Tire with improved resistance to sidewall damage
AssigneesMichelin Recherche et Technique S.A., Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin
InventorsFang Zhu, Drew R. Howlett, Craig Jurs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tire with improved resistance to sidewall damage such as splitting or puncture is provided. More particularly, the present invention provides a tire with tread features positioned along the sidewall in a manner that improves the protection of the sidewall against damage when contacting obstacles during operation of the tire.
Claims19
A tire having improved protection against obstacles damaging the sidewall, the tire having an equator, the tire also having tread blocks and tread grooves positioned along a shoulder of the tire, the tire comprising:
- a plurality of block-based tread features located along the sidewall of the tire, said block-based tread features positioned along the sidewall of the tire based upon the radial position of the equator, LPN, and a first area in which an obstacle would move along the sidewall of the tire if the obstacle slipped off a tread block as the tire moved past the obstacle;
- and
- a plurality of groove-based tread features located along the sidewall of the tire, said groove-based tread features positioned along the sidewall of the tire based upon the radial position of LPN, LPG, and a second area in which an obstacle would move along the sidewall of the tire if the obstacle slipped off a tread groove as the tire moved past the obstacle.
A tire having improved protection against obstacles damaging the sidewall, the tire having an equator, a summit, and defining radial directions, the tire having tread blocks and tread grooves positioned along a shoulder of the tire, the tire comprising:
- a plurality of block-based tread features located along the sidewall of the tire, said block-based features positioned radially below respective tread blocks located along the shoulder of the tire;
- a plurality of groove-based tread features located along the sidewall of the tire, said groove-based features positioned radially below respective tread grooves located along the shoulder of the tire;
- and
- wherein said groove-based tread features are positioned closer to the summit of the tire than said block-based tread features.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.