Patent ID: 7546862

Claim:
A non-pneumatic tire for a vehicle comprising: a. a body made of an elastic material and having a circumferentially-extending crown portion featuring a running surface and circumferentially-extending first and second sidewalk joined to said crown portion, said circumferentially-extending first and second side walls terminating in circumferentially-extending first and second beads, respectively, said first and second beads adapted to be secured within a flange of a rim of a vehicle wheel; and b. a plurality of radially-extending and circumferential-spaced compound-curve springs at least partially embedded within said crown portion and said first and second sidewalls of the tire body, each of said compound-curve springs having a first end portion, the first end portion being embedded within the first bead of the tire body, a second end portion, the second end portion being embedded within the second bead of the tire body, a first sidewall that is generally S-shaped and a second sidewall that is generally inverted S-shaped; wherein the sidewalls of each spring each include upper and lower sidewall portions with the upper sidewall portions being convex with respect to a radial plane of the tire and the lower sidewall portions being concave with respect to the radial plane of the tire.