Patent ID: 6340041
Filing Date: 2002-01-22
Classification: B60C

Abstract:
A pneumatic tire comprisinga tread portion, two wide circumferential grooves dividing the tread portion into a pair of shoulder parts and a central part therebetween, each of the circumferential grooves having a groove bottom having an axially inner edge, an axially inner sidewall and an axially outer side wall, in a meridian section of the tire, said axially inner sidewall extending substantially straight from said axially inner edge to a ground contacting top surface of the central part and inclined axially inwards, and said axially outer sidewall comprising a convex part extending axially outwardly to a merge point at which the convex part merges into a ground contacting top surface of one of the shoulder parts, in a foot print of the tire, each of the circumferential grooves having a maximum axial width of not less than 35 mm, a radius of curvature of said convex part being 10 to 40% of a tread width of the tread portion on the footprint, and under a normally inflated unloaded state of the tire, the axial width of the convex part being 0.4 to 0.7 times the width of the circumferential groove.