Tire with circumferential rubber tread having a lateral outboard control element

• Main Author: PUHALA AARON SCOTT,BARNETTE RACHEL REBEKAH,POLINGDAVID CHARLES,MARAZZI ERIC JOHN,HUA KUOIH,FUTAMURA SHINGO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.08.2007
• Subjects: DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; REPAIRING, OR CONNECTING VALVES TO, INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIESIN GENERAL; TRANSPORTING; TYRE CHANGING OR REPAIRING; TYRE INFLATION; VEHICLE TYRES; VEHICLES IN GENERAL

The invention relates to a tire having a circumferential tread of a cap/base configuration composed of an outer tread rubber cap layer with a running surface of the tread and an underlying tread rubber base layer, wherein said tread cap layer is composed of two longitudinal adjacent zones, namely a primary tread cap zone and a minor lateral outboard control element (zone). The primary tread cap zone and the lateral outboard tread cap element provide a significant gradation of cold dynamic storage moduli (G') at -25 DEG C. and hot tan delta values at 100 DEG C., yet similar warm dynamic storage moduli (G') at 60 DEG C. The primary tread cap zone and lateral outboard control tread cap element are load bearing in the sense of extending from the running surface of the tread radially inward to the unitary (non-zoned) tread base rubber layer. The zoned rubber tread cap layer and unitary rubber tread base layer are an integral tread composite in a sense of being co-extruded. In one aspect of the invention, the primary tread cap zone rubber composition is silica-rich and the lateral, outboard element rubber composition is carbon black-rich and which furthermore provide a gradation of filler reinforcement content; provide a gradation of silica to carbon black ratio and provide a gradation of cis 1,4-polybutadiene rubber content.