Tubeless pneumatic tire with carcass having butyl-based inner topping rubber layer

• US 6,148,889 A
• Filed: 02/08/1999
• Issued: 11/21/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Kazuya, Endo, Yukio, Minami, Nobuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnstone, Adrienne C.
• Application Number:
  US09/245,856
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: 152/510, 152/564, 152/542, 152/543, 152/546, 152/548, 152/550-554
• US Class Current: 152/510
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 15/06 Flipper strips, fillers, or chafing strips and reinforcing layers for the construction of the bead
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 5/12 without separate inflatable inserts, e.g. tubeless tyres with transverse section open to the rim B60C5/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 9/02 Carcasses
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 9/0207 Carcasses comprising an interrupted ply, i.e. where the carcass ply does not continuously extend from bead to bead but is interrupted, e.g. at the belt area, into two or more portions of the same ply
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 9/04 the reinforcing cords of each carcass ply arranged in a substantially parallel relationship
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 152/10828 Chafer or sealing strips
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 152/10837 Bead characterized by the radial extent of apex, flipper or chafer into tire sidewall
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 152/10855 Characterized by the carcass, carcass material, or physical arrangement of the carcass materials

Abstract

A tubeless pneumatic tire is provided including a carcass having a carcass cord web and topping rubber layers covering the opposite sides of the carcass cord web, the carcass extending from a tread portion through a sidewall portion to a bead portion and turned up around a bead core outwardly from the inside of the tire in the axial direction of the tire, wherein only the inner one of the topping rubber layers which faces the inside of the tire is made of a butyl-based rubber.

Claims

1. A tubeless pneumatic tire free of an inner liner comprising:

a carcass comprising a plurality of carcass plies stacked one on the other, radially of the tire, each of said carcass plies having a carcass cord web and topping rubber layers unified with the carcass cord web on opposite sides thereof by calendering, said plurality of carcass plies including an innermost carcass ply extending from the tread portion through the sidewall portion to the bead portion and turned up around the bead core outwardly from the inside of the tire in the axial direction, a chafer covering the turned-up portion of said innermost carcass ply, and a reinforcing rubber layer interposed between the turned-up portion of the innermost carcass ply and said chafer;

wherein;

only the topping rubber layer defining an interior surface of the tire of the innermost carcass ply is formed of a butyl-based rubber, thereby eliminating the inner liner, and

the topping rubber layers other than the topping rubber layer defining the interior surface of the tire are formed of a diene-based rubber material.

2. The tubeless pneumatic tire as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the innermost carcass ply is divided into two separate carcass ply portions, which are respectively disposed in regions corresponding to opposite sidewall portions.

3. The tubeless pneumatic tire as set forth in claim 2, wherein

W_n is the axial width between the radially outer ends of the two separate carcass ply portions and W_b is a tread width, and W_n and W_b satisfy the relationship

4. The tubeless pneumatic tire as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the butyl-based rubber includes a butyl rubber or a derivative thereof as the main ingredient in an amount of not less than 60% by weight.

5. The tubeless pneumatic tire as set forth in claim 1, wherein

a rubber gage Y between the carcass cord web and the interior surface of the tire ranges from 0.8 to 2.5 mm.