| Cured applique or label with protective film on arcuate sidewall or tread of pneumatic tire -> Monitor Keywords |
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  Cured applique or label with protective film on arcuate sidewall or tread of pneumatic tireUSPTO Application #: 20060016543Title: Cured applique or label with protective film on arcuate sidewall or tread of pneumatic tire Abstract: An applique having a vulcanizable adhesive layer is co-cured on a rubber article by precuring the applique of predominantly pale natural rubber optionally imprinted with a bar code; coating the upper surface of the applique with a protective self-supporting film of polyamide less than 0.050 mm (2 mils) thick, or a non-self-supporting film of polyurethane less than 25.4 μm, 0.0254 mm (1 mil) thick; adhering the applique to the article at a chosen location; curing the article in a curing mold; and, removing a cured article from the mold with the protective film adhering to the surface of the applique, the surface of which is essentially free from visually observable cracks. The hot flow of rubber in the curing mold does not substantially change the location of the applique which is embedded in the article. If the film does not remain adhered to a cured tire and drops into the mold, it is difficult to retrieve and, when a subsequent article is cured in the same mold, results in a scrap tire. (end of abstract) Agent: Alfred D. Lobo & Co., L.p.a. - Cleveland, OH, US Inventors: Ramendra Nath Majumdar, Lewis Timothy Lukich, Marvin Wayne Tipton USPTO Applicaton #: 20060016543 - Class: 156110100 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Adhesive Bonding And Miscellaneous Chemical Manufacture, Methods, Surface Bonding And/or Assembly Therefor, Making Flexible Or Resilient Toroidal Shape; E.g., Tire, Inner Tube, Etc. The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060016543. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD [0001] This invention relates to a rubber applique such as a decorative design, identifying label or machine readable bar code on a label ("bar code label"), non-removably incorporated into either the exterior arcuate convex surface of a rubber sidewall of a pneumatic tire with a tread having a road-contacting surface of lugs and valleys, or in the tread's "footprint", which tire is removed from a curing mold with a protective film firmly adhered to the surface of the applique. The applique is substantially laminar and pale in color, the pale color being visually distinct from and in contrast to black, which is the usual color of the tire's sidewall and tread. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Sidewalls of tires are routinely marked for a variety of reasons among which are identification of the manufacturer and brand of the tire with a distinctive "logo", optionally printed with a bar code, or a bar code label, each of which is a relatively small laminar piece of rubber having a width, in the radial direction, substantially smaller than the width (radial) of the sidewall, applied to the sidewall just before the tire is cured in a mold in a curing press. Not so routinely marked in such a manner are treads on a cured tire, and when so marked they are typically provided with a plastic or paper bar code label adhesively secured to the tread after the tire is cured, mainly for inventory purposes. [0003] It is essential that the entire applique be clearly visible after the tire is cured. In particular, it is essential that the surface of the printed bar code, whether on a label or on a logo, be protected as if it never was in contact with release agent sprayed on the inner surface of the mold ("tire paint"). A preferred tire paint currently in use is an aqueous paint formulated to provide necessary adhesion and air bleed to minimize trapped air, for "tread-over-sidewall" tire construction. The surface of the twice-cured uncontaminated applique, whether from black tire paint or contaminants from the sidewall's black rubber, is referred to as a "virgin surface" and it may be printable; when printed, the printed matter is thermally stable at a temperature at which the tire is cured. By "thermally stable" is meant that there is essentially no degradation of the substrate which is printed. [0004] To date, numerous attempts have been made to provide a virgin surface on a white or lightly colored applique co-cured with the "green" tire, without the applique cracking or deforming so as to be illegible. In particular, it is essential that (i) a printed legend on the applique be legible over the entire operating life of the tire, and (ii) the applique is cannot be removed without destroying it. This is a difficult challenge on a black side-wall which flexes greatly; it is a more difficult challenge on a tread which is formed by plentiful flow of hot rubber forming lugs and valleys in the tread during cure. Applique (Bar Code Label) on Sidewall: [0005] The most effective method of providing an applique embedded in the sidewall comprises curing a cured rubber bar code label adjacent the bead of the tire, this being a location subjected to minimal expansion during cure. By "embedded" is meant that the surface of the applique is coplanar with the surface of the contiguous rubber. When the applique is a typical label with a bar code of black vertical variably spaced-apart lines of varying thickness, the spaces between the lines being white or pale, the bar code label is positioned with its longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the periphery of the bead to minimize distortion of the bar code due to multiaxial expansion of the sidewall forming an arcuate convex surface during cure. The bar code in a "near-bead location" cannot be read because the vertical lines and spaces are obscured by the periphery of the rim of the wheel on which the tire is mounted. This inability results from the typical bar code label being relatively small, usually a rectangular label no greater than about 2.5 cm wide and 5 cm long, and the flange of the wheel near the rim being about as wide as the bar code. Applique (Bar Code Label) on Tread: [0006] A bar code label on the tread of a tire allows it to be identified even when the tread carrying the bar code is in the middle of a vertical stack of tires. To this end, at present, a paper or plastic bar code label is adhesively secured on the surface of a lug of the tread anywhere near the center (circumferential), that is, in the footprint of the tire, but only after the tire is cured, so that the label is not embedded in the cured rubber. It is impractical to adhesively secure the label to the surface of a valley between lugs. Though the function of such a paper or plastic bar code is temporary, it must be kept in mind that its sole function is to identify the tire before it is installed. When the tire has been installed, the imminent destruction of the temporary bar code when the tread contacts the road is of no concern. Despite this limited function of the bar code, it often fails to fulfil its function because the adhesively secured bar code label is dislodged when the tire is handled as it is moved from one location to another. [0007] It is now deemed essential that a manufacturer be able to identify its tires even after their tires have been in service for an extended period, preferably over the life of the tire. [0008] To read the bar code on a label in the worn tread, it is critical that the label survive in the groove or valley between worn lugs. To date, there is no method for non-removably co-curing a machine-legible bar code label to embed it in a groove between lugs in a tread. Moreover, since retailers of tires sell tires made by several different manufacturers, it is envisioned that a logo (e.g. a blimp) along with a bar code label will be co-cured in the footprint of the tread of each brand of tires made by competitors in the marketplace so as to make each competitor's tires visually more readily identifiable than by reading the brand name on the sidewall only. A titania-filled white or pale colored logo is easily seen even from a distance. [0009] It is readily apparent that the surface of an essentially fully cured white or pale colored rubber label on a green tread in which the lugs and valleys are yet to be molded, will be easily stained when the label is contorted with hot tread rubber flowing around it in a curing mold. Moreover, unless a rubber bar code label has the appropriate modulus, it is prone to cracking when cured, thus giving an inaccurate reading of the bar code. Staining due to staining ingredients migrating from the cured tread rubber is a particularly serious problem. Typical staining ingredients include aromatic oils, antiozonants such as paraphenylenediamine, carbon black, processing aids, chemicals in a curing package, other oils and coupling agents, which either individually or in combination, one with another, generate compounds which migrate into the applique. Staining sufficient to cause an error of 5% or more when the imprinted code is read is unacceptable; moreover substantially error-free reading, that is, better than 95% accuracy, is required over a period of at least six months after an imprinted bar code label is cured onto a tire. Such staining is exacerbated by an applique which is porous or which develops microscopic cracks. Therefore it is essential that the modulus of the cured pale rubber substantially match the modulus of the rubber article being cured, so as to conform in the mold without cracking. By "substantially match" is meant that the modulus of the applique is closer than .+-.100% that of the rubber in which it is secured (before curing the tire) or embedded (after curing the tire), preferably closer than .+-.50% not only after both, applique and are co-cured, but also before, that is, on the portion of the green carcass on which the applique is to be adhered. [0010] As taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,101 to Hinks et al, the most successfully read bar codes on a tire are those provided by even and uneven surface portions, that is, linear troughs and ridges molded into the surface of the tire, which uneven portions selectively reflect light from a light source in a scanner. Such molded bar codes are referred to as "bumpy" bar codes. By "successfully read" is meant that less than 5% of the bar codes on various tires, irrespective of size, are incorrectly read either before the green tire is cured, or after it is cured; that is, bar code labels on more than 95% of all cured tires with embedded bar code labels are correctly readable by a bar code scanner. This limitation is critical as a manufacturer cannot tolerate a higher misreading of bar codes. Such bumpy bar codes avoid the problems inherent in using a protective Mylar.RTM. polyester film, and recovering the film from within the mold when the film becomes dislodged after the tire is cured. A small piece of film, covered with tire paint and dropped in a mold covered with tire paint, is difficult to find; if not found, a tire cured in the mold with the piece of film somewhere on the tire, will be scrap. However, a commercially available scanner to read such bar codes, referred to as "bumpy" bar codes, is too expensive for general use and is difficult to maintain in satisfactory operating condition. The Multi-Faceted Problem: [0011] To co-cure a cured applique on the arcuate convex surface of a sidewall of a green tire such that the innermost portion of the applique is radially spaced-apart from the bead of the tire, preferably at least 2.5 cm away; and, when the tire is mounted on a wheel, the applique is to be spaced-apart preferably at least 1 cm from the periphery of the rim, so that the applique is essentially permanently embedded in the cured sidewall, that is, the upper surface of the applique is coplanar with the surface of the contiguous rubber, and the applique is non-removable without destroying it; and firmly self-adhesively adhered to the applique's exposed surface is a flexible protective polymeric film; provided, particularly, that a zone near the applique's interior surface, in combination with the vulcanizable adhesive in contact with the black sidewall, is substantially impermeable to staining ingredients migrating from the rubber sidewall, that is, the applique is not stained when the tire is cured. Since the applique is to be thin, less than 1 mm thick, and a bar code imprinted on it is to be successfully read over a period of at least six months, preferably over the life of the tire, a zone within the applique near its lower surface is to function as a barrier against antiozonants and aromatic oils in the carcass. Therefore the applique is to be filled with enough of a pale, preferably white, inert particulate material such as titanium dioxide, to provide a legible bar code and to help minimize staining, but not so much as to interfere with providing a substantial match of moduli. [0012] Since a long period of time may elapse before a tire is cured, and again, also before a cured tire is further processed through warehouses and eventually sold, it is essential that, after the tire is cured, the protective film remain secured to the "virgin" or printed surface of the applique sufficiently well that, if the film is removable, a force of at least 10 Newtons, preferably more than 30 Newtons but less than will tear the film, is required to remove the protective film. [0013] Further, to co-cure a small, substantially fully pre-cured, bar code label which is machine-readable despite the cured label being on a tire which has been expanded in a curing press, without cracking the label and without any visually observable distortion so that incidence of failure to read the bar code is less than 5%, preferably less than 2%, and most preferably less than 1%; and to locate the bar code label in the sidewall, or on a lug and/or in the valley between lugs of the tread. [0014] Still further, to maintain the protective synthetic resinous film, either self-supporting or non-self-supporting, adhering to the applique's surface without an adhesive, and uniformly covering it so as to be effective against contamination by tire paint which coats the cured applique during curing of the tire, and against ambient contaminants and hazards after the tire is cured; and if the protective film is removable, and it is desired to remove the protective film, then it should be removable integrally, that is, without tearing into pieces. By "non-self-supporting" is meant that the film requires a supporting surface to maintain its integrity. Addressing the Problem: [0015] An attempt to solve a portion of the foregoing problem is found in European Patent Application 0 249 918 A2, filed in 1986 by Georg Bohm who recognized that "precure provides integrity and definition to the applique while the curing operation allows for complete and total bonding of the applique to the tire." (see Abstract). He states that "the applique bonds or fuses without distortion of the applique to the green tire by cure or vulcanization within the press, . . . " (see pg 3, right hand col, lines 24-26); thereafter he states " . . . the applique may be substantially totally cured prior to the molding and curing operation" (see pg 4, left hand col, lines 37-39) and "Where the applique 14 is partially precured, form stability is such to (sic) accommodate the use of appliques 0.020-0.060 inch thick without perceptible distortion and without compromising adhesion to the tire. Where fully cured, the applique is preferably adhered to the tire by an appropriate adhesive." (see pg 4, left hand col, lines 49-55). [0016] Bohm uses a substrate 12 from which the applique is transferred to the sidewall; he discloses that the substrate is "an annular ring constructed of metal such as aluminum or steel having good heat conductive characteristics. It has also been found that certain plastics or polymeric materials such as fiber reinforced plastics are suitable for the substrate construction . . . of sufficient thickness to provide a degree of rigidity to the annular ring . . . " Though it is clear that the annular ring provides a protective barrier layer against contamination by a tire paint used on the inner surface of the tire mold, he fails to specify the composition of polymeric materials which are to provide the same function and yet be removable after surviving curing of the tire without tearing; nor does he provide any data for the rubber composition of the applique, which composition must expand with the expanding tire as they are co-cured, or resist expansion without itself being dislodged, if the applique is to be distortion-free; nor does he provide data to support the statements about the purported freedom from distortion. [0017] U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,397 to Koops et al teaches a light-colored base layer of co-curable rubber which is laser-inscribable, and "The base layer can have a transparent protective covering, preferably of polyester, polyamide, perfluorinated polymers or polyimide, if the film also passes through the label vulcanization process together with the corresponding rubber part in order to protect against any soiling of the base layer. Depending on the application of the label, subsequent removal of the protective film is possible." (see col 3, lines 11-18). The drawing (FIG. 1) illustrates a protective film of polyester; the illustrative examples 1 and 2 use protective films of polyethylene and poly(ethylene naphthalate) "PEN" respectively, and claim 10 refers to "polyolefins". [0018] To prevent contamination by ingredients in the black sidewall, the '397 base layer is enveloped on three sides by a barrier layer which is chosen from a polyamide or vapor-deposited aluminum coating, or a film of polyvinylidene chloride or silicon oxide. In example 1, the base layer is partially pre-crosslinked (the degree is unspecified) and enveloped in a barrier layer of ethanolic polyamide. Continue reading... Full patent description for Cured applique or label with protective film on arcuate sidewall or tread of pneumatic tire Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Cured applique or label with protective film on arcuate sidewall or tread of pneumatic tire patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. 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