The invention relates to a sulfur-crosslinkable rubber mixture, a vulcanizate and a vehicle tire.

The sulfur-crosslinkable rubber mixture contains at least the following constituents: at least one diene rubber and at least one silica and at least one silane having the general empirical formula

[(R.sup.1).sub.oSi—(R.sup.3—).sub.pX—(R.sup.4—).sub.p].sub.mS.sub.n(R.sup.2).sub.2-m,  I)

where X is a radical comprising at least one polar group selected from urethane, amide, ester, amine, thiourea, thioamide,
O-organyl thiocarbamate, S-organyl thiocarbamate, amidine, guanidine,
piperidine, maleic anhydride, sulfonamide, carbonate, imidazoline, thiazolidine, thiazolidinone, pyrrolidine, pyrazole, benzimidazole, indole, purine, thiazine, sulfonate, and phosphonate groups.

Provided are a rubber material supplying method and a rubber material supplying device, whereby a rubber material can be smoothly supplied to a rubber inlet even when the width of the rubber material is greater than the width of the rubber inlet. The rubber material supplying method includes a separation step S1, a processing step S2, and an input step S3. In the separation step S1, a plurality of different cutouts 30 are formed in a leading end section GF of a rubber material G, and the leading end section GF is separated into three or more strip shape sections 31. In the processing step S2, second strip shape sections B, and not first strip shape sections 31A, among the plurality of strip sections 31 are each cut out or folded. In the input step S3, the leading end section GF is input to the rubber inlet 3A from the first strip shape sections 31A.

Provided is a dust stop device for a sealed kneader, the device being capable of excellent supply of lubricating oil. The sealed kneader includes a pair of rotors and a supporting member. The dust stop device includes a rotating ring attached to each rotor and a stationary ring attached to the supporting member. Both the rings have respective contact surfaces which make surface contact with each other. The stationary ring has a lubricating-oil supply portion with a through-hole. A part of the through-hole, the part including a part opened in the contact surface, is a long hole extending along a circumferential direction of rotation of the rotating ring.

The invention is directed to an apparatus for making a finished rubber mixture which includes a reactive additive. The apparatus includes a tandem mixer with an upper machine having an upper mixing chamber and a lower machine having a lower mixing chamber. The lower mixing chamber is larger than the upper mixing chamber and there are rotors disposed in each mixing chamber. Mixture components are introduced into the lower mixing chamber via a loading shaft of a loading unit. The loading unit has at least two metering devices, a cutting or preheating unit connected upstream of a metering device and a first conveyor belt to the loading shaft. All conveyor belts of the apparatus can be switched on and off automatically, such that mixture components weighed in can be held in a “wait position” thereon.

The measured value of a rubber temperature parameter that is related to the temperature of a rubber material to be kneaded by a mixing machine 2 and measured values of correlation parameters that have a correlation with a change in the value of the rubber temperature parameter are acquired. The measured values are assigned to an operational control parameter-calculation model equation, which is modified from a rubber temperature parameter-calculation model equation including operational control parameters and the correlation parameters, and a constant and coefficients of the operational control parameters and the correlation parameters are calculated using a machine learning algorithm. A predetermined operational control parameter, which is required in a case in which the rubber temperature parameter is controlled to a predetermined value, is calculated using an operational control parameter-calculation equation that is specified by the coefficients and the constant calculated using the machine learning algorithm.

A method of continuously manufacturing a cured membrane includes continuously compounding and mixing a vulcanizable rubber composition in a mixing extruder while continuously removing gasses from the vulcanizable rubber composition during mixing with a vacuum. The vulcanizable rubber composition may be continuously extruded to form an extrudate, which may be continuously calendered to form a green membrane. The green membrane may be continuously cured, such as by a hot air conveyor curing system, to form a cured membrane.

The invention relates to a sulfur-crosslinkable rubber mixture comprising a rubber blend composed of at least one solution-polymerized diene polymer A of high molecular weight and at least one solution-polymerized polymer B of low molecular weight, wherein at least one of polymers A and B has been functionalized at the chain end and/or along the polymer chain and/or at a coupling site with at least one group selected from epoxy groups, hydroxyl groups, carboxyl groups, silane sulfide groups, amino groups, siloxane groups, organosilicon groups, phthalocyanine groups and amino group-containing alkoxysilyl groups, 30 to 300 phr of at least one silica and 1 to 150 phr of at least one hydrocarbon resin having a softening point to ASTM E 28 (ring and ball) of 10 to 180° C.

The invention relates to a rubber blend, to a sulfur-crosslinkable rubber mixture comprising the rubber blend and to a vehicle tire comprising such a rubber mixture. The rubber blend comprises at least one solution-polymerized diene polymer A of high molecular weight and at least one solution-polymerized polymer B of low molecular weight,
wherein at least one of polymers A and B has been functionalized at the chain end and/or along the polymer chain and/or at a coupling site with at least one group selected from epoxy groups, hydroxyl groups, carboxyl groups, amino groups, siloxane groups, organosilicon groups, phthalocyanine groups and amino group-containing alkoxysilyl groups.

The extruder includes: a cylinder having a first end portion and a second end portion respectively formed at two ends of the cylinder in an axial direction, and an ejection port formed in the first end portion; a screw including a shaft that is configured to rotate within the cylinder, and a screw blade that is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the shaft; a supplier that is attached to the second end portion side of the cylinder and is configured to supply a kneading target to an inside of the cylinder; and a plurality of protruding members that protrude from an inner wall surface of the cylinder.

Disclosed herein is method for preparing a masterbatch by dispersing chemically modified cellulose nanofibers having carboxy groups under acidic conditions and then mixing the dispersed cellulose nanofibers with rubber latex. More specifically, the present disclosure provides a method for producing a masterbatch, including: (A) a step of introducing a carboxy group to a cellulose-based raw material to prepare a modified cellulose; (B) a step of carrying out defibration treatment and dispersion treatment of the modified cellulose to prepare a cellulose nanofiber; (C) a step of acidifying the cellulose nanofiber to prepare an acid type cellulose nanofiber; and (D) a step of mixing the acid type cellulose nanofiber and a rubber component. The rubber composition having excellent strength such as tensile strength can be provided by using the obtained masterbatch.