Hydroplaning performance for a tire
AssigneesCompagnie Generale Des Establissements Michelin, Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A.
InventorRonald Hobart Thompson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This invention relates generally to an improved design that provides better hydroplaning performance for a tire, and, more specifically, to a tire that has a variable pressure shear band located below its tread that provides increased structural stiffness to the tire, helping the tire to resist deformation when the tire encounters water, thereby decreasing the tendency of the tire to hydroplane. Advantageously, the variable pressure shear band can improve the hydroplaning performance and rolling resistance simultaneously without degrading wear performance.
Claims12
A tire with a ground contacting portion and having radial, longitudinal and axial directions and an equatorial plane, said tire comprising a variable pressure shear band including:
- a shear layer having a cross-section wherein the product (Geff*h) varies in the axial direction of the tire;
- a first membrane that is adhered to the radially inward extent of the shear layer said first membrane having reinforcements wrapped spirally in the longitudinal direction;
- and
- a second membrane that is adhered to the radially outward extent of the shear layer,
- wherein Geff is the effective dynamic shear modulus and h is the height of the shear layer,
- wherein the ground contacting portion has a tread with shoulder portions at each axial extent thereof and a center portion therebetween and wherein the shear layer also has shoulder portions at each axial extent thereof and a center portion therebetween, said shoulder portions and center portion of the shear layer being found substantially radially below the shoulder and center portions of the tread respectively, said shear layer having a thickness that increases in a radially inward direction as the shear layer progresses from its shoulder portions to its center portion in the axial direction,
- wherein the shear layer is thinnest at its shoulder portions and thickest at its center portion and wherein the neutral fiber of the shear layer moves radially inward as the shear layer progresses from its shoulder portions to its center portion, said neutral fiber reaching its lowest position substantially at the equator of the tire.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.