Conventionally, pneumatic rubber vehicle tires are produced by molding and curing a green, or uncured and unshaped, tire in a molding press in which the green tire is pressed outwardly against a mold surface by means of an inner fluid expandable bladder. By this method the green tire is shaped against the outer mold surface which defines the tire's tread pattern and configuration of sidewalls. By application of heat the tire is cured. Generally, the bladder is expanded by internal pressure provided by a fluid such as hot gas, hot water and/or steam which also participates in the transfer of heat for curing or vulcanization purposes. The tire is then allowed to cool somewhat in the mold, sometimes aided by adding cold or cooler water to the bladder. Then the mold is opened, the bladder collapsed by removal of its internal fluid pressure and the tire removed from the tire mold. Such use of the tire curing bladders is well known to those having skill in such art.
It is recognized that there is a substantial relative movement between the outer contacting surface of the bladder and the inner surface of the tire during the expansion phase of the bladder prior to fully curing the tire. Likewise there is also a considerable relative movement between the outer contacting surface of the bladder and the cured inner surface of the tire after the tire has been molded and vulcanized during the collapse and the stripping of the bladder from the tire.
Unless adequate lubrication is provided between the bladder and the inner surface of the tire there is typically a tendency for the bladder to buckle, resulting in a misshaping of the tire in the mold and also excessive wear and roughening of the bladder surface itself. Also, the bladder surface can tend to stick to a tire's inner surface after the tire is cured and during the bladder collapsing part of the tire cure cycle. Further, air bubbles can potentially become trapped between the bladder and the tire surfaces and promote tire vulcanizing defects due to lack of adequate heat transfer.
For this reason, it is a conventional practice to precoat the inner surface of the green or uncured tire with a lubricant in order to provide lubricity between the outer bladder surface and inner tire surface during the tire shaping and molding operation. Sometimes the lubricant has been called a lining cement. Conventionally, the inner surface of the green tire, which is typically a rubber gum stock, is simply spray-coated in a confined, ventilated, spray booth, with a lubricant which might, for example, be based upon a silicone polymer. Other additives may also conventionally be utilized in the lubricant composition such as mica, polymeric polyols, cellulose ethers, clay such as bentonite clay and the like. Some lubricants are solvent based and some are water based. Often aqueous soap solutions are utilized. Many lubricant compositions have been taught in the art for such purposes.
However, a conventional practice of spray-coating the inner surface of the green tire with a lubricant composition can result in a relatively high labor intensive operation which can add appreciably to the cost of producing the tire. The tire must be transported to and from the spray booth and time must be allowed for the spray-lubricant coat to dry. Therefore, it is desired to provide an enhanced lubrication system as a composition and use therefore for molding or shaping and curing of green tires.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds