The molding element has a molding surface for forming a contact face of the contacting elements and a groove forming rib portion for forming the groove. The groove forming rib portion has opposed rib side faces for forming opposed groove side faces and a rib top face connecting the rib side faces for forming a groove bottom. The groove forming rib portion provides at least one space opening to at least one of the rib side faces and/or to the rib top face and an insert is received in the space. The insert is composed of a plurality of thin plates stacked in a direction along which the rib extends and comprises at least one notched plate of thickness t1 including at least one notch for forming a flexible fence of the closing device; and comprises at least one support plate of thickness t2 without notch.

A pneumatic tire includes a tread portion provided with circumferentially extending main grooves and lateral grooves. The main grooves include an inboard shoulder main groove, an outboard shoulder main groove, an inboard center main groove and an outboard center main groove. The lateral grooves includes a plurality of first outboard shoulder lateral grooves each having an axially inner end positioned between the outboard shoulder main groove and the outboard center main groove, and a plurality of first inboard shoulder lateral grooves each having an axially inner end positioned between the inboard shoulder main groove and the inboard center main groove, wherein the number of the first inboard shoulder lateral grooves is greater than the number of the first outboard shoulder lateral grooves.

This pneumatic tire includes, on a tread surface, land portions defined by tread edges and by circumferential main grooves extending continuously in the tread circumferential direction; central sipes, in a central land portion on a tire equatorial plane, extending in the tread width direction and formed at a predetermined pitch length, the central land portion being continuous in the tread circumferential direction between adjacent central sipes; and intermediate sipes, in intermediate land portions adjacent to the central land portion on both sides in the tread width direction with the circumferential main grooves therebetween, extending in the tread width direction and being formed at a predetermined pitch length, each intermediate land portion being continuous in the tread circumferential direction between adjacent intermediate sipes. The pitch length of the intermediate sipes is longer than that of the central sipes, and both ends of the central sipes open into the circumferential main grooves.

The tire includes a tread portion 2 having at least one groove 3 that includes two groove walls 6. At least one of the groove walls 6 has a protrusion 10 that protrudes from the groove wall 6. The protrusion 10 includes at least two ribs 11 that extend in a length direction of the groove 3 and are spaced from each other in the tire radial direction, and a joining portion 12 for joining the ribs 11 to each other. Each rib 11 protrudes from the groove wall 6 so as to form such an inclination that the rib 11 is inclined outward from the groove wall 6 in a tire radial direction.

A rib-like land section partitioned by main grooves, a plurality of sub-grooves provided in the rib-like land section at intervals in the tire circumferential direction and a groove hole provided between the sub-grooves adjacent to each other and extending in the tire circumferential direction are provided in a tread section. The sub-groove includes a lateral groove portion, in which one end opens to the main groove and the other end terminates inside the rib-like land section, and a longitudinal groove portion extending from the other end of the lateral groove portion to one side in the tire circumferential direction and terminating inside the rib-like land section. The groove hole is formed so that a groove depth at one end part close to a terminal end of the longitudinal groove portion becomes shallower than a groove depth at the other end part far from the terminal end.

A pneumatic vehicle tire for utility vehicles has a profiled tread having two circumferential ribs that are adjacent and are separated by a circumferential groove of depth H formed from radially inner and outer extension sections of height H.sub.1 and H.sub.2. The groove in the radially inner extension section is a channel of height H.sub.1 and breadth B.sub.1, and in the outer extension section is configured, along its circumferential extent, with an alternating sequence of first and second circumferential regions. The two flanks in the first regions are each configured, in the transition to the outer surface of the rib, with a chamfer of height H.sub.4 such that H.sub.4<H.sub.2, and are spaced by a distance B.sub.2 along their radial extent in the outer extension section from radially inward to radially outward as far as the chamfer.

A tire comprises a tread portion comprising at least one circumferentially continuously extending main groove, and a land portion divided by the above-said at least one main groove, wherein the land portion is provided with straight sipes and curved sipes each extending in the tire axial direction.

The tire (10) for a passenger vehicle has an axially central portion and axially lateral portions. The axially central portion and each axially lateral portion satisfies just one of conditions I, II, III: I—the portion comprises no transverse cut (90, 90′), II—the portion comprises N transverse cuts (90, 90′) arranged in such a way that π×OD/N≥40 mm, III—the portion comprises N transverse cuts (90, 90′) arranged in such a way that π×OD/N≤24 mm, condition I or II being satisfied by the axially central portion or by an axially lateral portion, and condition III being satisfied by the axially central portion or by an axially lateral portion.

Crown of a tire for a heavy vehicle that is desensitized to attacks. The tire (1) comprises tread (2) having a median degree of surface siping TL.sub.C, expressed in m/m.sup.2, equal to the ratio between the cumulative length L.sub.DC of the cuts (21), present in a median portion of tread of axial width W.sub.C, and the median area A.sub.C of the radially outer surface (23) of the tread (2), and protective reinforcement (4) comprising at least two protective layers (41, 42) that are formed of elastic metallic reinforcers and have a maximum breaking strength R.sub.max, expressed in daN/m, such that the median degree of surface siping TL.sub.C of tread (2) is at least equal to 5 m/m.sup.2 and a coupling ratio C.sub.C, equal to the ratio between the maximum breaking strength R.sub.max and the median degree of surface siping TL.sub.C, is at least equal to 18 000 daN.

A tire tread (1) having a tread pattern depth Hm, with at least two longitudinally oriented grooves (31, 41, 42), at least one of them being a complex groove (31), that in the new state, is alternately external cavities (311) that open onto the tread surface and internal cavities (312) that are hidden within the thickness of the tread. The external cavities (311) have a mean longitudinal length Lm, a depth at least equal to 0.9 Hm, and are separated by internal cavities having a mean longitudinal length Li, Li being at least equal to 0.5*Lm and at most equal to 2*Lm. At least one rib (21) in the longitudinal direction and delimited by a complex groove with transverse sipes (5) made at a mean spacing Pm. The spacing Pm of the transverse sipes is at most equal to the mean longitudinal length Lm of the external cavities (311).