Tire with spliced multilayered film innerliner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016303907-A1
Application number	US-201514687970-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 16, 2015
Priority date	Apr 16, 2015
Publication date	Oct 20, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire having a multilayered film innerliner with rubber reinforced spliced overlapping ends.

First claim

What is claimed:

1 . A pneumatic tire is provided having an innerliner comprised of a multilayered innerliner film covering at least a portion of the tire carcass's inner surface in a circumferential direction;
wherein said multilayered innerliner film contains an RFL adhesive coating on both of its sides and is comprised of from 2 through 7 layers, wherein the multilayered innerliner film has a film modulus in a range of from about 11 to about 20 MPa, wherein the film modulus of each of the layers of the multilayered film successively increases from its innermost layer adjacent to the tire rubber carcass, through its RFL coating, to and including its outermost layer by least one MPa, wherein said multilayered film has its two end portions overlapping each other to form a splice comprised of an inner first end portion adjacent to the tire rubber carcass and an outer second end portion adjacent to the internal air cavity of the pneumatic tire; wherein said innerliner film splice is comprised of: (A) the overlapping inner first and outer second end portions of said innerliner film bonded through a first rubber strip positioned therebetween, wherein said first rubber strip extends circumferentially beyond said splice on the inner surface of the innerliner film to further bond a combination of a surface of said inner end portion of the innerliner film, said inner surface of the innerliner film and said tire rubber carcass, and (B) a second rubber strip abridging and bonded to the a surface of said outer second end portion of the innerliner film and outer surface of said innerliner film adjacent to the internal air cavity of said pneumatic tire; wherein the layers of said innerliner film are comprised of:
(1) from about 40 to about 85 weight percent of a thermoplastic polyamide-based polymer (or resin), which may be comprised of, for example, a copolymer of a diamine and dicarboxylic acid, and
(2) a range of from about 15 to about 60 weight percent of a dispersion contained in said thermoplastic polyamide-based polymer comprised of at least one of:
(a) copolymer or mixture comprised of a polyamide-based segment and a polyether-based segment, and
(b) polymer comprised of at least one of polyalkylene glycol (e.g. at least one of polyethyleneglycol, polypropyleneglycol and polytetramethylene glycol), polyoxyalkylene diamine (e.g. at least one of polyoxyethylene diamine, polyoxypropylene diamine and polyoxytetramethylene diamine) and copolymers thereof;

wherein the concentration of said dispersion contained in said thermoplastic polyamide based polymer of the individual layers of said multilayered innerliner film is increased by at least five (5) percent for each successive layer extending from the aforesaid inner layer to and including the outermost film layer of the multilayered innerliner film.

2 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the said dispersion contained in the thermoplastic polymer is in a form of domains thereof dispersed in said thermoplastic polyamide-based polymer.

3 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the innermost layer of said innerliner film adjacent to the tire rubber tire carcass, through the RFL coating on said film, has a film modulus in a range of form about 10 to about 18 MPa, the outer layer of said innerliner film has a film modulus in a range of from about 13 to about 24 MPa, and intermediate film layers therebetween have a film modulus increasing by at least about one MPa for each successive layer extending from the aforesaid inner layer to and including the outermost film layer of the multilayered innerliner film.

4 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the first and second rubber strips are comprised of at least one sulfur curable diene-based elastomer comprised of at least one polymer at least one of isoprene and 1,3-butadiene and of styrene with at least one of isoprene and 1,3-butadiene, wherein said elastomer is exclusive of a copolymer of isobutylene and diene hydrocarbon.

5 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the location of innerliner film splice is spaced apart from any tire rubber carcass ply splice.

6 . The tire of claim 1 wherein tire rubber carcass is comprised of a sulfur curable diene-based elastomer comprised of at least one polymer of at least one of isoprene and of 1,3-butadiene and of styrene with at least one of isoprene and 1,3-butadiene, exclusive of a copolymer of isobutylene and diene hydrocarbon.

7 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic diamine-based polymer of the innerliner film is a copolymer of diamine and dicarboxylic acid comprised of at least one of nylon 6, nylon 6-6, nylon 4,6, nylon 11, nylon 12, nylon 6,10 and nylon 6,12.

8 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic diamine-based polymer of the innerliner film is comprised of at least one of polycaprolactam (nylon 6) and copolymer of hexamethylenediame and adipic acid (nylon 6-6) and said dispersed copolymer is comprised of a polyamide segment and a polyether-based segment.

9 . The tire of claim 1 wherein said RFL adhesive is comprised of a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin/styrene-butadiene vinylpyridine latex optionally containing a styrene-butadiene rubber latex, and optionally containing a blocked isocyanate.

10 . A method of preparing a pneumatic tire containing a multilayered innerliner film on its inner surface;
wherein said innerliner film contains an RFL adhesive coating on both of its sides and is comprised of from 2 through 7 layers, wherein said method comprises: (A) applying a rubber strip (referred to herein as a second rubber strip) onto and in line with the axis of a cylindrical tire building drum, (B) applying and adhering a first end portion of the multilayered tire innerliner film, containing first and second end portions thereof, onto said second rubber strip on said tire building drum, wherein said second rubber strip extends along the width (the axial width) of the innerliner film, (C) applying a rubber strip (referred to herein as a first rubber strip) onto said first end portion of said multilayered innerliner film in line with and opposite to said second rubber strip and on an opposite side of the first end portion of the innerliner film, wherein the first rubber strip extends the width (the axial width) of the multilayered innerliner film, (D) wrapping said multilayered innerliner film in a circumferential direction around said cylindrical tire building drum to align a second end portion of the multilayered innerliner film in an overlapping relationship with said first rubber strip therebetween to form an innerliner splice, (E) building a tire carcass rubber ply in a circumferential direction around and onto said innerliner film splice with the ends of the carcass rubber ply overlapping each other to form a carcass ply splice positioned at a location spaced apart from the location of the innerliner film splice followed by building the remainder of the tire components over the carcass ply to form a pneumatic tire having an internal air cavity; wherein said first rubber strip extends in a circumferential direction beyond said innerliner splice on the surface of the multilayered innerliner film to further bond a combination of a surface of said inner end portion of the multilayered innerliner film, said innerliner film and said tire rubber carcass; wherein said second rubber strip abridges and is bonded to said outer second end portion of the multilayered innerliner film and said multilayered innerliner film adjacent to the internal air cavity of said pneumatic tire; wherein said film layers of the multilayered innerliner film are comprised of from about 40 to about 85 weight percent of a thermoplastic polyamide-based polymer (or resin), which may be, for example

Assignees

• Goodyear Tire & Rubber

Inventors

• Lee Byoung Jo
• Dunker Philip Alan
• Brainerd Ii John Fleming

Classifications

• B32B25/08

  of synthetic resin · CPC title

• B32B27/34

  comprising polyamides · CPC title

• B29D30/08

  Building tyres · CPC title

• B32B2307/51

  Elastic · CPC title

• B60C2005/145

  made of laminated layers · CPC title