Tire including conducting strip

• US 5,937,926 A
• Filed: 09/11/1997
• Issued: 08/17/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Inventors: Powell, Brian David Willamd
• Primary Examiner(s): Maki, Steven D.
• Application Number:
  US08/929,298
• Time in Patent Office: 705 Days
• Field of Search: 152/151, 152/152.1, 152/209 R, 152/209 D, 152/450, 152/DIG. 2
• US Class Current: 152/152.1
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0005 Conductive
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2030/002 Treads
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 1/0016 Compositions of the tread
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 19/08 Electric-charge-dissipating arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 152/02 Static discharge

Abstract

A tire tread comprising an elongated tread strip of tire tread compound of high resistivity having a transverse width (TR) and, within the transverse width (TR) at least one longitudinally extending conducting strip of low resistivity tire compound with a volume resistivity less than 10⁸ ohm-cm, the at least one conducting strip extending from the top to the bottom surface of a tread strip.

Claims

1. A passenger road vehicle tire comprising

a carcass, a tread reinforcing breaker, a tread including an elongated tread strip of tire tread compound of high resistivity having a transverse width (TR), including silica as a reinforcement material and having a volume resistivity of approximately 10¹³ ohm-cm, a tire sub-tread being conductive underlying and in contact with the radially inner surface of the tread strip substantially across the entire transverse width (TR) and along the entire circumference of the inner surface of the tread strip, and at least one circumferentially extending conducting strip of low resistivity tire compound having a volume resistivity less than 10⁸ ohm-cm, the width of each said at least one conducting strip being in the range of 5 to 25% of the tread width, and each of said at least one conducting strip extending between the radially outer surface of the tread strip and the tire sub-tread such that a conductive path is provided for dissipation of static electric charge from the tire through the sub-tread and conducting strip to the radially outer surface of the tread strip.

2. The tire according to claim 1 wherein said at least one conducting strip is substantially at the center of the tread strip.

3. The tire according to claim 1 wherein said at least one conducting strip is two in number, each of said two conducting strips extending longitudinally in the tire tread.

4. The tire according to claim 3 wherein said two conducting strips are tread wings which form a pair of tire tread shoulders.

5. The tire according to claim 1 wherein the volume resistivity of the compound of said at least one conducting strip is less than 10⁶ ohm-cm.

6. The tire according to claim 1 wherein the high resistivity compound includes silica as a reinforcement material at 80 phr.

7. The tire according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending tread grooves wherein said at least one conducting strip is one in number and has a width greater than the width of the widest of said longitudinally extending tread grooves.