An intermediate article of manufacture formed as a first stage bead area subassembly for a split ply pneumatic tire carcass is disclosed. The bead area subassembly has an annular bead core; a bead apex; a ply strip; and preferably a sidewall affixed to the ply strip. The subassembly is formed into a disk-shaped bead area monocomponent. The ply strip is wrapped about the bead core and the apex to form a ply turnup and both the ply strip and the ply turnup extend radially outwardly from the bead core. The bead area subassembly when formed into the disk-shaped bead area monocomponent is placed on an annular holder device.

A pneumatic tire includes a pair of bead portions, a pair of bead cores each disposed in a respective one of the pair of bead portions, a carcass extending between the pair of bead cores, the carcass including a carcass ply that includes a main portion extending between the pair of bead cores and a pair of turn-up portions each turned up around a respective one of the pair of bead cores from axially inside to outside of the tire and extending outwardly in a tire radial direction, and a reinforcing rubber layer disposed in each bead portion and being adjacent to an axially outside of the turn-up portion, wherein the reinforcing rubber layer has a laminated body in which a plurality of sheet-shaped rubber members having different radial lengths are laminated in the tire axial direction.

A pneumatic tire includes a pair of beads each with an associated bead core and chafer, a single carcass ply folded about each bead so as to define a main body portion and a turnup portion associated with each bead, and a tread disposed radially outward from the single carcass ply, the tread having shoulder portions disposed at axial outer edges of the tread; and a pair of sidewalls extending radially outward from each chafer to a location adjacent each shoulder portion, each sidewall being disposed axially outward of the single carcass ply. The single carcass ply is reinforced with metallic cords, the metallic cords comprising filaments with diameters from 0.10 mm to 0.12 mm

A tire including a tire frame, which is toric and is formed with a resin material containing a thermoplastic resin; an adhesion layer, which is formed with a composition including a polythiol compound, a polyisocyanate compound, and a radical generator, and in which a ratio (S/N) of the number (S) of sulfur atoms contained in the adhesion layer to the number (N) of nitrogen atoms contained in the adhesion layer is three or more; and an exterior component, which contains a rubber, and which is mounted on the tire frame via the adhesion layer such that at least part of the rubber touches the adhesion layer.

A tire manufacturing method includes making a master batch, using the master batch to make a rubber composition, and making a green tire. The master batch is made wherein a carbon-black-containing pre-coagulation rubber latex is coagulated to obtain a coagulum; a compound according to Formula (I) is added to the water-containing coagulum;

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wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each indicates a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbons, an alkenyl group having 1 to 20 carbons, or an alkynyl group having 1 to 20 carbons, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 may be the same or different, and M.sup.+ indicates sodium ion, potassium ion, or lithium ion; and the compound according to Formula (I) is dispersed within the coagulum. The green tire is provided with unvulcanized rubber sheeting made up of the rubber composition, chafer(s), carcass ply or plies, and bead filler(s).

Tire frame step portions 18 are formed to a tire frame member 17. The tire frame step portions 18 are formed further toward the tire equatorial plane side than tire axial direction end portions 30A of a tread member 30. Covering layers 24 are formed at the outside of the tire frame member 17 so as to span from bead portions to the tire frame step portions 18.

A method for forming a composite apex, the method comprising the steps of: forming a coextruded strip of a first compound and a second compound, wherein the second compound is a compound different than the first compound, wherein the apex is formed from winding the coextruded strip while varying the ratio of the first compound to the second compound.

A process and a drum for looping annular anchoring structures in a process for building tyres for vehicle wheels includes: depositing a loop on a drum including a radially expandable/contractible intermediate annular portion and, in a position axially adjacent to the opposite axial ends of said intermediate annular portion, a pair of radially expandable/contractible lateral annular portions; associating an annular anchoring structure with a radially outer annular surface portion of the loop defined at the intermediate annular portion; and turning up each of opposite end edges of the loop on the annular anchoring structure through the lateral annular portions as a result of a thrusting stress imparted by a respective lateral annular portion of said pair of lateral annular portions because of a synchronous radial movement and a synchronous axial displacement of a respective plurality of circumferentially adjacent first angular sectors.

A tyre (1), comprising: two toroidal bead portions (12), each housing an annular bead bundle (121); a toroidal body ply (10), folded, at each of its transversal ending portions (101), about a respective bead bundle (121) forming a respective turn-up (14); two bead fillers (20), one for each bead portion, each in contact with a respective bead bundle (121) and at least partly enclosed by a respective turn-up (14),

which tyre (1) further comprises two elastomeric crack control members (21), one for each bead portion (12), wherein each crack control member (21) extends at a body ply ending (101), externally to the respective turn-up (14), and each crack control member (21) is made by a couple of strips having a differentiated stiffness along their transversal section, with a lower stiffness at a first strip (201, 211) adjacent to the body ply ending (101) and a higher stiffness at a second strip (202, 212) in contact with the respective bundle (121),

so that the first lower stiffness strip defines a preferential propagation path for any tyre crack originating at the body ply folded ending (FIG. 2).

Edge separation in a turned-up end portion (5E) of a carcass ply (5) is suppressed. In a pneumatic tire comprising a bead core (4) embedded in a bead portion (3) and a carcass ply (5) turned up and locked around the bead core (4), a rubber sheet (10) is prepared using a wet masterbatch containing natural rubber and/or polyisoprene rubber and carbon black, and the rubber sheet (10) is arranged on at least one of front and back sides of the turned-up end portion (5E) of the carcass ply (5).