Tire with rubber tread of intermedial and lateral zones

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016221395-A1
Application number	US-201514836346-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 26, 2015
Priority date	Aug 27, 2014
Publication date	Aug 4, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The invention relates to a tire having a rubber tread of a circumferentially zoned tread. The tread zones are comprised of three circumferential load bearing zones, with each zone containing a portion of the running surface of the tread, comprised of an intermedial rubber zone positioned between and extending beneath two stratified lateral tread rubber zones. The tread configuration contains an underlying carbon black-rich base rubber layer. The lateral tread rubber zones are therefore spaced apart from each other with the intermedial tread zone therebetween and also spaced apart from the tread base rubber layer with the intermedial tread zone therebetween. The intermedial and stratified lateral zones are comprised of rubber compositions having differentiated rebound physical properties.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A tire having a circumferential rubber tread composed of a cap/base configuration comprised of an outer tread cap rubber layer with a lug and groove configuration with the outer portions of the tread lugs providing the running surface of the tread, and a tread base rubber layer underlying the outer tread cap rubber layer;
wherein the outer tread cap rubber layer is composed of three circumferential load bearing zones comprised of an intermedial tread zone rubber layer positioned between and extending beneath two individual stratified lateral tread zone rubber layers to thereby underlie the lateral tread zone rubber layers and overlay the tread base rubber layer; wherein the lateral tread zone layers are spaced apart from each other and at least partially spaced apart from the tread base rubber layer with the intermedial tread zone therebetween, wherein outer tread lug surfaces of the intermedial tread zone rubber layer and the lateral tread zone rubber layers comprise the running surface of the tread; wherein rubber composition of the intermedial tread zone rubber layer has a 100° C. hot rebound property greater than the 100° C. hot rebound property of the rubber composition of the lateral tread rubber layers.

2 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the lateral tread rubber zones are spaced apart from each other with the intermedial tread rubber zone therebetween and from the underlying tread base rubber layer with the intermedial tread rubber zone extending therebetween.

3 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the lateral tread rubber zones are spaced apart from each other with the intermedial tread rubber zone therebetween and at least 50 percent thereof spaced apart from the underlying tread base rubber layer with the intermedial tread rubber zone extending therebetween and with up to 50 percent of a lateral tread zone joined to the underlying base rubber layer by an extension of said lateral tread rubber zone, by an extension of said tread base rubber layer or by a rubber bridge extending between and joining said lateral rubber zone and tread base rubber layer.

4 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the rubber composition of the lateral tread rubber layers has a tear resistance greater than tear resistance of the intermedial tread rubber layer.

5 . The tire of claim 1 wherein, for the filler reinforcement of the rubber compositions of the intermedial tread zone, stratified lateral tread zones and tread base rubber zone:
(A) the rubber composition of the tread base rubber zone contains about 40 to about 60 phr of reinforcing filler comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon back, and
(B) the rubber compositions of the intermedial and stratified lateral tread zones contain from about 40 to about 100 phr of reinforcing filler wherein:
(1) the filler reinforcement for said lateral and intermedial tread zones is comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon black, or
(2) the filler reinforcement of said intermedial tread zone is comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon black and the filler reinforcement for said lateral tread zones is a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black and precipitated silica comprised of:
(a) at least 30 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black, or
(b) up to about 25 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black, or

(3) the filler reinforcement of said lateral tread zones is comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon black and the filler reinforcement for said intermedial tread zone is a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black and precipitated silica comprised of:
(a) at least 30 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black, or
(b) up to about 25 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black, or

(4) the filler reinforcement of both of said lateral tread zones and intermedial tread zone is comprised of a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black and precipitated silica comprised of:
(a) at least 30 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black, or
(b) up to about 25 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black.

6 . The tire of claim 5 where the filler reinforcement for said intermedial tread zone is a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black and precipitated silica comprised of up to about 25 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black, a path of least electrical resistance between the tread base rubber layer and running surface of the outer tread rubber layer is provided by at least one of:
(A) an extension of at least one of said lateral tread rubber zones to said tread base rubber layer, or
(B) an extension of said tread base rubber layer to at least one of said lateral tread rubber zones, or
(C) an extension of said tread base rubber layer through said intermedial tread rubber zone to a running surface of the outer tread rubber layer, or
(D) a bridge of a rubber composition containing filler reinforcement comprised of at least 30 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black, wherein said bridge extends between and is thereby joined to said tread base rubber composition and at least one of said later tread rubber zones.

7 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the rubber composition of the lateral tread rubber layers has a tear resistance greater than tear resistance of the intermedial tread rubber layer.

8 . The tire of claim 1 wherein a silica coupling agent is provided for said precipitated silica, where said silica coupling agent has a moiety reactive with hydroxyl groups on said precipitated silica and another different moiety interactive with diene-based elastomers in said rubber composition.

9 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the filler reinforcement for said lateral and intermedial tread zones is comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon black.

10 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the filler reinforcement of said intermedial tread zone is comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon black and the filler reinforcement for said lateral tread zones is a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black and precipitated silica comprised of at least 30 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black.

11 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the filler reinforcement for said intermedial tread zone is comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon black and the filler reinforcement for said lateral tread zones is a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black and precipitated silica comprised of up to about 25 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black.

12 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the filler reinforcement of said lateral tread zones is comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon black and the filler reinforcement for said intermedial tread zone is a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black and precipitated silica comprised of at least 30 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black.

13 . The tire of claim 1 wherein the filler reinforcement of said lateral tread zones is comprised of rubber reinforcing carbon black and the filler reinforcement for said intermedial tread zone is a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black and precipitated silica comprised of up to about 25 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black.

14 . The tire of claim 13 wherein a path of least electrical resistance between the tread base rubber layer and running surface of the outer tread rubber layer is provided by:
(A) an extension of at least one of said lateral tread rubber zones to said tread base rubber layer, or
(B) an extension of said tread base rubber layer to at least one of said lateral tread rubber zones, or
(C) an extension of said tread base rubber layer through said intermedial tread rubber zone to a running surface of the outer tread rubber layer, or
(D) a bridge of a rubber composition containing filler reinforcement comprised of at least 30 phr of

Assignees

• Goodyear Tire & Rubber

Inventors

• Meza Roberto Cerrato
• Zhao Junling
• Young Austin Gale

Classifications

• B60C19/082

  comprising a conductive tread insert · CPC title

• B60C1/0016

  Compositions of the tread · CPC title

• B60C2001/0083

  Compositions of the cap ply layers · CPC title

• B60C11/0058 Primary

  with different cap rubber layers in the axial direction · CPC title

• B60C2011/0025

  Modulus or tan delta · CPC title