A tire 22 includes a pair of bead portions 66 to be fitted to a rim R. Each bead portion 66 includes a bead 30 having a core 52 and an apex 54. An outer surface 68 of the bead portion 66 includes a seat face 70 and a flange face 72 disposed radially inward and axially outward, respectively, of the bead 30, a heel face 74 disposed between the seat face 70 and the flange face 72, and a plurality of vent lines 78 projecting from the heel face 74 and extending in the circumferential direction. A contour of the heel face 74 is represented by an arc on a cross-section, of the tire 22, taken along a plane including a rotation axis of the tire 22, and a radius Rh of the arc is not less than 8 mm and not greater than 15 mm.

A tire that includes a decorative pattern formed on a surface of a sidewall portion. The decorative pattern is formed such that a plurality of ridges that extend in a tire radial direction are aligned in a tire circumferential direction so as to form gaps. A transverse cross-section of each ridge is tapered so as to gradually reduce a length along the surface such that the greater a distance from the surface is, the less the length along the surface is. The decorative pattern is structured so as to satisfy expressions (1) and (2):
20≤A≤40  (1)
0.15≤C≤0.25  (2)
wherein A represents a taper angle (degree) of the ridge, and C represents a minimum length (mm) of each gap measured along the surface.

The molding element has a plurality of contacting elements delimited by a plurality of grooves and has a molding surface for forming a contact face and a groove forming rib portion for forming the groove. The groove forming rib portion provides a space opening to one of the rib side faces and/or to the rib top face and an insert that is received in the space for forming a portion of the groove and a closing device in the groove. The insert is composed of thin plates stacked with one another. The forming plate assembly also comprises at notched plates of thickness t1, and each notched plate includes a notch for forming a flexible fence, and the notched plate has no area overlapping to the notch in the other notched plated adjacent thereto in sectional view in a direction along which the groove forming rib portion extends.

A mold (20) for curing a tire comprises at least one body, such as a shell (21) or a lining, and at least one insert (22) mounted removably in a housing of the body, the molding surface (23) of the body having a first texture pattern (24), the molding surface (25) of the insert having a marking pattern (26). The molding surface of the insert also has a second texture pattern (27) chosen such that the surface molded by the second texture pattern contrasts with the surface molded by the marking pattern (26), and contrasts barely, if at all, with the surface molded by the first texture pattern (24).

A pneumatic tire includes a tread portion and a pair of sidewall portions extending inward in a tire radial direction from both edges of the tread portion. At least one of the sidewall portions is provided with a vent line and a recessed portion adjacent to each other in the tire radial direction. The vent line protrudes from a sidewall outer surface and extends in a tire circumferential direction. The recessed portion is recessed from the sidewall outer surface at a first depth. A serration pattern, in which a plurality of ridges extending in the tire radial direction are arranged in the tire circumferential direction, is formed in the recessed portion. Each of heights of the ridges is smaller than the first depth.

A mold (20) for vulcanizing tires comprises an upper part (24) and a lower part (26), the upper part and the lower part being able to move axially between an open position and a closed position in which the lower part and the upper part meet along a joint line (31). A mold part (24, 26) has at least one sipe blade (50), all or some of the sipe blades extending substantially axially or helically on the radially internal surface (30) of the mold, all or some of the sipe blades being: contiguous at one of their ends with a protruding element (46) and contiguous at the other of their ends with a recessed element (44) or with the other part of the mold, and able to move relative to the tire in the wake of the protruding element (46), during opening of the mold.

A tire mold comprises sector molds for forming a tread portion of a tire and mold pins provided on the sector molds for forming insertion holes in the tread portion. The insertion holes each comprise a first hole portion with a first inner diameter where a body portion of a stud pin is disposed and a second hole portion with a second inner diameter greater than the first inner diameter where a bottom flange portion of the stud pin is disposed. The mold pins each comprise a trunk portion with a first outer diameter for forming the first hole portion and a tip portion with a second outer diameter greater than the first outer diameter for forming the second hole portion.

Method for curing a tyre during which a green tyre is pressed against the lining of a curing mould provided with a venting device, the moulding surface of said lining forming protrusions that define cavities, the venting device comprising vents that pass through the lining, one cavity being divided into chambers by a protrusion in the form of a blade (26), each cavity closing on one or more vents, at least one of said chambers not closing on a vent, at least one duct (42) passing through the blade (26) so that the chamber(s) that does/do not close on a vent communicate(s) through the duct with a chamber that does close on a vent.

According to the invention, the cross-section of the duct (42) has an area of between 0.0001 mm.sup.2 and 0.25 mm.sup.2 and, more preferably, 0.01 mm.sup.2 and 0.1 mm.sup.2.

A method for producing a molding tool (5) of a vulcanization device for the molding vulcanization of a vehicle tire (1), wherein the molding tool (5) has a negative contrast structure (6) on a molding surface of the molding tool (5), with the following steps: a) providing the molding tool (5) having the molding surface for the stamping of a surface (2, 3) of a vehicle tire (1) in a molding manner in the course of the vulcanization of the tire by means of the vulcanization device, b) creating a first surface structure (9) of first depressions (10) by means of a machining process, wherein the first surface structure (9) extends at least over a surface region (7) of the molding surface, c) creating a second surface structure (11) of second depressions (12) by means of laser engraving, wherein the second structure (11) extends at least over the surface region (7) and wherein the first surface structure (9) and the second surface structure (11) together form the negative contrast structure (6) in the surface region (7).

A mould comprising a first and a second half-part (15a, 15b) that are mutually side-by-side along a geometric centring axis (X) in order to define a moulding cavity (16). An internal wall (16a) of the moulding cavity (16) has a first and a second series of slots (17a, 17b) having the respective axially outer terminal portions (19a) respectively in the first and in the second half-part (15a, 15b). The slots (17a, 17b) respectively belonging to the first and second series are circumferentially offset from each other and have respective axially inner terminal portion (20a, 20b) in proximity to an intermediate reference plane (P). A junction line (22) between the first half-part (15a) and the second half-part (15b) has an undulating progression astride the intermediate reference plane (P), to form alternatively arranged crests (23), each intersecting the axially inner terminal portion (20a, 20b) of one of the slots (17a, 17b).