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AssigneeThe Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company
InventorsRichard L. Palinkas, Scott R. Pajtas
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A trapezoidal non-pneumatic tire ("TNPT") is integrally molded from a stiff, resilient elastomeric material with particular specifications, to form a unitary structure comprising outer and inner cylindrical coaxial members ("hoops"), the outer being wider than the inner. The outer hoop is supported and cushioned by a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, planar rib members (ribs) and a planar central web member (web) which connects the hoops at their circumferential center lines. The web lies in a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis of the TNPT. The ribs extend axially along the inner and outer hoops, connecting them, and the edges of the ribs lie along the opposite faces of the web. The ribs are angled in the range from 15.degree. to 75.degree. to radial planes which intersect them at their radially inner ends, and the ribs on one side of the web are angled oppositely from those on the other. A rubber tread is secured to the outer surface of the outer hoop. The coaction of the structural elements of the TNPT provides a load-supporting structure which, in operation, is subjected to continuous compression and tensile forces as it travels over the ground. Deformation and buckling characteristics of the TNPT are derived from its unique trapezoidal shape which results in an interaction of the structural elements such that the outer hoop is not pulled under the wheel as much as the outer hoop would have been, had the shape of the TNPT been rectangular. The trapezoidal shape provides the TNPT with improved "handling" characteristics in hard turns without sacrificing a "ride" which is suprisingly similar to that of a conventional pneumatic tire.
In a non-pneumatic tire rotatable about an axis, said tire comprising an annular body of resilient elastomeric material, said body consisting essentially of a generally cylindrical outer member at the outer periphery of said body, a generally cylindrical inner member spaced radially inward from and coaxial with said outer member, a plurality of axially extending, circumferentially spaced-apart first and second rib members connected at their corresponding inner and outer ends to said inner and outer cylindrical members, said rib members being generally inclined at an angle of from about 15.degree. to 75.degree. to radial planes which intersect them at their inner ends, and a unitary circumferential web member having opposite side faces, said web member having its inner and outer peripheries connected respectively to said inner and outer cylindrical members, said web member being connected on one side face to said first rib members and on the other side face to said second rib members, said first rib members being directed oppositely to said second rib members with respect to said radial planes, to form with said inner and outer cylindrical members and said web member, a load-carrying structure which provides locally loaded members adapted to buckle, the improvement comprising,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.