Set of molding elements for tire mold

Abstract

A set of molding elements suitable for being inserted into a mold for molding a tire comprises a main strip (1) and at least one secondary strip (2), the secondary strip (2) comprising a first secondary strip portion (3) and a second secondary strip portion (4), the second secondary strip portion (4) extending the first secondary strip portion and the first (3) and second (4) secondary strip portions extending on either side of the main strip (1) and the set of molding elements comprising members to assemble the secondary strip (2) with the main strip (1).

Claims

1. A set of molding elements suitable for being inserted into a mold for molding a tire, the set comprising: a main strip; at least one secondary strip, the secondary strip comprising a first secondary strip portion and a second secondary strip portion, the first and second secondary strip portions extending on either side of the main strip; and an assembly means configured to assemble the at least one secondary strip with the main strip, wherein the assembly means consists of a member, arranged on the main strip, the member comprising at least one anchor lug, capable of engaging with a notch in the at least one secondary strip, and wherein an anchor lug is provided at each end on an edge of the main strip and the notch is provided on a side of the secondary strip, thereby providing a pre-assembly at an extremity of the main strip along the edge.

2. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein the second secondary strip portion extends the first secondary strip portion.

3. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein the at least one secondary strip comprises an intermediate portion between the first and second secondary strip portions.

4. The set of molding elements according to claim 3, wherein the intermediate portion is substantially aligned with the main strip.

5. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein the at least one anchor lug has a height equal to at least 30% of a height of the main strip.

6. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein a width of the at least one anchor lug and a width of the notch are substantially identical.

7. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein each anchor lug has a different height.

8. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein the assembly means is contained within an outline of the main strip and the at least one secondary strip.

9. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein the assembly means is integrally formed with the main strip and the at least one secondary strip.

10. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein the first secondary strip portion and the second secondary strip portion form an angle α other than 180°.

11. The set of molding elements according to claim 1, wherein the first secondary strip portion and the second secondary strip portion form a single strip.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) All of the embodiment details are given in the following description, supplemented by FIGS. 1 to 7, given solely as non-limitative examples, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of another example of an assembled set of moulding elements;

(3) FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the example in FIG. 4 with the main strip and the secondary strip unassembled;

(4) FIG. 4 is a top view of another example of an assembled set of moulding elements, in which the secondary strip comprises an intermediate portion;

(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another example of an assembled set of moulding elements;

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the example in FIG. 5 with the main strip and the secondary strip unassembled;

(7) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a variant embodiment of a main strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(8) In the description below, substantially identical or similar elements are denoted by the same reference signs.

(9) FIGS. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of a set of moulding elements suitable for being inserted into a mould for moulding a tyre. At the time of moulding, the moulding elements make it possible to perform the moulding of indentations in a tread of a tyre.

(10) As shown, the set comprises a main strip 1 and at least one secondary strip 2, for example mounted opposite each other with interposition of the main strip.

(11) The secondary strip 2 is provided in two portions, namely a first secondary strip portion 3 and a second secondary strip portion 4, these two portions extending from each other. The secondary strip is secured to the main strip by assembly means 10 that can take various forms as appropriate.

(12) In the embodiment in FIGS. 1 to 4, the assembly means consist of at least one anchor lug 16 on the main strip and a notch 17 in the secondary strip. In the embodiment shown, two anchor lugs 16 are provided, namely one at each end on the edge 18 of the main strip.

(13) Different variants can be envisaged for the positioning of the corresponding elements lug 16 and notch 17. Among the variants envisaged, provision is made for anchor lugs with different heights.

(14) Preferably, the height of the anchor lug 16 is at least equal to 30% of the height of the main strip. The width of the anchor lug 16 is smaller than the width of the notch 17 in order to facilitate assembly. In a variant, the widths thereof are substantially identical.

(15) In the embodiment in FIG. 4, the secondary strip comprises an intermediate portion 5 between the first and second secondary strip portions. The intermediate portion 5 is arranged so that it runs along the main strip. Such an arrangement makes it possible, for example, to slightly offset the two portions of the secondary strip.

(16) In the embodiment in FIGS. 5 to 7, the assembly means consist of a protuberance 13 on the main strip and an opening 14 at the base of the secondary strip. The height of the opening corresponds to the height of the protuberance. Furthermore, the height of the protuberance is less than 25% of the height of the main strip, and preferably less than 15% than this height.

(17) Different variants can be envisaged for the positioning of the corresponding elements protuberance 13 and opening 14. Among the variants envisaged, the protuberance comprises an outer lip 15. This variant embodiment is shown in FIG. 10.

(18) As can be seen in the figures showing the various embodiments of the invention, the assembly means are designed so that they are contained within the outline of the main strip and the secondary strip, i.e. these means do not protrude from this outline and do not therefore interfere with the moulding zones, for example by creating additional thicknesses on the strips, thus reducing the profiles of the tread designs of the tread.

(19) The moulding elements are manufactured by laser sintering. In a variant, these moulding elements are manufactured by any other manufacturing method, such as casting, machining, or the like.

REFERENCE SIGNS USED IN THE FIGURES

(20) 1 Main strip 2 Secondary strip 3 First secondary strip portion 4 Second secondary strip portion 5 Intermediate portion 10 Assembly means 13 Protuberance 14 Opening 15 Outer lip 16 Anchor lug 17 Notch 18 Edge 20 Moulding zone 21 Anchor zone