Tire comprising bead core material having characteristics of superelasticity and shape memory
First Claim
1. A tire, comprising:
- a toroidal carcass; and
a tread band;
wherein the toroidal carcass comprises a central crown and two sidewalls, wherein each sidewall terminates in an annular bead, wherein each annular bead comprises a metallic bead core for anchoring the bead to a corresponding bead seat of a wheel rim, wherein at least one bead core comprises one or more annular portions made of a material having characteristics of superelasticity and shape memory, wherein the material is deformable at ambient temperature in response to a constant force and recovers to an original shape upon removal of the constant force to facilitate mounting the tire on the rim, wherein the rim comprises a central channel from which branches off, axially and outwardly, from opposite sides, diverging surfaces each terminating in a peripheral flange, wherein the diverging surfaces form the bead seats for respective annular beads of the tire, and wherein, for a flat tire, heating of the one or more annular portions results in tighter gripping of a respective bead to a respective bead seat to prevent the tire from separating from the rim.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A tire includes a toroidal carcass and a tread band. The toroidal carcass includes a central crown and two sidewalls terminating in a pair of annular beads. Each annular bead includes a metallic bead core for anchoring to corresponding bead seats of a wheel rim. The metallic bead cores include at least one annular portion made of a material having characteristics of superelasticity and shape memory. The material having characteristics of superelasticity and shape memory is deformable at ambient temperature in response to a constant force and recovers to an original shape upon removal of the constant force to facilitate mounting the tire on the wheel rim. The wheel rim includes a central cylindrical channel from which branches off, axially and outwardly, from opposite sides, diverging surfaces each terminating in a peripheral flange. The diverging surfaces form the bead seats for respective annular beads of the tire.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. A tire, comprising:
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a toroidal carcass; and
a tread band;
wherein the toroidal carcass comprises a central crown and two sidewalls, wherein each sidewall terminates in an annular bead, wherein each annular bead comprises a metallic bead core for anchoring the bead to a corresponding bead seat of a wheel rim, wherein at least one bead core comprises one or more annular portions made of a material having characteristics of superelasticity and shape memory, wherein the material is deformable at ambient temperature in response to a constant force and recovers to an original shape upon removal of the constant force to facilitate mounting the tire on the rim, wherein the rim comprises a central channel from which branches off, axially and outwardly, from opposite sides, diverging surfaces each terminating in a peripheral flange, wherein the diverging surfaces form the bead seats for respective annular beads of the tire, and wherein, for a flat tire, heating of the one or more annular portions results in tighter gripping of a respective bead to a respective bead seat to prevent the tire from separating from the rim.
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2. A tire, comprising:
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a toroidal carcass; and
a tread band;
wherein the toroidal carcass comprises a central crown and two sidewalls, wherein each sidewall terminates in an annular bead, wherein each annular bead comprises a metallic bead core for anchoring the bead to a corresponding bead seat of a wheel rim, wherein at least one bead core comprises one or more annular portions made of a material having characteristics of superelasticity and shape memory, wherein the one or more annular portions are progressively heated when the tire is operated in a deflated condition and develop increasing forces of contraction up to a maximum value corresponding to a temperature at which formation of an austenitic structure of the material is complete, and wherein the forces of contraction result in tighter gripping of a respective bead to a respective bead seat to prevent the tire from separating from the rim.
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3. A tire, comprising:
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a toroidal carcass; and
a tread band;
wherein the toroidal carcass comprises a central crown and two sidewalls, wherein each sidewall terminates in an annular bead, wherein each annular bead comprises a metallic bead core for anchoring the bead to a corresponding bead seat of a wheel rim, wherein at least one bead core comprises one or more annular portions made of a material having characteristics of superelasticity and shape memory, wherein the material is deformable at ambient temperature in response to a constant force and recovers to an original shape upon removal of the constant force to facilitate mounting the tire on the rim, wherein the rim comprises a central channel from which branches off, axially and outwardly, from opposite sides, diverging surfaces each terminating in a peripheral flange, wherein the diverging surfaces form the bead seats for respective annular beads of the tire, and wherein the one or more annular portions impart to a respective bead core lengthwise contraction stresses when a predetermined temperature of the one or more annular portions is reached during operation of the tire. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5)
wherein the forces of contraction result in tighter gripping of a respective bead to a respective bead seat to prevent the tire from separating from the rim.
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Specification