Apparatus for use in tire retreading

Claim 1

Tire retreading apparatus for use in association with a tire assembly including a rim-mounted tire having thereon a replacement tread strip to be permanently bonded to the tire within a heated pressure chamber, comprising: a first flexible impervious shroud member having a central portion extending in overlying encircling relationship to the tread strip upon the tire, and having opposite marginal edge portions extending in overlying adjacent relationship to respective opposite sidewalls of the tire; first venting means upon said central portion of said shroud member for venting air entrapped between said shroud member and said tread strip encircled thereby; a second flexible impervious shroud member having a central portion extending in overlying encircling relationship to the tire-mounting rim and to the juncture thereof with the beads of the tire of the assembly, said second shroud member having opposite marginal edge portions extending in overlying adjacent relationship to respective opposite sidewalls of the tire and in contigious relationship to opposite ones of said marginal edge portions of said first-mentioned shroud member; first and second disc-like members disposed in laterally spaced and substantially parallel relationship to each other adjacent opposite sidewalls of the tire for movement toward and away from each other, movement of said disc-like members toward each other being opposed only by the presence therebetween of the tire assembly; each of said disc-like members including a radially-outermost annular section, a radially-innermost section, and a plurality of circumferentially-spaced spoke-like sections extending generally radially between and rigidly interconnecting said outermost and innermost sections, the areas between said sections of each of said disc-like members being open; said disc-like members extending in substantially co-axial relationship to each other and to the tire and said radially-outermost sections thereof overlying respective ones of said marginal edge portions of said first and second shroud members and respective ones of the tire sidewalls overlaid by said edge portions of said shroud members; second venting means upon said central portion of said second shroud member, said second venting means being accessible through said open areas of said disc-like members, for venting air entrapped between said second shroud member and the components of said assembly encircled thereby; and releasable clamping means extending generally axially through the tire assembly and interconnecting said disc-like members for so forcing said disc-like members toward each other as to create fluid-tight, sealed relationships between said marginal edge portions of said shroud members and the respective ones of the tire sidewalls overlaid thereby; said sealed relationships being created by laterally-directed compressive forces imposed by said outermost sections of said disc-like members upon respective ones of said marginal edge portions of said shroud members and being effective to prohibit passage, during heating of said assembly within said pressure chamber, of air or other fluid between said marginal edge portions of said shroud members and the respective ones of the tire sidewalls overlaid thereby.