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US 4,044,811 AGranted
Laminated pneumatic tire
AssigneeThe General Tire & Rubber Company
InventorsThomas J. Dudek, Leon F. Marker, Hendrik Jan Jacob Janssen
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AssigneeThe General Tire & Rubber Company
InventorsThomas J. Dudek, Leon F. Marker, Hendrik Jan Jacob Janssen
Estimating the term…
A laminated pneumatic tire is disclosed which may be free of reinforcing fabric and which is made of a substantial number of alternating layers of high-modulus and low-modulus polymeric material such as synthetic rubber, polyurethane rubber, and various elastoplastic and high-modulus plastic materials including polycarbonate, nylon, epoxide resins, polystyrene and the like. The alternating hard and soft layers provide the tire with a necessary durability and resistance to flex cracking. The tire may contain low-modulus polymeric layers with a Young's modulus from 300 to 2000 or higher. The high-modulus layers of the tire may have a Young's modulus from 3000 to 50,000 or higher. The preferred process involved forming the individual layers from liquid polymeric materials, such as liquid polyurethane polymers, and forming the tire in molds wherein the layers are applied to the inside of the mold by spraying or otherwise applying the liquid polymer while rotating the mold or otherwise providing rotating motion between the applicator and the mold.
In a pneumatic tire casing having a tread portion and flexible sidewall portions which are free of fabric reinforcement, the improvement wherein each of said sidewall portions comprises:
A pneumatic rubber tire having a carcass including sidewall portions in the form of a flexible laminate each layer of the laminate being parallel to the outer surface of the sidewall in which the layer is incorporated, said laminate comprising at least seven layers of flexible polymeric material with a calculated molecular weight of at least 10,000, a series of said layers comprising low-modulus polymeric material with a Young's flexural modules not in excess of 3000 pounds per square inch, a series of said layers being interspersed with the low-modulus layers and comprising high-modulus polymeric material with a Young's modulus of at least 3000 pounds per square inch, the high-modulus layers having a 10 percent modulus which is at least twice that of the low-modulus layers.
A pneumatic rubber ring having a carcass in the form of a flexible laminate, said laminate comprising at least seven layers of flexible polymeric material having a tensile strength of at least 2000 pounds per square inch and a calculated molecular weight of at least 10,000, said laminate having alternating layers with different tensile moduli in one direction, each layer having a Young's flexural modulus of at least 1000, a series of said layers having a tensile modulus in said one direction at 10 percent elongation which is at least twice the tensile modulus of adjacent layers in that one direction at 10 percent elongation, whereby the laminate has a high resistance to flex cracking.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.