Pneumatic Tires
The majority of tires used in contemporary times are considered to be pneumatic tires. The utilization of rubber in tires enabled the invention of pneumatic tires that allowed for a much more comfortable ride. The world's contemporary transportation system relies entirely on pneumatic tires.
The pneumatic tire is a durable rubber tire and is then compressed with air. Motorized vehicles like trucks, buses, cars, airplanes and motorcycles all utilize pneumatic tires. Wheeled vehicles that are not motorized, like bicycles, also utilize pneumatic tires.
History
The tire began after the invention or iron bands utilized around wooden wheels. It wasn't until the middle part of the 19th century that the utilization of solid rubber in the creation of tires. The first patent for a successful pneumatic tire was issued in the year 1888 to Irishman John Dunlop who invented an inner-tube for a bicycle tire. This was when the term "pneumatic" appeared to describe tires.
Seven years after, in the year 1895, Andre and Edouard Michelin produced pneumatic tires for a car in France. The company of the Michelin brothers was destined to become a top producer of tires for cars. The first United States company to produce tires was Goodyear Tire company established in 1898, followed by the Firestone Tire & Rubber company in the year 1900, the second company in the United States to make tires.
Function
A rubber inner tube was utilized in all pneumatic tires in the first part of the 20th century to help hold the air pressure. Tires were constructed of reinforced layers of plies or cord covered with rubber. The plies were laid on an angle or bias to strengthen it and to define the tire's shape. These "bias ply" tires had a tread pattern for traction.
The modern radial tire has been constructed with plies which run across the body of the tire. They need no inner tube since the tire forms an airtight seal with the wheel. This was an invention of the Michelin company in the year 1948. The tires did not become commonly utilized until the latter parts of the 1970s. Radial tires offer better fuel economy and last longer.