PNEUMATIC TIRE

• Main Author: NAKADA, YOKO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 16.07.2002
• Edition: 5
• Subjects: DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; REPAIRING, OR CONNECTING VALVES TO, INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIESIN GENERAL; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TRANSPORTING; TYRE CHANGING OR REPAIRING; TYRE INFLATION; VEHICLE TYRES; VEHICLES IN GENERAL

A pneumatic tire is provided herein having a tread portion with a pair of edges, a pair of axially-spaced bead portions each with a bead core, a pair of sidewa ll portions extending from the edges of the tread portion to the bead portions and a carcass extending between the bead portions. A tread rubber layer is dispose d radially outside the carcass to define the tread portion. A sidewall rubber layer is disposed axially outside the carcass, in each of the sidewall portions, the sidewall rubber layer being of softer material than the tread rubber layer. A protective rubber layer is disposed on the outer surface of each of the sidewall rubber layers defining a portion of the outer surface of each sidewall portion. The protective rubber layer is made of a fibre-reinforced rubber composition containing 10 to 50 parts by weight of short fibrous reinforcements, 20 to 70 parts by weight of carbon black, and 100 parts by weight of rubber base consisting of 20 to 100 parts by weight of natural rubber or isoprene rubber and 80 to 0 parts by weight of butadiene rubber. The short fibrous reinforcements are oriented in the tire circumferential direction. Furthermore, the protective rubber layer has a radial outer edge that ends near the edge of the tread rubber layer, and a radial inner edge which is locatedradially-inwardly of the maximum carcass width point of the tire, and within the sidewall portion.