| US 7,481,257 B2 | ||
| Pneumatic tire and tire mold | ||
| Tomoyuki Matsumura, Hiratsuka (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to The Yokahama Rubber Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Jan. 06, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/29,376. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2004-004219 (JP), filed on Jan. 09, 2004. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2005/0150582 A1, Jul. 14, 2005 | ||
| Int. Cl. B29C 33/42 (2006.01); B60C 11/12 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 152—209.2 [152/209.18; 152/DIG. 3; 425/28.1; 425/35; 425/46; 425/47] | 19 Claims |
| 1. A pneumatic tire which is cured and molded by a sectional type tire mold including an annular side mold section having
a tread forming surface for forming a tread surface, the side mold section comprising a plurality of sectors into which the
side mold section is divided along a circumferential direction of the side mold section, the tread forming surface of the
side mold section having sector divisional position vicinity regions including sector divisional positions and sector divisional
position distant regions located therebetween, the pneumatic tire having a tread surface which includes first regions formed
by the sector divisional position vicinity regions, where the first regions extend along an entire axial width of the tread
surface, and second regions formed by the sector divisional position distant regions, where the second regions extend along
the entire axial width of the tread surface, the tread surface having lands defined by at least one circumferential groove
which extends in a circumferential direction of the tire, sipes which extend from the at least one circumferential groove
into at least one of the lands with their extension ends located within the at least one land being disposed at predetermined
intervals along the tire circumferential direction,
wherein the sipes comprise first sipes and second sipes, and each first sipe has a tire widthwise direction length W1 that is less than the tire widthwise direction length W2 of each second sipe,
wherein the first sipes are disposed only in the first regions, and the second sipes are disposed only in the second regions,
and further wherein said first region and said second region are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction of
the tire, the first region being a region located between a position on the tread surface corresponding to the sector divisional
position and a position ranging from 20 to 40 mm from said position corresponding to the sector divisional position on each
side thereof in the circumferential direction of the tire.
|