Undercut tie bar for pneumatic tire
AssigneeBridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC
InventorAaron R. Neumann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pneumatic tire includes a tread having a plurality of spaced tread blocks separated by grooves or slots. A plurality of tie bars extend across the grooves or slots between adjacent tread blocks. The tie bars have a pair of sidewalls and a top surface with an undercut formed in at least one of the sidewalls to reduce tie bar stiffness and provide increased water evacuation as the tread wears. The top surface of the tie bar is lower than the top surfaces of the adjacent tread block and the undercut can be formed in only one or both sidewalls of the tie bar and have various stepped and tapered configurations.
Claims17
A pneumatic tire having a tread extending about the outer circumference of the tire, said tread having a plurality of circumferentially extending ribs formed by a plurality of tread blocks spaced apart by a plurality of grooves extending between said tread blocks, said grooves being defined by a bottom surface and spaced sidewalls of adjacent tread blocks with certain of said grooves having a tie bar connected to and extending across the bottom surface of the groove and between the spaced pair of tread block sidewalls, each of said tie bars having a top surface spaced below top surfaces of said pair of tread blocks and a pair of sidewalls, at least one of said tie bar sidewalls being formed with an undercut.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.