Porous tire tread and method of bonding discrete particles to form same
AssigneeDunlop Limited
InventorsArthur R. Williams, Gareth T. Williams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An unpatterned (grooveless) porous tire tread and a pneumatic tire incorporating the porous tread, together with methods of manufacturing the tire tread as a separate item and as an integral part of the tire are described. The tire tread has numerous randomly orientated and randomly distributed interconnected passages extending from the surface substantially throughout the tread. These passages provide water drainage paths preventing build-up of water between the tire tread and a wet road. The tire tread is preferably manufactured by bonding particulated elastomeric material with a binder mixture that forms a polymer upon curing. Whether formed separately or integrally with a tire, the tread mould is unpatterned.
Claims27
An unpatterned grooveless tire tread for a motor vehicle tire, wherein the tread comprises an assembly of numerous discrete particles of elastomeric material bonded together to form a cohesive nonsolid mass with adjacent particles bonded together only at separated portions thereof, and intermediate said bonded portions, the particles being spaced-apart to provide passages which are randomly distributed and randomly oriented, said passages extending substantially throughout the tread, including from a highway-contacting surface of the tread, said passages constituting voids in the tread, the total void content of the tread being in the range from 10% to 60% of the overall volume of the tread, such that in use of a tire incorporating said tread, said passages provide for drainage of water away from the portion of tread surface contacting a wet highway.
A tire according to claim 25, wherein said particles have a volumetric size or sizes in the range from 5.times.10.sup.-4 cc to 4.times.10.sup.-2 cc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.