Vulcanization Presses in Tire Manufacturing Processes

Improving the inner heating method for vulcanizing tires in a vulcanization press to prevent excessive energy loss and ensure consistent vulcanization quality after prolonged idle times. The method involves adjusting the inner heating cycle duration based on whether the vulcanization press has been idle for a long time. If the press has been idle, the inner heating cycle is extended to compensate for potential component cooling. This prevents insufficient energy input during the first heating cycle after an idle period, which can lead to deterioration in tire properties.

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Tire vulcanizing equipment with a sealing hood to isolate the driving motor from the high temperature and pressure inside the vulcanizing bladder. The hood seals between the motor, rotating shaft, and fan. Magnets on the shaft and fan attract to rotate the fan. This allows the motor to drive the fan externally, preventing damage to the motor inside the sealed bladder. The sealing hood isolates the motor from the hot, pressurized vulcanizing environment.

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Vulcanizing equipment for curing rubber tires that improves tire quality, reduces space requirements, and eliminates condensation issues compared to conventional steam vulcanization. The equipment uses a stacked arrangement of a heating assembly and gas circulation assembly inside the vulcanizing bladder, rather than horizontally distributing them in the bladder. This saves space and allows better gas circulation. A rotating shaft sleeve outside the center rod connects the gas circulation assembly to a driving assembly. The bladder seals in the tire during vulcanization. The vertical stacked assembly eliminates condensation compared to horizontal arrangements.

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Programmable logic control (PLC) system for accurately controlling tire curing press bladder pressure during tire manufacturing. The system uses learning and analysis of past cycles to improve pressure control. It collects data like pressure, set point, and valve output during cycles. It analyzes that data to identify issues like overshoot and undershoot. Then it uses algorithms to adjust the valve output for the next cycle to mitigate those issues. This learns from past cycles to improve pressure control accuracy.

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Controlling fluid discharge during tire molding to improve vulcanization and prevent defects. The method involves building the green tire with a radially internal surface that has channels or grooves extending from the belt to the sidewall. These channels connect to the mold's discharge channels. This allows fluids between the mold and green tire to flow out, preventing trapped air pockets and improving adhesion during vulcanization. The channels can be continuous elastomeric coils wound into the tire.

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Diene rubber composition for tires that vulcanizes faster without compromising stiffness and hysteresis properties compared to using traditional vulcanization accelerators. The composition contains a highly saturated diene elastomer like ethylene-based elastomer, along with a dithiosulfate salt vulcanization system. This allows reducing vulcanization time in presses without bubble formation, while maintaining good stiffness and reducing hysteresis compared to accelerators like diphenylguanidine. The composition can also contain natural rubber.

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Rubber composition for improved vulcanization rates with a novel vulcanization aid compound. The rubber composition contains the compound (W) with one or more groups represented by formula (X): -Z1-N-X1-X2-X3-X4- where X1 is hydrogen, X2 is hydroxyl, X3 is an aromatic ring, and X4 is a heteroaromatic ring. The compound (W) improves vulcanization rates of rubber components in compositions like tires, belts, and vibration isolators. It provides faster vulcanization kinetics without reversion issues. The compound (W) can be used as an alternative to traditional accelerators like zinc oxide.

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Thioester modified diene polymers for rubber compounds that improve processing, vulcanization, and performance. The thioester modification involves reacting diene polymers with thiocarboxylic acids and dithiocarboxylic acids. The thioester groups formed on the polymer backbone enhance polymer chain mobility during processing, leading to improved compounding and molding. The modified polymers also have better vulcanization kinetics and lower sulfur requirements. The thioester groups also provide additional crosslinking sites for vulcanization.

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Controlling fluid discharge during tire molding to improve vulcanization and prevent blistering. The technique involves building a portion of the green tire's internal surface using a wound elastomer coil with circumferential grooves. These grooves communicate with channels in the mold bladder. This allows trapped fluids between the mold and tire to drain out, preventing blistering and ensuring proper molding. The grooved coil section extends from an outer belt region to the sidewall to cover the area where fluids tend to accumulate.

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Improving tire molding process by preventing air/steam trapping between the green tire and pressing bladder during vulcanization. The method involves creating channels in the green tire's internal surface that connect to the bladder's drainage channels. This allows trapped fluids to be evacuated and prevents blistering or incomplete vulcanization. The channels are continuous elastomeric coils with circumferential grooves. They extend from the belt area to the sidewall where the tire sections bulge.

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Pneumatic tire production method and tire design to reduce defects during vulcanization. The method involves covering both sides of the carcass cord array with rubber after forming the carcass ply. This prevents air pockets between the carcass and inner liner/tread from acting as air traps during vulcanization. The tire also has rubber-uncoated air-absorbing organic fiber cords on at least one side of the carcass ply to further absorb any remaining air. This prevents defects like blisters and voids from forming during vulcanization.

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A method for manufacturing pneumatic tires that reduces air leaks during vulcanization and improves tire performance. The method involves using a tire vulcanizing bladder with specific vent lines and an inner liner containing a styrene-isobutylene-styrene triblock copolymer (SIBS). The vent lines have a shape with width and depth in the bladder mold surface to discharge gas between the bladder and tire inner surface without damaging the liner. The SIBS liner has a thickness of 0.05-0.6 mm. This prevents flaws when the bladder contracts after vulcanization. The vent lines angles and areas are optimized. The SIBS liner provides high adhesion to the bladder. This prevents air leaks, reduces flex cracking, improves rolling resistance, and steering stability.

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Controlling fluid discharge during tire molding to prevent blistering and improve vulcanization. The method involves building a portion of the inner tire surface using a coiled elastomeric material with confined circumferential grooves. These grooves communicate with channels in the mold bladder. During molding, fluids trapped between the bladder and tire can drain through the coiled section into the mold instead of blistering the tire. This prevents fluids from getting trapped and pressurized between the surfaces during molding. The coiled section can extend from the belt area to the sidewall thickest point. The coiled section can also have ridges forming cells.

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Curing rubber articles like tires faster and more uniformly by inserting high thermal conductivity pins into the mold at the thickest or most complex parts during curing. The pins transfer heat into these cure-limiting areas to accelerate curing without overcuring other parts. The pins are made of materials like tungsten or aluminum alloys with small cross-sectional areas inside the mold. The pins protrude into the article by 25-60% of the thickness to reach the critical areas. This reduces cure times by 20% or more compared to conventional methods. The pins are independently heated to faster heat them up. The pin holes in the cured article are small enough not to affect performance.

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Reducing the curing time of non-uniform rubber articles like tires by using independently heatable pins inside the mold to provide targeted additional heat to specific areas that require more cure. The pins protrude into the article during curing and are heated separately from the mold. This allows shorter overall cure times and more uniform cure across the article. The pins are positioned based on analysis of cure requirements to avoid overcuring other areas. The pins leave small apertures in the article surface.

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Segmented annular mold for curing annular or ring treads on vehicle tires that provides improved stability and uniformity of curing pressure around the entire circumference. The mold has radially movable and expandable inner segments for forming the inner surface of the tread and radially movable and contracting outer segments for forming the outer tread surface. The mold parting line between the inner and outer segments is radially outward of the midpoint of the tire belt structure. This allows the inner and outer segments to move independently and interlock to form a ring, preventing distortion and ensuring uniform curing pressure around the tread circumference.

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Rubber compositions for tires and tire treads with improved vulcanization kinetics, using a specific silane compound as a coupling agent between the inorganic filler and the elastomer. The silane compound is a bis-alkoxysilane tetrasulfide with an average of 3-5 sulfur atoms in the side chains. This modified silane improves the curing speed of tires filled with reinforcing inorganic fillers like silica, compared to traditional silane couplers. The faster cure time enables faster tire manufacturing without sacrificing tire performance.

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Improving the processability and vulcanization of silica-filled rubber compounds using a mixture of silanes as processing aids. The mixture includes bis3-(triethoxysilyl)propyltetrasulfide (Si69), an alkylalkoxysilane, and a cure agent. Adding these silane compounds in small amounts (less than 1% based on the silica filler) to the rubber compound improves mixing and vulcanization properties of silica-filled rubber stocks. This enables better processing of silica-filled rubber compounds, especially during mixing, which is important for applications like tire manufacturing.

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Borate compounds for improving processing and properties of rubber compositions, especially tire treads. The borate compounds have a general formula (I) or (II): Borate compound: (I) R1R2R3B(OR4)4 or (II) R1R2R3B(OR4)3X Process: Mixing a rubber composition containing the borate compound followed by vulcanizing at 140-190°C. The borate improves processing and properties compared to the same rubber without the borate. The borate compounds have R1, R2, R3 = H or alkyl, R4 = alkoxy or cycloalkoxy, X = H or Cl. The borate improves processability by reducing mixing time and energy, and improves vulcanization by reducing curing time and temperature. It also enh

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