Non-pneumatic tire having molded sidewall cover

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12304244-B2
Application number	US-202017783780-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 16, 2020
Priority date	Dec 30, 2019
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

A non-pneumatic tire includes a lower ring having a first diameter and an upper ring having a second diameter greater than the first diameter. The upper ring is substantially coaxial with the lower ring. The non-pneumatic tire further includes support structure extending between the lower ring and the upper ring and a tread layer formed of a rubber material. The non-pneumatic tire also has a sidewall formed of the rubber material and extending seamlessly from the tread layer on a first side of the non-pneumatic tire.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A non-pneumatic tire comprising:
a lower ring having a first diameter;
an upper ring having a second diameter greater than the first diameter, the upper ring being substantially coaxial with the lower ring; and
a support structure extending between the lower ring and the upper ring;
a tread layer formed of a rubber material,
wherein the tread layer extends circumferentially about the entire upper ring, and
wherein the tread layer extends laterally from a first side of the non-pneumatic tire to a second side of the non-pneumatic tire; and

a sidewall formed of the rubber material extending seamlessly from the tread layer to the lower ring on the first side of the non-pneumatic tire,
wherein the sidewall includes a plurality of radially extending slits, each slit having a width less than 5 mm and a length greater than 10 mm.

2. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 1 , wherein the sidewall covers between 90-95% of the first side of the non-pneumatic tire.

3. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 2 , wherein the support structure includes a plurality of spokes, and wherein each of the plurality of openings in the sidewall are disposed between adjacent pairs of the plurality of spokes.

4. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 1 , further comprising a second sidewall formed of the rubber material extending seamlessly from the tread layer to the lower ring on the second side of the non-pneumatic tire.

5. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 1 , wherein the support structure includes a plurality of spokes.

6. A method of covering a side of a non-pneumatic tire, the method comprising:
providing a lower ring having a first diameter, an upper ring substantially coaxial with the lower ring, and a support structure extending between the lower ring and the upper ring;
placing the lower ring, the upper ring, and the support structure in a mold; and
providing rubber in the mold, such that the rubber forms a tread layer extending circumferentially about the upper ring and a sidewall layer extending from the tread layer to the lower ring on a first side of the non-pneumatic tire; and
forming a plurality of radially extending slits in the sidewall layer, each slit having a width less than 5 mm and a length greater than 10 mm.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising placing a reinforcement layer in the mold prior to the providing of the rubber in the mold.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the reinforcement layer is placed in the mold such that the reinforcement layer extends between the upper ring and the lower ring.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the reinforcement layer is placed in the mold such that the reinforcement layer extends circumferentially about the upper ring.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the support structure includes a plurality of spokes.

11. A non-pneumatic tire having a sidewall, the non-pneumatic tire comprising:
a lower ring having a first diameter;
an upper ring having a second diameter greater than the first diameter, the upper ring being substantially coaxial with the lower ring;
a support structure extending between the lower ring and the upper ring;
a tread layer formed of a rubber material; and
a sidewall formed of the rubber material and extending seamlessly from the tread layer on a first side of the non-pneumatic tire;
wherein the sidewall includes a plurality of radially extending slits, each slit having a width less than 5 mm and a length greater than 10 mm.

12. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 11 , wherein a second side of the non-pneumatic tire does not have a sidewall.

13. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 11 , wherein the tread layer has a plurality of circumferential grooves disposed therein.

14. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 11 , wherein the tread layer and the sidewall are formed together through a molding process.

15. The method of claim 6 , wherein the sidewall layer covers between 90-95% of the first side of the non-pneumatic tire.

16. The method of claim 6 , wherein a second side of the non-pneumatic tire does not have a sidewall.

17. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 11 , wherein the sidewall layer covers between 90-95% of the first side of the non-pneumatic tire.

18. The non-pneumatic tire of claim 11 , wherein the support structure includes a plurality of spokes.

Assignees

• Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations Llc

Inventors

• Parr Richard S
• Dumigan Keith A

Classifications

• B60B9/04

  in leaf form · CPC title

• B60C7/146

  extending substantially radially, e.g. like spokes · CPC title

• B60C7/107

  comprising lateral openings · CPC title

• B60B9/00

  Wheels of high resiliency {, e.g. with conical interacting pressure-surfaces (resilient wheels comprising rail-engaging elements B60B17/0027)} · CPC title

• B60C11/0306

  Patterns comprising block rows or discontinuous ribs · CPC title