COMPOSITE TREAD WITH STIFFNESS GRADIENT AND METHOD OF MAKING

• Main Authors: ROGENSKI, Elizabeth Amelia, BALDAN, Adam Mark, CHEN, Hongbing, DYRLUND, Christopher David
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 09.11.2022
• Subjects: AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULARARTICLES; INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCESIN A PLASTIC STATE; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; TRANSPORTING; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

A method for forming a composite tread (250) for a tire is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: forming a coextruded strip (210) of a first and second rubber compound, wherein the first rubber compound is a tread rubber compound and the second rubber compound is different from the first rubber compound; and forming the tread (250) from winding the coextruded strip (210) onto a tire building drum (18) or a green tire carcass while varying the ratio of the first compound to the second compound in the coextruded strip (210). Also, a tire having a tread (250) is disclosed. The tread (250) is formed from a preferably continuous spiral winding of a coextruded dual layer strip (210) of a first and second rubber compound, wherein the second rubber compound is different from the first rubber compound, and wherein a portion of the tread (250) has a gradient of the first rubber compound to the second rubber compound.