TIRE BEAD GEOMETRY

• Main Authors: WINTER DAVID LOUIS, KULTON MICHAEL CHIRSTOPHER, LOSEY ROBERT ALLEN, ROMAN JOHN PATRICK, LEE CHINGIH, KACHNER MICHAEL DAVID, GOBINATH THULASIRAM, BRAYER, SR. RANDALL RAYMOND, KING KELLY SUE, BIRT JUDY ANN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 14.05.2009
• 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 has a carcass structure extending through a pair of opposing bead portions and an inner liner located inward of the carcass structure, each bead portion comprising a bead core about which is wrapped the carcass structure and a toeguard. Each bead portion has a bead toe, a bead base, and a bead heel, the bead base extending between the bead toe and the bead heel. The bead heel has a profile corresponding to a sector of an ellipse or approximates a sector of an ellipse by having a dual radius structure. The bead base may have a dual taper configuration. The bead core may be substantially centered in the bead portion, as determined by the material thickness at three locations about the bead core.