Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited

Dai Kurosawa

Takuya Sato

A pneumatic tyre includes a tread portion, two axially spaced sidewall portions extending radially inwardly from the tread portion, at least one of the sidewall portions being provided with a side protector that protrudes axially outwardly and having an inner end located radially outwardly of a tyre-maximum-width position, and two axially spaced bead portions connected to radially inward of the respective sidewall portions. Each bead portion includes a bead apex rubber having an outer end in the tyre radial direction being located radially inwardly of the tyre-maximum-width position. A radial length of a tyre inner region from a bead baseline to the outer end of each bead apex rubber is in a range of from 0.8 to 1.2 times a radial length of a tyre outer region from a radially outermost position of the tread portion to the inner end of the side protector.

Pneumatic tyre

A pneumatic tire includes a tread portion being provided with blocks which are provided with sipes. When the tread portion is virtually divided into a crown area having a &#xbc; tread ground-contact width centered on a tire equator, a pair of middle areas each having a &#x215b; tread ground-contact width and being adjacent to axially each side of the crown area and a pair of inner shoulder areas each having a &#x215b; tread ground-contact width and being adjacent to axially outside the middle areas, the sipes comprise crown sipes having main portions included in the crown area, middle sipes having main portions included in the middle areas and shoulder sipes having main portions included in the inner shoulder areas. Depths of the crown sipes are smaller than depths of the middle sipes, and depths of the shoulder sipes are smaller than the depths of the middle sipes.

Pneumatic tire

A tirehas a tread portionprovided with: pair of axially innermost circumferentially continuously extending crown main grooves; outward transverse groovesextending axially outwardly therefrom; and inward transverse groovesextends axially inwardly extending therefrom. The crown main grooveis a zigzag groove comprising axially outer segmentsand axially inner segmentsextending in the tire circumferential direction, and oblique segmentsconnecting between the segmentsand. The inward transverse groovesare connected to axially inner intersectionsat which the axially inner segmentsintersect with the oblique segments. The outward transverse groovesare connected to axially outer intersectionsat which the axially outer segmentsintersect with the oblique segments

Tire

Each shoulder land regionE defined by a shoulder circumferential main grooveE is provided with a circumferential narrow grooveand axially inner and outer shoulder oblique groovesandextending therefrom. The axially outer shoulder oblique groovesare inclined with respect to the tire axial direction to one direction. The axially inner shoulder oblique groovesare inclined with respect to the tire axial direction to one direction opposite to that of the axially outer shoulder oblique grooves. Crown oblique groovesare inclined with respect to the tire axial direction to one direction same as that of the axially outer shoulder oblique grooves. Imaginary extensionsK of the axially outer shoulder oblique groovesare not overlapped with openings Qof the axially inner shoulder oblique groovesat the circumferential narrow groove. Imaginary extensionsK of the axially inner shoulder oblique groovesare not overlapped with openings Qof the crown oblique groovesat the shoulder circumferential main grooveE, and are not overlapped with openings Qof the axially outer shoulder oblique groovesat the circumferential narrow groove. Imaginary extensionsK of the crown oblique groovesare not overlapped with openings Qof the axially inner shoulder oblique groovesat the shoulder circumferential main grooveE.

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Kobe, Japan

Dai Kurosawa