Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited

Hiroshi Yamaoka

Yoshiaki Kanematsu

Toshiki Horiguchi

Ryotaro Kitahara

Takeru Iwashita

Koichi Nakajima

Mari Mishima

Yuichi Ishigaki

Keiji Takagi

Kotaro Tahara

Yuta Sakakibara

Naoya Nagahara

Aya Wakizono

Seiji Inoue

Yosuke Komori

Yutaro Inada

Saki Arakawa

Takafumi Noguchi

Hiroki Mizokawa

A tire comprises a tread portion having a tread surface and buttress surfaces. The buttress surfaces have inclinations such that the tread edges shift axially outwards as the tread portion is worn off. The tread rubber includes a radially outermost first rubber layer and a radially inner second rubber layer. The loss tangent δof the second rubber layer is larger than the loss tangent δof the first rubber layer. One of or each of the buttress surfaces is provided with an outer lateral groove. The outer lateral groove is located axially outside the tread edge when the tire is new, and when the tread portion is worn off and the tread edge shifts axially outward, the outer lateral groove is at least partially located axially inward of the tread edge.

Tire

A tire comprises a tread portion comprising a circumferentially arranged blocks divided by lateral grooves. Each block has a block side wall and a block tread. Each lateral groove comprises an axially outer first portion, an axially inner second portion, and a connect portion at which the first portion and the second portion are connected with each other so that each block is provided with a convex corner portion which is convex toward the outside of the block at the connect portion. In the convex corner portion, the block side wall comprises a first side wall extending along the first portion, a second side wall extending along the second portion, and a substantially triangular third side wall intersecting the first side wall, the second side wall and the block tread. The third side wall terminates radially outside the groove bottom of the lateral groove.

A tire includes a tread portion provided with a first land region demarcated between a shoulder circumferential groove and a tread edge. The first land region is provided with first sipes extending in a tire circumferential direction, axial sipes, and first axial grooves extending from the tread edge. The first sipes are not connected with the first axial grooves. Each of the axial sipes has an axially inner end connected with the shoulder circumferential groove. Each of the axial sipes has an axially outer end connected with one of the first sipes.

A tire includes a tread portion including a first land portion, the first land portion being provided with a plurality of first sipes. The plurality of first sipes extends in an arc shape manner. The plurality of first sipes is arranged on the first land portion without communicating with lateral grooves extending in a tire axial direction. In a tread plan view, a virtual sipe reference line of each of the plurality of first sipes has an angle equal to or less than 10 degrees with respect to a tire circumferential direction, wherein the virtual sipe reference line is a straight line that connects both ends of each of the plurality of first sipes.

A tyre includes a tread portion provided with a circumferential groove and a lateral groove. The at least one lateral groove includes a connected portion connected to the circumferential groove. The circumferential groove includes a groove bottom provided with groove bottom protruding portions protruding outwardly in the tyre radial direction. Each groove bottom protruding portion includes a first surface portion extending in the tyre radial direction and facing a first circumferential direction, and a second surface portion arranged on a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction and extending at a larger angle with respect to the tyre radial direction than that of the first surface portion. In a tread plan view, at least a part of the groove bottom protruding portions is located in a lateral-groove extended region in which the connected portion is extended into the circumferential groove along the tyre axial direction.

Tyre

A tire comprises a tread portion having outboard and inboard tread edges and provided with three main grooves to axially divide the tread portion into four land regions including a widest outboard middle land region, wherein first inclined grooves () extend across the entire width of the outboard middle land region; second inclined grooves () extend from a crown main groove and are terminated within the outboard middle land region; fourth inclined grooves () are connected to the second inclined grooves () and to the first inclined grooves on an outboard shoulder main groove side; and an angle of the first inclined groove () and an angle of the second inclined groove () with respect to the tire circumferential direction are gradually increases from the crown main groove toward the outboard tread edge.

A tire comprises a tread portion axially divided into four land regions. The tire has a mounting direction to a vehicle and the land regionsinclude a widest outboard middle land region. The outboard middle land region is provided with first, second and third inclined grooves. The first inclined groove extends from a crown main groove and terminates within the outboard middle land region. The second inclined groove has its both ends terminated within the outboard middle land region. The third inclined groove intersects the first and second inclined grooves.

In a tire having composite grooves provided on a shoulder land portion, dry performance and wet performance are improved. The tire includes a tread portion. The tread portionincludes a first shoulder land portion. The first shoulder land portionhas shoulder lateral groovesand shoulder composite grooves. The shoulder lateral groovesand the shoulder composite groovesare each curved so as to be convex in a tire circumferential direction. Each shoulder composite grooveincludes, in a cross section thereof, a sipe elementhaving a width not greater than 1.5 mm and extending from a tread surface of the first shoulder land portionin a tire radial direction, and a groove elementconnected to an inner side in the tire radial direction of the sipe elementand having a width greater than 1.5 mm.

In a tire having a composite groove provided on a shoulder land portion, the durability of the shoulder land portion is improved. The tire includes a tread portion. The tread portion includes a first shoulder land portion including a first tread edge. The first shoulder land portion has a shoulder composite groove, and a recess formed on a buttress surface. The recess includes an opening edge on the buttress surface, a bottom surface along the buttress surface, and an inner wall surface connecting the opening edge to the bottom surface. The shoulder composite groove includes, in a transverse cross section thereof, a sipe element having a width not greater than 1.5 mm and extending in a tire radial direction, and a groove element connected to an inner side in the tire radial direction of the sipe element and having a width greater than 1.5 mm. The groove element is open at the bottom surface of the recess.

A tyre includes a tread portion including a first land portion having a circumferentially extending first edge and a circumferentially extending second edge on its ground contacting surface. The first land portion is provided with first lateral grooves extending from the first edge and terminating within the first land portion, second lateral grooves extending from the second edge and terminating within the first land portion, and first sipes. Each first sipe extends from a first end thereof opened at the second edge toward the first edge, and turns in a direction within the first land portion to extend to a second end thereof opened at the second edge at a different location from the first end.

A tire includes a middle land portion between a crown main groove and a shoulder main groove. The middle land portion is provided with a first middle lug groove extending axially outwardly from the crown main groove, a second middle lug groove extending axially inwardly from the shoulder main grooves wherein the first and second middle lug grooves are arranged alternately in a tire circumferential direction, and a first middle sipe provided between the first and second middle lug grooves. The first middle sipe includes a crown-side middle sipe element extending axially outwardly from the crown main groove, a shoulder-side middle sipe element extending axially inwardly from the shoulder main groove at a location different from an extension line of the crown-side middle sipe element and a connecting middle sipe element connecting therebetween.

A tire comprises a center land regionprovided with center sipeshaving open endsEconnected with a first center main grooveand a first middle land regionprovided with middle sipeshaving open endsEandEconnected with the first center main grooveand/or a first shoulder main groove. The center sipesinclude hook-shaped center sipescrossing the center land region, and the middle sipesinclude hook-shaped middle sipescrossing the first middle land region

A tire comprises a tread portion. The tread portioncomprises a first main grooveand a second main grooveextending continuously in a tire circumferential direction, and a land regiondefined between the first main grooveand the second main groove. The land regionis provided with a plurality of lateral grooves. Each of the lateral groovescomprises a first lug groove portionextending obliquely with respect to a tire axial direction from the first main groove, a second lug groove portionextending obliquely in a same direction as the first lug groove portionfrom the second main groove, and a sipe portionextending obliquely in an opposite direction to the first lug groove portionso as to connect between the first lug groove portionand the second lug groove portion

A tire includes a tread part having main grooves and lands demarcated by the main grooves. A crown land between a pair of crown main grooves includes first crown lug grooves extending from one crown groove to tire axial direction inner side and terminated within the crown land, second crown lug grooves extending from the other crown groove to the tire axial inner side and terminated within the crown land, and first crown sipes formed at tire circumferential direction positions and connecting the crown grooves, each first crown sipe includes a first side crown sipe piece extending from one crown groove to the tire axial inner side, a second side crown sipe piece not positioned on an extension line of the first side piece and extending from the other crown groove to the tire axial inner side, and a connecting crown sipe piece connecting the first and second sipe pieces.

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Kobe, Japan

Hiroshi Yamaoka