Patent ID: 8603377

Claim:
A method for recapping a tire carcass with a polyurethane tread comprising the steps of, inspecting the tire carcass for suitability for recapping; cleaning said tire carcass and re-inspecting it for suitability for recapping; removing a tread of said tire carcass above a belt of said tire carcass and again inspecting the tire carcass for suitability for recapping; first coating a prepared tread area of said tire carcass with a primer that is allowed to dry and then applying an adhesive to said prepared tread area, where said primer and adhesive are selected to be compatible and, when cured together for approximately two (2) hours at a temperature of approximately two hundred twenty five (225) degrees F., will permanently bond said tire carcass tread area to a mixture of selected polyurethane material constituents directed into a mold containing said tire carcass; said mold is cylindrical, has a center cavity to receive said tire carcass and is open adjacent to a side of said tire carcass, to receive said tire carcass between bottom and top rings that each include opposing equal spaced segments that extend across said tire carcass prepared tread area to provide a retreaded portion of the tire with spaced grooves separated by a center ridge; and positioning a spreader cone having a lower end edge that is positioned onto said tire carcass side wall, adjacent to the tire prepared tread area, and turning said spreader cone and said mold together, with an outer surface of said spreader cone sloped such that a flow of polyurethane materials passed from a nozzle will form and flow as a sheet down said spreader cone outer surface and across said spreader cone edge into said mold cavity, to travel across said tire carcass tread area and fill said mold cavity from bottom to top, forcing air from said mold cavity ahead of said flow of polyurethane materials, providing a recapped tread to said tire carcass tread area.