Patent ID: 6530404
Filing Date: 2003-03-11
Classification: B60C,Y10T

Abstract:
An all terrain vehicle run flat tire, the run flat tire having a casing and an annular tread which terminates into shoulder portions at the lateral edges of the tread, sidewalls comprising sidewall portions extending from the tread lateral edges and terminating into a pair of bead regions, each bead region having an annular inextensible bead core, a distance halfway between the lateral edges defining the equatorial plane of the tire, the tread having a plurality of tread lugs and a central rib; wherein the plurality of lugs are disposed on each tread half and spaced axially from the equatorial plane a distance of at least 5% of the tread width; the central rib is located between and separates the plurality of tread lugs on each tread half, the central rib having a non-skid height, as measured from an inner tread surface, of less than the maximum non-skid height of tread lugs; the casing has a cord reinforced breaker structure radially inward of the tread and a carcass reinforcing structure having at least one ply reinforcing structure radially inward of the breaker reinforcing structure and extending radially inwardly to the pair of substantially inextensible bead cores, a pair of run flat sidewall inserts, each run flat sidewall insert being radially inward of the ply reinforcing structure and extending from radially under the breaker structure toward one bead core, the run flat tire having a maximum section width and being characterized by the sidewalls having a uniform thickness and a third run flat insert located between the breaker reinforcing structure and the at least one ply reinforcing structure, and extending laterally overlapping the pair of run flat sidewall inserts, wherein the central rib has a radial height equal to &frac13; of the non-skid height of the tread lugs, the tire as measured radially outwardly from a tire inner surface to the &frac13; non-skid height of the tread lugs at the centerplane of the tire has a thickness approximately equal to the thickness of the sidewall as measured at the maximum section width of the tire.