Radial tire

• US 5,388,626 A
• Filed: 06/15/1992
• Issued: 02/14/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Inventors: Ookimoto, Tomoko, Asano, Kazuo, Idei, Mitsushige
• Primary Examiner(s): Weston, Caleb
• Assistant Examiner(s): Krawczyk, Nancy
• Application Number:
  US07/898,540
• Time in Patent Office: 974 Days
• Field of Search: 152/454
• US Class Current: 152/454
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 13/003 characterised by sidewall curvature
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 15/00 Tyre beads, e.g. ply turn-up or overlap
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 15/02 Seating or securing beads on rims sealing means between beads and rims of tubeless tyres B60C5/16; means for securing solid tyres on rims B60C7/24
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 3/04 characterised by the relative dimensions of the section, e.g. low profile B60C3/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 9/0292 Carcass ply curvature sidewall curvature B60C13/003

Abstract

A radial tire which mitigates reactions when running across protrusions to thereby avoid damage to the vehicle. The tire prevents rim touch, an indirect contact of the inner face of the tread portion with a flange of the rim or a direct contact of the tread portion with the bead portion. The tire has sidewall portions which are bulged-out to satisfy certain equations. An increase in sidewall thickness and carcass rigidity is avoided with the radial tire.

Claims

1. An assembly of radial tire and a rim, the radial tire comprising a tread portion, a pair of axially spaced bead portions, a pair of sidewall portions extending between the tread edges and the bead portions, a bead core disposed in each of the bead portions, a radial carcass extending between the bead portions and turned up around the bead cores, and a belt disposed radially outside the carcass in tread portion,

said rim comprising a pair of bead seats for the bead portions and a flange extending radially outwardly from the axially outer edge of each said bead seat and comprising a curved upper portion and a flat lower portion,

the sidewall portions under a normally inflated state of the tire are bulged-out so as to satisfy the following conditions:

the total (HA+HC) of a height HA and a height HC is not less than 0.818 times the total (HA+HB+HC) of the height HA, the height HB and the height HC; and

a distance HE is not more than 0.575 times a distance HD, wherein

the height HA is the radial distance between a point C and a point P1,

the height HB is the radial distance between the point P1 and a point P2,

the height HC is the radial distance between the point P2 and a point P3,

the distance HD is the radial distance between the point P3 and a point P4,

the distance HE is the axial distance between the point P3 and the point P4,

the points C and P1 are on the outer surface of the tire tread portion,

the points P2, P3 and P4 are on the inner surface of the tire at the tread portion, the bead portion and the sidewall portion respectively,

the point C is the tire equator CO,

the points P1, P2, P3 are on a plane (X) being parallel with the tire equatorial plane CO and positioned at the bead heel point PO,

the point P4 is the axially outermost point of the axially inner surface of the sidewall portion,

the bead heel point PO is the intersecting point between the bead base line and the bead side face line,

a bead thickness TB measured normally to the tire inner surface from said point P3 to the tire outer surface is not more than 0.092 times the radial distance (h) between said point C and the radially outer end of the flange, and

the central point Q1 of the bead thickness TB measured normally to the tire inner surface from said point P3 to the tire outer surface, the central point Q2 of the shoulder thickness TS measured normally to the tire inner surface from said point P2 to the tire outer surface, and the central point Q3 of the sidewall thickness at said point P4 are positioned on a circle (L) of which radius RD is not less than 0.77 times said distance (h).

2. The assembly of the radial tire and the rim according to claim 1, wherein the shoulder portions of the tire are rounded such that a shoulder region extending axially outwardly from said point P1 to a point P5 is formed by a single radius arc, said point P5 is on the outer surface of the tire at the same radial height as said point P2,

the radius RS of said single radius arc is not less than 0.22 times the ground contacting width (W1) measured between the axially outer edges (e) of the ground contacting region under a normal loaded state of the tire in which the tire is mounted on the rim and inflated to its regular inner pressure and then loaded with its regular load.

3. The assembly of the radial tire and the rim as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein said tire is inflated to 1.15 times its regular pressure specified for the tire.