Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC

Bridgestone Corporation

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC

Bridgestone/firestone Research, Inc.

Bridgestone/firestone, Inc.

Richard J Wright

James G Guspodin

Yasuo Himuro

John J Regallis

Christopher L Whetzel

Francis J Byrne

Jie Jin

Richard W Gillmore

Naota Yamagishi

Timothy J Lassan

Atsushi Miyasaka

Shelley E Seifert

Carolyn W Bernstorf

John P Rodak

Anthony Marella

Bill J Edwards

Katharine M Cowger

John David Neil

Christopher Schrader

Robert Sanetick

Joel Sprow

A pneumatic tire comprising a body, a tread, a pair of bead assemblies disposed in the lower section of the body, where said bead assemblies include a bead core and a bead filler, and a pair of sidewalls, where the bead assemblies and pair of sidewalls include vulcanizated rubber, and where at least one of said bead assemblies, or at least one of said sidewalls, or both said bead assemblies and sidewalls include short fibers.

Pneumatic tires including short fibers

A tire having a section height, a maximum section width, an upper section above the maximum section width, and a lower section below the maximum section width is provided. The tire includes a circumferential tread, a pair of sidewalls, a pair of bead regions each having a bead core, and at least one carcass ply extending circumferentially about the tire from one bead region to the other. The at least one carcass ply is wound outwardly about at least one of the bead cores and extends toward the tread to form a turn-up portion that terminates at a turn-up end. The turn-up portion includes a concave segment that begins in the bead region and ends short of the turn-up end or at the turn-up end.

Tire having a carcass ply turn-up portion with a concave segment

Tire tread

A pneumatic tire may include a floating reinforcing layer disposed between a body ply and the sidewall of the tire. The reinforcing layer may extend from a point beneath the rim flange of the wheel to a point just above or below the maximum section width of the tire. By adding stiffness to the sidewall region at and above the rim, the reinforcing layer enhances the durability of tire without sacrificing ride comfort.

Sidewall reinforcing layer for pneumatic tires

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Wadsworth, OH, United States of America

Richard J Wright