The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Michael W Cook

Jolan F Lobb

Dale Eugene Wells

Steven Z Lewkowicz

Eathel L Duncan

Thomas Eugene Brown

Jack A Davisson

James Seven Guzi

Michael Mihalik

Jon D Carlson

An improved off-the-road pneumatic tire designed to be mounted on an associated design rim having a flange portion is described. The rim flange has an axially inward surface contacting the axially outward portion of the bead area of the tire. Each bead portion has a surface contacting a radially inner portion of the rim flange. The surface and the flange initially cease contact and diverge from one another at a location in the cross-section of the tire and rim and in a region of the flange in which a line L1 tangent to the flange surface and passing through the axis forms an angle greater than 0.degree. and less than or equal to 15.degree. with a radial line L2 passing through the point of divergence and perpendicular to the axis. The tire has a steel reinforced radial ply which extends between and wraps about each bead. The ply has an inflection point located radially between a radially outward surface of the bead and a radially outward surface of the rim flange portion.

Off-the- road pneumatic tire with specified bead area design

A two-stage building method and apparatus for making an uncured tire including winding on shoulder wedge and sidewall components from strip material on a first stage building drum, winding on gum cushion on a band building drum and making up sequential breaker packages for second stage application to the tire.

Method for making a multi-component tire

Off-the-road pneumatic tire with specified bead area design

An improved off-the-road pneumatic tire designed to be mounted on an associated design rim having a flange portion is described. The rim flange has an axially inward surface contacting the axially outward portion of the bead area of the tire. Each bead portion has a surface contacting a radially inner portion of the rim flange. The surface and the flange initially cease contact and diverge from one another at a location in the cross-section of the tire and rim and in a region of the flange in which a line L1 tangent to the flange surface and passing through the axis forms an angle greater than 0.degree. and less than or equal 15.degree. to with radial line L2 passing through the point of divergence and perpendicular to the axis. The tire has a steel reinforced radial ply which extends between and wraps about each bead. The ply has an inflection point located radially between a radially outward surface of the bead and a radially outward surface of the rim flange portion.

A molded shape for an earthmover tire 20 is disclosed. The uninflated, unmounted outer shape tire's sidewalls 22 are composed entirely of curves connected at tangency points between the tread 24 and the bead flange area 26. The shape transitions smoothly from one curve to the next without any flat surfaces. The sidewalls 22 have axially outer convex surfaces extending from the tread 24 to the bead flange area 26. The tread 24 has a radially outer ground contacting surface 28. A curved line tangent to the ground contacting surface 28 forms an arc having a single radius of curvature (TR). In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the outer shape consists of four curves with one curve describing the tread arc width (TAW), one curve R.sub.us describing the upper sidewall, one curve R.sub.ls describing the lower sidewall, and one curve describing the flange area radius R.sub.fa.

Earthmover tire

Tire

Growing community of inventors

Canton, OH, United States of America

Michael W Cook