Tire shield device

A shield protecting a sidewall of a tire having a ground contacting tread adjacent the sidewall from penetration by foreign objects and which is capable of use on a road at high speeds wherein the shield is mounted between a flange of a tire rim and a bead portion of the tire axially outward of and extending over the sidewall which comprises:

• an annulus defining a foreign object penetration shield having a curved cross-section with opposed convex and concave wide sides and with opposed short sides between the wide sides one short side defining an inner opening as a radially inside bead portion of the annulus with a diameter conforming to the diameter of one flange of the rim upon which the shield is mounted with the tire, wherein the shield has a core of penetration resistant rubber surrounded by relatively softer rubber which has been molded to the curved cross-section with the core, wherein the axially inside bead portion has been molded of the softer rubber onto the core to conform to the shape of an axially outside portion of the bead of the tire and which mates with the flange so as to mount axially between the flange of the rim and said bead portion of the tire, wherein there is an air pocket between the side wall of the tire and the concave side of the shield when the shield is mounted on the flange of the rim, wherein a radially outer portion of the shield is adjacent and of substantially the same radial extent as the tread of the tire and wherein the shield straightens out or decambers away from the sidewall of the tire due to centrifugal force upon rotation at a high speed above 5 mph of the shield with the tire and flange.