1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire having a tread pattern. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pneumatic tire having improved resistance to uneven wear and improved performance in adverse conditions, such as snow.
2. Background Information
An all-season pneumatic tire for a passenger car is a tire developed as an intermediate tire between a normal tire for non-snowy seasons and a snow tire (i.e., a “winter tire”), and is widely used in the United States and Europe. An all-season pneumatic tire needs to have superior resistance to uneven wear while also ensuring sufficient traction performance and resistance to lateral slipping on snow during snowfall.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application Publication No. 2008-006987 describes a known pneumatic tire having a tread section with a pair of crown longitudinal grooves that extend continuously and linearly in a circumferential direction of the tire on both sides of a tire equator and a center tread block formed between the crown circumferential grooves. The crown longitudinal grooves of this pneumatic tire comprise an inside crown longitudinal groove positioned toward an inside of the vehicle from the tire equator and an outside crown groove positioned toward an outside of the vehicle from the centerline when the tire is installed on a vehicle. A plurality of curved diagonal grooves are provided in the center land section such that they are spaced apart from one another in a circumferential direction of the tire. The curved diagonal grooves extend diagonally from the inside crown longitudinal groove toward the outside crown longitudinal groove and change direction at a position beyond the tire equator without reaching the outside crown longitudinal groove. After changing directions, the curved diagonal grooves extend beyond the tire equator toward the inside crown longitudinal groove. Curved diagonal grooves that are adjacent to each other along a circumferential direction of the tire have intersecting portions where they intersect each other at a position substantially on the tire equator.