Pneumatic Tires
Most tires used in contemporary times are considered to be pneumatic tires. The utilization of rubber in tires allowed the invention of pneumatic tires that allowed for a more comfy ride. The world's contemporary transportation system completely depends on pneumatic tires.
The pneumatic tire is a durable rubber tire and is then compressed with air. Motor vehicles like for instance motorcycles, airplanes, buses, cars and trucks all use pneumatic tires. Non-motorized wheeled vehicles, such as bicycles, also use pneumatic tires.
History
The tire started after the invention or iron bands used around wooden wheels. It wasn't until the middle part of the 19th century that the use of solid rubber in the creation of tires. The first patent for a successful pneumatic tire was issued in 1888 to Irishman John Dunlop who created an inner-tube for a bicycle tire. This was when the term "pneumatic" started to describe tires.
Seven years after, in 1895, Edouard and Andre Michelin made pneumatic tires for an automobile in France. The company of the Michelin brothers was destined to become a leading manufacturer of tires for cars. The first company in the United States to make tires was Goodyear Tire company founded in 1898, followed by the Firestone Tire & Rubber company in the year 1900, the second company in the US 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 toughened layers of plies or cord covered with rubber. The plies were laid on an angle or bias to define the tire's shape and strengthen it. These "bias ply" tires had a tread pattern for traction.
Modern radial tires are constructed with the plies running at 90 degrees across the body of the tire. They require no inner tube because the tire forms an airtight seal with the wheel. This was a creation of the Michelin company in the year 1948. The tires did not become commonly used until the latter parts of the 1970s. Radial tires offer better fuel economy and last longer.