Low resistivity tire with silica-rich tread and at least one electrostatic discharge ring
AssigneeMichelin Recherche et Technique S.A.
InventorsRobert V. Teeple, Sid H. Bordelon, Dean B. Creech
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The tire of this invention has a silica-rich tread compound for excellent rolling resistance and tread wear properties. The tire is made to be conductive such that electrostatic charges on the vehicle can be quickly dissipated when the vehicle stops. An electrostatic discharge ring is located on at least one shoulder portion of the tire and has a relatively low volume resistivity, on the order of 100 megohm centimeter. The discharge ring is positioned to make contact with a conductive sidewall portion of the tire. The overall resistivity of the tire from the rim to the ground surface is made to be less than about 100 megohms.
Claims14
A radial pneumatic tire with a silica-rich tread which is capable of timely discharging the static electricity accumulated in a vehicle on which the tire is mounted, comprising:
- a toroidal carcass terminating at opposite bead regions of the tire which are adjacent a rim of the vehicle when the tire is mounted on the rim;
- a belt package radially outward of a crown portion of the carcass, and a belt edge rubber portion at each lateral edge of said belt package;
- a pair of spaced apart sidewall rubber portions each positioned axially outside a respective lateral portion of said carcass and extending radially inward from a respective belt edge to contact said rim when the tire is mounted on the rim;
- a tread portion, having at least a 50 percent silica content by weight, positioned radially outward of said belt package for contacting a ground surface over a contact patch having a tread width and supporting said tire of the vehicle;
- and
- at least one electrostatic discharge ring positioned at a lateral edge of said tread and axially inward of a respective sidewall portion and having a first edge located axially inward of a lateral edge of the tread width at a surface of the tread and a second edge located radially inward of said tread portion, wherein said at least one discharge ring provides a conductive path from the ground surface to a combination of a conductive belt edge rubber portion and a conductive sidewall rubber portion when the tire is in service.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.