Michelin Recherche Et Technique S.a.

Michelin Recherche Et Technique

William C Baker

John Anthony Hutz

Damon Lee Christenbury

Philip Blair Webb

Tire tread

A tire includes a pair of axially spaced apart beads. A carcass ply extends between and is secured at axially opposite end portions to a respective one of the beads. A pair of bead fillers is also included. Each of the bead fillers is located radially outward of a respective bead. A flipper partially envelopes the bead and further engages and replaces a part of the bead filler. The flipper further includes a plurality of parallel extending reinforcing members. The flipper has a central portion located radially inward of the bead and a pair of leg portions. Each of the pair of leg portions extends radially outwardly from a bead reference. The radial extent of the leg portions is greater than a flange distance, being the radial extent of a flange of a rim, but less than the radial extent of an apex of the bead filler when the tire is properly mounted on the rim. The carcass ply turnup extends radially to approximately the height of the rim flange. Each flipper reinforcing member is made from a polyamide monofilament or a polymeric multifilament, preferably a multifilament.

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Greenville, SC, United States of America

William C Baker