Patent Application
20230191844
The invention relates in general to pneumatic tires, and more particularly for vehicles such as trucks.
The commercial truck market is moving towards an increase in overall vehicle weight, which is due in part to the increase in weight of the motor and equipment. The increase in overall vehicle weight requires a tire capable of handling the additional loading. Thus, a tire with improved crown durability and increased load carrying capacity is desired.
“Aspect Ratio” means the ratio of a tire's section height to its section width.
“Axial” and “axially” mean the lines or directions that are parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire.
“Bead” or “Bead Core” mean generally that part of the tire comprising an annular tensile member, the radially inner beads are associated with holding the tire to the rim being wrapped by ply cords and shaped, with or without other reinforcement elements such as flippers, chippers, apexes or fillers, toe guards and chafers.
“Belt Structure” or “Reinforcing Belts” means at least two annular layers or plies of parallel cords, woven or unwoven, underlying the tread, unanchored to the bead.
“Carcass” means a laminate of tire ply material and other tire components cut to length suitable for splicing, or already spliced, into a cylindrical or toroidal shape. Additional components may be added to the carcass prior to its being vulcanized to create the molded tire.
“Circumferential” means lines or directions perpendicular to the axial direction.
“Cord” means one of the reinforcement strands, including fibers, which are used to reinforce the plies.
“Extensible” means a cable, cord, wire or reinforcement having an elongation at 10% of the breaking load greater than 0.2%, when measured from a cord extracted from a cured tire.
“Inner Liner” 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.
“Ply” means a cord-reinforced layer of elastomer-coated, radially deployed or otherwise parallel cords.
“Radial” and “radially” 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.
The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
The tire 10 further comprises a casing which includes two opposed sidewalls 16 which extend down from the tread 12 to the bead area (not shown). The casing of the tire may include an inner liner 18 which is typically formed of halobutyl rubber which forms an air impervious barrier. The tire casing may further include one or more radial plies 19 extending from the tread, down the sidewall to the tire bead and wrapped about or otherwise secured to each annular bead.
The tire 10 further includes a belt package 50 which is located between the tread and the one or more plies 19. The belt package comprises layers of reinforcement. The ply 19 and the belt reinforcing structure 50 are made from cord reinforced elastomeric material, wherein the cords are typically steel wire or polyamide filaments and the elastomer preferably being rubber.
The belt reinforcing structure 50 includes a first working belt 54 that is the radially innermost belt of the belt package 50. The first working belt 54 is located radially inwards of the second working belt 56, and is preferably the widest belt layer of the belt reinforcing structure 50. The first working belt 54 has a width which is preferably equal or, about equal, i.e. ±5%, to the tread arc width. The breaker angle of belt 54 is between 10 and 50 degrees, preferably with a right orientation, more preferably in the range of 19 to 25 degrees. Belt 54 is preferably made of extensible wire, which has a % elongation at 10% of breaking load of greater than 0.2%. The wire may be a hybrid cord or a steel wire.
The second working belt 56 is the second member of the working belt pair. The second working belt 56 has a width less than the width of the first working belt 54, and is preferably radially outward of the first working belt 54. Preferably, the second working belt 56 has a width less than the width of belt 54 by a step off, which may range from 10 to 20 mm. Belt 56 has a breaker angle between 12 and 35 degrees, preferably with a left orientation, more preferably in the range of 19 to 25 degrees. Belt 56 is preferably made of extensible wire, and is the same as the wire of the first working belt 54. More preferably, the wire has the same construction with the same but opposite angular orientation as the wire of belt 54.
The belt structure 50 further comprises a low angle belt 58 which is preferably located between the working pair belts, 54, 56. The low angle belt 58 has reinforcement cords that are oriented circumferentially at 5 degrees or less, preferably 2 degrees or less, more preferably 0 degrees with the tire midcircumferential midplane. The low angle belt 58 has an axial belt width less than the belt width of the working belts 54,56. The low angle belt 58 is layed over a rubber spacer strip 60. The rubber spacer strip 60 has an axial width less than the axial width of the low angle belt 58. Thus, the central portion of the low angle belt 58 is located radially outward of the lateral ends 59 of the low angle belt.
The low angle belt 58 is preferably formed from spirally winding a rubberized strip of one or more cords in a pattern as shown in
The low angle belt 58 has a width sized to avoid compression in the shoulder area. The belt width of the low angle belt 58 is preferably in the range of 70% to 80% of the tread arc width, and even more preferably in the range of 73-77%. The low angle belt 58 is preferably wide enough to decrease the strain cycles in the breaker wedge, and is just stopped before the shoulder area to avoid zero degree wire compression and a too round footprint.
The belt structure of the low angle belt 58 may be formed of high tensile steel, and have a % elongation at 10% of breaking load of 0.18 or more, for measurements taken from a cured tire. For measurements taken from bare cords, the % elongation at 10% of breaking load is 0.2 or more. Alternatively, the fourth belt may be formed of non-metal reinforcements such as aramid, carbon fiber, or polyketone or POK.
The belt structure 50 further comprises an optional top belt 61. The top belt has an axial width less than the working belts 54,56.
The aspect ratio of the tire described above may vary. The aspect ratio is preferably in the range of from 0.4 to 0.6. The tire may have a net to gross ratio in the range of 70 to 90, more preferably in the range of 74 to 86, more preferably a 78 to 84.
Variations in the present invention are possible in light of the description of it provided herein. While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the subject invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the subject invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that changes can be made in the particular embodiments described which will be within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63265529 | Dec 2021 | US |
