阅读说明：本技术 用于使得车辆定位于表面上的轮胎 (Tire for positioning a vehicle on a surface ) 是由 内森·泽特 史黛西·斯图尔特 于 2020-09-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种用于使得车辆定位于表面上的轮胎,包括第一侧壁、第二侧壁、以及在该第一侧壁与该第二侧壁之间延伸的胎面。该胎面包括第一铺装路面条块、以及布置在该第一侧壁与该第一铺装路面条块之间的第一多个花纹块,该胎面还包括布置在该第二侧壁与该第一铺装路面条块之间的第二多个花纹块。该胎面在第一充气压力下包括的第一侧向形状使得该第一铺装路面条块接触该表面,而该第一多个花纹块或该第二多个花纹块不接触该表面。该胎面在小于该第一压力的第二压力下包括的第二侧向形状使得该第一多个花纹块、该第一铺装路面条块、以及该第二多个花纹块接触该表面。(A tire for positioning a vehicle on a surface includes a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a tread extending between the first sidewall and the second sidewall. The tread includes a first pavement strip, and a first plurality of lugs disposed between the first sidewall and the first pavement strip, and a second plurality of lugs disposed between the second sidewall and the first pavement strip. The tread includes a first lateral shape under a first inflation pressure such that the first pavement block contacts the surface and the first or second plurality of blocks do not contact the surface. The tread includes a second lateral shape at a second pressure less than the first pressure such that the first plurality of blocks, the first pavement bar, and the second plurality of blocks contact the surface.)

1. A tire for positioning a vehicle on a surface, the tire comprising:

a first side wall;

a second side wall; and

a tread extending between the first sidewall and the second sidewall, the tread including a first strip and a first plurality of blocks disposed between the first sidewall and the first strip, the tread further including a second plurality of blocks disposed between the second sidewall and the first strip, the tread including a first lateral shape at a first inflation pressure such that the first strip contacts the surface and the first or second plurality of blocks do not contact the surface, a second lateral shape at a second inflation pressure less than the first inflation pressure such that the first, first and second plurality of blocks contact the surface.

2. The tire of claim 1 wherein the first pavement slab is discontinuous in a plurality of central slab segments.

3. The tire of claim 1 wherein the first pavement strip includes a first compound and the first plurality of blocks includes a second compound different from the first compound.

4. A tyre as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first compound is harder than the second compound.

5. The tire of claim 4, wherein the first compound is free of silica.

6. The tire of claim 4, wherein the first compound comprises a natural rubber and styrene butadiene rubber blend.

7. The tire of claim 6, wherein the first compound comprises between about 35 parts per hundred and 65 parts per hundred natural rubber and between about 35 parts per hundred and 65 parts per hundred styrene butadiene rubber.

8. A tire as in claim 7, further comprising a third region extending below said first plurality of blocks, said second plurality of blocks, and said first pavement bar.

9. The tire of claim 8 wherein the third zone comprises greater than about 90 parts per hundred natural rubber and less than about 10 parts per hundred styrene butadiene rubber.

10. The tire of claim 9, wherein the third region comprises silica, carbon black, or pre-coupled silica.

11. The tire of claim 7, wherein the first compound comprises carbon black.

12. The tire of claim 7, wherein the first compound comprises less than about 2 parts per hundred parts of rubber of sulfur.

13. A tyre as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first compound is free of silica and the second compound is free of silica.

14. A tyre as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first compound makes the tread more resistant to wear than the second compound.

15. The tire of claim 3, wherein the first compound comprises a styrene butadiene based rubber and natural rubber blend and the second compound comprises natural rubber.

16. The tire of claim 1 wherein the tread comprises a second pavement slab.

17. The tire of claim 16 wherein the second pavement slab comprises a plurality of discrete central slab segments.

18. The tire of claim 16 wherein the second pavement slab is disposed adjacent the first pavement slab.

19. The tire of claim 16 wherein the second pavement slab comprises the same material as the first pavement slab.

20. The tire of claim 16 wherein the first plurality of blocks is disposed between the first sidewall and the first pavement bar and the second plurality of blocks is disposed between the second sidewall and the second pavement bar, and the first pavement bar includes a first compound and the second pavement bar includes the first compound.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a tire construction, and more particularly to a tire construction for towed vehicles.

Background

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure that is not necessarily prior art.

Off-road vehicles are becoming increasingly popular. Most people do not live near off-road trails. Therefore, the off-road vehicle must be transported to the riding location. Typically, off-road vehicles are loaded onto a trailer and moved to a desired ride location. When not in use, trailers and off-road vehicles must be stored. This places a burden on the off-road vehicle owner. Another way to move the off-road vehicle to a desired location is by towing. One problem with towing is that the tires of non-road vehicles wear more quickly, especially on paved roads. One way to remedy this problem is to provide individual sets of tires for off-road vehicles. Individual sets of tires are typically provided on individual sets of wheels. The individual tire sets are suitable for use in paving and do not exhibit off-road tire wear. However, the increased expense, labor, and inconvenience associated with replacing tires on site is undesirable.

Disclosure of Invention

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

A tire construction suitable for towing a vehicle to minimize wear of the tire according to off-road characteristics is set forth.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a tire for positioning a vehicle on a surface includes a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a tread extending between the first sidewall and the second sidewall. The tread includes a first pavement strip and a first plurality of blocks disposed between the first sidewall and the first pavement strip, and the tread further includes a second plurality of blocks disposed between the second sidewall and the first pavement strip. The tread includes a first lateral shape at a first inflation pressure such that the first pavement block contacts the surface while the first or second plurality of blocks do not contact the surface. The tread includes a second lateral shape at a second pressure less than the first pressure such that the first plurality of blocks, the first pavement bar, and the second plurality of blocks contact the surface.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a side view of an off-road vehicle being towed by a towing vehicle.

FIG. 2A is a simplified cross-sectional view of an off-road tire.

Fig. 2B is a second example of a non-road tire.

FIG. 3 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the tire of FIG. 2A in a lower inflation state.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a tread pattern of a tire having a first bar.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the tread pattern of a tire having two bars.

Fig. 6 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the tire of fig. 2A.

Detailed Description

Examples will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the following description includes several examples of utility vehicle applications, it should be understood that the features herein may be applied to any suitable vehicle, such as a motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, moped, etc. The examples disclosed below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the examples are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an off-road vehicle 10 is illustrated. The off-road vehicle 10 includes a body 12, wheels 14, and tires 16. The wheels 14 are coupled to the body 12 by a suspension (not shown).

Towing vehicle 20 may be used to tow off-road vehicle 10 by using a towing apparatus 22 such as a tow bar or one or more tow belts. In this example, the off-road vehicle 10 is towed with all four tires contacting the road surface 24. However, the towing apparatus 22 may include wheel lifting devices such that only two tires 16 contact the road surface 24.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, a road surface 24 is illustrated with respect to one of the tires 16. The tire 16 has a tread 30, a first sidewall 32, and a second sidewall 34. The tread 30 is shown having a plurality of lugs (lug)36 with spaces 38 therebetween. The tread 30 also includes center pavement bars 40. In this embodiment, the center pavement slab 40 is continuous and circumferential and, due to the lateral shape, serves to contact the road surface 24 during towing. The center paved road strip 40 can also be in the form of a plurality of discrete center strip segments. During towing, the tires 16 are inflated to a first inflation pressure that is much higher than a second inflation pressure when the vehicle is used on off-road surfaces. As described in more detail below, the center pavement strip 40 is made of a material that is different from the material of the blocks 36. The center pavement strips 40 are more durable, more wear resistant, and have a longer life than the material used to form the blocks 36. The construction of the tread 30 is described in more detail below. The blocks 36 are less wear resistant than the center pavement strips 40.

Referring now to fig. 2B, the tread 30 may include a first center pavement strip 40A and a second center pavement strip 40B each disposed circumferentially about the center of the tire 16. The lateral shape of the tread 30 allows the center pavement strips 40A and 40B to contact the road surface 24 when the tire is inflated to high pressures.

Referring now to fig. 3, the lateral shape of the tread 30 of the tire 16 allows both the blocks 36 and the central pavement strip 40 to contact the non-road surface 42 in a lower pressure state than that illustrated in fig. 2A and 2B.

Referring now to fig. 4, a front view of the tire 16 is illustrated. In this example, the tire 16 has a center pavement strip 40 and side blocks 36. The side blocks 36 are arranged in two rows. The center pavement strips 40 are shown as a discontinuous tread pattern in the center of the tire 16 having a plurality of discontinuous center strip portions.

Referring now to fig. 5, a tire 16' as illustrated in fig. 2B is illustrated. The tread surface 30 is illustrated as having two center pavement strips 40A, 40B that are discontinuous and each have a plurality of discontinuous center strip portions.

Referring now to fig. 6, a cross-section of tire 16 is illustrated. In this example, three different compounds are used to form the tread. In this example, in regions 50A and 50B immediately adjacent respective sidewalls 32 and 34 is compound a. The blocks 36 may be in a first region 50A and a second region 50B. A third region 50C, which is disposed between the region 50A and the region 50B, contains the center pavement strip 40 or the center pavement strips 40A, 40B. The first and second regions 50A and 50B may be formed of a first compound having a Natural Rubber (NR) greater than or equal to 90 parts per hundred parts rubber (PHR) and a Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) less than 10 PHR. The filler system may be comprised of carbon black and the curing system may be low sulfur, such as less than two PHR. The central or third region 50C has a center pavement strip 40, or strips 40A, 40B, formed from a second compound. The second compound may be harder than the regions 50A, 50B and make the tread more wear resistant. The third region 50C is formed from a Natural Rubber (NR) and SBR blend. For example, the central compound may be Natural Rubber (NR) of 50. + -.15 PHR and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) of 50. + -.15 PHR. In this example, the filler system may also be carbon black, and the curing system may also be low sulfur (less than 2 PHR).

The third material 54 disposed radially inward of the first, second, and third regions 50A, 50B, 50C may be composed of Natural Rubber (NR) greater than 90PHR and Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) less than 10 PHR. The filler system may be carbon black, silica, or pre-coupled silica. The third material 54 may be referred to as an undertread. Below the undertread layer are a wrap 56, belt 58, innerliner compound 60, and carcass layer 62. More than one belt may be used. Also, in some configurations, the wrapping 56 may be omitted. It should be noted that nylon belts or strips may be used to maintain the shape of the tire and allow for higher speeds. Also, a thin layer of carbon black may be used in the spaces between the blocks in the tire pattern. This allows the tire to resist electrostatic charging during operation.

In operation, during towing of the vehicle 10, the vehicle's tires 16 are inflated to a relatively high pressure, such as 26 pounds Per Square Inch (PSI). The vehicle may be towed at high tire pressures. When tire pressure is high, the center pavement strip 40, or strips 40A, 40B, contact the pavement. Because one or more of the center blocks has a high hardness, the center portion does not wear rapidly on the paved surface (as compared to the blocks adjacent thereto). When the vehicle is not being towed and the vehicle is to be driven off-road, the tire pressure is reduced to a much lower tire pressure, such as 12 PSI. Of course, such high and low tire inflation pressures may vary due to the configuration of the tire and the configuration of the tread surface.

The foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements and features of a particular example are generally not limited to that particular example, but are interchangeable as applicable, and can be used in even selected examples not explicitly shown or described. It can also be varied in a number of ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application No.62/911,635 filed on 7/10/2019. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.