1. Field
The invention relates to the field of tire vulcanization moulds, and more particularly moulds of the segmented type.
2. Description of Related Art
A segmented mould comprises a number of separate parts which are brought together to delimit a quasi-toroidal mould cavity. In particular, a segmented mould has two lateral shells for molding the sidewalls of the tire, and a plurality of peripheral segments located between the shells for molding the tire tread. All these parts are brought together in an appropriate sequence of operations provided by a chosen mechanism. The green tire must be firmly applied and retained against the mould in order to produce a precise architecture and geometric dimensions and form the patterns of the tread.
In order to form the patterns of the tread, the segments of the mould comprise elements projecting from the radially inner surfaces of the segments, these elements forming a negative of the patterns to be molded on the tire tread.
To enable a single mould to be used to manufacture tires having tread patterns of different shapes, there is a known method, described for example in EP 0 523 958, for making a segment of the mould in a plurality of elements, namely a support block having a general shape defining the general curvature of the tire tread, and a plurality of lining elements applied to the support block and designed to form the patterns of the tire tread.
The lining element described in that document is produced by molding, for example by molding in steel. It is therefore a bulky, heavy element which is expensive to manufacture.