Tire comprising a composite groove

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of tire tread design, and discloses a tire containing composite grooves, the tire tread shoulder of which is provided with a plurality of transverse composite grooves in the circumferential direction, the composite grooves alternately include first units and second units in the transverse direction, the first units are provided with outer cavities, the outer cavities are communicated with the outside of the surface of the tire tread shoulder, the second units are provided with inner cavities and transverse sipes communicated with the inner cavities, the inner cavities are hidden in the surface of the tire tread shoulder, and the adjacent cavities are communicated with each other. The tire tread design of the present application is suitable for heavy or light load vehicles, can effectively reduce the rolling resistance coefficient of the tire, improve the tire grip, thereby prolonging the service life of the tire, improving the fuel economy of the vehicle, and making the vehicle have higher driving stability and controllability.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of tire tread design, and in particular, to a tire comprising a compound groove. BACKGROUND

[0002] The ground contact characteristics of a tire are one of the important performances that reflect the power and economy of the tire. Uneven distribution of tire ground contact pressure can affect the performance of the tire, such as traction, braking, and handling, and also have an impact on the handling and safety of the vehicle. The tread pattern is an important factor that affects the tire ground contact performance. Different structures of the tread pattern can result in a large difference in pressure distribution. Therefore, in the design and production process of the tire, the influence of factors such as tire model parameters and pattern structure on the uniformity of tire ground contact pressure distribution needs to be considered to improve the power, economy, and safety performance of the tire.

[0003] Tire shoulder ground contact pressure uniformity refers to the uniform distribution of tire ground contact pressure in the shoulder area without obvious deviation, which has an important influence on the performance and life of the tire. If the tire shoulder ground contact pressure is not evenly distributed, it may cause the tire to deviate laterally, uneven torque output, uneven wear of the shoulder, and other problems, affecting the service life of the tire. Tire shoulder ground contact pressure uniformity can improve the handling stability and driving comfort of the tire, and prolong the service life of the tire, reduce maintenance costs, so manufacturers need to pay attention to the uniformity of tire shoulder ground contact pressure distribution when designing tires.

[0004] Uneven wear refers to the fact that during use, the tire does not wear evenly across the entire tread surface, but some areas wear more than others. This uneven wear can cause the tire to be removed from the vehicle prematurely in order to replace it with a new tire, thereby increasing the driving cost per unit distance traveled.

[0005] A sipe is a groove defined by longitudinal or transverse grooves, and these areas are more prone to deformation than a knife slot. When the tire encounters an obstacle during driving, the sipe can deform accordingly, thus having a certain impact on the driving stability and smoothness of the vehicle. However, this deformation also reduces the compression stiffness and shear stiffness of the tire, causing the tire to deform and twist more easily when under load.

[0006] In contrast, the width of a knife slot is smaller, and the walls on both sides abut each other when entering the ground surface, so the knife slot can provide stronger support and stiffness, making it easier for the tire to maintain its shape during driving. In addition, the knife slot can also improve the grip and handling performance of the tire, especially in wet road conditions.

[0007] When an object moves on a support surface, if there is no relative sliding between the object edge point and the support surface at the moment when the object edge point is in contact with the support surface, it is called that the object rolls without sliding, also known as pure rolling. In the state of pure rolling, the contact point between the tire and the road surface always remains stationary and does not slide relative to each other, thereby reducing the loss of friction. However, in practical applications, due to the deformation cycle of the tire material, the tire cannot completely maintain the pure rolling state during driving, and there is a certain degree of sliding and deformation. This deformation causes energy loss, which increases the rolling resistance. In summary, as the hysteresis loss increases, the rolling resistance of the tire will also increase accordingly.

[0008] The prior art tire has a certain total void volume in a new state, and the tire ground surface also has a usable void volume. For these tires, the European E.T.R.T.O. standard defines commonly used inflation conditions and load conditions to evaluate the void volume in the tire ground surface leading to the tread surface. Specifically, the European E.T.R.T.O. standard calculates the void volume of the tire by measuring tire pressure, load, speed and other parameters and substituting these parameters into a standard formula. This void volume includes the total volume of the tire material plus the total void volume. Among them, the usable void volume refers to the void volume present on the tire ground surface, which may be partially or completely filled if the road surface has water.

[0009] For these tires, multiple factors need to be balanced during tire design and manufacturing to achieve optimal performance. For example, when considering the void volume of the tire, factors such as tire grip, handling performance, durability, and other factors need to be considered and optimized according to the actual use environment and requirements. SUMMARY

[0010] The present application aims at the deficiencies of the prior art, and provides a tire containing a composite groove, which is suitable for heavy or light load vehicles, has a longer service life, and can improve the fuel economy of the vehicle, and make the vehicle have higher driving stability and controllability.

[0011] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purposes, the technical scheme adopted by the present application is as follows:

[0012] A tire comprising a compound groove, the tire's tread comprising at least three longitudinally oriented grooves, the tire's tread shoulder comprising a plurality of transversely oriented compound grooves, the compound grooves having a circumferential interval D and a circumferential width d, the compound grooves alternatingly comprising a first unit and a second unit, the first unit being provided with an outer cavity, the outer cavity being communicated with the outside of the surface of the tread shoulder, the second unit being provided with an inner cavity and a transverse sipe communicated with the inner cavity, the inner cavity being hidden in the surface of the tread shoulder, the adjacent cavities being communicated with each other, the outer cavity having a circumferential width d and a transverse width Lm, the inner cavity having a transverse width Ln.

[0013] When the tire wears, the tire can be made more wear-resistant and durable by increasing the total volume of the tire's tread, thereby prolonging the service life of the tire. The design of the compound groove can limit the reduction of the total volume of the tire's tread.

[0014] As a preference, the stiffness of the shoulder is optimized for wear and rolling resistance, the number of transversely oriented compound grooves needs to be limited, and the circumferential interval of the compound grooves can be set to vary with the change of the circumferential position, i.e., the circumferential interval of the compound grooves is variable.

[0015] As a preference, 15mm≤D, 1.8mm≤d≤5mm.

[0016] As a preference, 0.5*Lm≤Ln≤2*Lm.

[0017] As a preference, the angle between the compound groove and the horizontal direction is α, 5°≤α≤15°.

[0018] As a preference, the depth of the groove is H, the depth of the outer cavity is u, the depth of the transverse sipe is v, and the depth of the inner cavity is w, then 2mm≤v, v+w≤0.9H, 1.3*v≤u≤v+0.8*w.

[0019] As a preference, the adjacent compound grooves are distributed with a transverse relative offset, and the offset value is T. This design can disperse the sound power over time and optimize the ground pressure distribution, thereby reducing noise.

[0020] As a preference, 0.3*Lm ≤T≤Lm+0.7Ln.

[0021] As a preference, the total volume of the tread has a void ratio ≤15%.

[0022] As a preference, the total volume of the tread has a void ratio ≤10%.

[0023] The tire tread design of the present application is suitable for heavy or light load vehicles, which can effectively reduce the tire rolling resistance coefficient, improve the tire grip, thereby prolonging the service life of the tire, improving the fuel economy of the vehicle, and making the vehicle have higher driving stability and controllability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 The structure diagram of the right half of the tire tread of the present application.

[0025] Figure 2 The structure diagram of the right half of the tire tread of the present application. Figure 1 The A-A section view diagram.

[0026] Figure 3 The B-B section view diagram. Figure 1 The B-B section view diagram.

[0027] Figure 4 The C-C section view diagram. Figure 1 The C-C section view diagram.

[0028] Figure 5 The structure diagram of the right half of the tire tread of the present application.

[0029] Figure 6 The E-E section view diagram. Figure 5 The E-E section view diagram. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The technical solutions in the embodiments will be described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all the other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the protection scope of the present application.

[0031] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application.

[0032] Tread surface of the tire: corresponding to the entire basic surface of the tire in contact with the road surface, when the tire of this type is running, the tread surface is in close contact with the road surface, and plays the functions of bearing the weight of the vehicle, transmitting power and braking, etc.

[0033] Radial direction: refers to the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the tire, that is, the thickness direction of the tread, which is usually used to describe the structure and design of the tire.

[0034] Lateral direction or axial direction: refers to the direction parallel to the wheel rotation axis, that is, the tire width direction.

[0035] Circumferential direction or longitudinal direction: refers to the direction along the circumference of the tire tread.

[0036] The equatorial plane, that is, the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis, can divide the wheel into two equal halves.

[0037] As shown in Figures 1-4 , a tire comprising a composite groove, the tread of the tire comprises at least three longitudinally oriented grooves 31 and 32, and ribs 21 and 22 are also provided between the grooves. Figure 1 The right side of the tread in the figure is a schematic diagram of the right side of the equatorial plane X-X' of the tread. Figure 1 The right half of the tread includes half of the longitudinally oriented groove 31, the longitudinally oriented groove 32, the rib 21 between the groove 31 and the groove 32, and the tread shoulder 22 on the right side of the groove 32. The width of the right half of the tread is 205 mm, the worn material thickness is 9.5 mm, and it is equipped with 111 tire patterns formed by shoulder composite grooves with a maximum depth of 8 mm.

[0038] The tread shoulder 22 is circumferentially distributed with a plurality of transverse composite grooves 220, the circumferential width of the composite groove 220 is d, the circumferential pitch is D, 1.8mm≤d≤5mm, 15mm≤D, and specifically, the circumferential pitch D in this embodiment is designed with three pitches of 20.7mm, 23mm, and 25.5mm.

[0039] The composite groove 220 alternately includes a first unit 221 and a second unit 222, the first unit 221 is provided with an outer cavity 41, the outer cavity 41 is connected to the outside of the surface of the tread shoulder 22, and the second unit 222 is provided with an inner cavity 43 and a transverse knife groove 42 connected to the inner cavity 43, the inner cavity 43 is hidden inside the surface of the tread shoulder 22, and the adjacent cavities and knife grooves are connected to each other, the circumferential width of the outer cavity 41 is d=3mm, the transverse width is Lm=10mm, and the transverse width of the inner cavity 43 is Ln=10mm.

[0040] The angle between the composite groove 220 and the horizontal direction is α=8°.

[0041] The depth of the groove 31 and the groove 32 is H, the depth of the outer cavity 41 is u, the depth of the transverse knife groove 42 is v, and the depth of the inner cavity 43 is w, then 2mm≤v, v+w≤0.9H, 1.3*v≤u≤v+0.8*w. Specifically, H=8mm, u=4mm, v=2mm, and w=4mm in this embodiment.

[0042] The adjacent composite grooves 220 are distributed in the lateral direction with a relative offset of T. Specifically, T=10mm in the embodiment.

[0043] The total volume porosity in the tread when new =13%.

[0044] As shown in Figure 5 As a comparative example, the tread shoulder 22 is provided with a plurality of lateral grooves 223 in the circumferential direction, the circumferential width of the lateral grooves 223 is d=3mm, the circumferential pitch D is designed as 20.7mm, 23mm and 25.5mm, the angle between the lateral grooves 223 and the horizontal direction is a=8°, and the cross-sectional depth is shown in Figure 6 wherein u=4mm and H=8mm.

[0045] Tests are conducted on light truck tires with a size of 205 / 75R16, and the tests are conducted according to the current European standards. The rolling resistance coefficient of the tire of the embodiment of the present application is improved by 1 N / kN relative to the comparative example. The vehicle's grip ability is improved by 20% under the same road conditions.

[0046] The above description of the embodiments of the present application enables those skilled in the art to implement or use the present application. Various modifications to the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A tire comprising a composite groove, characterized in that, The tire tread includes at least three longitudinally oriented grooves (31, 32). The tire tread shoulder (22) has multiple transverse composite grooves (220) distributed circumferentially. The circumferential spacing of the composite grooves (220) is D and the circumferential width is d. The composite grooves (220) alternately include a first unit (221) and a second unit (222) laterally. The first unit (221) is provided with an outer cavity (41) which connects to the outer surface of the tread shoulder (22). The second unit (222) is provided with an inner cavity (43) and a transverse slit (42) that connects to the inner cavity (43). The inner cavity (43) is hidden inside the surface of the tread shoulder (22). Adjacent cavities are interconnected. The circumferential width of the outer cavity (41) is d and the transverse width is Lm. The transverse width of the inner cavity (43) is Ln. The circumferential spacing of the composite grooves (220) is a variable value.

2. A tire comprising a composite groove according to claim 1, characterized in that, 15mm≤D, 1.8mm≤d≤5mm.

3. A tire comprising a composite groove according to claim 1, characterized in that, 0.5*Lm≤Ln≤2*Lm.

4. A tire comprising a composite groove according to claim 1, characterized in that, The angle between the composite groove (220) and the horizontal direction is α, where 5°≤α≤15°.

5. A tire comprising a composite groove according to claim 1, characterized in that, The depth of the groove (31,32) is H, the depth of the outer cavity (41) is u, the depth of the transverse knife groove (42) is v, and the depth of the inner cavity (43) is w. Then 2mm≤v, v+w≤0.9H, 1.3*v≤u≤v+0.8*w.

6. A tire comprising a composite groove according to claim 1, characterized in that, The adjacent composite grooves (220) are offset from each other in the lateral direction, with an offset value of T.

7. A tire comprising a composite groove according to claim 6, characterized in that, 0.3*Lm ≤T≤Lm+0.7Ln.

8. A tire comprising a composite groove according to claim 1, characterized in that, The total volumetric porosity of the tire tread is ≤15%.

9. A tire comprising a composite groove according to claim 8, characterized in that, The total volumetric porosity of the tire tread is ≤10%.

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