US 5,174,214 AGranted

Radial tire for levitation-type vehicle

AssigneesBridgestone Corporation, Railway Technical Research Institute

InventorsKazuhiro Oda, Hideyuki Takizawa, Masayoshi Azakami, Yukimasa Yamada, Masahiro Kuroda

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Abstract

In a tire for a levitation-type vehicle for supporting a load which varies depending upon a change in speed of the levitation-type vehicle at landing and during subsequent traveling thereof, a configuration of a crown and rigidity of the crown are set so as to have a ground-contact configuration in which, when a load of the levitation-type vehicle is equal to or less than 45% at its full load, a ratio of a ground-contact length of a pair of shoulders in a circumferential direction of the tire with respect to a ground-contact length, in the circumferential direction of the tire, of a central portion of the crown in the widthwise direction is 0.6.about.1.5. Accordingly, the tire for the levitation-type vehicle has a wide ground-contact area at an initial stage of landing and traveling.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A levitation-type vehicle having at least one tire, said tire comprising at least one ply-cord layer forming a carcass having a plurality of cords which are arranged substantially in a radial direction, in which a plurality of belt layers composed of a plurality of reinforcing cord layers are interposed at a crown between an outer surface thereof and said carcass, and in which a load which varies depending upon a change in speed of said levitation-type vehicle is supported at landing and during subsequent traveling thereof, wherein

at least one of a configuration of said crown and rigidity of said crown is set so as to have a ground-contact configuration in which a ratio (B/A) of a ground-contact length (hereinafter referred to as "ground-contact length of shoulders") B of a pair of shoulders of said crown in a rotational direction of the tire for the levitation-type vehicle with respect to a ground-contact length (hereinafter referred to as "ground-contact length of a central portion") A of a substantially widthwise central portion of said crown in the rotational direction of the tire for said levitation-type vehicle is 0.6.about.1.5 when a load reaching 45% of a full load of said vehicle from a non-loaded state is applied to said tire, wherein the configuration of said crown CR is set such that a ratio of a dimension of a radius of curvature of said crown with respect to a dimension of said crown in the widthwise direction CW of the tire for said levitation-type vehicle is at least 3.5,
said plurality of belt layers having parts which are short in width, and wherein a ratio of a total number of embedded belt cords within 40%.about.50% of a maximum width dimension of said belt layers with respect to a total number of embedded belt cords in the entirety of said crown is 0.6.about.0.75 in a central portion of said belt layers in the widthwise direction, whereby the rigidity of said crown increases in the vicinity of the central portion of the tire for said levitation-type vehicle in the widthwise direction thereof.

A levitation-type vehicle having at least one tire, said tire comprising a carcass composed of at least one ply-cord layer having a plurality of cords arranged substantially in a radial direction, and a crown having a plurality of belt layers interposed between an outer surface of said crown and said carcass, said plurality of belt layers being composed of a plurality of reinforcing cord layers, in which a load is supported which varies depending upon a change in speed of said levitation-type vehicle at landing and during subsequent traveling thereof, wherein

a configuration of said crown and rigidity of said crown are so set as to have a ground-contact configuration in which a ratio (B/A) of a ground-contact length (hereinafter referred to as "ground-contact length of shoulders") B of a pair of shoulders of said crown in a circumferential direction of the tire for the levitation-type vehicle with respect to a ground-contact length (hereinafter referred to as "ground-contact length of a central portion") A of a substantially widthwise central portion of said crown, in the circumferential direction of the tire for said levitation-type vehicle, is 0.6.about.1.5 when a load reaching 45% of a full load of said vehicle from a non-loaded state is applied to said tire, wherein the configuration of said crown CR is set such that a ratio of a dimension of a radius of curvature of said crown with respect to a dimension of said crown in the widthwise direction CW of the tire for said levitation-type vehicle is at least 3.5,
said plurality of belt layers having parts which are short in width, and wherein a ratio of a total number of embedded belt cords within 40%.about.50% of a maximum width dimension of said belt layers with respect to a total number of embedded belt cords in the entirety of said crown is 0.6.about.0.75 in a central portion of said belt layers in the widthwise direction, whereby the rigidity of said crown increases in the vicinity of the central portion of the tire for said levitation-type vehicle in the widthwise direction thereof

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.