Agricultural Bar Nose To Prevent Stubble Damage

Abstract

A pneumatic agricultural tire includes first and second rows of angled lugs. Each lug is provided with a leading wall rising up from a tread floor to a leading edge of the lug surface. The leading wall has a wedge shaped leading nose rising up from the tread floor and sloped in the trailing direction so that ground stubble is engaged by and pushed aside by the wedge shaped leading nose thereby reducing stubble damage at a root of the leading wall.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 .- 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A pneumatic agricultural tire, comprising:
 a circumferential tread portion including first and second rows of tread lugs extending from first and second shoulders of the tread portion toward an equatorial plane of the tire, the tread lugs extending upward from a tread floor by a lug height;   the lugs extending at an angle to a rotational axis of the tire to define a rotational direction of the tire such that when the tire is rolling in a forward direction an axially inner end of each lug engages the ground before an axially outer end of the lug engages the ground;   each lug having a radially outer ground engaging surface defined between a leading edge of the lug and a trailing edge of the lug;   the leading edge of each lug including an inside leading edge facing partially toward the equatorial plane, an outside leading edge facing partially toward the respective shoulder from which the lug extends, and a curved nose edge joining the inside leading edge and the outside leading edge, the curved nose edge having a visibly discernible radius of curvature of no greater than one-half inch; and   a nose wall extending upward from the tread floor to the nose edge, the nose wall having a leading root portion having a nose ridge extending upward from the tread floor to at least one-half the tread height, the nose ridge having a visibly discernible radius of curvature of no greater than ½ inch, the nose ridge extending at a nose angle of from about 20° to about 60° to a radial plane.   
     
     
         27 . The tire of  claim 26 , wherein:
 the visibly discernible radius of curvature of the curved nose edge is no greater than 0.3 inch.   
     
     
         28 . The tire of  claim 26 , wherein:
 the nose ridge extends all the way to the curved nose edge.   
     
     
         29 . The tire of  claim 26 , wherein:
 the nose angle is in a range of from about 40° to about 50°.   
     
     
         30 . The tire of  claim 26 , wherein:
 the nose angle is in a range of from about 35° to about 45°.   
     
     
         31 . The tire of  claim 26 , wherein:
 each lug extends substantially to but does not cross the equatorial plane of the tire.   
     
     
         32 . The tire of  claim 26 , wherein:
 an axially inner end of the radially outer surface of each lug is defined by an inside lateral edge extending in a substantially circumferential direction.   
     
     
         33 . A pneumatic agricultural tire, comprising:
 a circumferential tread portion including first and second rows of tread lugs extending from first and second shoulders of the tread portion toward an equatorial plane of the tire, the tread lugs extending upward from a tread floor by a lug height;   the lugs extending at an angle to a rotational axis of the tire to define a rotational direction of the tire such that when the tire is rolling in a forward direction an axially inner end of each lug engages the ground before an axially outer end of the lug engages the ground;   each lug having a radially outer ground engaging surface defined between a leading edge of the lug and a trailing edge of the lug;   the leading edge of each lug including an inside leading edge facing partially toward the equatorial plane, and an outside leading edge facing partially toward the respective shoulder from which the lug extends, and a curved nose edge joining the inside leading edge and the outside leading edge, the curved nose edge having a visibly discernible radius of curvature of no greater than one-half inch; and   each lug having a leading wall rising up from the tread floor to the leading edge, the leading wall including a wedge shaped leading nose rising up from the tread floor and sloped in the trailing direction, so that ground stubble is engaged by and pushed aside by the wedge shaped leading nose thereby reducing stubble damage at a root of the leading wall, the wedge shaped leading nose having a discernible nose ridge from adjacent the tread floor all the way to the leading edge of the lug, the discernible nose ridge having a visibly discernible radius of curvature of no greater than ½ inch.   
     
     
         34 . The tire of  claim 33 , wherein:
 the discernible nose ridge has a visibly discernible radius of curvature of no greater than 0.3 inch.   
     
     
         35 . The tire of  claim 33 , wherein:
 the wedge shaped leading nose is formed by two nose wall sides rising up from the tread floor and joining at the nose ridge.