Tire with variable shear element
AssigneeBridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
InventorsAndrew V. HAIDET, Douglas B. COSTLOW, Robert W. ASPER
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tire includes a central region configured to be mounted to a wheel and a crown region including a circumferential tread and a shear element disposed below the circumferential tread. The shear element includes an upper reinforcement layer, a lower reinforcement layer, and an elastic region disposed between the upper reinforcement layer and the lower reinforcement layer. A radial distance between the upper reinforcement layer and the lower reinforcement layer varies along an axial width of the tire. The tire also includes an intermediate region extending from the central region to the crown region.
Claims22
A method of making a tire comprising:
- providing a first substantially circular sheet of polymeric material;
- placing a first pair of reinforcement rings on the first substantially circular sheet of polymeric material, wherein the first pair of reinforcement rings includes a first lower ring and a first upper ring,
- wherein the first lower ring is coaxial with the first upper ring,
- wherein the first lower ring has a first lower ring diameter, and
- wherein the first upper ring has a first upper ring diameter;
- placing a second substantially circular sheet of polymeric material on the first substantially circular sheet of polymeric material such that the first pair of reinforcement rings is sandwiched between the first substantially circular sheet of polymeric material and the second substantially circular sheet of polymeric material;
- placing a second pair of reinforcement rings on the second substantially circular sheet of polymeric material, wherein the second pair of reinforcement rings includes a second lower ring and a second upper ring,
- wherein the second lower ring is coaxial with the second upper ring,
- wherein the second lower ring has a second lower ring diameter, and
- wherein the second upper ring has a second upper ring diameter;
- placing a third substantially circular sheet of polymeric material on the second substantially circular sheet of polymeric material such that the second pair of reinforcement rings is sandwiched between the second substantially circular sheet of polymeric material and the third substantially circular sheet of polymeric material;
- placing additional substantially circular sheets of polymeric material and additional pairs of reinforcement rings on the third substantially circular sheet of polymeric material, until a tire is built.
A tire comprising:
- a central region configured to be mounted to a wheel;
- a crown region including a circumferential tread and a shear element disposed below the circumferential tread,
- wherein the shear element includes an upper reinforcement layer, a lower reinforcement layer, and an elastic region disposed between the upper reinforcement layer and the lower reinforcement layer, and
- wherein a radial distance between the upper reinforcement layer and the lower reinforcement layer varies along an axial width of the tire;
- and
- an intermediate region extending from the central region to the crown region.
(canceled)
(canceled)
A green tire comprising:
- a plurality of sheets of green rubber having a substantially circular shape, each sheet having a crown region;
- and
- at least one reinforcement sandwiched between adjacent sheets of green rubber in the crown region, wherein the at least one reinforcement defines a substantially inelastic lower region, a substantially inelastic upper region, and an elastic region disposed between the substantially inelastic lower region and the substantially inelastic upper region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.