Patent Application
20160167452
This invention relates to pneumatic tires having a carcass and a belt reinforcing structure, more particularly to high speed heavy load tires such as those used on aircraft.
The radial carcass reinforcements of aircraft tires generally comprise several plies of textile cords, which are anchored to at least one annular bead member. A first group of reinforcing plies are generally wound around said annular bead member from the inside to the outside, forming turn-ups, the respective ends of which are radially spaced from the axis of rotation of the tire. The second group of plies are generally wound around the annular bead member from the outside to the inside of the tire.
Aircraft tires typically use numerous layers of ply which can significantly contribute to the tire weight. The numerous layers of ply may result in bead durability issues. It is thus desired to provide a lightweight efficient tire structure having improved bead durability. It is a further desired to provide an improved bead structure wherein the use of inside turn-up plies and outside turndown plies and their respective locations are optimized. Thus an improved aircraft tire is needed, which is capable of meeting high speed, high load and with reduced weight.
A pneumatic tire in accordance with the present invention includes two annular bead portions, a carcass, and a belt reinforcement layer. The carcass extends between the bead portions through sidewall portions and a tread portion, wherein the carcass includes at least two axially inner plies which extend down from the tread and axially inward of the bead core, said at least two axially inner plies being wound around the bead core forming respective turn-ups, each turnup being located axially outward of the bead core. The carcass further includes a first axially outer ply which extends down from the tread towards the bead core and positioned axially outward of the bead core, wherein the axially outer ply is separated from at least one of the turnups by a spacer layer.
“100 percent Modulus” means the force in mega-pascals (MPa) required to produce 100 percent elongation (e.g., stretch to two times original length).
“300 percent Modulus” or “M300 modulus” means the force in mega-pascals (MPa) required to produce 300 percent elongation (e.g., stretch to four times original length).
“Apex” means an elastomeric filler located radially above the bead core and between the plies and the turnup ply or axially outside the turnup ply.
“Annular” means formed like a ring.
“Axial” and “axially” are used herein to refer to lines or directions that are parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire.
“Bead” means that part of the tire comprising an annular tensile member wrapped by ply cords and shaped, with or without other reinforcement elements such as flippers, chippers, apexes, toe guards and chafers, to fit the design rim.
“Belt structure” means at least two annular layers or plies of parallel cords, woven or unwoven, underlying the tread, unanchored to the bead, and having cords inclined respect to the equatorial plane of the tire. The belt structure may also include plies of parallel cords inclined at relatively low angles, acting as restricting layers.
“Carcass” means the tire structure apart from the belt structure, tread, undertread, and sidewall rubber over the plies, but including the beads.
“Casing” means the carcass, belt structure, beads, sidewalls and all other components of the tire excepting the tread and undertread (e.g., the whole tire).
“Chafer” refers to a narrow strip of material placed around the exterior of the bead to protect bead structures from the rim, distribute flexing radially above the rim, and to better seal the tire to the rim.
“Chipper” refers to a narrow band of fabric or steel cords located in the bead area whose function is to reinforce the bead area and stabilize the radially inwardmost part of the sidewall.
“Circumferential” means lines or directions extending along the perimeter of the surface of the annular tire parallel to the Equatorial Plane (EP) and perpendicular to the axial direction; it can also refer to the direction of the sets of adjacent circular curves whose radii define the axial curvature of the tread, as viewed in cross section.
“Cord” means one of the reinforcement strands of which the reinforcement structures of the tire are comprised.
“Cord angle” means the acute angle, left or right in a plan view of the tire, formed by a cord with respect to the equatorial plane. The “cord angle” is measured in a cured but uninflated tire.
“Crown” means that portion of the tire within the width limits of the tire tread.
“Denier” means the weight in grams per 9000 meters (unit for expressing linear density). Dtex means the weight in grams per 10,000 meters.
“Density” means weight per unit length.
“Elastomer” means a resilient material capable of recovering size and shape after deformation.
“Equatorial plane (EP)” means the plane perpendicular to the tire's axis of rotation and passing through the center of its tread; or the plane containing the circumferential centerline of the tread.
“Fabric” means a network of essentially unidirectionally extending cords, which may be twisted, and which in turn are composed of a plurality of a multiplicity of filaments (which may also be twisted) of a high modulus material.
“Fiber” is a unit of matter, either natural or man-made that forms the basic element of filaments. Characterized by having a length at least 100 times its diameter or width.
“Filament count” means the number of filaments that make up a yarn. Example: 1000 denier polyester has approximately 190 filaments.
“Flipper” refers to a reinforcing fabric around the bead wire for strength and to tie the bead wire in the tire body.
“Gauge” refers generally to a measurement, and specifically to a thickness measurement.
“Inner” means toward the inside of the tire and “outer” means toward its exterior.
“Innerliner” means the layer or layers of elastomer or other material that form the inside surface of a tubeless tire and that contain the inflating fluid within the tire.
“Lateral” means an axial direction.
“Load Range” means load and inflation limits for a given tire used in a specific type of service as defined by tables in The Tire and Rim Association, Inc.
“Normal Load” means the specific design inflation pressure and load assigned by the appropriate standards organization for the service condition for the tire.
“Ply” means a cord-reinforced layer of rubber-coated radially deployed or otherwise parallel cords.
“Radial” and “radially” are used to mean directions radially toward or away from the axis of rotation of the tire.
“Radial Ply Structure” means the one or more carcass plies or which at least one ply has reinforcing cords oriented at an angle of between 65° and 90° with respect to the equatorial plane of the tire.
“Radial Ply Tire” means a belted or circumferentially-restricted pneumatic tire in which at least one ply has cords which extend from bead to bead are laid at cord angles between 65° and 90° with respect to the equatorial plane of the tire.
“Section Height” means the radial distance from the nominal rim diameter to the outer diameter of the tire at its equatorial plane.
“Section Width” means the maximum linear distance parallel to the axis of the tire and between the exterior of its sidewalls when and after it has been inflated at normal pressure for 24 hours, but unloaded, excluding elevations of the sidewalls due to labeling, decoration or protective bands.
“Sidewall” means that portion of a tire between the tread and the bead.
“Stiffness ratio” means the value of a control belt structure stiffness divided by the value of another belt structure stiffness when the values are determined by a fixed three point bending test having both ends of the cord supported and flexed by a load centered between the fixed ends.
“Tread” means a molded rubber component which, when bonded to a tire casing, includes that portion of the tire that comes into contact with the road when the tire is normally inflated and under normal load.
“Tread width” means the arc length of the tread surface in a plane including the axis of rotation of the tire.
“Turnup end” means the portion of a carcass ply that turns upward (i.e., radially outward) from the beads about which the ply is wrapped.
The present invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
The two carcass downplies 1F, 1G encase the turn-ups 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E of the inner carcass plies 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E. The plies 1D and 1E may, for example, be wound around the bead wire 3 over a portion or circular arc corresponding to an angle at the center of the circle circumscribed on the bead wire 3 equal to 180° or less so that the ends 10D, 10E of these outer plies 1D, 1E are situated radially outward of the reference line XX1.
A first spacer 200 is preferably located between the turnup 10A of the axially innermost ply 1A and down ply 1F. The first spacer 200 may be formed of gum rubber or reinforced ply. The first spacer 200 has a thickness tl in the range of 0.2*d to 1.2*d, where d is the cord diameter of the reinforcement cords of the down ply layer 1F. The first spacer 200 has a radially outer end 210 that is preferably located radially outward of the apex tip 7. The second spacer 200 has a radially inner end 220 that is located radially inward of line X-X′.
A second spacer 300 is preferably located between the outer plies 1F and 1G. The second spacer 300 has a radially outer end 310 that is located radially outward of the apex tip 7, and radially outward of the first spacer radially outer end 210. The second spacer 300 may be formed of gum rubber or reinforced ply. The second spacer 300 has a radially inner end 320 that is located radially inward of line X-X′. The second spacer 300 has a thickness t2 in the range of 0.2*d to 1.2*d, where d is the cord diameter of the outer ply cord of ply layer 1F.
An optional third spacer 400 may be located between the outer ply 1G and the second apex 112. The third spacer 400 may be formed of gum rubber or reinforced ply. The third spacer 400 has a radially outer end 410 that is located radially outward of the apex tip 7 and a radially inner end 412 that is located radially inward of line XX. The third spacer 400 has a thickness t3 in the range of 0.2*d to 1.2*d, where d is the cord diameter of the outer ply cord of ply layer 1G.
The angle of the inner plies is measured by the angle shown in
A flipper 5 may separate the bead wire 3 from the carcass reinforcement 10 and be formed of radial textile cords identical to the carcass ply cords (or different cords). One terminal end of the flipper 5 may, for example, may extend a radial distance LI of 18 mm from the line XX1, a distance that may be less than the distances HB and HC referred to above. Three ends may thus be arranged radially above the terminal end A of the first apex 111 and be staggered between the terminal end and a location of the sidewall where the tire has a maximum axial width. The other terminal end of the flipper 5 may extend a radial distance LE from the line XX1 equal to 10 mm.
The tire bead 2 may be supplemented by a reinforcement ply or outer first chafer 121 reinforced with radial textile cords. The rubber chafer 121 may permit a better distribution of the pressures between the tire and its service rim, as well as assuring protection of the carcass plies against damage upon mounting. The axially outer end of the first chafer 121 may be slightly above (about 20 mm) the reference line XX1, while its axially inner end may be below the line XX1.
An example tire with a bead structure as shown in
The first apex 111 may be constructed of a material with a 100 percent modulus between 4-12 MPa. The second apex may be constructed of a material with a 100 percent modulus between 1-3 MPa. The first chafer 121 may be constructed of a material with a 100 percent modulus between 3-6 MPa. The second chafer 122 may be constructed of a material with a 100 percent modulus between 1-4 MPa. The axially outer end of the second chafer 122 may be about 60 mm above the line XX1. The axially outer end of the second chafer 122 may thus cover the contact area between the tire and the wheel flange under a 200% rated loading condition. The sidewall portion 101 may be constructed of a material with a 100 percent modulus between 1.0 MPa and 2.0 MPa. Below is a Table of other example properties for the first apex 111, second apex 112, first chafer 121, second chafer 122, and sidewall portion 101.
As stated above, a bead structure 100 in accordance with the present invention produces excellent durability and reduced chafing at the rim. This bead structure 100 thus enhances the performance of the pneumatic tire, even though the complexities of the structure and behavior of the pneumatic tire are such that no complete and satisfactory theory has been propounded.
The previous descriptive language is of the best presently contemplated mode or modes of carrying out the present invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating an example of general principles of the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the present invention. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims. The reference numerals as depicted in the schematic drawings are the same as those referred to in the specification. For purposes of this application, the various examples illustrated in the figures each use a same reference numeral for similar components. The examples structures may employ similar components with variations in location or quantity thereby giving rise to alternative constructions in accordance with the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62091079 | Dec 2014 | US |
