Pneumatic tire

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9446630-B2
Application number	US-201213564314-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 1, 2012
Priority date	Aug 3, 2011
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

A pneumatic tire with a side wall portion includes a decorative region including two or more decorative portions that are continuously disposed so as to be contiguous in a tire circumferential direction and the tire radial direction, the decorative portions including multiple convex ridges that are disposed on an outer surface so as to be adjacent in the tire circumferential direction. A ridge arrangement angle is the same in the same decorative portion, and a ridge arrangement angle of the contiguous decorative portion differs therefrom. A distance between a first imaginary boundary line joining end portions of the ridges of the decorative portion that are on a side adjacent to the contiguous decorative portion and a second imaginary boundary line joining end portions of the ridges of the contiguous decorative portion on a side adjacent to the first imaginary boundary line is less than 1 mm.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A pneumatic tire comprising a tread portion, a side wall portion, and a bead portion, wherein
the side wall portion comprises, in a specific region in a tire radial direction, a toric decorative region;
the decorative region includes multiple convex ridges that are disposed on the outer surface of the side wall portion;
a ridge arrangement angle is defined as an angle formed by a line extended from the ridge and a line tangent at an inner ring of the toric decorative region;
an imaginary boundary line is defined by connecting end portions of the ridges having the same ridge arrangement angle, and being adjacent to each other, the end portions connected by the imaginary boundary lines are separated from each other, and not connected by another ridge;
a decorative portion is defined as a region partitioned by the imaginary boundary line;
pluralities of the decorative portions are arranged so as to be contiguous in a grid pattern composed of two or more columns and two or more rows, the columns and the rows extending in different directions on an outer surface of the side wall portion;
the ridge arrangement angles of the contiguous decorative portions differ from each other in the columns and the rows, respectively;
first and second of the imaginary boundary lines are parallel between the contiguous decorative portions;
a distance between the first and second of the imaginary boundary lines is less than 1 mm;
wherein the first imaginary boundary line overlaps with the second imaginary boundary line on a single imaginary line, or wherein the first imaginary boundary line overlaps with the ridges connecting by the second imaginary boundary line; and
the decorative region includes not less than three types and not more than twelve types of the decorative portions having different ridge arrangement angles.

2. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the first imaginary boundary line and the second imaginary boundary line are disposed periodically in the tire circumferential direction and the tire radial direction.

3. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the ridge arrangement angle of the decorative portion is not less than 20° and not more than 160° different from the ridge arrangement angle of the contiguous decorative portion.

4. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative portions are disposed in the decorative region in the tire circumferential direction and/or the tire radial direction in a combination where the ridge arrangement angle varies periodically.

5. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein an area of a decorative portion is not less than 0.3 cm 2 and not more than 10.0 cm 2 .

6. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the decorative portions included in the decorative region has a ridge length per unit area different than the ridge length per unit area included in the decorative portions.

7. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the contiguous decorative portions comprises not less than three of the decorative portions in each of the columns or rows.

8. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein an arrangement pitch of the ridges is not less than 0.5 mm and not more than 5.0 mm.

9. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative portions comprise at least one of a rectangular decorative portion, a pentagonal decorative portion, and a decorative portion that is partially curved so as to be contiguous around a triangular decorative portion.

10. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative portions are disposed in rows in the tire circumferential direction.

11. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative portions are disposed in rows in the tire radial direction.

12. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative portions are disposed in order of stepwise ascending or descending size of the ridge arrangement angle in three or more steps.

13. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative region is provided throughout all regions of the side wall portion of the tire.

14. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative region includes three or more decorative portions.

15. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative portions in the columns have a same tire circumferential position, and share the single imaginary boundary line in the tire radial direction.

16. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative portions in the rows have a same tire radial position, and share the single imaginary boundary line in the tire circumferential direction.

17. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1 , wherein the decorative portions in the columns have a same tire circumferential position, and share the single imaginary boundary line in the tire radial direction; and the decorative portions in the rows have a same tire radial position, and share the single imaginary boundary line in the tire circumferential direction.

Assignees

• Kouda Hiraku
• Ishida Masahiro
• Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kouda Hiraku
• Ishida Masahiro

Classifications

• B60C13/02 Primary

  Arrangement of grooves or ribs · CPC title

• B60C13/001

  Decorating, marking or the like · CPC title