Patent ID: 6764634
Filing Date: 2004-07-20
Classification: B29C,Y10T

Abstract:
A method of manufacturing a support intended to be mounted on a tire rim of a vehicle, said support having an axis A, a base limited by a cylindrical radially inner face intended to be mounted on said rim, a crown intended to bear the load and a body joining said base to said crown, said base comprising a substantially inextensible circumferential reinforcement, said body containing a plurality of axial recesses in at least one side of said support, said manufacturing process using a mold of axis corresponding to said axis A, and the said mold comprising:an inner core for molding said radially inner face; a crown molding ring comprising at least two component parts radially mobile relative to each other, the said component parts molding a radially outer face of said crown; at least one shell bearing a plurality of axial fingers for laterally molding said body and said recesses; said core, said ring and said shell cooperating in order to define, at least in part, a closed molding cavity for molding said support, the said core, comprising at least two component parts and being capable of taking a molding configuration in which said component parts form a circumferentially continuous molding surface for molding said radially inner face, the molding surface being defined by a reference diameter &phgr; corresponding to the inner diameter of said support, the said core also being capable of taking a mold stripping configuration, defined by an overall length E around said molding surface less than the product of the number &pgr; and reference diameter &phgr;, and said method comprising the following steps:placing a belt containing the said circumferential reinforcement around said core; establishing the molding configuration of said core; closing the mold; forcing an injectable material under pressure into said mold; opening the mold; establishing the mold stripping configuration of said core; removing said molded support; wherein, in a given manufacturing cycle, said belt is introduced in a volume described by the opening motion of said mold before a support molded on a previous manufacturing cycle is removed from said mold.