A tire vulcanizing mold is disclosed capable of accurately providing a clearance, from which air existing between a green tire and a side mold is released, on a side shaping surface and thereby preventing shaping defect. The tire vulcanizing mold includes an upper and lower pair of side molds having side shaping surfaces, each of which shapes a sidewall of a tire. Each of the side molds includes a side mold main body, plural pieces, and a clearance provided between the side mold main body and each of the pieces. The side mold main body includes plural recesses, each of which is closed in a tire circumferential direction and a tire radial direction and is opened to a side shaping surface, at spaced intervals in the tire circumferential direction. Each of the pieces is fitted into the recess and forms the side shaping surface with the side mold main body.

A method for manufacturing an aluminium mould (1) segment (10) for curing and vulcanizing a tyre: a) fixing at least one thin blade (2) for the formation of the grooves in the tire tread, in a mould form made of friable material, so that an exterior part of the thin blade is embedded in the material of the mould form and so that an interior part projects from this mould form, this thin blade being made from maraging steel and having been obtained by a selective laser melting method, b) closing the mould form and pouring or injecting aluminium into it, coating the interior part of the thin blade, c) breaking away the mould form to obtain the mould segment. The thin blade (2) is subjected to a peening treatment with a material with a Vickers hardness between 340 and 500 HV and with dimensions smaller than 0.3 mm.

The present invention includes tire treads (10) and a method for forming tire treads (10) having a sipe (18) with a length extending between opposing terminal ends of the sipe and having a height and a thickness which is variable across the length and height of the sipe. The thickness of the sipe (18) includes a sipe portion arranged between the opposing terminal ends defining the sipe length and having a thick portion extending at least partially around a perimeter of a thin portion. The thin portion is substantially 0.2 millimeters or less thick and forms at least 40% of the surface area along each of the opposing sides of the sipe, the opposing sides being arranged on opposing sides of the sipe thickness.

Mould for moulding a tread of a tire, this tread having a thickness of material to be worn away and a tread surface intended to come into contact with the road surface when the tire is running, this mould having a moulding surface intended to mould the tread surface of the tread, and having a moulding element formed of a blade and a bar, the blade being attached to the moulding surface to mould a sipe in the tread, the bar, borne by the blade to form an enlarged part of maximum width D, being intended to mould a channel in the tread, this channel itself being intended to form a new groove when the tread becomes part worn. Each blade is delimited by two lateral faces forming between them a mean angle of between 6 degrees and 18. The blade width decreasing from the mould surface when new, as far as the connection with the bar, the blade width meets the bar being at least equal to between 0.2 and 0.4 times the maximum width D.

A pneumatic tyre includes a tread portion being provided with a land portion divided by a main groove extending continuously in a tyre circumferential direction. The land portion is provided with two or more sipes having a width less than 1.5 mm on a ground contacting surface of the land portion and two or more groove elements having a width equal to or more than 1.5 mm on the ground contacting surface. Lengths in a tyre axial direction of the groove elements are equal to or less than 15% of a maximum width in the tyre axial direction of the ground contacting surface of the land portion, and at least one of the sipes is in communication with one of the groove elements.

The disclosure relates to a selective laser sintering method of manufacturing a tread molding element, said tread molding element including at least a fine lamella adapted to mold a shallow sipe in a tire tread, the fine lamella having a length (L2). The fine lamella is sintered in a plurality of portions (p2) at different layers (N), in each layer (N) the laser beam sinters the portion (p2) of the fine lamella in only one passage in the length (L2) of the fine lamella without round-trip passage of the laser beam, the direction (D1) of this passage being the same at the different layers (N) for building the different portions (p2) of the fine lamella. The thickness (w) of the fine lamella is smaller than 0.2 mm, and the height (h) of the fine lamella is smaller than or equal to 2 mm.

A pneumatic tire includes: a lateral groove that includes a groove bottom surface extending in a direction crossing a tire circumferential direction; and a protrusion provided on the groove bottom surface and extending in an extension direction of the groove bottom surface. The protrusion includes: a main body; and a raised portion provided at least at one end portion on one side in a longitudinal direction of the main body, and shaped such that a height of the raised portion from the groove bottom surface increases from an outside to an inside in the longitudinal direction of the main body. The raised portion has at least one vent mark that is a mark of a vent of a tire vulcanization mold.

The present invention is directed to a 3D-printed tire segment model having a tread portion comprising a plurality of grooves, ribs and/or tread blocks, and a plurality of blades extending out of the ribs and/or tread blocks, wherein the tire segment model is made of a 3D-printed polymer. Moreover, the present invention is drawn to a method of making a tire mold segment, including the step of 3D-printing the above tire segment model with a polymer.

The liming element for a tire mould comprises a body 12 delimiting a moulding surface 14 intended to at least partially mould a rolling surface of the tire, at least one injection nozzle 26 arranged on the body and provided with at least one outlet orifice 26a, at least one supply duct extending inside the body and the injection nozzle while being in communication with the said outlet orifice, and at least one shut-off member 30 mobile with respect to the injection nozzle between an outlet orifice closed position and an outlet orifice open position. The body 12, the injection nozzle 26 and the shut-off member 30 are manufactured by the deposition and selective melting of stacked layers of powder.

A set of moulding elements, designed to be inserted into a mould for moulding a tyre, comprises: at least one first moulding element (1) and one second moulding element, each moulding element extending in a main moulding-element direction (EM) between two ends (3) of said moulding element; and an assembly means (4) designed for joining one of the ends (3) of the first moulding element to one of the ends (3) of the second moulding element, said assembly means (4) extending along a main assembly-means axis (MA), the main assembly-means axis (MA) being substantially perpendicular to the main moulding-element axis (EM), and the height (HMA) of the assembly means (4) being at least equal to 30% of the height (HEM) of the moulding element, and preferably at least 50% of the height (HEM) of the moulding element.