Conventionally tires are loaded with high surface area carbon black to provide good tear strength and increase the modulus of the rubber. A high level of fine carbon black, however, causes the tires to have a high hysteresis, which contributes to a high rolling resistance, which works against high speed properties.

In the conception of the present invention, it was proposed that if the level of carbon black was reduced, and the omitted carbon black was replaced with a filler material that reduced the hysteresis of tire components in the crown area of the tire while maintaining stiffness, that rolling resistance could be improved, with a complementary improvement in high speed properties.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tire with improved high speed properties.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims.

Summary of the Invention A pneumatic tire is provided comprising a pair of axially spaced apart annular beads, carcass plies wrapped around the beads, reinforcing belt plies disposed over the carcass plies in a crown area of the tire, gum strips disposed between edges of the belt, and an overlay disposed radially outward of the belts, tread disposed radially outward of the overlay, and sidewalls disposed between the tread and beads. The elastomer of the belts, overlay and gum strips comprises a polymer blend of 2-15 parts by weight thermoplastic reinforcing polymer per 100 parts by weight tread rubber (2-15 phr). In the illustrated embodiment, the polymer blend has a 100% modulus of 5.5 to 7.5.

The improved properties described herein are observed when the reinforcing polymer is mixed into the rubber used in the crown area reinforcement (the belts, gum strips and overlay) in a two step process where reinforcing polymer domains are predeveloped in a master batch as a first step in the process. Also, the improved tire properties described are observed only when the reinforcing domains are in all three components of the crown area reinforcement as described above.

In illustrated embodiments, the thermoplastic reinforcing polymer is polyamide or polypropylene, and the elastomer comprises polybutadiene, polyisoprene, styrene/butadiene

copolymers, and mixtures thereof. The thermoplastic reinforcing polymer may be grafted to the tread rubber using a grafting agent.

Brief Description of Drawings Figure 1 illustrates a cross section of a tire delineating the tread base and tread cap.

Figure 2 illustrates a belt ply containing thermoplastic domains/fibers.

Figure 3 illustrates a gum strip with thermoplastic domains/fibers.

Figure 4 illustrates an overlay ply containing thermoplastic domains/fibers.

Figure 4a illustrates a spiral overlay containing thermoplastic domains/fibers.

Detailed Description of the Invention With reference now to Fig. 1, a tire 30 of the invention is illustrated having a tread 44, and an overlay 42 and gumstrips 39, in addition to beads 32, sidewalls 40, carcass plies 34 and belts 36.

It has been found that the improved tire properties described herein are observed only when the reinforcing polymers are included in the elastomers of the crown reinforcement of the tire, i. e. the wire coat compound (elastomer of the belt plies), the elastomer in the gum strips and the elastomer in the overlay ply.

The crown reinforcement elastomers, in addition to conventional polymers, includes 2- 30 phr thermoplastic resins. Such thermoplastic resins may be included as replacement for 5- 25 phr carbon black in the elastomer.

Examples of thermoplastic resins that may be used in the elastomer include polyamides and polypropylene.

The filled elastomers, illustrated for use in the crown reinforcement, have a 100% modulus of 5.5 to 7.5. By contrast, the same rubber formulations, without thermoplastic resin reinforcement, and a reinforcing amount of carbon black, have a 100% modulus of about 3.5 to 4.5.

Crown reinforcement elastomers made with the thermoplastic reinforcing polymer of the invention are prepared by a two step process. The first step involves the preparation of a polymer alloy containing thermoplastic reinforcing polymer. This process is described in U. S. patents 4,937,290 and 4,996,262, which are incorporated herein by reference. The second stage of the process is the blending of the polymer alloy of step one with polymers, such as rubbers, and other compounding ingredients, in conventional mixers, such as Banbury mixers, extruders, or a mill mixer. The second step blending or mixing can be accomplished using compounding techniques well known in the art.

In the process of producing the alloy at elevated temperatures, a micro dispersion of the thermoplastic reinforcing polymer in an elastomer matrix is obtained. Such high temperatures cannot be achieved during normal Banbury mixing and such a micro dispersion cannot be obtained at normal temperatures, thus requiring the two-stage process.

The elastomers blended with the thermoplastic alloy in the second step of the process are preferably rubbers having carbon-carbon unsaturation, which can be sulfur cured.

Examples of such rubbers are cis-1,4-polyisoprene (natural or synthetic), cis-1,4- polybutadiene, 3,4-polyisoprene, styrene/butadiene copolymers, styrene/isoprene/butadiene terpolymers, butadiene/acrylonitrile copolymers and isoprene/acrylonitrile copolymers, and mixtures thereof. Generally, a mixture of two or more of natural rubber and synthetic rubbers, such as 3,4-polyisoprene, styrene/butadiene copolymers and styrene/isoprene/butadiene terpolymers is preferred.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that small amounts of additional curatives (other than sulfur), such as peroxides, can be used in the composition.

Polybutadiene rubbers having low to high vinyl content, in the range of 30 to 90 %, preferably 40 to 70 %, can also be used.

The styrene/butadiene copolymer rubber (SBR) can be a solution type or an emulsion polymerization rubber with a wide range of vinyl content.

Various additives can be used and mixed with the rubber composition, such as carbon black, silica, rubber processing oils, sulfur cure accelerators and retarders, antidegradants, zinc oxide, zinc stearate and/or zinc acid, and other pigments, as desired.

If desired, a third step may be used in the mixing process wherein the sulfur and accelerators are withheld from the second step, and added separately in a third step.

Other such variations in the mixing of the elastomer compositions used in the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Lab testing suggests that physical properties of a wire coat compound (elastomer used to make reinforcing belts in a tire) are optimized for stiffness, wire adhesion, and high temperature durability when sufficient amounts of a nylon/natsyn blend (nylon 12 mixed with synthetic 2,4 polybutadiene) are used to replace an equal amount of carbon black with nylon 12, for example 7.5 phr (7.5 parts by weight nylon 12 per hundred parts by weight rubber) in place of (i. p. o.) 7.5 phr carbon black, as in the example.

Thermoplastic reinforced elastomers may be used in any part of a tire where elastomers are used, but to enhance high speed properties, it is preferred that the alloys be used in the belt

properties was observed when the alloys of the invention were tested in the belts, only or the overlay and gum strips only.

As illustrated in the examples, the 100% modulus of elastomers that are filled with nylon 12 is increased substantially over the modulus of the same elastomer that is filled with carbon black as a reinforcing agent. Meanwhile, the rebound properties of the same elastomer filled with nylon 12 are similar to the properties of the carbon black filled elastomer The invention is further illustrated with reference to the following examples.

EXAMPLE I A nylon 12/polyisoprene alloy was produced in a Berstorf 43mm co-rotating twin screw extruder. The twin screw extruder was operated at 55 rpm (revolution per minute) to provide an extrudate temperature of about 230°C. The starting materials were introduced using loss-in-weight feeders and were introduced into the first barrel section. The overall feed rate of materials was 30 lbs./hr., wherein nylon 12 was added at a rate of 5.98 lbs./hr, polyisoprene was added at a rate of 23.8 lbs./hr, and 0.46 lbs./hr comprised a mixture of dithiodiproprionic acid, thiodiphenyamine and an antioxidant.

The alloy thus produced was formulated into an elastomer having the following general composition used in the examples is shown in Table 1. The amounts of ingredients shown in this table, and throughout the specification, are in phr, unless otherwise indicated.

Table 1 <BR> <BR> 18 Non-Productive Natural Rubber 50.0 Synthetic cis-1,4-polyisoprene 50. 0 rubber (') Carbon Black (2) Variable Fatty Acid-2. 0 Processing Oit1.0 Resorcinol 2.0 Zinc Oxide 5.0 Nylon/NAT2200 Variable Productive Antidegradant (4). 75 Zinc Oxide 3. 0 Accelerators, Resin"'4. 0 Sulfur 2. 4 Retarded (U

(1) NAT2200 from The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (2) HAF type carbon black (3) Naphthenic/Paraffinic oil (4) amine type (5) sulfenamide accelerators plus hexamethoxymethyl-melamine (6) phthalimide type EXAMPLE II The rubber compositions containing the materials set out in Table 1 were prepared in a BR Banbury rubber mixer using two different stages of addition (mixing). A non-productive stage was mixed for about 4 minutes to a final temperature of about 160°C, and a final productive stage was mixed for about 2 minutes to a final temperature of about 110°C. The cure behavior and cured properties of the compounds are shown in Table 2.

The physical properties characterizing the compounds in the table are well known to those skilled in the art.

Compounds 1,3, and 4 were selected for evaluation in a tire program. Compound 4 is used as the control.

In the table the amount of nylon/nat2200 blend used in the composition in phr is described, followed in parentheses by the overall amount of nylon used in the composition in phr, for example, 37.5 (7.5).

Also, dNm represents deci Newton meters, and MPa represents megapascals.

Table 2 Sampled 1 23456789 Carbon 52.5 45 60 60 60 45 52.5 45 52.5 Black phr Nylon/37. 5 0 37.5 0 75 75 0 75 75 NAT2200 phr (7.5) (7.5) (15) (15) (15) (15) Rheometer, <BR> <BR> <BR> 150-C<BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> Max 61.4 49.8 65.9 61.7 72.6 65.2 54.5 53.6 68.1 Torque, dNm Min 9.5 7.2 10.5 10.2 14.2 11.2 8.4 7.4 11.9 Torque, dNm Delta 51.9 42.6 55.4 51.5 58.4 54.0 46.1 46.2 56.2 Torque, dNm T90,20.5 18.4 21.6 20.0 22.1 21.3 19.9 19.9 20.9 Minutes Stress-Strain Tensile 20.5 23.5 19.5 22.5 17.8 17.2 19.2 16.9 15.2 Strength, Mpa Elongation 465 560 430 440 330 398 531 460 356 At Break, % 100% Modulus, 4.8 2.2 5.2 3.2 6.6 6.0 3.0 4.0 6.0 Mpa Rebound 100oC, % 54 57 51 52 47 55 57 59 53 Hardness 100oC 78 67 80 75 83 75 70 69 77 The value in parantheses represents Nylon phr in the final rubber composition.

Compounds 10,11 and 12 were prepared in a factory Banbury mixer to be used in the tire program illustrated in Example III. Compound 11 was selected to evaluate the affects of higher hardness and modulus as compared to the control in a compound having rebound similar to the control, whereas compound 12 was selected for evaluation of a compound with higher rebound as compared to the control and hardness similar to that of the control.

Compound 10 is the comparison or control compound.

Table 3 Sample # 10 11 12 Carbon Black 60 60 52.5 Nylon/NAT2200 0 37.5 (7. 5) 37.5 (7. 5) Rheometer (150°C) Max. Torque, dNm 58.1 64.6 60.0 Min. torque, dNm 11. 6 12. 0 11.1 Delta torque, dNm 46. 5 52. 6 48.9 T90, minutes 18.3 20.3 19.3 Stress-Strain Tensile Strength, Mpa 20.0 19.2 6 ElongationatBreak, % 427 331 368 100% Modulus, MPa 4. 0 6. 6 5.7 300% Modulus, MPa 14.9 19.1 17.5 Rebound 100°C, % 56 56 60 Hardness 100°C 76 79 75 Rheovibron E'at60°C, Mpa 13.0 62.0 44.0 Tan Delta at 60°C. 064.074.068

Example M The control compound (Sample #10) and the experimental compounds (Samples #11 and #12 from Table 3 were evaluated in P225/50VR16 Eagle passenger tires. The experimental compounds were evaluated in the wirecoat, gum strips and overlay. The description of the constructions evaluated are shown in Table 4. All constructions (1-5) exhibited similar handling, rolling resistance and durability. The use of Sample #11 (construction 2) in all components as shown in Table 4 gave significantly better high speed results in the laboratory step test (where the speed on a test machine is increased in increments until the tire fails). Two tires of each construction were tested.

Apparently the combination of higher hardness and similar rebound in all three tire components (construction 2) gave improved high speed performance over the control construction. Construction 3, prepared using compounds with higher rebound and similar

hardness, as compared to the control, did not show improvement over the control (construction 1).

Table 4 Construction 1 2 3 4 5 Wire Coat Cont Sample Sample #12 Cont Cont #11 Gum Strip Cont Sample Sample #12 Sample Cont #11 #12 Overlay Cont Sample Sample #12 Cont Sample #12 #11 Speed steps-+--1/2-1 In the table, the dash (-) indicates the performance of the control tire in the speed step test, + indicates an improvement of one speed step over the control, and the minuses indicate performance levels less than the control.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be variously modified and practiced without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention is limited only by the scope of the following claims.