In view of weight reduction or ease of recycling, it has been proposed to employ as a tire material the likes of a thermoplastic resin and thermoplastic elastomer, and, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H3-143701 discloses a pneumatic tire whose tire main body is molded using a thermoplastic high polymer material.
In the pneumatic tire described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H3-143701, rigidity is increased by providing a reinforcing layer in a tread bottom portion. However, if the tire main body has its walls thinned for purposes of weight reduction and tire longitudinal spring reduction, then pressure-withstanding performance or impact durability end up deteriorating.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds