US 11,745,547 B2
Tyre
Takuya Osawa, Kobe (JP); Shigeki Nishijima, Kobe (JP); and Dai Sunazuka, Kobe (JP)
Assigned to SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD., Kobe (JP)
Filed by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd., Kobe (JP)
Filed on Jan. 23, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/750,801.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-023713 (JP), filed on Feb. 13, 2019; application No. 2019-023716 (JP), filed on Feb. 13, 2019; and application No. 2019-023718 (JP), filed on Feb. 13, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0254822 A1, Aug. 13, 2020
Int. Cl. B60C 11/13 (2006.01); B60C 11/03 (2006.01)
CPC B60C 11/1369 (2013.01) [B60C 11/0304 (2013.01); B60C 2011/0344 (2013.01); B60C 2011/0358 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tyre comprising:
a tread portion having a designated mounting direction to a vehicle, the tread portion comprising
a first tread edge and a second tread edge to be located outwardly and inwardly of a vehicle, respectively, when being mounted to the vehicle,
two or more main grooves extending continuously in a tyre circumferential direction between the first tread edge and the second tread edge, and
two or more land portions divided by the main grooves,
wherein
the main grooves comprise a first shoulder main groove disposed between the first tread edge and a tyre equator, a second shoulder main groove disposed between the second tread edge and the tyre equator, and a crown main groove disposed between the first shoulder main groove and the second shoulder main groove,
the land portions comprise a first middle land portion defined between the first shoulder main groove and the crown main groove, and a second middle land portion defined between the second shoulder main groove and the crown main groove,
the first middle land portion is provided with two or more first middle lateral grooves traversing the first middle land portion completely in a tyre axial direction,
the second middle land portion is provided with two or more second middle lateral grooves traversing the second middle land portion completely in the tyre axial direction,
in a plan view of the tread portion, each of the first middle lateral grooves and the second middle lateral grooves is a curved groove which comprises a first convex portion located on a first side with respect to a groove-reference-straight-line that connects both ends of a groove centerline of the curved groove and a second convex portion located on a second side with respect to the groove-reference-straight-line,
a length in the tyre circumferential direction of the groove-reference-straight-line of each first middle lateral groove is smaller than a length in the tyre circumferential direction of the groove-reference-straight-line of each second middle lateral groove, and
a maximum distance of each first middle lateral groove between a groove edge thereof and the groove-reference-straight-line thereof is smaller than a maximum distance of each second middle lateral groove between a groove edge thereof and the groove-reference-straight-line thereof.