GB2297297A - Tire tread wear indication - Google Patents

Description

TIRE WEAR INDICATING STRUCTURE The present invention relates to a tire wear indicating structure comprised of a plurality of tire wear indicators respectively embedded in the raised portions of the tread. When the tire wear indicators are exposed to the outside after long uses of the tire, the user positively knows that it is the time to replace the tire.

A regular motor vehicle tire is generally comprised of a carcass molded from rubber compound, a two-ply rayon cord lining attached to the inside wall of the carcass, a steel layer covered within the carcass, a cushion laminated on the carcass, and a tread molded from vulcanized rubber on the carcass over the cushion.

The tread has a patterned outside wall comprised of raised portions and grooves. Because the tread continuously rubs against the ground when the motor vehicle is moving, it wears away quickly. In order to ensure safe driving, the motor vehicle tires must be replaced before they are severely worn away. However, it is difficult to check the wearing condition of a tire by visual. Conventionally, people tend to use a tool or coin and to insert it into the grooves on the tread to see the wearing condition of the tire, so as to determine if to replace the tire. However, motor vehicle owners may forget or be unwilling to frequently checking the wearing condition of the tires by the aforesaid procedure, therefore accidents tend to happen due to tire blowout or slip of tire.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the tire wear indicating structure is for use in a tire of the type comprised of tread having a patterned outside wall formed of raised portions separated from one another by grooves, the tire wear indicating structure including a plurality of tire wear indictors respectively made from pigment or meshed non-rubber material and embedded in the raised portions between the elevation of the grooves. When the tread is worn away to show the tire wear indicators, the user immediately knows by visual that it is the time to replace the tire.

Therefore, a safety driving is ensured.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the tire wear indicator is comprised of two layers of different colors or signs wherein one layer is above the other. The upper layer is a pre-warning layer and the lower layer is an alarm layer. When the tread wears to the extent in which the pre-warning layer is exposed to the outside, it means that it is about the time to replace the tire. When the warning layer is disappeared and the alarm layer is exposed to the outside, it means that the tire must be immediately replaced to prevent the occurrence of a traffic accident. Therefore, the user can check the wearing condition of the tire by visual accurately.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a cross section of a tire according to the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a cutaway of a tire according to the present invention, showing an alternate form of the tire wear indicators.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to Figure 1, the tire, referenced by 1, comprises a carcass 2, a two-ply rayon cord lining 21 attached to the inside wall of the carcass 2, a steel layer 3 covered within the carcass 2, a cushion 4 laminated on the carcass 2, and a tread 5 molded from vulcanized rubber on the carcass 2 over the cushion 4.

The tread 5 has a patterned outside wall (namely, the non-skid pattern) comprised of raised portions 51 and grooves 52. The raised portions 51 are separated from one another by the grooves 52, each embedded with a respective tire wear indicator 6. The tire wear indicator 6 is disposed beneath the top side of the respective raised portion 51 but above the bottom of the adjacent grooves 52.

Referring to Figure 1 again, the tire wear indicator 6 can be a character, sign or membrane made from pigment. Alternatively, the tire wear indicator 6 can be a meshed non-rubber layer embedded in each raised portion 51 of the tread 5 (see Figure 2).

Referring to Figure 1 again, in the preferred embodiment the tire wear indicator 6 is comprised of two layers of different colors or signs, and one layer is above the other, namely, the pre-warning layer 61 and the alarm layer 62. When the tread 5 wears to the extent in which the pre-warning layer 61 is exposed to the outside, it means that the tire 1 should be replaced within a short period of time. When the tread 5 keeps wearing to such an extent in which the warning layer 61 is disappeared and the alarm layer 62 is exposed to the outside, it means that the tire 1 must be immediately replaced to prevent the occurrence of a traffic accident.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 again, after a certain length of time in use, the tread 5 of the tire 1 will be worn away. When the tread 5 is worn down to show the tire wear indicator 6, the user immediately knows by visual that its the time to replace the tire 1.

It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description is preferred embodiments of the disclosed device and that various changes and modifications can be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Claims (5)

1. A tire wear indicating structure for a tire of the type comprised of tread having a patterned outside wall formed of raised portions separated from one another by grooves, the tire wear indicating structure comprising at least one tire wear indictor embedded in said raised portions between the elevation of said grooves.

2. The tire wear indicating structure of claim 1 wherein said tire wear indicator can be characters, signs or membranes respectively made from pigment.

3. The tire wear indicating structure of claim 1 wherein said tire wear indicator is respectively made from non-rubber material in a meshed structure.

4. The tire wear indicating structure of claim 1 wherein each tire wear indicator is comprised of two layers of different colors and one layer is above the other.

5. A tire wear indicating structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.