a method for manufacturing a pneumatic tire, comprising: producing a sound-absorbing member for reducing noise comprising a sound-absorbing material, a sealant layer and a release paper laminated in this order; and removing the release paper from the sound-absorbing member for reducing noise and adhering the sound-absorbing member to the inside surface of the tire such that the sound-absorbing member faces the sound-absorbing member, wherein the sealant layer comprises 100 to 400 parts by weight of polyisobutylene, 10 to 100 parts by weight of an inorganic additive and 1 to 15 parts by weight of a vulcanizing agent, with respect to 100 parts by weight of a butyl rubber.
The sound-absorbing member for reducing noise may be produced by a production method comprising mixing butyl rubber, polyisobutylene, an inorganic additive and a vulcanizing agent to prepare a composition for forming the sealant, applying the composition for forming the sealant to one surface of the porous sound-absorbing material to form a sealant layer, and laminating the release paper on the sealant layer.
The sealant layer may be produced by cross-linking the composition for forming the sealant at a temperature of 140 to 180° C.
The release paper may be paper or a polyester film coated with polyethylene or silicone as a releasing agent.
Details of embodiments of the present invention are included in the following description of the invention.
These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail to an extent such that the embodiments may be easily executed by the person having a common knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs. However, the present invention may be implemented as a variety of different modifications and is not limited to embodiments and drawings described herein.
When a sound-absorbing material is generally mounted in tires, the sound-absorbing material is adhered thereto and fixed thereon using a peroxide-based adhesive, a volatile adhesive or the like. However, the peroxide-based adhesive or volatile adhesive is readily detached due to extension and contraction of an adhesion site or heat generated while tires travel.
Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention discovered that, in a pneumatic tire including a tread, a side wall, a bead, an inner liner and the like, noise generated by resonance and vibration of vehicle tires can be effectively reduced and shear deformation or the like, generated between the sound-absorbing material and the tire, can be compensated by sticking a sound-absorbing material to the inside surface of the liner using a sealant having a considerably high adhesive force. The present invention was completed based on this discovery.
The porous sound-absorbing material 3 serves to reduce resonance noise generated in tires, is composed of a porous member and is strongly adhered thereto via the sealant layer 2 having a considerably high adhesive force.
The porous sound-absorbing material 3 may be a porous member commonly used as a sound-absorbing material. Specifically, the porous sound-absorbing material 3 may be selected from the group consisting of a sponge, a polyester-based non-woven fabric, a polystyrene-based non-woven fabric and a laminate thereof.
Preferably, the sound-absorbing material has a thickness of 1 to 15 mm and a width of 100 to 120% with respect to a width of the tire tread.
The sealant layer 2 contains a butyl rubber, polyisobutylene, an inorganic additive and a vulcanizing agent and further optionally contains other additives.
The polyisobutylene preferably has a weight average molecular weight of 1,000 to 3,000 g/mol.
Also, the polyisobutylene may be present in an amount of 100 to 400 parts by weight, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the butyl rubber. When the content of polyisobutylene is lower than 100 parts by weight, temperature stability may be deteriorated and when the content exceeds 400 parts by weight, adhesion and buffer effects of sealant may be deteriorated. Specifically, in order to improve adhesion and buffer effects of sealant, the polyisobutylene is preferably used in an amount of 100 to 400 parts by weight, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the butyl rubber, and in order to improve temperature stability together with it, the polyisobutylene is preferably used in an amount of 200 to 300 parts by weight.
The inorganic additive aims to control heat generation of the sealant and is selected from the group consisting of carbon black, silica, calcium carbonate, calcium silicate, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, barium sulfate, talc, mica and mixtures thereof. At this time, the inorganic additive is present in an amount of 10 to 100 parts by weight, preferably 30 to 50 parts by weight, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the butyl rubber.
Also, the vulcanizing agent facilitates cross-linkage of the sealant and is present in an amount of 1 to 15 parts by weight, preferably, 5 to 10 parts by weight, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the butyl rubber.
The vulcanizing agent may be a sulfur-based vulcanizing agent, organic peroxide, a resin vulcanizing agent, or metal oxide such as magnesium oxide. The sulfur-based vulcanizing agent may be an inorganic vulcanizing agent such as powdered sulfur (S), insoluble sulfur (S), precipitated sulfur (S) and colloidal sulfur.
When the contents of butyl rubber, polyisobutylene, inorganic additive and the vulcanizing agent are out of the defined ranges, the sealant layer is not adhered to the porous sound-absorbing material, or the sealant layer may flow out while tires travel.
Further, the sealant layer may further contain other additives selected from the group consisting of cross-linking promoters, vulcanization promotion accelerators, adhesives and mixtures thereof.
The cross-linking promoter for facilitation of cross-linkage is selected from the group consisting of sulfenamide, thiazol, tiuram, thiourea, guanidine, dithiocarbamic acid, aldehyde-amine, aldehyde-ammonia, imidazoline, xanthate and combinations thereof. In this case, the cross-linking promoter may be present in an amount of 0 to 10 parts by weight, preferably 3 to 5 parts by weight, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the butyl rubber.
The vulcanization promotion accelerator is an additive used to obtain complete facilitation effects when used in conjunction with the vulcanization accelerator. For example, a combination of zinc oxide and stearic acid may be used. In the case in which zinc oxide is used in conjunction with the stearic acid, in order to realize suitable function of the vulcanization promotion accelerator, zinc oxide and stearic acid are used in amounts of 1 to 5 parts by weight and 0.5 to 3 parts by weight, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the butyl rubber.
Also, as the adhesive to improve adhesive force of the sealant, a natural resin such as phenol resin, rosin resin or terpene resin, or a synthetic resin such as petroleum resin, coal tar or alkyl phenol resin may be used. The adhesive may be present in an amount of 0 to 10 parts by weight, preferably 3 to 5 parts by weight, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the butyl rubber.
The sealant 2 having the aforementioned composition is formed by cross-linking a composition based on the butyl rubber with a vulcanizing agent, thereby causing no great variation in viscosity even at a high temperature and concentration or spreading of sealant caused by centrifugal force generated during tire rotation. Also, the sealant 2 has a strong adhesive force and temperature stability to an extent that the tire can sufficiently endure against exterior stimuli during travel.
The sealant layer 2 has a thickness of 1 to 5 mm, thus exhibiting superior adhesion of the sound-absorbing material and excellent buffering action against shear deformation between the tire and the sound-absorbing material, and enabling automatic sealing of puncture generated by nails or bumps with a size of 5 mm or less.
Also, a thickness ratio of the sealant layer 2 and the sound-absorbing material 3 is 1:1 to 1:3. When the thickness ratio of the sealant layer 2 to the sound-absorbing material 3 is within the range defined above, separation of the sealant layer 2 and the sound-absorbing material 3 can be prevented, although tires are driven even under harsh conditions.
Also, the width of the sealant layer 2 is preferably the same as the width of the sound-absorbing material 3 and is 100 to 120% with respect to the width of the tire tread.
The pneumatic tire according to the present invention having the configuration described above may be produced using a sound-absorbing material for reducing noise, including a porous sound-absorbing material, a sealant layer and a release paper laminated in this order.
That is, a method for manufacturing a pneumatic tire according to one embodiment of the present invention includes producing a sound-absorbing member for reducing noise including a porous sound-absorbing material, a sealant layer and a release paper laminated in this order, removing the release paper from the sound-absorbing member for reducing noise, and adhering the sound-absorbing member for reducing noise to the inside surface of an inner liner of the tire such that the sound-absorbing member faces the sealant layer. Any of methods for producing tires before adhesion of the sound-absorbing member may be used as long as the method is conventionally used for production of tires and detailed description thereof is thus omitted.
The types and contents of butyl rubber, polyisobutylene, the inorganic additive and the vulcanizing agent constituting the composition for forming the sealant have been described above, and the composition may further contain other additive, if desired. The type and content of the other additive have been described above.
The sealant layer that is finally produced on one surface of the porous sound-absorbing material, after mixing the butyl rubber, polyisobutylene, the inorganic additive, the vulcanizing agent and optionally other additive to prepare a composition for forming the sealant is applied in an amount allowing the final thickness to be 1 to 5 mm, followed by cross-linking at a high temperature of 140 to 180° C.
Then, the release paper produced through cross-linkage is laminated on the sealant layer. The release paper is paper or a polyester film coated with a release agent such as polyethylene or silicone on the surface thereof that contacts the sealant and is removed from the sealant before the sound-absorbing member for reducing noise is adhered to the tire.
As such, since the production method according to the present invention uses the sound-absorbing member having the configuration described above, the pneumatic tire including the porous sound-absorbing member capable of reducing noise by adhering the sealant layer to the inside wall of the inner liner disposed inside the completed tire, while removing the release paper through detachment, can be easily produced.
The pneumatic tire according to the present invention may be a car tire, a racing tire, an airplane tire, an agricultural tire, an off-road tire, a truck tire, a bus tire or the like. Preferably, a car tire is used. Also, the tire may be a radial tire or a bias tire and is preferably a radial tire.
Components were mixed in accordance with the composition listed in the following Table 1 to prepare a composition for forming a sealant, the composition was applied to one surface of the porous sound-absorbing material (foamed urethane) having a thickness of 8 mm, and cross-linkage was performed at a high temperature of 170° C. to form a sealant layer having a thickness of 4 mm. A release paper was laminated on the formed sealant layer having the same area as that of the sealant layer.
The release paper was detached from the produced sound-absorbing member for reducing noise, and, as shown in
The tire (specification: 235/45R17A) excluding a composition for forming a sealant and a porous sound-absorbing material was used as Comparative Example 1.
A sealant layer was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that an adhesive fluid solution containing polybutene and terpene resins as main components was used.
A composition for forming the sealant was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 in accordance with the composition listed in the following Table 1.
1)Accelerator: Zinc dibenzyldithiocarbamate (ZBEC)
The tires produced in examples were mounted on a regular rim and noise reduction according to increase in speed was observed using a test apparatus (Chassis Dynamo) under regular air pressure conditions. The results thus obtained are shown in
As can be seen from
The tires produced in examples were subjected to protrusion pass (cleat impact) testing. Cleat impact testing was performed using a cleat impact test apparatus and resonance sounds in the tires were measured while the tires passed through a protrusion at predetermined intervals.
Tires of the present invention were compared with a general tire and a sealant tire used as Comparative Examples 1 and 2, respectively. The results are shown in
Referring to
Also, it could be seen that adhesion states of the sound-absorbing material and sealant after further driving were observed by the naked eye. As a result of observation, both the sound-absorbing material and the sealant were suitably adhered to the tire according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Generation of vibration was evaluated on the tires of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 2. The results are indexed based on the result of Comparative Example 2 and are shown in the following Table 2.
As can be seen from Table 2, vibration was not generated in Examples 1 to 3, while vibration was generated in Comparative Example 2. Comparative Example 2 had flowability, since the sealant layer did not contain a tire rubber layer. Accordingly, the sealant was moved and concentrated in a central region in the width direction of the tire by high-speed driving of tires, or the tread was repeatedly deformed on the contact surface and thus mal-distributed, causing deterioration in tire uniformity.
The adhesion performance and buffering effects of the tires of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 3 and 4 were measured. The results are indexed, based on Comparative Example 3 and are shown in the following Table 3.
As can be seen from Table 3, Examples 1 to 3 exhibited superior adhesion performance and buffering performance, as compared to Comparative Examples 3 and 4. In particular, in Comparative Examples 3 and 4, the porous sound-absorbing materials were detached from the sealant layer. The cause of this is believed to be that the content of polyisobutylene was not 100 to 400 parts by weight, with respect to 100 parts by weight of the butyl rubber.
Meanwhile, tires of Examples 4 to 7 were produced in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the composition for forming the sealant was applied to one surface of porous sound-absorbing materials having thicknesses of 2 mm, 4 mm, 12 mm and 16 mm to form a sealant layer having a thickness of 4 mm.
Adhesion performance of the sealant layer was measured under harsh conditions with respect to the tires of Example 1 and Examples 4 to 7. The results are indexed and are shown in the following Table 4.
As can be seen from Table 4, Examples 1, 5 and 6 did not deteriorate in adhesion performance even under harsh conditions, while Examples 4 and 7 deteriorated in adhesion performance under harsh conditions.
The pneumatic tire according to the present invention comprises a porous sound-absorbing material adhered via a sealant layer to the inside surface of an inner liner, thus effectively reducing noise generated by resonance and vibration in tires for vehicles.
Also, the pneumatic tire according to the present invention comprises a sealant obtained by adding sulfur to a composition containing butyl rubber as a main component, followed by cross-linkage, thus causing no substantial variation in viscosity even at high temperature and concentration or spreading of sealant caused by centrifugal force generated during tire rotation. Also, the sealant has a strong adhesive force and temperature stability to an extent that the tire can sufficiently withstand an exterior force during tire travelling.
Also, the pneumatic tire according to the present invention comprises a sealant layer with an optimum thickness, thus exhibiting superior buffering action between the tire and the sound-absorbing material and enabling automatic sealing of puncture generated by exterior stimuli such as nails or bumps with a size of 5 mm or less.
Also, the method for manufacturing the pneumatic tire according to the present invention uses a sound-absorbing member for reducing noise including a porous sound-absorbing material, a sealant layer and a release paper laminated in this order, thereby easily producing a pneumatic tire comprising the porous sound-absorbing material.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2011-0085897 | Aug 2011 | KR | national |
