The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 27, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 30, 1998
Kenji Hatakenaka, Kobe, JP;
Keiji Shimizu, Kakogawa, JP;
Toru Kawai, Nishinomiya, JP;
Hidehiko Hino, Amagasaki, JP;
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd, Hyogo-ken, JP;
Abstract
A pneumatic tire comprises: a tread rubber having a Shore A hardness of not more than 65 degrees at 20 degrees C.; a tread portion provided with at least one circumferential row of blocks having circumferential edges adjacent to lateral grooves; each of the circumferential edges having a mean inclination angle of 0 to 60 degrees with respect to the tire axial direction; sidewalls of the lateral grooves on one side in the tire circumferential direction each comprising a first upper slope extending from the top of the adjacent block to a first point at a depth h1, while inclining at an angle .alpha.1, and a first lower slope extending from said first point towards the groove bottom, while inclining at an angle .alpha.2 smaller than the angle .alpha.1,; the remaining sidewalls of the lateral grooves on the other side each comprising a second upper slope extending from the top of the adjacent block to a second point at a different depth h2 than said depth h1, while inclining at an angle .beta.1, and a second lower slope extending straight from the second point towards the groove bottom, while inclining at an angle .beta.2 smaller than the angle .beta.1; and the lateral grooves comprising a portion (A) in which the depth h1 is more than the depth h2 but not more than 0.8 times the lateral groove depth, and a portion (B) in which the depth h2 is more than the depth h1 but not more than 0.8 times the lateral groove depth.