Patent ID: 6860962

Claim:
A method for improving the adhesion of a textile reinforcing element to an ethylene-propylene-diene rubber compound comprising the steps of: (a) applying an adhesive to said textile reinforcing element, said adhesive comprising: (i) a latex of at least one of a hydrogenated styrene-butadiene rubber, a carboxylated hydrogenated styrene-butadiene rubber, a hydrogenated nitrile-butadiene rubber, a carboxylated hydrogenated nitrile-butadiene rubber and chlorosulfonated polyethylene; and; (ii) an aqueous solution of an isobutyl half-ester of maleinized liquid polybutadiene resin, with the proviso that said adhesive does not contain resorcinol-formaldehyde resin; (b) drying the adhesive-containing textile reinforcing element; (c) heat setting the dried adhesive-containing textile reinforcing element; (d) incorporating the heat set textile reinforcing element into an ethylene-diene rubber compound; (e) forming a reinforced ethylene-propylene-diene rubber article from said ethylene-propylene-diene rubber compound; and (f) curing said reinforced ethylene-propylene-diene rubber article.