Pneumatic tires

Claim 2

A pneumatic tire provided with a breaker assembly of at least one composite breaker layer, comprising at least two narrow breaker layers of rubberized cord fabric, the cords of each narrow breaker layer being substantially rectilinear, the narrow brEaker layers each being substantially narrower than the total tread width and being arranged in radially spaced apart and partially overlapping relationship, and there being interposed only in the area of the overlapping portions of said layers of rubberized cord fabric a layer of rubber having a hardness lower than that of the surrounding tread rubber, the overall axial extent of each composite breaker layer being substantially equal to the total tread width.

Claim 3

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the breaker assembly is provided with at least one full width breaker layer, the width thereof being substantially equal to the total tread width.

Claim 4

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the cords of each pair of partially overlapping narrow breaker layers of at least one composite breaker layer are disposed in an opposite sense with respect to a circumferential line.

Claim 5

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the cords of each pair of partially overlapping narrow breaker layers of at least one composite breaker are disposed in an opposite sense with respect to a circumferential line.

Claim 6

A pneumatic tire according to claim 3 wherein the cords of each pair of partially overlapping narrow breaker layers of at least one composite layer are inclined at a substantially different bias angle with respect to the midcircumferential plane of the tire.

Claim 7

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the cords of at least one pair of overlapping narrow breaker layers differ substantially in modules of elasticity from the cords of a full width breaker layer, the cords of different modulus comprising the same material.

Claim 8

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the said interposed layer is up to 10* B.S. less hard than the hardness of the tread rubber surrounding it.

Claim 9

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the said interposed layer of rubber extends radially outwardly of the overlapping regions of the narrow breaker layers.

Claim 10

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the said interposed layer of rubber extends radially inwardly of the overlapping regions of the narrow breaker layers.

Claim 11

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the said interposed layer of rubber extends axially outwardly of the overlapping regions of the narrow breaker layer.

Claim 12

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the narrow breaker layers overlap in a band of uniform width.

Claim 13

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein at least one composite breaker layer comprises two narrow breaker plies.

Claim 14

A pneumatic tire according to claim 12 wherein the circumferential plane of symmetry of the overlapping portions of the narrow layers is axially offset by not more than 20 mm. from the midcircumferential plane of the tire.

Claim 15

A pneumatic tire according to claim 12 wherein the circumferential plane of symmetry of the overlapping portions of the narrow layers lies in the midcircumferential plane of the tire.

Claim 16

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1 wherein the width of the overlapping portions of the narrow breaker layer lies within the range 5 to 25 mm.

Claim 17

A pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the cords of at least one pair of overlapping narrow breaker layers differ substantially in modulus of elasticity from the cords of a full width breaker layer, the said cords of different modulus comprising different material.

Claim 18

A pneumatic tire provided with a breaker assembly of at least one composite breaker layer comprising at least two narrow breaker layers of cord fabric, the cords of each narrow breaker layer being substantially rectilinear, the narrow breaker layers each being substantially narrower than the total tread width and being arranged in radially spaced apart and partially overlapping relationship, the overall axial extent of the composite breaker layer being substantially equal to the total tread width and there being interposed only in the area of the overlapping pOrtions thereof a layer of rubber having a hardness up to 10* B.S. lower than that of the surrounding tread rubber, said interposed layer of rubber extending radially inwardly and axially outwardly of the overlapping regions of the narrow breaker layers.

Claim 19

A pneumatic tire provided with a breaker assembly of at least one composite breaker layer comprising at least two narrow breaker layers of cord fabric, the cords of each narrow breaker layer being substantially rectilinear, the narrow breaker layers each being substantially narrower than the total tread width and being arranged in radially spaced apart and partially overlapping relationship, the overall axial extent of the composite breaker layer being substantially equal to the total tread width and there being interposed only in the area of the overlapping pOrtions thereof a layer of rubber having a hardness up to 10* B.S. lower than that of the surrounding tread rubber, said interposed layer of rubber extending radially inwardly and axially outwardly of the overlapping regions of the narrow breaker layers.

Claim 20

A pneumatic tire provided with a breaker assembly of at least one composite breaker layer, comprising at least two narrow breaker layers of cord fabric at least one having two narrow breaker plies, the cords of each narrow breaker layer being substantially rectilinear, the narrow breaker layer being substantially narrower than the total tread width and being arranged in radially spaced apart and partially overlapping relationship, the circumferential plane of symmetry of the overlapping portions of the narrow layers being axially offset by not more than 20 mm. from the midcircumferential plane of the tire, and there being interposed between the overlapping portions thereof a layer of rubber having a hardness lower than that of the surrounding tread rubber, the overall axial extent of each composite breaker layer being substantially equal to the total tread width.

Claim 21

A pneumatic tire provided with a breaker assembly of at least one composite breaker layer, comprising at least two narrow breaker layers of cord fabric at least one having two narrow breaker plies, the cords of each narrow breaker layer being substantially rectilinear, the narrow breaker layer being substantially narrower than the total tread width and being arranged in radially spaced apart and partially overlapping relationship, the circumferential plane of symmetry of the overlapping portions of the narrow layers being axially offset by not more than 20 mm. from the midcircumferential plane of the tire, and there being interposed between the overlapping portions thereof a layer of rubber having a hardness lower than that of the surrounding tread rubber, the overall axial extent of each composite breaker layer being substantially equal to the total tread width.