Tire curing bladder
First Claim
1. An expandable bladder for shaping a pneumatic tire to be mounted inside a tire curing machine, the expandable bladder having a toroidal configuration and comprising a pair of opposing annular beads and an expansion portion located between the pair of annular beads, the expansion portion comprising a central portion, shoulder portions, and sidewall portions, wherein, when the bladder is in a mounted but uninflated mode, the bladder being characterized by:
- at a distance (x) from each end of the central portion, the bladder increases in thickness towards the annular beads.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An expandable bladder for shaping a pneumatic tire to be mounted inside a tire curing press has a pair of opposing annular beads and an expansion portion located between the pair of annular beads. The expansion portion of the bladder has a central portion, shoulder portions, and sidewall portions. When the bladder is in a mounted but uninflated mode, the shoulder portions have a radius of curvature less than infinity. At a distance (x) from each end of the central portion, the bladder has an increased thickness in the shoulder and upper sidewall portions.
-
Citations
9 Claims
-
1. An expandable bladder for shaping a pneumatic tire to be mounted inside a tire curing machine, the expandable bladder having a toroidal configuration and comprising
a pair of opposing annular beads and an expansion portion located between the pair of annular beads, the expansion portion comprising a central portion, shoulder portions, and sidewall portions, wherein, when the bladder is in a mounted but uninflated mode, the bladder being characterized by: at a distance (x) from each end of the central portion, the bladder increases in thickness towards the annular beads. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
Specification