Abstract:
A tire insert system for assembly into a continuous ring during its positioning within a tire, and is supported on a wheel web between the wheel flanges where the continuous tire insert ring is mounted to the wheel to support a tire load for a significant travel distance should that tire lose air. The four tire insert segments each include an arcuate shaped outer portion that, when assembled end to end, form the insert ring, and each tire insert segment includes an anchor plate that is an arcuate section when assembled side by side with other anchor plates forms a flat disk having an open center portion, which anchor plate is secured to the tire insert on its top end and includes mounting holes formed in its lower portion for receiving bolt type fasteners fitted therethrough and through forward and rear wheel sections, sandwiching the anchor plates therebetween, forming the tire insert ring in the tire during a mounting of the tire between wheel flanges.
Abstract:
An airless spare tire formed from an elastomeric material, preferably a polyurethane material, that includes an outer tread, like side walls and a closed undersurface, and where the side walls have identical spaced cavities formed therein, each to intersect a center section, and which cavities each have the shape of a parallelogram with rounded corners, and have one long side at a selected angle to a tire radius from the tire center, with their short sides essentially parallel to the tire tread. Which cavities on one side of the tire are offset to those on the other tire side and the angle of the parallelogram shaped cavity long side to a radial is selected to provide for an alignment of side wall sections on one tire side with end or centers of the side wall sections on the other tire side.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for vacuum forming a wheel from a urethane material that includes a mold having a wheel shaped cavity therein that can be empty, or can contain a wheel core. The mold receives a cover fitted in sealing engagement over the mold top and a cylindrical canister is fitted through the center of which cover and the mold center, which canister is open at a top end to receive a pour of mixed urethane material passed therein and which canister includes a needle valve located in its lower end that exhausts into one end of the mold cavity. The cylindrical canister includes a port for connection to a deep vacuum source and the dome shaped cover includes a port that is for connection to a low level vacuum source, with the deep vacuum to remove air from the urethane material as it is being poured into the canister, and with, after filling, the canister port is open to atmosphere and the needle valve is opened to exhaust the mixture into the mold cavity wherethrough it is pulled by the low level vacuum pulled through the cover port, filling the mold cavity, forming the urethane wheel.
Abstract:
A vacuum forming apparatus and process for its use in forming a transport tire from an elastomeric material that includes a mold having a cavity or annular area wherein a transport tire core of plies, belt and beads is laid-up on a mandrel located within the mold. The mold receives a cover fitted in sealing engagement over the mold top and a cylindrical canister is fitted through the center of which cover and the mold center that is open at a top end to receive a pour of an elastomeric material mixture and includes a needle valve in its lower end that exhausts into one end of the mold annular area. The cylindrical canister includes a port for connection to a deep vacuum source and the cover includes a port that is for connection to a low level vacuum source, with the deep vacuum to remove air from the elastomeric material mixture as it is poured into the canister, and with, after filling, the port is open to atmosphere and the needle valve is opened to exhaust the mixture into the mold annular chamber wherethrough it is pulled by the low level vacuum through the cover port, filling the mold annular cavity and thoroughly impregnating the core maintained therein.
Abstract:
A tire insert system for assembly into a continuous ring during its positioning within a tire, and is supported on a wheel web between the wheel flanges where the continuous tire insert ring is mounted to the wheel to support a tire load for a significant travel distance should that tire lose air. The tire insert segments each include an arcuate shaped outer portion that, when assembled end to end with other tire insert segments, form the insert ring, and each tire insert segment includes an anchor plate that is an arcuate section when assembled side by side with other anchor plates forms a flat disk having an open center portion, which anchor plate is secured to the tire insert on its top end and includes mounting holes formed in its lower portion for receiving bolt type fasteners fitted therethrough and through forward and rear wheel sections, sandwiching the anchor plates therebetween, forming the tire insert ring in the tire during a mounting of the tire between wheel flanges.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for forming a core of plies, belts and beads and for positioning the core in a mold for forming an elastomeric tire. The core is built up on a mandrel of the inner mold that is formed from hard foam core segments positioned between top and bottom hub plates, around a center hub that includes flow passages formed therethrough and through the hub plates. Plies for building the core are formed as a woven sleeve for passage along an expander cone and over the mandrel whereon a separator has been positioned, and a bead is passed over each sleeve end that receives a bead centering plate fitted through the sleeve, capturing the bead and positioning it on the mandrel side and provides for folding the plies end over the bead and up each mandrel side. Similarly, a belt or belts, formed as a weave of belt cords, is passed along an expander cone and onto the mandrel crown, with separators positioned between the mandrel, plies and belt or belts, and above a final belt, and a tire core is wound around the crown, from one side to the other.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for forming a core of plies, belts and beads and for positioning the core in a mold for forming an elastomeric tire. The core is built up on a mandrel of the inner mold formed by hard foam core segments that are positioned on a bottom hub plate and around a hub fitted to the center of the bottom hub plate, and with a top hub plate fitted thereover in alignment with flow passages formed therethrough. Plies are first wound on a porous spacer, across the mandrel and the ply ends are folded around a tire bead and back upon themselves. Woven belt segments that form a belt whose cords form an angle of approximately twenty four degrees to the circumference and slope oppositely, are wound over a spacer wrap that has been applied over the plies outer circumference, and tire cord is wrapped over an outer spacer wrap. The inner mold and core are fitted in an outer mold and the assembly positioned in a casting well to receive a flow of an elastomeric material directed therein as the mold is spun up.
Abstract:
An elastomeric tire formed to contain a core of plies, belts and beads in a cavity of a mold. The core is built on a mandrel portion of an inner mold that is for fitting to an outer mold, forming a cavity containing the core that the elastomeric material is passed into. The core includes plies that are wound on a porous spacer, extending across the mandrel crown and plie ends are folded around a tire bead and back upon themselves. Woven belt segments are applied to the plies that are separated by a spacer and are stacked together to form a belt whose cords form an angle of approximately twenty four degrees to the inner mold mandrel circumference and slope oppositely, and a spacer is applied over the belt to receive a tire cord wrapped around the mandrel crown, from one crown side to the other.
Abstract:
A plies sleeve for use in forming a core of plies and beads on a core build mandrel where the plies sleeve is woven as a tubular sleeve having a uniform circumference that will stretch laterally, increasing the sleeve circumference to fit over a top surface or crown of the core build mandrel and is of a length to where each sleeve side will fold down an opposite core build mandrel side, passing around a tire bead, back up the cored build mandrel side and over the top surface or crown edge. Which outward sleeve stretching is provided by a select weave where Rayon cords are spiral wound as vertical components of approximately seven point (7.5) pics per inch, and elastic cords are included as horizontal components of approximately eight (8) pics per inch that are formed as pre-cure elastic cords from a urethane material and are cotton wound, to allow for sleeve stretching and provide for a return of the plies sleeve to its un-stretched state.
Abstract:
An elastomeric tire with arch shaped shoulders for mounting onto a rim that is manufactured by spin casting or molding methods that includes an annular cavity that is centered under the tire tread having equal thicknesses of side walls and an area under the tread whose slope outwardly into shoulder that the side walls upper ends intersect that have greater thickness and which side walls lower ends include beads that are each spaced a selected distance from the surfaces of the side wall ends that slope upwardly from inner to outer surfaces and with the tire preferably including plies that extend across the tire having ends that wrap around the beads and belts fitted around the tire circumference, above the plies, and including porous spacers fitted between the layers of plies and belts to pass a flow of the elastomeric material therethrough during tire formation.