Radial ply tire with shoulder reinforcement between belt and carcass

Claim 1

A radial pneumatic tire comprising at least one carcass ply folded at least in part axially around a pair of axially spaced apart bead cores, each carcass ply comprising a plurality of parallel reinforcing elements which are oriented at 75 to 90 degrees with respect to an equatorial plane (EP) of the tire and a crown reinforcement with one belt ply folded around at least two unfolded belt plies and a shoulder reinforcing structure comprising at least: a first layer adjacent to the radially outermost carcass ply being reinforced by cords forming with an axial plane intersecting them, an angle ranging between 20 and 50 degrees; a second layer adjacent to said first layer reinforced by cords forming with an axial plane intersecting them, an angle ranging between -20 and -50 degrees; a third layer adjacent to said second layer reinforced by cords forming with an axial plane intersecting them, an angle ranging between 45 and 75 degrees; the layers extending each laterally under the folded belt ply and into the sidewall of the tire and wherein each radially outer layer of the shoulder reinforcement has both a smaller width than its adjacent radially inner layer and lateral ends located inside the width of its adjacent radially inner layer; each layer having an extension G into the crown reinforcement of no greater than B/3, where B is half the lateral width of the folded belt ply.