Equipment for molding and curing a green tire includes a curing mold including a first bead molding ring including a first surface for contacting a radially inner and axially inner surface portion of an annular fixing structure of the green tyre and a first sidewall plate including a second surface for contacting a radially inner and axially outer surface portion of the annular fixing structure. The first bead molding ring is radially extendable from a contracted operating position to an expanded operating position so as to delimit a portion of the annular fixing structure between the first sidewall plate and the first bead molding ring, and the first bead molding ring is translatable towards the first sidewall plate for generating a first squeezing pressure on the annular fixing structure. The equipment further includes an inflatable bladder associated for operation with the curing mold.

The present invention aims to provide a pneumatic tire with sufficiently reduced rolling resistance. The pneumatic tire according to the present invention including a carcass having a carcass main portion extending from a tread portion via a sidewall portion to a bead portion in a toroidal shape and locked on a bead core embedded in the bead portion, and a belt disposed on a crown portion outer peripheral side of the carcass, characterized in that, when mounted on an applicable rim and put under a predetermined internal pressure no-load condition, a minimum value R1 of a curvature radius of a tire width direction cross-section in a tire radial direction outer portion of the carcass main portion positioned on an tire radial direction outer side than a position where a distance measured from a tire radial direction inner end of the carcass outwardly in the tire radial direction becomes ½ of a carcass cross-sectional height is 0.6 times or less of a minimum value R2 of the curvature radius of the tire width direction cross-section of a portion that, in the tire radial direction inner portion of the carcass main portion positioned on the tire radial direction inner side than the tire radial direction outer portion, bulges out in the tire width direction.

A low compaction cantilevered tire construction is provided which is designed for use at relatively low inflation pressures and which has sidewalls with a relatively uniform bending resistance through the majority of the sidewall. When the tire is placed under high loads at low inflation pressures the sidewall deflects substantially radially and allows the tread portion of the tire to maintain its intended shape thus improving the contact area of the tire and providing a tire having a relatively high contact area and thus relatively low soil compaction for a given loading.

The invention relates to a tire with radial carcass reinforcement, made up of at least one layer of metal reinforcing elements, the said tire comprising a crown reinforcement, itself radially capped by a tread, the said tread being connected to two beads via two side walls, the said tire comprising a first layer of polymer compound radially between the carcass reinforcement and the radially innermost layer of reinforcing elements of the crown reinforcement. According to the invention, the said first layer of polymer compound constitutes a buffer zone designed to trap oxygen on the outside of the said first layer, the axial width of the said first layer being at least equal to 70% of the width of the radially innermost layer of reinforcing elements of the crown reinforcement.

A run-flat tire of the present invention is a pneumatic radial tire for passenger vehicles which has a carcass composed of plies of radially arranged cords toroidally extending between a pair of bead portions, and the a W/L ratio of the section width W to the outer diameter L of the tire is 0.25 or less.

A pneumatic tire includes: an annular structure that is cylindrical and metal where at least an outer side surface in the radial direction is a rough surface; a tread rubber layer that will become a tread portion provided along a circumferential direction of the annular structure on an outer side of the annular structure; and a carcass portion including fibers covered with rubber, provided on at least both sides in a direction parallel to a center axis of the cylindrical structure including the annular structure and the tread rubber layer.

A pneumatic tire includes a strip member which extends in a tire circumferential direction, with both ends thereof reaching each bead portion, and a belt layer disposed in a tread portion on an outer side in the tire radial direction of the strip members. The strip members are divided in the tire width direction, with each of the divided strip members having joints that join in the tire circumferential direction. The relative positions of the joints are disposed at less than 20 in the tire circumferential direction within the region of the maximum width TW in the tire width direction of the belt layer.

A method of making a tire comprising the steps of providing a core; forming a first layer of ply by winding a strip of one or more rubber coated cords onto the core in a geodesic pattern extending from a first shoulder to a second shoulder opposite said first shoulder and being tangent to the bead at a location between said first shoulder and said second shoulder.

A tire with radial carcass reinforcement comprises a crown reinforcement including a layer of circumferential reinforcing elements distributed axially at a variable pitch. The layer of circumferential reinforcing elements is radially crowned by a tread strip, which is connected to two beads by two sidewalls. The layer of circumferential reinforcing elements comprises five parts, including a central part, two intermediate parts and two axially outer parts. The value of the pitch in the two intermediate parts is less than a value of the pitch in the two axially outer parts. Each axially outer part is axially separated from the central part by a corresponding intermediate part. The value of the pitch in each intermediate part is less than a value of the pitch in the central part, and the value of the pitch in each axially outer part is less than the value of the pitch in the central part.

In a pneumatic tire that includes strip members which extends in a tire circumferential direction, both ends thereof reaching each bead portion, a belt layer is disposed in a tread portion on an outer side in a tire radial direction of the strip members. The strip members are divided in the tire width direction, and the divided strip members have joints that join together in the tire circumferential direction. Relative positions of the joints are disposed deviated by not less than 20 in the tire circumferential direction within a region between an edge of a maximum width in the tire width direction of the belt layer and a maximum tire width position.