METHOD OF TIRE TREAD PRODUCTION AND TIRE PRODUCED THEREBY
A method is provided for manufacturing tread for a tire without necessarily extruding the tread profile. The tread is created from multiple discrete parts that are cut from a sheet of uncured rubber material. The parts are joined together to create the tread, which can be applied to a tire immediate and cured to form a tire. Different treads formed from different rubber compositions may be created. The treads may also be created in varying shape and lengths with different rubber compositions used in different parts of the tread. One or more tread pieces can be applied to the same or different tire intermediates, which may be advantageous for simultaneous testing of different tread designs.
1 . A method for creating a tread for a tire, the tire defining a circumferential direction, comprising the steps of:
cutting multiple, discrete sections out of a sheet comprising an uncured rubber, wherein each section has a pair of opposing faces;
creating a tread layer by joining the sections together along the circumferential direction so that the faces of one section are joined with the opposing faces of adjacent sections; and
applying the tread layer to a tire intermediate after the step of creating so as to form the tire.
2 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in claim 1 , wherein the step of cutting comprises cutting multiple, discrete subparts from the sheet and combining the subparts to create the sections.
3 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in claim 1 or 2 , wherein the tire defines a circumferential direction, and wherein the discrete sections having corresponding profiles along the circumferential direction of the tire.
4 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in claim 2 or 3 , wherein the tire defines a radial direction, and wherein the subparts are stacked along the radial direction to create the sections.
5 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in claim 2 , 3 , or 4 , wherein the step of combining comprises applying a dissolution to the subparts.
6 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of creating comprises applying a dissolution to one or more opposing faces of adjacent sections before joining the sections together.
7 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of cutting further comprises cutting interlocking features into the sections.
8 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of cutting comprises directing a jet of water towards the sheet while moving the jet to provide the shape of the sections.
9 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in claim 8 , wherein the jet of water has a diameter in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm.
10 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in any of the preceding claims, further comprising the steps of
repeating the steps of cutting and creating with multiple sheets comprising different compositions so as to create multiple tread layers from the different compositions; and
wherein said applying step comprises applying the multiple tread layers around a circumferential direction of the tire intermediate.
11 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in any of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet has a thickness in the range of about 3 mm to about 100 mm.
12 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in claim 11 , wherein the sheet has a thickness in the range of about 10 mm.
13 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of creating further comprises applying pressure along a circumferential direction after joining two or more sections together.
14 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in any of the preceding claims, further comprising curing the tread layer and tire intermediate after the step of applying.
15 . The method for creating a tread for a tire as in 1 , wherein the step of creating further comprises activating the opposing faces of the sections prior to joining the sections.
16 . A tire formed by the method of any of the preceding claims.