Claims
- 1. A thin annular band for embedding in the crown portion of a pneumatic tire, said band having an axial width and a radial thickness with a neutral axis extending generally through the center of the band in an axial direction, said band being a single composite monolithic member formed of a plurality of layers of an elongated strip material, said strip material being a resin matrix embedded with fibers and having inner and outer annular axially extending surfaces terminating in a pair of outer end portions and a pair of end edges with the inner and outer surfaces of both of said end portions being tapered toward said pair of end edges.2.The annular band defined in claim 1 in which the end edges are flat radially extending surfaces.
- 3. The annular band defined in claim 1 in which the end edges are rounded.
- 4. The annular band defined in claim 1 in which the inner and outer surfaces are flat.
- 5. The annular band defined in claim 4 in which the inner and outer surfaces are substantially parallel.
- 6. The annular band defined in claim 1 in which the inner surface is concave and the outer surface is convex.
- 7. The annular band defined in claim 6 in which the end edges are rounded.
- 8. The annular band defined in claim 1 in which the outer end portions have a fiber filled epoxy coating applied thereto.
- 9. The annular band defined in claim 8 in which the fiber filling is graphite.
- 10. The annular band defined in claim 1 in which the said tapered end portion has an angle of taper generally within the range of 5° and 45°.
- 11. The annular band defined in claim 1 in which the annular band has an axial length (L); and in which said tapered end portion has a length within the range of 3% and 15% of said length (L).
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a division of copending application Ser. No. 09/213,170, filed Dec. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,791.
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