Chafer Or Sealing Strips Patents (Class 152/543)
  • Patent number: 6345657
    Abstract: In a pneumatic radial tire for trucks and buses mounted on an approved 15° drop center rim, an outer surface portion of a composite side-rubber and/or an envelope surface of the bead core among members constituting the bead portion of the tire has a curved shape concavedly directed toward the outside of the tire at a region opposite to an inner curved surface of a slantly rising portion in a flange of the approved rim.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2002
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Kenshiro Kato
  • Patent number: 6336488
    Abstract: A tire casing, has an unvulcanized noncord reinforced subassembly 10A as an intermediate article of manufacture. The subassembly 10 has at least two components laminated to it. The components are selected from one or more of the component types consisting of a liner 50, sidewall 70, a chafer 60, a whitewall strip 80, a cover strip 90, and a gum shoulder strip 40. The subassembly 10A has a width (W) and a pair of ends 12,14, the distance between the ends 12,14 defining the subassembly length (L). Preferably, the components are laminated to one another and have common ends 12,14 that are spliced along a substantially flat plane (P). The flat plane (P) extends through the article across its axial width, preferably substantially perpendicular to the length of the subassembly. The flat plane (P) is inclined at an angle &thgr;, &thgr; being less than 90°, preferably about 80° relative to a radial normal plane (NP) passing through and perpendicular to the subassembly 10A.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Frederick Forbes Vannan, Williams James Head
  • Publication number: 20010042583
    Abstract: The invention relates to a tire with a chafer rubber composition positioned around at least a portion of the tire's bead component, where the chafer is intended for contacting a rigid rim of a wheel on which it is intended that the tire be mounted. In such assembly, the chafer becomes an interface between the tire bead portion and the rim. For this invention, the chafer is a matrix composition composed of at least one elastomer where the matrix composition contains a dispersed micro inclusion made of a particulate, high molecular weight thermoplastic polymer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 2, 1997
    Publication date: November 22, 2001
    Inventors: FILOMENO GENNARO CORVASCE, MANUELA POMPEI
  • Patent number: 6318431
    Abstract: A heavy duty radial tire has a carcass including a carcass ply made of cords arranged at an inclination angle of 70 to 90 degrees with respect to the tire equator, the carcass ply including a main portion extending from a tread portion to a bead core in a bead portion and integrally provided with a turnup portion turned up from the axially inside to the outside at the bead core, a bead apex disposed between the main portion and turnup portion of the carcass ply, wherein the turnup portion extends radially outwardly along the axially outer surface of the bead apex and has a portion extending substantially parallel with and adjacent to the carcass ply main portion from the radially outer end of the bead apex, and the length L of the parallel portion is 1.0 to 8.0 times the maximum section width CW of the bead core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Ueyoko, Kazuki Numata, Tsuneyuki Nakagawa, Kenji Asano, Masaki Shiraishi
  • Patent number: 6296031
    Abstract: A pneumatic radial tire in which both end portions of a plurality of carcass plies are mounted respectively to left and right bead cores to fold back from an inner side to an outer side of the tire. Fold back portions of the carcass plies constituting the outermost sides on inner sides of the bead cores are laminated onto unfolded portions of the carcass plies. Carcass cords of the carcass plies are intersected with each other between the laminated layers. A length of the fold back portion is longer than any of fold back portions of the remaining carcass plies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2001
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hikomitsu Noji
  • Patent number: 6286576
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire is disclosed, which comprises: (1) a reinforcing rubber layer made of short fiber reinforced rubber, alternatively (2) a reinforcing rubber layer having hardness set in a range of 90° to 99° of JIS-A hardness, which is arranged in an area of a bead section from a bead toe section along a tire inner wall surface, and wherein a chafer composed of a non-metallic fiber cord having a high strength and a high elastic modulus is provided to cover an outer side of the reinforcing rubber layer from the tire inner wall surface to the bead toe area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD
    Inventor: Jun Arakawa
  • Patent number: 6279635
    Abstract: A heavy duty pneumatic radial tire has a light weight of a bead portion and an excellent bead portion durability and is provided with a bead portion reinforcing layer covering an outer surface of a carcass ply around a bead core, in which the bead portion reinforcing layer is comprised of a single rubberized steel cord layer or of two or three independent rubberized steel cord layer segments. In this case, the steel cords arranged in the bead portion reinforcing layer have an inclination angle of a given range with respect to a circumferential line of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiya Miyazono
  • Patent number: 6276418
    Abstract: A pneumatic radial tire having carcass layers of three plies each constituted by organic fiber cords and in which both end portions of a first one and a second one of the carcass layers enumerated from an inner side to an outer side direction of the tire in the 3 plies of carcass layers, are folded back from the inner side to the outer side of the tire respectively around bead cores, reinforcement layers are arranged on outer sides of the fold back portions of the carcass layers and a third one of the carcass layers is turned down to cover outer sides of the reinforcement layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hikomitsu Noji
  • Patent number: 6260597
    Abstract: A tire wherein one or more rubberized organic fiber cord layers extending over an end of a carcass turnup portion in a radial direction of the tire are arranged so as to extend from a position near to an outside of the bead core over the end of the turnup portion toward the outside of the tire and spread apart to the turnup portion. A tire wherein one or more rubberized organic fiber cord layers are arranged so as to extend from a position exceeding over an end of a bead portion reinforcing layer made of a steel cord layer toward the outside of the tire extending over the end of the turnup portion in the radial direction of the tire and spread apart to the reinforcing layer. And also, a tire wherein a cord layer portion of one or more rubberized organic fiber cord layers extending over the end of the turnup portion in the radial direction of the tire and outside the turnup portion has a first bent portion bending toward the inside of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2001
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiya Miyazono
  • Patent number: 6257290
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire having an aspect ratio of not more than 55% and comprising: an axially protruding rib provided on each side of the tire to overhang a flange of a wheel rim; a carcass extending between bead portions through a tread portion and sidewall portions; a belt disposed radially outside the carcass; a tread rubber disposed radially outside the belt to define the ground contacting surface of the tire; a sidewall rubber disposed on each side of the tire and extending from the tread portion to the rib along the axially outside of the carcass; a clinch rubber disposed on each side of the tire and extending from the bead portion to the rib along the outer surface of the tire; and a wing rubber disposed axially outside the sidewall rubber and extending from the tread rubber to the rib along the outer surface of the tire, the wing rubber being softer than the tread rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Sakamoto, Atsushi Yamakage, Kazuya Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6257291
    Abstract: Reinforcing fabric for articles made from elastomeric material, particularly for pneumatic tires, comprising a plurality of filamentary elements having at least tensile strength, parallel and adjacent to each other in a plane, lying in a predetermined direction. The reinforcing elements, preferably cords, are incorporated in an elastomeric material and constitute at most the 40% of the volume of the fabric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: Pirelli Coordinamento Pneumatici S.p.A.
    Inventors: Maurizio Boiocchi, Gurdev Orjela
  • Publication number: 20010006086
    Abstract: A radial ply pneumatic tire (10) features a bead core (20) which comprises an arrangement of filaments (26) positioned relative to one another. The bead core (20) has a cross-section and a radially inward base side (44), a radially outermost side (46), an axially inward first side (48), and an axially outward second side (50). In the cross section, the base side (44) of the bead core (20) has a width which is substantially linear and is between 50% to 75% of the rim seat width. The bead core base side (44) is inclined at least 15° relative to the bead's axis of rotation, while the bead heel surface has an as molded inclination at the central portion (61) radially inward of the bead base (44) at an angle of at least 10° with respect to the bead's axis. An associated rim (22) has a pair of humps (80) and a rim flange (76) associated with each hump (80).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2001
    Publication date: July 5, 2001
    Applicant: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: David Andrew Benko, Jennifer Ann Miner, Roger Neil Beers
  • Patent number: 6253816
    Abstract: A belt reinforcing layer is disposed outwardly in the radial direction of a tire so as to reinforce the whole portion or the end portions of a tread portion. The belt reinforcing layer is formed by spirally winding a rubber-coated and narrow strip made of a fiber cord/cords around a tire. A pair of bead fillers are disposed directly above bead cores of a pair of bead portions. The cords of the belt reinforcing layer are made of organic fiber cords, and have a 2.7% or less elongation under load of 1.4g/d at the temperature of 50±5° C., and have a 1.5 to 6.0% elongation under load of 0.7g/d at the temperature of 170±5° C. The height L of each of the bead fillers corresponds to 20 to 60% of the cross sectional height T of a tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2001
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Keita Ide
  • Patent number: 6148889
    Abstract: A tubeless pneumatic tire is provided including a carcass having a carcass cord web and topping rubber layers covering the opposite sides of the carcass cord web, the carcass extending from a tread portion through a sidewall portion to a bead portion and turned up around a bead core outwardly from the inside of the tire in the axial direction of the tire, wherein only the inner one of the topping rubber layers which faces the inside of the tire is made of a butyl-based rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Intdustries Limited
    Inventors: Nobuaki Minami, Kazuya Suzuki, Yukio Endo
  • Patent number: 6138733
    Abstract: A bead portion durability of a pneumatic radial tire for large-size vehicle is improved by disposing a combination of a first protection rubber layer A having a 100% modulus of 25-40 kgf/cm.sup.2 and a second protection rubber layer B having a 100% modulus of 30-50 kgf/cm.sup.2 in given places of the bead portion so as to locate an inner end of the first protection rubber layer A in the radial direction of the tire between an outer end of a curved face of the bead heel in the radial direction and an end of a curved face of a rim flange and locate an outer end of the second protection rubber layer B in the radial direction of the tire at such a position outward in the radial direction of the tire that an inclination angle defined between a line segment connecting this end to a curvature center of the curved face of the rim flange and a phantom line passing through the curvature center and in parallel to a rotating axis of the tire is not less than 20.degree..
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Yoichi Nakamura
  • Patent number: 6129128
    Abstract: A heavy duty radial tire comprises a radial carcass ply turned up around bead cores from the axially inside to outside of the tire, and a steel cord bead reinforcing ply disposed along the axially outer surface of the carcass ply turnup portion. The height of the carcass ply turnup portions is 1.5 to 3.5 times the rim flange height. The bead reinforcing ply extends so that the radially inner end is disposed on the radially inside of a straight line drawn between the axially inner extreme end and the axially outer extreme end of a bead core, and the radially outer end is spaced apart from the radially outer end of the turnup portion by a radial distance of from 5 to 20 mm. The radially outer ends of the turnup portions and the radially outer ends of the bead reinforcing plies are each covered with a cap made of hard rubber having a JIS-A hardness of 75 to 85 degrees.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tetsuhiro Fukumoto
  • Patent number: 6116313
    Abstract: A tire in which the beads have a slip layer over part of their surface to make them slip more readily over the seats of the wheel rim upon removal after use and thus reduce the risk of damage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissementis Michelin-Michelin & Cie
    Inventors: Pedro Costa Pereira, Jean-Jacques Pradelle
  • Patent number: 6116312
    Abstract: A heavy duty pneumatic radial tire comprises a bead portion provided with a wire chafer having an outer end located outward over an outer end of a turnup portion of a carcass ply in a radial direction of the tire, in which a bead core embedded in the bead portion has a given bending rigidity and has an excellent cornering property without degrading a rim assembling operability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiya Miyazono
  • Patent number: 6109322
    Abstract: A laminate composite structure is provided in continuous lengths or rolls for making an unvulcanized carcass for a radial ply pneumatic tire as an intermediate article of manufacture. The laminate has a ply and a plurality of elastomeric components hot formed and attached directly to the ply. Each component has a predetermined cross-sectional profile. The elastomeric components including, but not limited to, a liner, a sidewall, and a chafer. Additional other elastomeric components for the carcass can be formed and attached to the laminate structure. The laminate forms an intermediate article of manufacture that at a later stage of tire building can be cut to length and spliced along common ends to form a cylindrical carcass structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: James Alfred Benzing, II, Daniel Ray Downing, William James Head, Frederick Forbes Vannan
  • Patent number: 6109320
    Abstract: A heavy duty radial tire having improved bead durability accommodated to a standard 15 degree taper center drop rim comprises a pair of bead cores disposed one in each bead portion, a steel cord radial carcass ply turned up around the bead cores from the axially inside to the outside, a hard rubber bead apex disposed between the carcass ply main portion and each turnup portion, a bead reinforcing layer of reinforcing cords disposed axially outside each carcass ply turnup portion, and a rubber strip disposed between each turnup portion and the bead reinforcing layer, the rubber strip being harder than the bead apex, and the difference B-D of the inside diameter B of the bead cores from the rim diameter D of the rim is in the range of from -4 to 1 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Miyazaki, Kiyoshi Ueyoko
  • Patent number: 6085817
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire comprises a carcass made from at least one cord array comprised of many arch portions of a cord extending between a pair of bead portions in a meridional direction and arranged over a full circumference of the tire at an equal interval P in a circumferential direction of the tire and many circumferential portions of the cord alternately arranged in the bead portions, each connecting ends of adjacent arch portions to each other in the bead portion and extending substantially in the circumferential direction. In this case, the cord array is arranged at n layers (n is an integer of 2 or more) while offsetting these layers by a distance L obtained by dividing the interval P by n in the circumferential direction. Further, the bead wire reinforcing layer is arranged outward from the overlap region of the circumferential portions in the radial direction so as to sandwich the cord array from both sides thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Yuichiro Ogawa
  • Patent number: 6082423
    Abstract: A very light weight tire 10 has at least one radial ply 38 and a rayon belt structure 36, having two single cut belt layers 50, 51 covered by an overlay 59 having cords 80 selected from the group of aramid, rayon, PEN, PET and PVA. The tire 10 has a very thin or reduced gauge (t) undertead 13. The tire 10 can be made having very low rolling resistance due to the combination of casing structure and the reduced rubber mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Alain Emile Francois Roesgen, Atte Smits, Marie-Rita Catherine Amelie Thise-Fourgon, Eric Gerard Marie Packbier, David Paterson Craig
  • Patent number: 6079467
    Abstract: A heavy duty radial tire comprises a carcass ply being turned up around bead cores from the axially inside to the outside of the tire, a bead apex disposed between the carcass main portion and each turnup portion, the turnup portion extending radially outwardly beyond the radially outer end of the bead apex so that the turnup portion has a parallel part which is placed adjacent to and substantially in parallel with the main portion, and a chafer disposed in each bead portion and extending radially outwardly beyond the radially outer end of the bead apex along the axially outside of the turnup portion. The thickness T2 of the chafer is 0.3 to 1.0 times the total rubber thickness T1 between the tire outer surface and the carcass when measured along a straight line drawn at a right angle to the carcass main portion through the radially outer end of the bead apex. The length L of the parallel part is in the range of 0.5 to 5.0 times a section width CW of the bead core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kiyoshi Ueyoko
  • Patent number: 6073669
    Abstract: A heavy duty pneumatic tire comprises a pair of bead portions with a bead toe, a bead core disposed in each bead portion, a carcass comprising at least one ply of cords extending between the bead portions and turned up around the bead cores, an inner liner made of an airtight rubber compound disposed inside the carcass along the inner surface of the tire, the inner liner extending from one of the bead portion to the other and terminating before the bead toe, a chafer made of a hard rubber compound disposed in each bead portion along the bead base, the chafer extending axially inwardly to the bead toe, and an adhesiveness improvement rubber layer disposed between inner liner and chafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2000
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Takada, Takako Kitamura
  • Patent number: 6044885
    Abstract: In a pneumatic radial tire for trucks and buses mounted on an approved 15.degree. drop center rim, an outer surface portion of a composite side-rubber and/or an envelope surface of the bead core among members constituting the bead portion of the tire has a curved shape concavedly directed toward the outside of the tire at a region opposite to an inner curved surface of a slantly rising portion in a flange of the approved rim.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2000
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Kenshiro Kato
  • Patent number: 6016858
    Abstract: A very light weight tire 10 has at least one radial ply 38 and a fiberglass belt structure 36 covered by an overlay 59 having cords 80 selected from the group of aramid, rayon, PEN, PET and PVA. The tire 10 has a very thin or reduced gauge (t) undertead 13. The tire 10 can be made having very low rolling resistance due to the combination of casing structure and the reduced rubber mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2000
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Alain Emile Francois Roesgen, Atte Smits, Marie-Rita Catherine Amelie Thise-Fourgon, Eric Gerard Marie Packbier, David Paterson Craig
  • Patent number: 6016857
    Abstract: A very light weight tire 10 has at least one radial ply 38 and a aramid belt structure 36, having two single cut belt layers 50,51 covered by an overlay 59 having cords 80 selected from the group of aramid, rayon, PEN, PET and PVA. The tire 10 has a very thin or reduced gauge (t) undertead 13. The tire 10 can be made having very low rolling resistance due to the combination of casing structure and the reduced rubber mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2000
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Alain Emile Francois Roesgen, Atte Smits, Marie-Rita Catherine Amelie Thise-Fourgon, Eric Gerard Marie Packbier, David Paterson Craig
  • Patent number: 6000452
    Abstract: A rubber filler in the tire bead portions is formed by a hard rubber filler having JIS A hardness of at least 85, and a soft rubber filler having JIS A hardness of 65-75. An outer end C of the interface between the hard and soft rubber fillers is placed to be higher than the upper end of a rim flange and at least 10 mm lower than an end D of a turned-up steel cord carcass, in a cross section of the bead portion of the tire. Further, 1.0 La.ltoreq.Lb.ltoreq.2.0 La, where Lb represents the distance B-E from an inner-surface-side end B of the interface between a rubber bead cover and carcass topping rubber of a carcass ply to an inner-surface-side end E of the interface between the hard and soft rubber fillers, and where La represents the distance D-A from the end D of the turned-up carcass to an outer-surface-side end A of the interface between the rubber bead cover and the carcass topping rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1999
    Assignee: Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiro Sumiya, Hiroaki Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 5979528
    Abstract: A heavy duty pneumatic radial tire has a light weight of a bead portion and an excellent bead portion durability and is provided with a bead portion reinforcing layer covering an outer surface of a carcass ply around a bead core, in which the bead portion reinforcing layer is comprised of a single rubberized steel cord layer or of two or three independent rubberized steel cord layer segments. In this case, the steel cords arranged in the bead portion reinforcing layer have two different inclination angles of a given range with respect to a circumferential line of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiya Miyazono
  • Patent number: 5979527
    Abstract: A heavy duty pneumatic radial tire comprises a pair of bead portions, a pair of sidewall portions, a tread portion, a radial carcass ply and a belt, in which at least three rubber layers having different hardnesses exist in a zone ranging from the cords in a turnup portion of the carcass ply to an axially outer portion of the bead portion throughout a region of the bead portion corresponding to a line drawn normal to the axially outer portion of the bead portion in a contact area increased portion of the bead portion sandwiched between two contact end positions of an axial outside surface of the bead portion on a flange of a design rim as measured under particular conditions, and the at least three rubber layers are comprised of a coating rubber of the carcass ply and a softest rubber layer and a hardest rubber layer, and the softest rubber layer and hardest rubber layer have particular values of 100% modulus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1999
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuhiko Kobayashi, Yuichi Nagai
  • Patent number: 5968294
    Abstract: The run-flat tire has a tread for contacting a ground surface and a belt package with belt plies interior to the tread for support of the tread. A plurality of radially reinforced carcass layers are positioned interior to the belt plies and include at least one carcass layer that extends between spaced apart annular beads. The tire has a pair of sidewalls each extending radially inward from shoulders at lateral edges of the belt package to the annular beads. The sidewalls have a plurality of sidewall stiffening members to support the tire during a loss of inflation pressure. The carcass layers are disposed with the sidewall stiffening members to help support the run-flat tire with a loss of inflation pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A.
    Inventors: Walter Lee Willard, Jr., James Milo Endicott, Jeffrey Scott Craddock
  • Patent number: 5961756
    Abstract: Each bead of a pneumatic tire has the following characteristics:a) it has no bead wire and has an annular element whose tensile strength is ppreciably less than that necessary for a bead wire;b) at least two reinforcing plies are placed in contact with or near this annular element;c) the combination of reinforcing plies has a tensile strength at least equal to that which would be necessary for a bead wire;d) the carcass ply is wrapped around the annular element;e) the outer region of the bead includes a rubber having an elastic loss modulus G" of less than 1 MPa and/or it includes a rubber whose thickness is at most equal to 2 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1999
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin-Michelin & Cie
    Inventors: Michel Ahouanto, Claude Eynard, Andre Peyrot
  • Patent number: 5938870
    Abstract: A pneumatic radial tire comprises a carcass comprising an outer carcass ply made of cords having a first heat-shrinkage-percentage K1 and an inner carcass ply is made of cords having a second heat-shrinkage-percentage K2 different from the first heat-shrinkage-percentage K1, and the cord tension of the inner carcass ply is smaller than the cord tension of the outer carcass ply. A method of making the tire comprises steps of making the outer carcass ply of cords having a first heat-shrinkage-percentage K1, making the inner carcass ply of cords having a second heat-shrinkage-percentage K2, wherein the first heat-shrinkage-percentage K1 at 150 degrees C. is 120 to 160% of the second heat-shrinkage-percentage K2 at 150 degrees C., and heating and vulcanizing a raw tire to heat-shrink the outer carcass ply cords in a larger degree than the inner carcass ply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1999
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Sakamoto, Toshihiko Omokawa, Masahiro Hanya
  • Patent number: 5909757
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire comprises a radially inner bead core disposed in at least one of the bead portions, a radially outer bead core disposed radially outside the inner bead core, a buffer rubber layer disposed between the radially inner bead core and radially outer bead core to provide a predetermined space therebetween, and a toroidal carcass extending between the bead portions through the tread portion and sidewall portions, wherein the carcass comprises a ply of cords turned up around the radially outer bead core to be secured thereto, passing between the radially outer bead core and the buffer rubber layer, so that a radially outward tension of the carcass caused by tire inflation acts less on the radially inner bead core than the radially outer bead core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1999
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiichiro Kakumu, Masatoshi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5885389
    Abstract: A pneumatic rubber tire with a chafer positioned around at least a portion of its bead component and intended for contacting a rigid rim of a wheel, wherein said chafer is composed of a rubber composition which is based upon a combination of a specified trans 1,4-polybutadiene polymer and a high cis 1,4-polybutadiene rubber. The rubber composition for the tire chafer component may also contain cis 1,4-polyisoprene rubber and/or styrene/butadiene rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 23, 1999
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Paul Harry Sandstrom, Neil Arthur Maly
  • Patent number: 5871600
    Abstract: A runflat radial ply pneumatic tire 10 has a carcass 30 which has a pair of sidewalls 20, each sidewall being reinforced with at least two sidewall fillers or runflat inserts 42, 46 and at least two cord reinforced plies 38, 40 and a bead core 26. The tire has one or more reinforcing belts 36. Each sidewall has at least one ply 38 or 40 reinforced with cords, the cords have a modulus E of X, X being at least 10 GPa. At least one ply has a turnup end 32 wrapped around the bead core 26. A second ply 38 or 40 is reinforced with substantially inextensible cords having a modulus E greater than X of the cords of the other ply. The second ply 38 or 40 is spaced from the first ply 38 or 40 by the second filler or runflat insert in the sidewall 20.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1999
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Thomas Reed Oare, Amit Prakash, Robert Edward Hall, Gary Edwin Tubb
  • Patent number: 5868190
    Abstract: The run-flat tire has a tread for contacting a ground surface and a belt package with belt plies interior to the tread for support of the tread. A plurality of radially reinforced carcass layers are positioned interior to the belt plies and include at least one carcass layer that extends between spaced apart annular beads. The tire has a pair of sidewalls each extending radially inward from shoulders at lateral edges of the belt package to the annular beads. The sidewalls have a plurality of sidewall stiffening members to support the tire during a loss of inflation pressure. The carcass layers are disposed with the sidewall stiffening members to help support the run-flat tire with a loss of inflation pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Michelin Recherche et Technique, S.A.
    Inventors: Walter Lee Willard, Jr., James Milo Endicott, Jeffrey Scott Craddock
  • Patent number: 5855703
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire comprises various tire components each comprised of a rubber-coated layer containing a given number of reinforcing elements. In at least one of these rubber-coated layers, not less than 30% of all reinforcing elements are divided into plural groups each comprised of a combination of m-steps and n-rows viewing in a thickness direction of the rubber-coated layer, in which each of m and n is an integer of 2 or more representing the number of the reinforcing elements, and a distance between mutually adjacent and opposite reinforcing elements not grouped with each other is wider than a distance between mutually adjacent reinforcing elements in the group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiya Miyazono, Yoichi Okamoto
  • Patent number: 5851324
    Abstract: A radial ply pneumatic tire has a carcass with a bead portion, a carcass reinforcing structure, and a bead filler. The carcass reinforcing structure has at least two plies. The turnup ends of a first or a second ply are wrapped about each bead and terminates in radial proximity of the maximum section width of the tire. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tire carcass includes elastomeric first and second filers the first filler being located between the first ply and the innerliner of the tire, and the second filer being located between the first and second ply. The fillers stiffen the sidewalls to permit the tire to be driven while uninflated. The tire may further include an aramid overlay radially outwardly of the reinforcing belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1998
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Thomas Reed Oare, Randall Raymond Brayer, Jeffrey Wayne Kahrs, Beale Anthony Robinson, Keith Carl Trares, Raymond Dean Mc Quate
  • Patent number: 5849117
    Abstract: A tire has a radial carcass reinforcement which is anchored in each bead to a bead ring, going from the outside to the inside, forming a turn-up which is substantially parallel to the generatrix of the rim seat J on which the bead is mounted. Each turn-up is reinforced by at least one additional reinforcing ply of cords oriented at an angle between 0.degree. and 20.degree. with respect to the circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 15, 1998
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin-Michelin & Cie
    Inventor: Jean Billieres
  • Patent number: 5824171
    Abstract: A tire component used in a pneumatic radial tire is a rubber-coated layer comprised of a given number of reinforcing elements separately arranged in parallel with each other, in which the reinforcing elements corresponding to at least 30% of all reinforcing elements included in the rubber-coated layer are divided into plural groups, and a distance between mutually adjoining and opposite reinforcing elements not grouped with each other is wider than a distance between mutually adjoining reinforcing elements separately arranged at equal spaces in the group. Thus, the occurrence of cracking at cut ends of the reinforcing elements is prevented to improve the tire durability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiya Miyazono, Yoshihide Kohno, Hiroyuki Koseki, Yoichi Okamoto
  • Patent number: 5820710
    Abstract: A belted tire, especially for motor vehicles, has an inner carcass ply, the end portions of which extend from the inner surface of the tire, about an annular bead core, toward the outer surface of the tire. To form a connection point, the end of the outer section of the carcass ply is placed against the inwardly disposed section. The carcass ply approaches the bead core essentially tangentially, and is disposed thereabout. Between the bead core and the connection point, the two carcass ply sections extend linearly and have essentially the same length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Continental Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Klaus Behnsen, Werner Knauf, Eckhard Kuhlmann
  • Patent number: 5795416
    Abstract: The run-flat tire of this invention includes a pair of bead regions, a crown region with a tread and a tread reinforcing package including a cap ply and self supporting sidewalls between each bead region and the crown region. An innerliner ply maintains air within the inflated tire. The self supporting sidewalls each include a first crescent-shaped reinforcing member, an inner carcass layer, an inner sidewall supporting complex and an outer sidewall and bead protecting complex. The supporting sidewalls effectively have a plurality of crescent-shaped reinforcing members and a plurality of carcass layers. The sidewall supporting complexes are realized by providing first and second partial carcass layers along with a filler rubber portion and a second crescent-shaped reinforcing member, which can be formed by a separate tire building operation. The sidewall protecting complexes can be formed in a similar operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1998
    Assignee: Michelin Recherche et Technique
    Inventors: Walter Lee Willard, Jr., Virginia White Snipes, Allen Eugene Wilson
  • Patent number: 5779829
    Abstract: The pneumatic tire has a single carcass ply reinforced with parallel metallic cords, each cord composed of at least one filament having a tensile strength of at least (-2000.times.D+4400 MPa).times.95%, where D is the filament diameter in millimeters. The turnup portion of the single carcass ply 12 in the bead portion of a pneumatic tire is interposed between the bead core 11 and a toe guard 18, and the radially outer edge of each turnup portion being in contact with the main portion of the carcass ply and extending to an end point 0.5 to 4.0 inches (12.7 to 101.6 mm) radially outward of the bead core. The toe guard 18 has a first and second end and each end is disposed directly adjacent to the carcass ply. The first end 18a of the toe guard is located on the axially inner side of the main portion of the carcass ply at a location about 0.4 to 3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Amit Prakash, Donald Woodrow Gilliam, Gary Edwin Tubb
  • Patent number: 5769982
    Abstract: An airplane tire, inflated to a high pressure, with radial carcass reinfoment (1), comprising at least two axially inner plies (1A, 1B, 1C) of textile cords, wound around a bead wire (3) in each bead from the inside to the outside, forming turn-ups (10A, 10B, 10C), and at least one axially outer ply (1D, 1E) of textile cords extending along the turn-ups (10A, 10B, 10C), said bead wire (3) being radially surmounted by a filler (4) of height D with respect to a reference line XX' and also comprising at least one inner flipper (5) having two legs (5I) and (5E), characterized by the fact that the end of the axially outer leg (5E) of the inner flipper (5) and the end of the turn-up (10A) of the inner carcass ply (1A) which is arranged axially furthest towards the inside are located at radial distances L.sub.E and H.sub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1998
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin--Michelin & Cie
    Inventor: Pierre De Loze de Plaisanc
  • Patent number: 5762733
    Abstract: A tire component used in a pneumatic radial tire is a rubber-coated layer comprised of a given number of reinforcing elements separately arranged in parallel with each other, in which the reinforcing elements corresponding to at least 30% of all reinforcing elements included in the rubber-coated layer are divided into plural groups, and a distance between mutually adjoining and opposite reinforcing elements not grouped with each other is wider than a distance between mutually adjoining reinforcing elements separately arranged at equal spaces in the group. Thus, the occurrence of cracking at cut ends of the reinforcing elements is prevented to improve the tire durability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1998
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiya Miyazono, Yoshihide Kohno, Hiroyuki Koseki, Yoichi Okamoto
  • Patent number: 5759315
    Abstract: A pneumatic radial tire comprises a carcass comprising an inner and outer plies, a belt comprising at least one ply of cords laid at an angle of from 0 to 35 degrees with respect to the tire circumferential direction, and a rubber bead apex disposed in each bead portion. The outer carcass ply comprises a main portion extending continuously between the bead portions, and a pair of turnup portions each turned up around a bead core from the axially inside to outside of the tire. The inner carcass ply is disposed inside and adjacent to the main portion and extending at least from the tread portion to the bead portions. The inner carcass ply is not wrapped around the bead core, and the radially inner end thereof is located radially inward of the radial outer end of the bead apex.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1998
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuya Suzuki, Nobuaki Minami
  • Patent number: 5743976
    Abstract: An airplane tire with radial carcass reinforcement (3) comprising at least one ply of turned-up textile cords (3A, 3B, 3C), wound around an axially inner bead ring (T.sub.2) extending axially from the inside to the outside in order to form an axially outer turn-up (30A, 30B, 30C), at least one ply (3D, 3E) of textile cords wound around an axially outer bead ring T.sub.1 extending from the inside to the outside to form a turn-up (30D, 30E), characterized by the fact that the turn-up (30A) of the axially innermost ply (3A) is separated, over a certain radial portion, from the carcass ply (3D) by a profiled member (4) of rubber mix in crescent shape, the maximum thickness e.sub.4 of which is at least equal to 0.5 times the total thickness t of the turn-ups (30A, 30B, 30C) of carcass plies (3A, 3B, 3C) turned-up around the axially inner bead ring T.sub.2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin-Michelin & Cie
    Inventors: Jorge Fernando Pena, Robert Postic, Pierre Roux
  • Patent number: 5733395
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire for a two-wheeled vehicle has a hard rubber layer having a Shore A hardness of 60.degree. to 90.degree. arranged along the outside of the turn-up portion of a carcass, wherein a ratio (a/H) is within the range of 0.1 to 0.7 in which (a) is the height of the outer end in the tire radial direction of the hard rubber layer measured from the height of a flange of a rim on which the tire is assembled, and (H) is the height of the tread edge of the tread portion measured from the same, and wherein the inner end in the tire radial direction of the hard rubber layer is located inward of the flange height of the rim.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1998
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Hidemitsu Nakagawa
  • Patent number: 5725702
    Abstract: A heavy duty pneumatic radial tire comprises a tread portion, a pair of sidewall portions, a pair of bead portions containing a pair of bead cores therein, at least one radial carcass ply, and a bead filler comprised of at least two rubber stocks, in which at least a part of an outer surface of a turnup portion of the carcass ply in axial direction of the tire is covered with a deformation-absorbing rubber layer arranged along an upper rubber stock of the bead filler and having a Shore A hardness of not more than 55.degree..
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1998
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Nakamura, Hiroyuki Iida, Makoto Tsuruta