KR101623279B1 - Improved belt structure and pneumatic tire comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an improved belt structure, including: a center part comprising more than two belt elements; a first side part which is arranged to border one side of the center part, and comprises more than two belt elements; and a second side part which is arranged to border another side of the center part, and comprises more than two belt elements, and a pneumatic tire comprising the same. Each belt element includes reinforcing members aligned in a fixed angle. A belt angle of neighboring belt elements of a bonding part of the first side part and the center part and a bonding part of the center part and the second side part are symmetric to each other. A tire including the belt structure of the present invention can prevent a drift phenomenon and a buckling phenomenon of the tire, and can improve wear performance and handling performance.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an improved belt structure,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved belt structure and a pneumatic tire having the improved belt structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pneumatic tire using belt angle and symmetry to control the lateral force and torque acting on the tire, The present invention relates to an improved belt structure capable of improving handling performance and a pneumatic tire having the improved belt structure.

Generally, as shown in Fig. 1, the pneumatic tire 10 includes a tread 1, which is a portion in contact with the road surface; A carcass 4 constituting the skeleton of the tire; And a belt (2, 3) composed of a plurality of layers between the tread (1) and the carcass (4).

In the tire, the belts 2 and 3 are provided as a plurality of layers between the carcass 4 and the tread portion 1 as important portions for maintaining the strength of the tire in response to an external impact transmitted through the tread portion. As shown in Fig. 1, such a belt is generally formed by laminating a plurality of belt plies 2 and 3, and reinforcing members 5 made of steel are arranged therein to increase durability, And has a structure in which rubber is topped on its surface. The reinforcing member is arranged to be inclined at a constant angle most favorable to the tire shape and strength maintenance.

On the other hand, when the reinforcing members of the belt are arranged obliquely in only one direction, it is difficult to handle the vehicle because the vehicle is oriented in a certain direction during traveling or cornering of the vehicle. In addition, the grounding pressure applied to the tread pattern outside the vehicle is greater than the grounding pressure applied to the tread pattern inside the vehicle. Such biasing of the grounding pressure is further intensified at the time of cornering or turning of the vehicle to cause uneven wear of the tire, .

Furthermore, the stiffness of the tire in the axial direction is uneven, causing uneven wear of the tire, resulting in deterioration of steering stability and noise performance. Further, when the air pressure is low or an excessive load acts on the tire, the buckling phenomenon that the middle portion of the belt layers 2 and 3 floats without being grounded to the ground is generated, leading to tire accidents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-described problems of the prior art and to provide an improved structure for improving the steerability and buckling phenomenon by improving the structure of the reinforcing member inside the belt, Thereby providing a belt structure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic tire which suppresses the buckling phenomenon occurring at the end of the belt, prevents tilting of the tire, improves the ground pressure distribution, and improves the wear performance and handling performance.

According to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object,

A belt structure of a pneumatic tire,

A central portion comprising two or more belt elements;

A first side portion disposed in contact with one side of the central portion and composed of at least two belt elements; And

And a second side portion disposed in contact with the other side of the central portion and composed of two or more belt elements,

Wherein each of the belt elements comprises reinforcing members oriented at a constant belt angle therein and wherein the junction of the first side portion and the center portion and the belt portions of the adjacent belt elements of the junction are symmetrical To the belt structure.

Another aspect of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems relates to a pneumatic tire including the improved belt structure of the present invention. The belt portion of the pneumatic tire of the present invention comprises two or more belt plys, each belt ply being constructed of the improved belt structure of the present invention, and the belt angles between the upper and lower neighboring belt plies are disposed opposite to each other .

The pneumatic tire having the improved belt structure of the various embodiments of the present invention utilizes the symmetry of the belt structure to offset the residual torque generated by the belt to improve the tipping performance of the tire thereby improving steering safety, It is possible to suppress the buckling phenomenon that may occur and to solve the problems caused by the buckling phenomenon.

Further, according to the pneumatic tire of the present invention, it is possible to prevent decrease of the lateral force and decrease of the grip force due to reduction of the ground surface area occurring in the overturning, and prevent concentration of the shoulder portion of the ground pressure, .

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the expansion of the shoulder portion generated during running of the tire and to maintain the growth of the uniform tire, and to improve the ground shape and the ground pressure distribution, thereby remarkably improving the wear and handling performance .

1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional pneumatic tire.
2 is a partially schematic perspective view of an improved belt structure of an embodiment of the present invention and a pneumatic tire having such a belt structure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

The term " rolling direction (RD) " as used herein means the direction of travel of the tire when mounted on a vehicle.

The term "belt angle " as used herein means the minimum angle formed by the orientation direction of the reinforcing members substantially parallel to the rolling direction of the tire, assuming that the belt is plane.

2 is a partially schematic perspective view of an improved belt structure of an embodiment of the present invention and a pneumatic tire having such a belt structure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the belt structure of one embodiment of the present invention includes a central portion 20 comprising two or more belt elements 31; A first side portion 30 disposed in contact with one side of the central portion and composed of at least two belt elements 30a, 30, and 30c; And a second side portion (40) arranged in contact with the other side of the central portion and composed of at least two belt elements (40a, 40b, 40c), the central portion (20) and the first and second side portions Each of the belt elements in the first and second side portions 30,40 includes reinforcing members oriented at a constant belt angle therein and is configured such that the joining portion of the first side portion 30 and the center portion 20, The belt angles of neighboring belt elements at the junction of the belt 40 are formed symmetrically with respect to each other. That is, the belt elements 30c of the first side portion 30 and the belt elements of the center portion 20 at the portion where the first side portion 30 and the center portion 20 contact each other are formed symmetrically with respect to the belt angle. The fact that the belt angles are symmetrical with each other in the present invention means that the magnitudes of the absolute values of the belt angles are not necessarily the same, but the directions are formed symmetrical to each other.

The belt element 20b of the central portion 20 and the belt element 40a of the second side portion 40 are formed such that the belt angles are symmetrical to each other.

If the belt elements are symmetrically formed at the joining portion of the center portion 20 and the side portions 20 and 40, the torque of the belt angle is canceled, and the buckling phenomenon that may occur at the end portion due to a large load . The jarring effect of the belt can be reduced when a combination of belt angles in the symmetrical direction relative to the belt having the belt angle in one direction is connected.

In the belt structure of the present invention, the belt elements 21, 31, 41 of the central portion 20 and the first and second side portions 30, 40 have a plurality of substantially parallel elongated reinforcing members 21, 31, 42 Respectively. The reinforcing members 21, 31 and 41 are arranged in such a way as to form a rubber-covered fiber surrounded by a rubber material. The reinforcing members 21, 31 and 41 may be steel cords such as standard (NT) (normal tensile strength) steel or HT (high tensile strength) steel, SHT (super tensile strength) steel or UHT . Alternatively, the reinforcing members can be composed primarily of fiber cords, such as nylon cord, aramid cord, or hybrid cord (e.g., a combination of aramid filament and nylon filament cord). The steel cord may be formed with a corrosion resistant alloy, for example a brass coating, having a thickness between 0.10 μm and 0.50 μm. The brass coating ensures good adhesion of the cord to the rubber covering compound and provides protection against corrosion of the metal both during manufacture and use of the tire.

In the present invention, the belt angles of the belt elements of the center and side portions are arranged to be inclined at an angle between approximately 10 and 45 degrees with respect to the plane of the intermediate circumferential direction depending on the shape of the tire. The belt elements 30a, 30b, 30c, 40a, 40b, 40c of the first and second side portions 30, 40 have the same structure as the belt angles? Of the belt elements of the central portion 20, Are arranged symmetrically with respect to each other.

The belt elements of the central portion 20 have a structure having the same belt angle and can cancel the tilting phenomenon with the reverse setting of the first belt 1 and the second belt 2. [ The central portion 20 applies a single belt angle? For improving the grounding shape and the noise vibration performance.

Taking the first side portion 30 as an example, the symmetrical combination of the belt elements 30a and 30b can be composed of at least one and applied symmetrically to both ends of the belt. The number of belt elements 30a, 30b, 30c can be adjusted according to the cross-sectional width of the tire.

The width W1 of the first side portion 30 is greater than the width W3 of the central portion 20, It can be set at a level of 10 ~ 25%.

In the present invention, the number and width of the belt elements constituting the first side surface portion 30 and the second side surface portion 40 are not necessarily the same and may be otherwise configured.

The belt elements at the portions where the first side portion and the second side portion are in contact with the center portion may have belt angles different from those of the other belt elements at the first side portion and the second side portion. The magnitudes of the belt angles?,? And? Of the first side portion 30 can be set to cancel the torque generated by the lateral force. The larger the belt angle is, the smaller the residual force represented by the arm becomes. > >. The belt angle? Of the outermost belt element 30a may have a size of 15 to 40 degrees and the belt angles? And? Of the inner belt elements 20b and 20c may be the same as the outermost belt element 30a. 0 < / RTI > less than the belt angle < RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > Further, the magnitudes of the belt angles?,? And? Can be adjusted to offset the residual torque of the belt structure.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a pneumatic tire comprising the improved belt structure of the present invention as described above.

Referring to Figure 2, the pneumatic tire of the present invention comprises a circumferential tread 10 forming a tread portion of a tire, wherein a plurality of belts 1, 2, 3, 4 extend from the tread portion of the tire, Directional tread. Although the illustrated embodiment illustrates four belts, it should be understood that a single belt may be used or two belts may be used. Alternatively, four or more belts may be used.

The pneumatic tire of another embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the belt portion comprises two or more belt ply, each belt ply is comprised of the belt structure of the present invention, and the belt angles between the upper and lower neighboring belt plies are configured . In this way, when the belt angles of the upper and lower adjacent belt ply are made opposite to each other, the deformation force applied to the edge of the belt is dispersed to improve the durability. Also, the grounding pressure concentrated on the shoulder portion of the tire is dispersed, thereby preventing uneven wear of the tire and improving the handling performance.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Modifications and variations should be construed as being within the scope of the appended claims.

10: tread 1, 2, 3, 4:
20: central portion 30: first side portion
40: second side portion 21, 31, 41: reinforcing member
30a, 30b, 30c, 40a, 40b, 40c:

Claims (10)

A belt structure of a pneumatic tire, the belt structure comprising: a central portion comprising two or more belt elements; A first side portion disposed in contact with one side of the central portion and composed of three or more belt elements; And a second side portion disposed in contact with the other side of the central portion and composed of three or more belt elements, each of the belt elements including reinforcing members oriented at a constant belt angle therein, And a belt angle of adjacent belt elements of the joining portion of the center portion and the joining portion of the central portion and the second side portion are symmetrical to each other,
Wherein the belt angles of the belt elements constituting the central portion are equal to each other and the belt angles of the belt elements constituting the first and second side portions are symmetrically arranged with respect to the rolling direction of the tire, The belt angle? Of the outermost belt element of the second side portion, the belt angle? Of the inner belt element inside the outermost belt element and the belt angle? Of the other inner belt element further inside this inner belt element The size of the belt angle? Of the outermost belt element is set to a relationship of?>?>?, The size of the belt angle? Of the outermost belt element is in the range of 15 to 40 占 and the first side portion and the second side portion, Characterized in that the elements have a belt angle different from that of the other belt elements of the first side portion and the second side portion and the belt angle of the inner belt element is more than 0 [deg.] To 5 [deg.] Smaller than the belt angle of the outermost belt element Belt structure.
delete delete delete The improved belt structure of claim 1 wherein the widths of the first side portions and the second side portions and the number of belt elements are the same or different.
The improved belt structure according to claim 1, wherein the width (W1) of the first side surface portion or the second side surface portion is in a range of 10% to 25% of a width (W2) of the central portion.
The improved belt structure of claim 1, wherein one width of the belt element is between 1 inch and 2 inches.
delete A pneumatic tire comprising the improved belt structure of any one of claims 1 to 5.
Wherein the belt portion comprises two or more belt ply, each belt ply comprising the belt structure of any one of Claims 1 to 5, and a belt between adjacent belt plies in the tire thickness direction Wherein the angles are opposite to each other.

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