Claims
- 1. A method of retreading a solid tire comprising the steps of:
applying uncured tread rubber to the tire to form a green assembly; placing said green assembly in a C mold wherein said C mold comprises two halves and wherein each half comprises a spindle and wherein the spindles are dimensioned such that there is a gap therebetween when the C mold is in a closed position; closing said C mold to the closed position; and curing the green assembly within the C mold to form a cured assembly.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the C mold is shaped to form a smooth tread surface on the cured assembly and wherein the method comprises the additional steps of:
removing the cured assembly from the C mold; and carving at least one groove into the smooth tread surface of said cured assembly.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said solid tire has a corresponding rim and wherein the diameter of said spindles is not more than about equal to the diameter of said rim.
- 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the diameter of said spindles is about equal to the diameter of said rim.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the gap is in the range of 25 percent to 75 percent of the width of said tire.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the tire is a friction based tire.
- 7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one half of the C mold comprises a tread ring and a sidewall ring and wherein the tread ring comprises a first mating surface, the sidewall ring comprises a second mating surface and wherein said first and second mating surfaces fit together when the C mold is in the closed position.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said first mating surface has a frustoconical shape.
- 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the tread ring is notched such that a cavity is formed between the sidewall ring and the tread ring when the C mold is in the closed position, said cavity serving to hold excess rubber extruded from the tire when the mold is closed.
- 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the tire is formed to a desired shape by buffing prior to the step of applying uncured tread rubber to the tire to form a green assembly.
- 11. A method of retreading a solid tire comprising the steps of:
applying uncured tread rubber to the tire to form a green assembly; placing said green assembly in a C mold wherein said C mold comprises two halves and wherein at least one half comprises a tread ring and a sidewall ring; closing said C mold to a closed position; and curing the green assembly within the C mold to form a cured assembly.
- 12. A mold for retreading a solid tire comprising two halves and wherein each half comprises a spindle and wherein the spindles are dimensioned such that there is a gap therebetween when the mold is in a closed position.
- 13. The mold of claim 12 wherein the mold is shaped to form a smooth tread surface on the solid tire.
- 14. The mold of claim 12 wherein the solid tire has a corresponding rim and wherein the diameter of said spindles is not more than about equal to the diameter of said rim.
- 15. The mold of claim 14 wherein the diameter of said spindles is about equal to the diameter of said rim.
- 16. The mold of claim 12 wherein the gap is in the range of 25 percent to 75 percent of the width of the tire.
- 17. The mold of claim 12 wherein at least one half of the mold comprises a tread ring and a sidewall ring and wherein the tread ring comprises a first mating surface, the sidewall ring comprises a second mating surface and wherein said first and second mating surfaces fit together when the mold is in the closed position.
- 18. The mold of claim 17 wherein said first mating surface has a frustoconical shape.
- 19. The mold of claim 17 wherein the tread ring is notched such that a cavity is formed between the sidewall ring and the tread ring when the mold is in the closed position.
- 20. A C mold for retreading a solid tire, said mold comprising two halves and wherein at least one half comprises a tread ring and a sidewall ring.
- 21. The mold of claim 20 that further comprises a spacer ring.
- 22. An improved solid tire formed by the steps of:
applying uncured tread rubber to a solid tire body to form a green assembly; placing said green assembly in a C mold wherein said C mold comprises two halves and wherein each half comprises a spindle and wherein the spindles are dimensioned such that there is a gap therebetween when the C mold is in a closed position; closing said C mold to the closed position; and curing the green assembly within the C mold to form a cured assembly.
- 23. The tire of claim 22 wherein the C mold is shaped to form a smooth tread surface on the cured assembly and wherein the steps comprise the additional steps of:
removing the cured assembly from the C mold; and carving at least one groove into the smooth tread surface of said cured assembly.
- 24. The tire of claim 22 wherein said tire has a corresponding rim and wherein the diameter of said spindles is not more than about equal to the diameter of said rim.
- 25. The tire of claim 22 wherein the diameter of said spindles is about equal to the diameter of said rim.
- 26. The tire of claim 22 wherein the gap is in the range of 25 percent to 75 percent of the width of said tire.
- 27. The tire of claim 22 wherein the tire is a friction based tire.
- 28. The tire of claim 22 wherein at least one half of the C mold comprises a tread ring and a sidewall ring and wherein the tread ring comprises a first mating surface, the sidewall ring comprises a second mating surface and wherein said first and second mating surfaces fit together when the C mold is in the closed position.
- 29. The tire of claim 28 wherein said first mating surface has a frustoconical shape.
- 30. The tire of claim 28 wherein the tread ring is notched such that a cavity is formed between the sidewall ring and the tread ring when the C mold is in the closed position, said cavity serving to hold excess rubber extruded from the tire when the mold is closed.
- 31. The tire of claim 22 wherein the tire body is formed to a desired shape by buffing prior to the step of applying uncured tread rubber to the tire to form a green assembly.
- 32. An improved solid tire formed by the steps of:
applying uncured tread rubber to a tire body to form a green assembly; placing said green assembly in a C mold; closing said C mold to a closed position; and curing the green assembly within the C mold to form a cured assembly.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional application entitled, “Process for Retreading Solid Tires”, Serial No. 60/367,030, filed Mar. 22, 2002 and which is incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60367030 |
Mar 2002 |
US |