Patent ID: 7849901

Claim:
An autoclave for curing a tread strip to a tire casing with heated, pressurized air, comprising: an elongated chamber bounded by all interior surface and having a frame for supporting tire casing and tread assemblies within the chamber, wherein the chamber length is greater than the chamber width; a heat source for heating air; a supply duct defined by a wall, the supply duct having an inlet and an outlet located at opposite ends of the chamber length, the supply duct adapted to carry a main flow of circulating air longitudinally from the inlet of the supply duct to the outlet of the supply duct located at the opposite end of the chamber length; an air circulating system for circulating air as a flow through the length of the chamber, past the heat source, and through the supply duct; and a set of air flow turbulence generators comprising one or more air deflectors selected from a fin, a wedge-shaped element, a vane or a flap mounted on the interior surface of a longitudinal middle portion of the chamber relative to the chamber length and disposed between one-fourth and three-fourths of the longitudinal air flow path through the chamber as measured from the outlet of the supply duct to the inlet of the supply duct, to direct a portion of air that is flowing both substantially parallel and adjacent to the interior surface away from the interior surface in a direction disruptive to the main air flow in the chamber.