(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,908,587 B1 Balter Et Al
USOO6908587B1 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,908,587 B1 Balter et al. (45) Date of Patent: Jun. 21, 2005 (54) POST CURE CORRECTION OF TIRE 3,926,704 A 12/1975 Sharp, Jr. UNIFORMITY 3.945,277 A 3/1976 McGehee et al. (75) Inventors: David John Balter, Cuyahoga Falls, (Continued) OH (US); Michael Alois Kolowski, FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS Mogodore, OH (US); Anthony J. Scarpitti,O O Uniontown, OH (US) DE 22596531729614 6/19746/1971 EP O888872 1/1999 (73) Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., EP 1023987 8/2000 Akron, OH (US) Primary Examiner Mathieu. D. Vargot (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Howard M. Cohn patent is extended or adjusted under 35 (57) ABSTRACT U.S.C. 154(b) by 538 days. Method and apparatus for post-cure correction (PCC), either (21) Appl. No.: 09/715,384 partial or Substantial, of various tire nonuniformities which have been detected during a tire manufacturing process by a (22) Filed: Nov. 17, 2000 tire uniformity machine (TUM), preferably testing a tire (51) Int. Cl. ................................................ B29C 71/02 which has been nominally cooled down (i.e., nominally (52) U.S. Cl. ...................... 264/501; 264/401; 264/235; completed curing) after removal from a tire curing mold. 264/346; 425/135; 425/446 The method comprises the Steps of: (1) Selecting the tire (58) Field of Search ................................. 264/501, 502 during a tire manufacturing process after the Selected tire has 264/236, 237, 348, 235,340, 346 401. been rejected by a tire uniformity test due to at least one tire 425/5s.1 13 5 445 446: 73/1 46 uniformity defect; (2) providing 360 degree circumferential s s s s tread restraint which holds the tread in an ideal tread shape, (56) References Cited concentric to the axis of rotation and nominally perpendicu lar to the equatorial plane; (3) Sealingly holding the beads U.S.
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