Safety support assembly for pneumatic tires

摘要

A safety support mounted on a rim inside a tire chamber to resiliently support the tread portion of the tire in the deflated condition and maintain the bead portions of the tire in a separated condition. The support is in the form of a ring member of flexible resilient material with an inner portion at the inner periphery having a diameter not greater than the diameter of the rim and a width substantially the same distance between the bead portions when mounted on the rim. The ring member also has an outer portion at the outer periphery with an outer diameter less than the diameter of the tread portion of the tire in the inflated condition and greater than the diameter of the bead portions. The outer portion and inner portion of the ring member are connected by an intermediate portion which includes a plurality of radially extending webs spaced apart circumferentially of the ring member. The outer portion and inner portion are reinforced by annular plies which may be of bias fabric and helically wound cords.