# US 10,369,842 B2 · Tire provided with a tread comprising a thermoplastic elastomer > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,369,842 B2 - Document ID: US10369842B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/114,499 - Filed: 2015-01-27 - Published: 2016-11-24 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2014-01-28 - Assignees: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin - Applicants: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin; Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A. - Inventors: Vincent Abad; Emmanuel Custodero; Christophe Chouvel; Marc Greiveldinger - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10369842B2 ## CPC - B60C 1/0016: {Compositions of the tread} - C08G 81/022: {containing sequences of polymers of conjugated dienes and of polymers of alkenyl aromatic compounds} - C08L 9/06: Copolymers with styrene - C08L 53/02: of vinyl-aromatic monomers and conjugated dienes - B60C: VEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES - C08G: MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS - C08L: COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS (compositions based on polymerisable monomers C08F, C08G; artificial filaments or fibres D01F; textile treating compositions D06) ## Abstract The present invention relates to a tire comprising a tread, a crown with a crown reinforcement, two sidewalls, two beads, a carcass reinforcement anchored to the two beads and extending from one sidewall to the other, in which the tread comprises at least one thermoplastic elastomer, said thermoplastic elastomer being a block copolymer comprising at least one elastomer block of optionally hydrogenated butadiene/styrene random copolymer type and at least one thermoplastic block of styrene type, and the total content of thermoplastic elastomer being within a range varying from 65 to 100 phr (parts by weight per hundred parts of elastomer). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A tire comprising a tread, a crown with a crown reinforcement, two sidewalls, two beads, a carcass reinforcement anchored to the two beads and extending from one sidewall to the other, wherein the tread comprises at least one thermoplastic elastomer and optionally at least one non-thermoplastic elastomer, said thermoplastic elastomer being a block copolymer comprising at least one elastomer block of hydrogenated butadiene/styrene random copolymer type and at least one thermoplastic block of styrene type, and the total content of thermoplastic elastomer being within a range varying from 65 to 100 phr per total elastomer in the tread, wherein the at least one elastomer block is hydrogenated such that a proportion extending from 25 mol % to 100 mol % of the double bonds in the butadiene portion are hydrogenated. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the at least one elastomer block is hydrogenated such that a proportion extending from 50 mol % to 100 mol % of the double bonds in the butadiene portion are hydrogenated. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The tire according to claim 2, wherein the at least one elastomer block is hydrogenated such that a proportion extending from 80 mol % to 100 mol % of the double bonds in the butadiene portion are hydrogenated. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the number-average molecular weight of the thermoplastic elastomer is between 30,000 and 500,000 g/mol. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the at least one elastomer block of the block copolymer is chosen from elastomers having a glass transition temperature of less than 25° C. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the at least one elastomer block has a styrene content within a range extending from 10% to 60%. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the at least one elastomer block has a content of 1,2-bonds for the butadiene part within a range extending from 4 mol % to 75 mol % and a content of 1,4-bonds within a range extending from 20 mol % to 96 mol %. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the at least one thermoplastic block of the block copolymer is chosen from polymers having a glass transition temperature of greater than 80° C. and, in the case of a semicrystalline thermoplastic block, a melting point of greater than 80° C. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the fraction of the at least one thermoplastic block in the block copolymer is within a range extending from 5% to 70%. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the at least one thermoplastic block of the block copolymer is chosen from polystyrenes. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The tire according to claim 10, wherein the at least one thermoplastic block of the block copolymer is chosen from polystyrenes obtained from styrene monomers selected from the group consisting of unsubstituted styrene, substituted styrenes and mixtures thereof. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The tire according to claim 11, wherein the at least one thermoplastic block of the block copolymer is chosen from polystyrenes obtained from styrene monomers selected from the group consisting of unsubstituted styrene, methylstyrenes, para-tert-butylstyrene, chlorostyrenes, bromostyrenes, fluorostyrenes, para-hydroxystyrene and mixtures thereof. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The tire according to claim 12, wherein the at least one thermoplastic block of the block copolymer is chosen from polystyrenes obtained from styrene monomers selected from the group consisting of unsubstituted styrene, o-methylstyrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methyl styrene, alpha-methyl styrene, alpha,2-dimethyl styrene, alpha,4-dimethyl styrene, diphenylethylene, para-tert-butyl styrene, o-chlorostyrene, m-chlorostyrene, p-chlorostyrene, 2,4-dichlorostyrene, 2,6-dichlorostyrene, 2,4,6-trichlorostyrene, o-bromostyrene, m-bromostyrene, p-bromostyrene, 2,4-dibromostyrene, 2,6-dibromostyrene, 2,4,6-tribromostyrene, o-fluorostyrene, m-fluorostyrene, p-fluorostyrene, 2,4-difluorostyrene, 2,6-difluorostyrene, 2,4,6-trifluorostyrene, para-hydroxystyrene and mixtures thereof. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The tire according to claim 13, wherein the at least one thermoplastic block of the block copolymer is obtained from unsubstituted polystyrene. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the at least one thermoplastic elastomer is the only elastomer of the tread. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The tire according to claim 1, wherein the tread additionally comprises a thermoplastic resin comprising optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The tire according to claim 16, wherein the thermoplastic resin comprising optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units has a glass transition temperature Tg, measured by DSC according to Standard ASTM D3418, 1999, within a range extending from 0° C. to 215° C. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The tire according to claim 16, wherein the thermoplastic resin comprising optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units is a compound comprising predominantly polyphenylene units of general formula (I): in which: R1, R2, R3 and R4 represent, independently of one another, identical or different groups selected from hydrogen, hydroxyl, alkoxy, halogen, amino, alkylamino or dialkylamino groups or hydrocarbon-based groups comprising at least 2 carbon atoms, optionally interrupted by heteroatoms and optionally substituted; R1 and R3 on the one hand, and R2 and R4 on the other hand, possibly forming, together with the carbon atoms to which they are attached, one or more rings fused to the benzene ring of the compound of formula (I), and n is an integer within a range extending from 3 to 300. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The tire according to claim 18, wherein R1 and R2 represent an alkyl group and R3 and R4 represent hydrogen atoms. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The tire according to claim 18, wherein R1 and R2 represent a methyl group. ### Claim 21 (depends on 16) The tire according to claim 16, wherein the content of said thermoplastic resin comprising optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units is within a range extending from 1 to 90 phr. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The tire according to claim 21, wherein the content of said thermoplastic resin based on optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units is within a range extending from 2 to 80 phr. ### Claim 23 (depends on 16) The tire according to claim 16, wherein the content of said thermoplastic resin comprising optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units is within a range extending from 3 to 60 phr. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The tire according to claim 23, wherein the content of said thermoplastic resin comprising optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units is within a range extending from 5 to 60 phr.