Patent ID: 8603274

Claim:
A method of retreading a tire, the method comprising the steps of: removing a worn tread from the tire to expose a radially outer surface of a casing of the tire, the radially outer surface possessing areas of local damage; creating holes and/or craters in the radially outer surface of the casing by skiving the radially outer surface at the areas of local damage; applying liquid cement to the radially outer surface of the casing; filling the holes and/or craters in the radially outer surface of the casing with green rubber; winding a green-rubber cushion and a tread strip about the radially outer surface of the casing; and curing the tire; wherein the step of applying the liquid cement to the radially outer surface of the casing comprises the further steps of: determining, before skiving, a first set of distances between a laser scanner and a set of points on the radially outer surface of the casing; determining, after skiving, a second set of distances between the laser scanner and the set of points on the radially outer surface of the casing; determining the location of the holes and/or craters in the radially outer surface of the casing by comparing the first set of distances with the second set of distances to determine areas of geometrical discontinuities in each of which the compared distances between the radially outer surface and the laser scanner increase after skiving; and applying the liquid cement to the holes and/or craters in the radially outer surface of the casing, by supplying the location of the holes and/or craters to an automatic, electronically controlled applicator.