Patent ID: 7118702
Filing Date: 2006-10-10
Classification: B29C,B29D,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A mold for a tire tread, comprising: a laminated peripheral crown for molding an exterior of the tire tread, at least a portion of said laminated peripheral crown comprising a stack, in a circumferential direction, of a plurality of molding elements each having a radially internal edge and a radially external edge, said radially internal edge having a profile for molding a pattern on said tire tread, wherein said molding elements are oriented substantially radially, wherein for a group of adjacent molding elements from among said plurality of molding elements, each molding element of said group comprises a partial cutout, the partial cutout of at least one of the molding elements of said group opens to the radially internal edge and extends only a portion of the distance between the radially internal edge and the radially external edge of the at least one of the molding elements, wherein said each molding element does not have a venting channel connecting the radially internal edge and the radially external edge of said each molding element with each other, and wherein the partial cutouts in all molding elements of said group are in communication with each other to cooperate together to form a venting channel extending entirely through said laminated peripheral crown to connect the interior of the mold to the outside of the mold, the partial cutout in each molding element of said group defining only a section of said venting channel.