Tire and tire vulcanization mold with enhanced sidewall visual effect

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of tires, and in particular to a tire and a tire vulcanization mold for enhancing the visual effect of a sidewall. The tire includes a marking area provided on the sidewall, wherein the marking area is provided with a pattern fill, and the pattern fill is formed by a regular arrangement of a plurality of identical pattern units, wherein the pattern unit includes a middle section and an extension section connected to both ends of the middle section, wherein an angle is formed between the middle section and the extension section, wherein the middle section has a first boundary line provided on both sides in the width direction, and the extension section has a second boundary line provided on both sides in the width direction and a third boundary line provided at the end in the length direction. When the pattern units are arranged, the extension section of a first pattern unit is immediately adjacent to and is within the angle of a second pattern unit adjacent to the first pattern unit. The present invention enables the pattern units to be more densely inlaid, reduces the area of ​​the blank area, thereby increasing the contrast between the pattern unit and the sidewall, and enhancing the visual impact.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of tires, in particular to a tire and a tire vulcanization mold capable of enhancing the visual effect of a sidewall. Background Art

[0002] Tires are the only ground-engaging components of a vehicle, providing the driving, steering, and braking forces required for vehicle movement. Due to the unique characteristics of road conditions and driving scenarios, tires require the addition of carbon black, resulting in a predominantly black surface. The tire sidewall typically contains graphics, logos, and regulatory requirements. These details convey information about the tire's brand, type, size, and performance to the purchaser or user. This information is typically black, resulting in a low contrast on the sidewall, making it visually impactful and difficult to clearly perceive.

[0003] To enhance visual contrast on the sidewall, a Chinese invention patent (CN108407347B) discloses a tire and tire mold featuring a novel sidewall pattern. The tire comprises a carcass with a marking area on the side of the carcass (i.e., the sidewall). The marking area contains multiple pattern units. The pattern units protrude from the carcass and comprise a central portion and multiple extensions circumferentially distributed around the central portion, with the central portion being taller than the extensions. This creates a visually concave-convex pattern. Light incident on the pattern units reflects back and forth between the sidewalls, attenuating the light intensity. Ultimately, only a small amount of light is reflected outside the pattern units, making them appear darker than the rest of the sidewall, enhancing visual contrast.

[0004] However, it can be found in the embodiments provided by the above patent that although the extensions of the pattern units are inserted between the extensions of adjacent pattern units to reduce the blank areas between the pattern units, the area of ​​the blank areas is still relatively large. It is measured to be about 20% of the area of ​​each pattern unit. These blank areas are located on the surface of the sidewall, so they appear to be relatively low-saturation black at these locations. These larger blank areas affect the overall visual contrast of the pattern units. From the actual tire, the contrast of the pattern units is not as high as imagined, and there is still room for further improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To solve the above problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a tire and a tire vulcanization mold that enhance the visual effect of the sidewall. By optimizing the shape of the pattern units, the pattern units are inlaid more tightly, the area of ​​the blank area is reduced, and the contrast between the pattern units and the sidewall is increased, thereby enhancing the visual impact.

[0006] For the purpose of the present invention, the following technical solutions are adopted:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a tire with enhanced sidewall visual effects, comprising a marking area provided on the sidewall, wherein the marking area is provided with a pattern fill, wherein the pattern fill is formed by a regular arrangement of a plurality of identical pattern units, wherein the pattern units protrude from a reference plane of the sidewall and have sidewalls forming an angle with the reference plane, wherein the sidewalls are configured so that light is reflected between the sidewalls, thereby deepening the color displayed in the marking area, wherein the pattern units include a middle section and extended sections connected to both ends of the middle section, wherein the middle section and the extended sections both extend in a straight line, and an angle is formed between the middle section and the extended sections, and the two extended sections are equal in length and parallel to each other, and the middle section and the extended sections are parallel to each other. The intermediate segment has a first boundary line set on both sides in the width direction, the extended segment has a second boundary line set on both sides in the width direction and a third boundary line set at the end in the length direction, the lengths of the first boundary line, the second boundary line and the third boundary line are close, and when the pattern units are arranged, the extended segment of the first pattern unit is set adjacent to the angle of the second pattern unit adjacent to the first pattern unit, and the second boundary line of the extended segment in the first pattern unit and the third boundary line of the extended segment in the second pattern unit are parallel to each other, and the first boundary line of the middle segment in the first pattern unit is parallel to the second boundary line of the extended segment in the second pattern unit. As a result, the pattern units can be interspersed with each other, and because the corresponding boundary lines are parallel to each other, the extended segment can be arranged in the angle area with a smaller gap, thereby reducing the spacing between the pattern units, making the pattern units more closely arranged, and thus reducing the area ratio of the blank area, thereby improving the contrast of the pattern units and making the visual impact stronger.

[0008] In one embodiment, there is at least one pattern unit per square millimeter, thereby limiting the size of the pattern unit itself to a smaller size, further increasing the number and distribution density of the pattern units, and further deepening the color of the marking area.

[0009] In one embodiment, white space exists between pattern units, and the area of ​​the white space occupies 6-12% of the area of ​​the pattern unit. As a result, the proportion of the white space in the pattern fill becomes smaller, thereby deepening the color of the pattern fill and enhancing the visual impact.

[0010] In one embodiment, the distance between the edges of adjacent pattern units is 0.005-0.05 mm. Thus, the spacing between the pattern units becomes small enough to enable the pattern units to be inlaid more closely. At the same time, such spacing also facilitates the formation of boundary lines and facilitates processing and manufacturing.

[0011] In one embodiment, the angle between the middle section and the outer section is 120°; the length of the first boundary line is slightly greater than the length of the second boundary line, and the length of the second boundary line is slightly greater than the third boundary line, so that the pattern units can be arranged closely and evenly spaced. The angle between the middle section and the outer section allows the pattern units to cover almost the entire surface in a densely packed manner, thereby reducing the area occupied by the blank area. The length relationship of the boundary lines allows the pattern units to be arranged neatly with almost no gaps, facilitating the mosaic of the pattern units.

[0012] In one embodiment, the difference in length between the first boundary line and the second boundary line does not exceed 0.1 mm, and the difference between the second boundary line and the third boundary line does not exceed 0.1 mm. By limiting the length of the boundary lines using the above parameters, it is possible to ensure that after two adjacent pattern units are arranged, there is still enough space for other pattern units to continue to be arranged in a regular pattern, and that the pattern filling after arrangement can fill the plane as much as possible.

[0013] In one embodiment, the middle segment and the extended segment are both strip-shaped protrusions protruding outward from the sidewall reference plane. The strip-shaped protrusion is continuous in each pattern unit, the sidewalls are located on the sides of the strip-shaped protrusions, the angle between the sidewalls and the reference plane is 10-30 degrees, the height of the strip-shaped protrusions is 0.2-1 mm, the width of the bottom of the strip-shaped protrusions is 0.1-0.5 mm, and the cross-section of the strip-shaped protrusions is triangular or trapezoidal. By defining the shape of the strip-shaped protrusions using these parameters, light can be reflected back and forth between the sidewalls of the pattern units, ultimately weakening the light intensity, thereby reducing the light reflected from the pattern units, and making the pattern fill appear darker.

[0014] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a tire vulcanization mold for manufacturing the above-mentioned tire with enhanced sidewall visual effect. A reverse pattern filling is provided on the inner surface of the mold at a position corresponding to the marking area of ​​the sidewall. The concave and convex direction of the reverse pattern filling is opposite to that of the pattern filling, so that the pattern filling is formed in the marking area when the tire is vulcanized.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following beneficial effects: the extension section is arranged closely within the angle of other pattern units, so that the gap between the pattern units becomes smaller, and due to the corresponding setting of the boundary line, the above gap is further reduced, so that the adjacent pattern units are arranged more closely, thereby reducing the blank area between the pattern units, so that the pattern filling appears darker as a whole, and the contrast between the marking area and the rest of the sidewall is improved, thereby enhancing the visual impact. In addition, the shape of the pattern unit provided in this embodiment can also effectively solve the problem of rubber deficiency on the tire sidewall caused by the filling part. The strip-shaped protrusions in the pattern unit are continuous and tortuous, which can increase the stiffness of the strip-shaped protrusions, avoid stress concentration and fracture, and the tortuous structure can also buffer and disperse stress. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 This is a side view of a tire provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a pattern filling formed by arranging a plurality of pattern units in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a single pattern unit in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Cross-sectional view at AA in the middle.

[0020] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the blank area between pattern units in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Figure 1 A side view of a tire provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 1 Vehicle tire 100 includes a sidewall 110 located on an axial side of tire 100. Sidewall 110 is annular and typically has several identifying features on its outer surface. These identifying features may be a combination of one or more of the following: numbers, letters, logos, manufacturer's brand name, tire size, tire rotation direction, manufacturing serial number, and so on. In this embodiment, the identifying features are a combination of numbers and letters, forming the appearance of "12R22.5 MZ1."

[0022] The identification features are usually added by transferring the concave and convex structures on the vulcanization mold to the surface of the sidewall 110 when the tire is vulcanized. Therefore, these transferred identification features usually have the same color as the surface of the sidewall 110, and the relevant information can be confirmed by visually confirming the concave and convex structures relative to the surface of the sidewall 110.

[0023] Typically, the entire sidewall 110 is black, gray, or a combination thereof. Accordingly, the marking features are also black, gray, or a combination thereof. Consequently, there is a lack of contrast between the marking features and the surface color of the sidewall 110. This means that tire manufacturers, sellers, buyers, and users require relatively focused attention to clearly and completely discern the information recorded in the marking area. In short, the visual impact of the marking features in the prior art is low.

[0024] In this embodiment, the area on the sidewall 110 occupied by these identification features is defined as the identification area, and the other areas on the sidewall 110 without identification features are defined as the non-identification area. The surface of the sidewall 110 in the non-identification area is usually relatively smooth. To be precise, at these positions, except for the necessary lines on the surface of the sidewall 110 (usually extending along the circumference of the tire to form a ring), there are not too many lines, and the overall surface is relatively flat.

[0025] The boundary of the identification feature is defined by the shape of the identification feature itself, and a pattern fill 200 is provided inside the boundary. The pattern fill 200 has a concave-convex shape on the reference surface of the sidewall 110 (the imaginary surface of the sidewall when there is no pattern fill 200). Figure 1 The pattern fill 200 has a characteristic of undulating along the inside-outside direction of the paper, that is, it is uneven. Specifically, the pattern fill 200 includes strip-shaped protrusions protruding outward from the reference plane. These strip-shaped protrusions extend along a specific trajectory within the reference plane to form a pattern. These strip-shaped protrusions have inclined sidewalls. Specifically, the sidewalls form an acute angle with the reference plane, for example, an angle of 10 to 30 degrees.

[0026] The purpose of setting the above-mentioned pattern filling 200 is that when external light (such as sunlight, lamplight) is incident on the interior of the pattern filling 200, it will be reflected on the side wall of the strip-shaped protrusion, and due to the design of the inclination angle of the side wall, most of the reflected light will continue to be projected on the interior of the pattern filling 200. After the above-mentioned continuous reflection process, the light intensity gradually weakens, and finally only a small amount of light can leave the pattern filling 200. Therefore, for the observer, the color of the logo area will appear darker than that of the non-logo area, which increases the contrast between the logo area and the non-logo area and enhances the visual impact.

[0027] like Figure 2As shown, the pattern filling 200 is usually formed by a number of identical and independent pattern units 210 arranged according to a certain pattern. Generally speaking, in order to ensure that the pattern filling 200 produces a better visual effect, the pattern units 210 need to be arranged more closely, that is, the pattern units 210 have a higher distribution density, for example, there is at least one pattern unit 210 per square millimeter to ensure that each part of the pattern filling 200 can reflect a good visual effect.

[0028] Furthermore, a certain amount of clearance (also known as a blank area) is required between the boundaries of adjacent pattern units 210 to facilitate the processing and forming of the pattern units 210. More precisely, this is to facilitate the processing of the vulcanization mold mentioned above. This is because the vulcanization mold requires a pre-set reverse pattern fill, in the opposite direction of the pattern fill, in order to produce the corresponding identification features on the sidewall 110 during vulcanization. Without clearance between the pattern units 210, the processing of these reverse pattern fills becomes difficult. Furthermore, since the rubber material will slightly shift during the vulcanization process, without this clearance, the shape of the pattern units 210 formed by the processing becomes uncontrollable.

[0029] It should be noted here that the gap between the pattern units 210 should not be too large, otherwise a relatively flat area with a large area will be formed at the connection between adjacent pattern units 210. The existence of this area will enable the incident light to be directly reflected out of the pattern unit 210, thereby weakening the visual impact of the identification feature.

[0030] In this embodiment, the gap between the pattern units 210 is 0.02 mm. However, in fact, as long as the gap is between 0.005 and 0.05 mm, the area of ​​the blank area can be reduced while ensuring the shape of the pattern unit 210 is easy to process and manufacture, thereby making the identification feature show a higher visual effect.

[0031] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a single pattern unit in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 In this embodiment, the pattern unit 210 is generally in the shape of a broken line, specifically comprising a middle section 211 and outer sections 212 connected at both ends of the middle section. The middle section 211 and the outer sections 212 extend in straight lines, forming an angle between the middle section 211 and the outer sections 212. The two outer sections 212 are of equal length. This shape is not only relatively simple, facilitating the manufacture of the vulcanization mold, but also allows the surface to be filled as much as possible, minimizing the area of ​​blank space.

[0032] In this embodiment, the angle between the middle section 211 and the extension section 212 is 120°. Such an angle enables the pattern units 210 to fill the plane in a dense manner with as few gaps as possible, thereby reducing the blank area between the pattern units 210.

[0033] In this embodiment, the middle section 211 has a first boundary line 211a and a first boundary line 211b arranged on both sides of the width direction, and the extended section 212 has a second boundary line 212a and a second boundary line 212b arranged on both sides of the width direction, and 212c arranged at the end in the length direction, wherein the angle between the first boundary line 211a, 211b and the second boundary line 212a, 212b is 120°, the angle between the second boundary line 212a and the third boundary line 212c is 60°, and the angle between the second boundary line 212b and the third boundary line 212c is 120°.

[0034] Figure 2 FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a pattern fill formed by arranging a plurality of pattern units in this embodiment, see FIG. Figure 2 When the pattern filling 210 is arranged, the extension section 212 of the first pattern unit 210 is arranged adjacent to the second pattern unit 210 within the angle between the first pattern unit 210 and the second boundary line 212a, 212b of the extension section 212 in the first pattern unit 210 and the third boundary line 212c of the extension section 212 in the second pattern unit 210 are parallel to each other, and the first boundary line 211a, 211b of the middle section 211 in the first pattern unit 210 is parallel to the second boundary line 212a, 212b of the extension section 212 in the second pattern unit 210.

[0035] The lengths of the first boundary lines 211a, 211b, the second boundary lines 212a, 212b and the third boundary line 212c are close. Specifically, in this embodiment, the lengths of the first boundary lines 211a, 211b are 0.3mm, the lengths of the second boundary lines 212a, 212b are 0.27mm, and the lengths of the third boundary lines 212c are 0.25mm. Therefore, when the pattern units 210 are arranged, not only can the gaps be reduced, but also it can be ensured that the arrangement of other pattern units is not affected.

[0036] It should be noted that as long as the difference in length between the first boundary line and the second boundary line does not exceed 0.1mm, and the difference between the second boundary line and the third boundary line does not exceed 0.1mm, the pattern units can be arranged in a relatively compact manner without affecting the regular arrangement of other pattern units.

[0037] In addition, the above-mentioned limitation on the length of the boundary line can significantly increase the distribution density of the pattern unit 210. For example, there is at least one pattern unit per square millimeter, so that the number of pattern units in the pattern filling is greater, making it more difficult for light to reflect out of the pattern filling, and also facilitating processing and manufacturing.

[0038] Figure 5A schematic diagram of the blank area between pattern units is shown. Measurements show that the ratio of the blank area to the area of ​​the pattern units is 10.8%. It should be noted that by appropriately adjusting the gaps between pattern units 210 and the shape of pattern units 210, the above area ratio can be adjusted between 6% and 12%.

[0039] Figure 4 Shown Figure 4 Cross-sectional view at AA, see Figure 4 The middle section 211 and the extended section 212 are both strip-shaped protrusions protruding outward from the sidewall reference plane. The strip-shaped protrusions are continuous within each pattern unit. The angle θ between the sidewalls of the strip-shaped protrusions and the reference plane is 10-30°. The height h of the strip-shaped protrusions is 0.2-1 mm. The width w at the bottom of the strip-shaped protrusions is 0.1-0.5 mm. The cross-section of the strip-shaped protrusions is triangular or trapezoidal. These parameters define the shape of the strip-shaped protrusions, allowing light to reflect back and forth between the sidewalls of the pattern units, ultimately weakening the light intensity. This reduces the light reflected from the pattern units, making the pattern fill appear darker.

[0040] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a tire vulcanization mold for manufacturing the above-mentioned tire. A reverse pattern filling is provided on the inner surface of the mold at a position corresponding to the marking area of ​​the sidewall. The concave and convex direction of the reverse pattern filling is opposite to that of the pattern filling, so that the pattern filling is formed in the marking area when the tire is vulcanized.

[0041] The above is a description of the embodiments of the present invention. The above description of the disclosed embodiments will enable professionals in the field to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to professionals in the field. The general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but should conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A tire with enhanced sidewall visual effect, characterized in that: The tire comprises a logo area provided on the sidewall, wherein the logo area is provided with a pattern fill formed by a regular arrangement of a plurality of identical pattern units. The pattern units protrude from a reference plane of the sidewall and have sidewalls forming an angle with the reference plane. The sidewalls are configured so that light is reflected between the sidewalls, thereby deepening the color displayed in the logo area. There is a blank area between the pattern units, and the area of ​​the blank area occupies 6-12% of the area of ​​the pattern units. The distance between the edges of adjacent pattern units is 0.005-0.05 mm. The pattern unit includes a middle section and extension sections connected to both ends of the middle section. The middle section and the extension sections extend in a straight line, and an angle is formed between the middle section and the extension sections. The two extension sections are equal in length and parallel to each other. The middle section has first boundary lines arranged on both sides in the width direction, The extension section has a second boundary line set on both sides in the width direction and a third boundary line set at the end in the length direction. The lengths of the first boundary line, the second boundary line and the third boundary line are close to each other. When the pattern units are arranged, the extension section of the first pattern unit is immediately adjacent to the angle of the second pattern unit adjacent to the first pattern unit, and the second boundary line of the extension section in the first pattern unit is parallel to the third boundary line of the extension section in the second pattern unit, and the first boundary line of the middle section in the first pattern unit is parallel to the second boundary line of the extension section in the second pattern unit; The angle between the middle section and the extended section is 120°; the length of the first boundary line is slightly larger than the second boundary line, and the length of the second boundary line is slightly larger than the third boundary line, so that the pattern units are arranged closely at equal intervals; the middle section and the extended section are both strip-shaped protrusions protruding outward from the sidewall reference plane, and the strip-shaped protrusions are continuous in each pattern unit. The sidewalls are located on the sides of the strip-shaped protrusions, and the angle between the sidewalls and the reference plane is 10~30°, the height of the strip-shaped protrusions is 0.2~1mm, the width of the bottom of the strip-shaped protrusions is 0.1~0.5mm, and the cross-section of the strip-shaped protrusions is triangular or trapezoidal.

2. The tire with enhanced sidewall visual effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is at least one pattern unit per square millimeter.

3. The tire with enhanced sidewall visual effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: The difference in length between the first boundary line and the second boundary line does not exceed 0.1 mm, and the difference between the second boundary line and the third boundary line does not exceed 0.1 mm.

4. A tire vulcanization mold for manufacturing a tire with enhanced sidewall visual effect as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A reverse pattern filling is provided on the inner surface of the mold at a position corresponding to the marking area of ​​the sidewall. The concave and convex direction of the reverse pattern filling is opposite to that of the pattern filling, so that the pattern filling is formed in the marking area when the tire is vulcanized.

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