Tire comprising a sidewall insert

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12459306-B2
Application number	US-202118029764-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2021
Priority date	Oct 1, 2020
Publication date	Nov 4, 2025
Grant date	Nov 4, 2025

Abstract

A tire ( 1 ) having at least one sidewall ( 3 ), intended to interact with a sidewall insert ( 9 ) by way of an anchor ( 6 ), and aims to personalize the design of the sidewall. The anchor ( 6 ), has a recess ( 7 ) formed in an axially outer sidewall layer ( 30 ), with a protuberance ( 8 ), which is raised in relation to the recess bottom ( 71 ) and extends from the recess bottom ( 71 ) to the vicinity of the axially outer sidewall face ( 31 ), and the protuberance ( 8 ) is constituted by a stepped arrangement of a first narrow portion ( 81 ) having a minimum width Lpmin and a second wide portion ( 82 ) having a maximum width Lpmax, such that the difference Lpmax−Lpmin is at least equal to 1 mm and at most equal to 4 mm.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An assembly comprising:
a tire for a lightweight vehicle, and a sidewall insert, wherein the tire has a nominal section of height H and comprises: two sidewalls that connect a crown of the tire respectively to two beads of the tire, each of which is intended to come into contact with a rim on which the tire is intended to be mounted, wherein at least one of the two sidewalls comprises:
an axially outer sidewall face that is in contact with atmospheric air,
an axially outer sidewall layer, which extends radially from the crown to the corresponding bead and axially inward from the axially outer sidewall face, and which comprises at least one rubber material, and
an anchoring means, which interacts with the sidewall insert to anchor the sidewall insert and which extends circumferentially in a circumferential direction of the tire,
wherein the anchoring means comprises:
a recess that is formed in the axially outer sidewall layer, recessing from a portion of the axially outer sidewall face, which extends radially on both sides of the recess,
the recess being delimited axially inward by a recess bottom and radially by two recess walls that each extend from the recess bottom to said portion of the axially outer sidewall face, and
a protuberance, which is raised relative to the recess bottom and which extends from the recess bottom to an axially outer protuberance face of the protuberance, which is located at a vicinity of said portion of the axially outer sidewall face,
wherein the recess has, in any meridian plane containing an axis of rotation of the tire:
a depth Pc, which is a maximum distance measured perpendicularly between said portion of the axially outer sidewall face and the recess bottom, and which is at least equal to 2 mm, and
a width Lc, which is measured, at said portion of the axially outer sidewall face, between the two recess walls and which is at most equal to 15% of the nominal section height H of the tire,
wherein the protuberance comprises, in any meridian plane:
a narrow portion, extending outward from the recess bottom and having a minimum width equal to a minimum width Lpmin of the protuberance, and
a wide portion, extending axially outward from the narrow portion and having a maximum width equal to a maximum width Lpmax of the protuberance, the wide portion bearing the axially outer protuberance face and being stepped relative to the narrow portion,
wherein a difference between the maximum width Lpmax and the minimum width Lpmin is at least equal to 1 mm and at most equal to 4 mm,
wherein the sidewall insert is a single piece that is concurrently engaged in the recess and clipped over the protuberance, the single piece comprising:
a front wall comprising an axially outer insert face, which is decorative, and an axially inner insert face, which is applied in contact with the axially outer protuberance face, and
two rear members, which each protrude from the axially inner insert face integrally with the front wall, and which each comprise a protrusion and an edge, the two protrusions facing each other and receiving directly therebetween the narrow portion to clip the single piece to the protuberance, and the two edges facing away from each other and being locked between the two recess walls to hold the single piece in place, and
wherein the recess is shaped into a thickness of the axially outer sidewall layer and the single piece of the sidewall insert is engaged in said thickness of the axially outer sidewall layer, so that the axially outer insert face of the front wall is flush with said portion of the axially outer sidewall face radially on both sides of the recess.

2 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the depth Pc of the recess is at least equal to 3 mm.

3 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the depth Pc of the recess is at most equal to 7 mm.

4 . The assembly according to claim 1 ,
wherein the axially outer sidewall layer extends axially from the axially outer sidewall face to an axially outermost reinforcing layer that includes reinforcers, wherein the axially outer sidewall layer has a thickness W that is measured at the anchoring means between said portion of the axially outer sidewall face and the reinforcers of the axially outermost reinforcing layer, and wherein a difference between the thickness W of the axially outer sidewall layer and the depth Pc of the recess is at least equal to 1 mm.

5 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the width Lc of the recess is at most equal to 10% of the nominal section height H of the tire.

6 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the width Lc of the recess is at most equal to 20 mm.

7 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the axially outer sidewall layer is made up of a single rubber material.

8 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a straight line (T), which is present in any meridian plane and passes through two intersection points respectively of each of the two recess walls with said portion of the axially outer sidewall face, forms an angle at most equal to 25° with a radial direction.

9 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the protuberance has, in any meridian plane, a height Hp, which is a maximum distance measured perpendicularly between the axially outer protuberance face and the recess bottom and which is at least equal to the depth Pc of the recess less 2 mm.

10 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the protuberance has, in any meridian plane, a height Hp, which is a maximum distance measured perpendicularly between the axially outer protuberance face and the recess bottom and which is at most equal to the depth Pc of the recess plus 2 mm.

11 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the single piece of the sidewall insert has a circumferential mean line having a mean diameter D 2 , before the sidewall insert is mounted on the tire, at most equal to a mean diameter D 1 of a circumferential mean line of the anchoring means.

12 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the single piece of the sidewall insert comprises at least one polymeric material.

13 . The assembly according to claim 1 ,
wherein the single piece of the sidewall insert is made of a material having a tensile elastic modulus at 10% elongation M 2 , wherein the anchoring means is made of a rubber material having a tensile elastic modulus at 10% elongation M 1 , and wherein M 2 is at least equal to 0.4*M 1 .

14 . The assembly according to claim 1 ,
wherein the single piece of the sidewall insert is made of a material having a tensile elastic modulus at 10% elongation M 2 , wherein the anchoring means is made of a rubber material having a tensile elastic modulus at 10% elongation M 1 , and wherein M 2 is at most equal to 5*M 1 .

15 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the single piece of the sidewall insert has a colouration and/or a texture different from those of the at least one of the two sidewalls.

16 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said portion of the axially outer sidewall face is flush with the rest of the axially outer sidewall face, which extends radially from said portion of the axially outer sidewall face to the crown and from said portion of the axially outer sidewall face to the corresponding bead.

17 . The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the protuberance, the two recess walls and the single piece of the sidewall insert have each an elongated shape that extends in length in the circumferential direction of the ti

Assignees

• Michelin & Cie

Inventors

• Chaput Vincent-Jacques
• Guimard Bruno
• Muhlhoff Olivier
• Vilcot Florian

Classifications

• B60C2200/04

  for road vehicles, e.g. passenger cars · CPC title

• B60C2013/007

  Thickness · CPC title

• B60C2013/006

  Modulus; Hardness; Loss modulus or "tangens delta" · CPC title

• B60C13/04

  having annular inlays or covers, e.g. white sidewalls · CPC title

• B60C13/02 Primary

  Arrangement of grooves or ribs · CPC title