Non-pneumatic tire

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of tires, and particularly discloses a non-pneumatic tire which comprises an inner hub connecting layer, an annular tire part and a supporting assembly, the supporting assembly comprises a plurality of supporting bodies arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the inner hub connecting layer, and the outer surface of the inner hub connecting layer and the inner surface of the annular tire part are connected through the supporting bodies; the width of at least one supporting body is gradually reduced from outside to inside in the radial direction, and the width of the supporting body is gradually reduced in the radial direction, so that the supporting body does not interfere with a side motor or other supporting parts after deformation when a vehicle rolls or deviates after the supporting body is installed, a larger grounding width can be ensured, sideslip is prevented, and the service life of the vehicle is prolonged. And in addition, the whole non-pneumatic tire can be lighter.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of application number CN202510811997.7, filed on June 18, 2025, entitled "A Non-Pneumatic Tire". Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of tire technology, and in particular to a non-pneumatic tire. Background Technology

[0003] Pneumatic tires are a known solution for smoothness, comfort, quality, and rolling resistance. However, they also have drawbacks in terms of complexity, maintenance requirements, and vulnerability to damage. Non-pneumatic tires or wheel constructions offer the advantage of not relying on gas inflation pressure to support the load applied to the tire. For example, Chinese Patent Publication No. CN114393956A discloses a non-pneumatic tire that mainly comprises a rim, support components, a rotating structure, an adjusting ring, and an outer shell layer. Multiple support components are radially positioned between the rim and the tread. Since the support components constitute the largest structural component of the non-pneumatic tire, radial load-bearing is often achieved through the deformation of these support components. Improvements or designs to the support component construction directly affect the performance of the non-pneumatic wheel. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application aims to improve at least one technical problem in the background art.

[0005] This application provides a non-pneumatic tire, comprising: an inner hub connecting layer, a ring tire portion, and a support assembly; the outer surface of the inner hub connecting layer and the inner surface of the ring tire portion are connected by the support assembly, the support assembly comprising a plurality of support bodies arranged at intervals along the tire circumference; the width of at least one of the support bodies gradually decreases from the outside to the inside in the radial direction; The support includes a first connecting portion, a second connecting portion, a third connecting portion, and a fourth connecting portion extending outward from the inner end. The minimum thickness of the first connecting portion is greater than the maximum thickness of the second connecting portion and the maximum thickness of the third connecting portion.

[0006] This application has at least the following beneficial effects: by gradually reducing the width of the support body in the radial direction, when the vehicle tilts or veers after installation, the deformation of the support body will not interfere with the side motor or other support components, and it can also ensure a larger ground contact width to prevent sideslip. In addition, it can also ensure that the non-pneumatic tire is lighter overall. The larger thickness of the upper part of the support body also makes the overall deformation of the support body more uniform when under force, thus improving the overall durability and reliability of the non-pneumatic tire.

[0007] According to some technical solutions of this application, the innermost radial point of the support is m1, the connection between the first connecting part and the second connecting part is m2, the connection between the second connecting part and the third connecting part is m3, the connection between the third connecting part and the fourth connecting part is m4, the outermost radial point of the support is m5, the overall radial height of the support is H, the radial distance between m2 and m1 is 1 / 5 to 1 / 3 of H, and the thickness of m2 is 60% to 95% of the thickness of m1.

[0008] According to some technical solutions of this application, the overall thickness between m2 and m5 is constant and equal to the thickness at m2.

[0009] According to some technical solutions of this application, the radial distance between m3 and m1 is 1 / 2 of H, the radial distance between m4 and m5 is 1 / 4 to 1 / 3 of H, and the thicknesses of m2, m3, m4 and m5 are equal.

[0010] According to some technical solutions of this application, the thickness of the second connecting part, the third connecting part and the fourth connecting part decreases sequentially from the inside to the outside in the radial direction, and the amount of each decrease is 1% to 5% of the thickness of m2.

[0011] A non-pneumatic tire is also provided, comprising: an inner hub connecting layer, a ring tire portion, and a support assembly; the outer surface of the inner hub connecting layer and the inner surface of the ring tire portion are connected by the support assembly, the support assembly comprising a plurality of support bodies arranged at intervals along the tire circumference; the width of at least one support body gradually decreases from the outside to the inside in the radial direction; the thickness and width of at least one support body are related, and the thickness and the width satisfy the following functional relationship: m=V0 / (w*H) Where V0 is the total volume of the support, H is the overall radial height of the support, the support is divided into several parts along the radial height H, w is the width of each part of the support, and m is the thickness of each part of the support.

[0012] According to some technical solutions of this application, the direction in which the support extends from its central axis to both ends is the draft direction, and the support has a draft angle of 0.2° to 0.6° on the surface in the draft direction.

[0013] According to some technical solutions of this application, the longitudinal sides of the support body are provided with thickened layers in the radial direction.

[0014] According to some technical solutions of this application, the position of the support body satisfies the following relationship: in, This refers to the position of the i-th support after unequal spacing. When the supports are distributed at unequal intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner hub connection layer... To ensure the uniform distribution of the i-th support position within the support structure, The modulation amplitude is less than 30%, and the modulation period is m, which is 2, 3 or 4.

[0015] According to some technical solutions of this application, the support component includes multiple support groups, each support group includes two support bodies, the distance between the inner ends of the two support bodies in the same support group is the inner end spacing, the distance between the outer ends is the outer end spacing, and the inner end spacing is greater than or less than the outer end spacing.

[0016] According to some technical solutions of this application, a snap-fit ​​assembly is also included. The snap-fit ​​assembly includes two locking rings that cooperate with each other. Each of the two locking rings has an annular portion and a plurality of locking rods with one end disposed on the annular portion and distributed circumferentially along the annular portion. There is an annular gap between adjacent locking rods for inserting another locking rod. The two locking rings are connected by the locking rods on opposite sides. The annular portion is fixed to the inner hub connecting layer by bolts and bolt holes. Each of the support bodies is disposed between two sequentially adjacent locking rods.

[0017] According to some technical solutions of this application, the annular portion is further provided with a plurality of protrusions. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the tire structure according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a portion of the tire structure provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 3 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of the support body provided in one direction according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of another support provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 A comparative schematic diagram of the compressive deformation of supports with constant thickness and variable thickness provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the radial cross-section of the support body provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the support body after random modulation provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 8 This is a partially enlarged structural diagram of the support provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a support body after rotation, provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another structure of the support body after rotation, provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the snap-fit ​​assembly provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 12 A schematic diagram of the installation structure of the snap-fit ​​assembly provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the protrusion provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0019] In the attached diagram: 100 - Inner hub connection layer; 210 - Inner buffer layer; 220 - Support body; 230 - Outer buffer layer; 300 - Tire ring part; 221 - First connection part; 222 - Second connection part; 223 - Third connection part; 224 - Fourth connection part; 400 - Clip assembly; 410 - Circular part; 420 - Clip rod; 430 - Protrusion. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application.

[0021] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0022] In the description of this application, unless otherwise expressly defined, terms such as "setup," "installation," and "connection" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this application in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0023] In the context, those skilled in the art should distinguish between several different uses of the term.

[0024] The "radial" direction refers to the radial direction of the tire, that is... Figure 2 The "Y-direction" in the support; if point A is closer to the axis of rotation of the tire center in the radial direction of point B in the support, it means that point A is "radially inside" of point B or radially inside point B; that is, when moving from point A to point B, it is called "radially outward" or "inward outward". The "innermost radial point of the support" is defined as the point on the support closest to the axis of rotation of the tire center, for example, as shown below. Figure 6 The point at m1, "the outermost radial point of the support," is the point radially closest to the tread layer, as exemplified by... Figure 5 The point at position m5 in the middle; The radial height H of the support is defined as the distance between m1 and m5 (e.g., Figure 6 The radial distance between (as shown).

[0025] "Radial section" or "radial cross section" refers to a section or cross section on a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tire.

[0026] The "axial" direction refers to the direction parallel to the tire's axis of rotation, for example, as shown in... Figure 2 The "X-direction" in the support structure.

[0027] The "longitudinal" direction is perpendicular to both the tire's radius and axial direction, for example, as shown in... Figure 2 The "Z direction" in the text.

[0028] "Thickness" refers to a measurement in the longitudinal direction, or "longitudinal thickness," "Z-axis thickness," etc. Figure 2 As shown in the figure, "thickness of the support" refers to the measurement in the longitudinal direction of the support.

[0029] "Width" refers to a measurement in the axial direction, or "axial width," "X-direction width," etc. Figure 2 As shown in the figure, "width of the support" refers to the measurement in the axial direction of the support; Understandably, unless otherwise specified, thickness or its variation is expressed in mm in the context, but can be set according to a certain size or proportion as needed. Any numerical range indicated by the expression "a to b" or "ab" means the range of values ​​extending from a to b (i.e., including the endpoints a and b).

[0030] The following is combined Figures 1 to 13 The embodiments of this application are described below.

[0031] This embodiment relates to a non-pneumatic tire, which includes: an inner hub connecting layer 100, a ring tire portion 300, and a support assembly. Figure 1 The diagram schematically shows the overall structure of a non-pneumatic tire and one of its faces.

[0032] The inner hub connection layer 100 includes an inner hub, also known as a central annular portion, by means of which a non-pneumatic tire can be mounted on the vehicle to allow the vehicle to roll on the ground. It should be understood that the non-pneumatic tire can be mounted on any desired wheeled vehicle, such as, but not limited to: passenger cars, trailers, light trucks, off-road vehicles, ATVs, buses, agricultural vehicles, bicycles, and motorcycles.

[0033] The circumferential tire section 300 includes a tread and a shear band. The tread is made of wear-resistant rubber, which mainly contacts the ground and may have a tread pattern. The shear band is composed of a shear band base rubber and shear band reinforcement components. Specifically, the shear band reinforcement components can be high-strength materials such as steel wire, nylon, and glass fiber, and are embedded in the shear band base rubber, serving as the core load-bearing component of the entire tire.

[0034] The outer surface of the inner hub connecting layer 100 and the inner surface of the ring tire portion 300 are connected by a support assembly. The support assembly includes a plurality of support bodies 220 arranged at intervals along the tire circumference. The support assembly also includes an inner buffer layer 210 and an outer buffer layer 230, which are connected by the support bodies 220. The three components can be integrally formed by injection molding or casting, and mainly use polyurethane polymer materials.

[0035] In existing related technical solutions, the support body is often designed with a uniform width along the radial direction. However, when the vehicle experiences significant tilting or lateral movement, this uniform width design can easily interfere with the side motor or other support components. Therefore, in some embodiments, the width of the support body 220 gradually decreases from the outside to the inside along the radial direction. In other words, the overall width of the support body 220 in the X direction is not uniform.

[0036] Figure 3 The diagram schematically shows the support structure and its axial cross-sectional view. Figure 4 The diagram schematically shows another type of support and its axial cross-sectional view. The width of the support 220 gradually increases from the inside out, thus this embodiment features a narrow inner edge and a wide outer edge, resulting in a trapezoidal cross-section when unfolded. On one hand, this support avoids interference with the side motor or other support components; on the other hand, the variable width matches the overall vehicle design, ensuring a wider ground contact width to prevent sideslip. Additionally, it further reduces the weight of the non-pneumatic tires.

[0037] Continue to refer to Figure 3 and combined Figure 5Since the width of the support body 220 gradually increases from the inside to the outside, this width will also affect the thickness of the support body 220. In particular, when the tire rotates under load, the support body is compressed and deformed. Repeated and long-term deformation can easily lead to fatigue of the support body, thereby affecting the service life of the support body.

[0038] Because the lower part of the support is wider and the upper part is narrower. Figure 5 The leftmost diagram shows the deformation of a uniformly thick support body after width variation under compression. The bending deformation of the uniformly thick support body is mainly concentrated in the upper part. Therefore, the support body is designed not to have uniform thickness at the top and bottom. In some embodiments, the support body 220 includes a first connecting portion 221, a second connecting portion 222, a third connecting portion 223, and a fourth connecting portion 224 extending outward from the inner end. The minimum thickness of the first connecting portion 221 is greater than the maximum thickness of the second connecting portion 222 and the third connecting portion 223, i.e., the minimum thickness of the first connecting portion 221 is greater than the maximum thickness of either the second or third connecting portion 222. The lower limit of the thickness of the first connecting portion 221 is higher than the maximum value of the latter two thickness ranges, thus making the upper part thicker than the lower part. Figure 4 The comparison between medium thickness and variable thickness schemes is shown (where the dotted line is a schematic diagram of the overall compressive deformation of the support). The deformation of the medium thickness is significantly greater than that of the variable thickness scheme where the top is thicker than the bottom. The deformation of the variable thickness scheme where the top is thinner than the bottom is also significantly greater than that of the variable thickness scheme where the top is thicker than the bottom. The larger thickness of the upper part of the variable thickness scheme makes the overall deformation of the support more uniform and symmetrical.

[0039] Therefore, since the overall longitudinal thickness of the first connecting part 221 is greater than the overall longitudinal thickness of any remaining connecting part of the support body 220, when the inner hub connecting layer 100 supports the ring tire part 300 through the support body 220, the deformation of the support body 220 is more uniform, which not only improves rigidity but also improves fatigue and increases the service life of the support body.

[0040] Reference Figure 6 In the embodiment of the basic scheme, the innermost radial point of the support 220 is m1, the connection between the first connecting part 221 and the second connecting part 222 is m2, the connection between the second connecting part 222 and the third connecting part 223 is m3, the connection between the third connecting part 223 and the fourth connecting part 224 is m4, the outermost radial point of the support 220 is m5, the overall radial height of the support 220 is H, the radial distance between m2 and m1 is 1 / 5 to 1 / 3 of the overall radial height H of the support 220, the thickness of m2 is 60% to 95% of the thickness of m1, and its thickness extending to the radially outer end can be formed by a smooth transition through a spline curve.

[0041] In a specific embodiment of scheme 1, based on the basic scheme, the thickness from m2 downwards can be constant, that is, the overall thickness between m2 and m5 is constant and equal to the thickness at m2, so that the overall thickness between m2 and m5 is equal to the thickness at m2. In other words, the overall thickness of the second connecting part 222, the third connecting part 223 and the fourth connecting part 224 is equal.

[0042] In a specific embodiment of scheme 2, based on the basic scheme, the radial distance between m3 and m1 is 1 / 2 of the overall radial height H of the support 220, the radial distance between m4 and m5 is 1 / 4 to 1 / 3 of the overall radial height H of the support 220, and the thicknesses of m2, m3, m4 and m5 are equal.

[0043] In a specific embodiment of scheme 3, based on the basic scheme, the thickness of the second connecting part 222, the third connecting part 223 and the fourth connecting part 224 decreases sequentially from the inside to the outside in the radial direction, and the amount of each decrease can be 1% to 5% of the thickness of m2.

[0044] Additionally, in a specific embodiment of scheme 4, the support 220 is divided into several parts n along its overall radial height H, i.e., h0 = H / n, where h0 is the height of each part of the support. Assuming the total volume of the support 220 is V0, from a calculus perspective, each part is a hexahedron. We can keep the volume v of each part consistent, i.e., v = V0 / n, which means v = w * m * h0. Then the relationship between the thickness and width of the support 220 is: m=V0 / (w*H) Where V0 is the total volume, H is the total radial height of the support, the support is divided into several parts along the radial height H, w is the width of each part of the support, and m is the thickness of each part of the support. w and m are variable, but the thickness and width satisfy a certain functional relationship.

[0045] In addition, a variable thickness scheme with a thinner upper part and a thicker lower part is set as a comparison scheme 1, where the thinner upper part and thicker lower part means that the overall thickness of the first connecting part of the support is less than the overall thickness of the remaining connecting parts, that is, the maximum thickness of the first connecting part is less than the minimum thickness of any remaining connecting part.

[0046] As described above, under the condition that the support structure has the same volume and other conditions, tire performance tests were conducted on the support structure with optimized thickness in a specific area, the comparison scheme, and the original scheme with the same thickness. The performance test method is as follows: a static load test was performed on the entire tire, and strain gauges were attached to the side of the support structure during the test to obtain the stiffness and strain values ​​under the rated load. Higher stiffness can reduce deformation, and lower strain can reduce friction loss, etc. The specific test results are shown in Table 1.

[0047] Table 1 Test results before and after support thickness optimization As shown above, the optimized tire exhibited significant changes in several parameters, particularly improving other performance characteristics without affecting radial stiffness. Compared to a non-pneumatic tire using a uniform thickness support, Comparison Scheme 1 showed a weaker improvement in several parameters, indicating a poorer overall performance. In contrast, the support with optimized thickness in specific areas showed increased radial stiffness and lower strain. Taking Scheme 2 as an example, its radial stiffness increased, and the strain decreased from 8.6% to 5.9%, demonstrating that the support with optimized thickness in specific areas performed better in terms of load-bearing capacity and durability, contributing to a longer service life for non-pneumatic tires.

[0048] In summary, the optimized thickness of the support body 220 in specific areas has enabled non-pneumatic tires to achieve better performance in many aspects.

[0049] In some specific embodiments, the support 220 also incorporates a draft angle design of 0.2-0.6 degrees. If the angle is too large, the middle section will be too thick, making it prone to deformation when the support 220 is bent. If it is too thin, it may be impossible to demold or difficult to demold. Secondly, the parting line is in the middle, appearing thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges in the top view. This not only facilitates demolding at both ends but also prevents in-plane concavity of the support 220, which would lead to concentrated deformation and negatively impact the durability of the support 220. Furthermore, rounded corners can be provided at both ends of the support 220, facilitating injection molding and demolding, and increasing the connection area between the support 220 and the inner and outer buffer layers, thus improving bonding stability. Because non-pneumatic tires use rigid structures such as honeycomb and spokes instead of air pressure, they have higher stiffness, which may lead to an increased natural frequency. This makes them more susceptible to coupling with high-frequency road surface excitation, causing vibration and impact transmission. In other words, this excitation is transmitted to the vehicle interior through structures such as the tire, rim, and frame, and is perceived by occupants as vibration or noise, affecting the driving experience. Therefore, in some comfort-improving embodiments, the thickness of the support body 220 can be uniformly offset by 10%-20% on both sides, that is, thickened layers are provided on both longitudinal sides of the support body 220 in the radial direction, with the thickened layers on both sides extending from m1 to m5. In actual processing, this solution can be achieved by modifying the mold to integrally form the thickened layer with the support body without significantly increasing processing costs. Alternatively, the material modulus of the support body component can be increased, doubling the modulus of polyurethane to increase the first-order natural frequency. The natural frequency can be accurately obtained using tire modal testing equipment. Similarly, the solution of increasing the material modulus only requires material replacement in actual processing without significantly increasing processing costs. As shown in Table 2 below.

[0050] Table 2 Optimized Modal Results As shown in Table 2, the first-order natural frequency increased by approximately 57.4% in the thickening layer solution. Furthermore, in the solution of increasing the material modulus of the support 220 component, doubling the modulus of polyurethane can increase the first-order natural frequency by approximately 42.6%.

[0051] Understandably, the natural frequency is the frequency at which an object vibrates freely after being disturbed. For tires, the natural frequency affects ride comfort, noise, and durability. Different modes correspond to different vibration patterns. The first mode is mainly radial vibration, and improving it can reduce more tread vibration. The second mode is mainly lateral or circumferential vibration, and the third mode is a more complex vibration pattern.

[0052] In summary, by using specific methods to increase the first-order natural frequency of pneumatic tires, vibration problems can be improved, allowing non-pneumatic tires to maintain their structural advantages while enhancing ride comfort.

[0053] Continue to refer to Figure 1 The entire non-pneumatic tire can be divided into 5 cycles. This assumes that the actual wheel rim has 5 wheel rim avoidance structures. This design can ensure that it matches a certain vehicle model. That is, the support body 220 is spaced at 8.5 degrees at the avoidance points and at 5.5 degrees at the non-avoidance points, so that the entire circumference is distributed in 5 cycles. In addition, it can also be designed to match different vehicle models. When there is no wheel rim avoidance structure, the support body 220 can be designed to be evenly distributed along the circumference of the entire non-pneumatic tire.

[0054] Here, "interval angle" refers to the angle between two adjacent support members at the center of the circle, or in other words, the angle between two adjacent support members, where one can be obtained by rotating the other by a certain angle. The interval here is the minimum angle. "Avoidance structure" refers to the fact that a conventional vehicle wheel hub has 5 protruding bolt positions, which generally occupy half of the 5 support members. The support members can also be designed to be evenly distributed according to 5 cycles. Considering avoidance, there can be two interval angles. For different vehicle models, the support member intervals can be designed evenly or in other cycles, which is not restricted here.

[0055] Optionally, in an advantageous embodiment that reduces driving noise, the multiple supports 220 can be designed with random spacing, which can greatly improve driving smoothness and reduce driving noise. A sinusoidal modulation method is used for the design here. Specifically, when the supports 220 are distributed at unequal intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner hub connecting layer 100, the position of any support 220 at unequal intervals is related to the position of its equidistant intervals. That is, the positions of the supports at unequal intervals and the positions of their equidistant intervals satisfy the following relationship: in, This represents the position of the i-th support after unequal interval distribution. Let represent the position of the i-th support in an equally spaced distribution. The modulation amplitude, also known as the non-uniform distribution coefficient, has a modulation period of m. To avoid excessive variation in the spacing between supports, which would lead to excessive fluctuations in smoothness, the spacing between adjacent supports should vary by less than 30%, i.e., the modulation amplitude should be less than 30%. The modulation amplitude is in rad, and the modulation period is any integer from 2 to 4, i.e., 2, 3, or 4. It is uniformly distributed or equidistant, meaning that the interval between any two adjacent supports is equal.

[0056] For example, if there are 60 spokes in total, with a spoke spacing of 6 degrees, and assuming the pitch between a pair of spokes changes by 20%, then... =6*π / 180*0.2=0.024, which is the modulation amplitude. The value of cannot exceed 0.024, therefore the modulation amplitude of the following test scheme is... The values ​​are all set to 0.02. Furthermore, the modulation period m is set to 2. The positions of each support after these settings are shown in Table 3 below.

[0057] Table 3. Position and Angle Design Before and After Modulation Specifically, the modulation result can be determined by using the modulation position relationship above to determine the position parameters of the equally spaced supports. Without considering the wheel hub avoidance structure, the uniformly distributed supports 220 are designed as randomly spaced supports 220.

[0058] Figure 7The diagram in Table 3 shows a comparison of the support body 220 before and after modulation. It can be seen that the density of the optimized support body 220 is random and does not change periodically or remain fixed. In other words, the multiple support bodies 220 are distributed at unequal intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner hub connecting layer 100. This unequal interval distribution will improve driving noise and, to some extent, reduce road surface vibrations and improve driving smoothness.

[0059] In an embodiment for further improving the cushioning and shock absorption performance of non-pneumatic tires, the support assembly includes multiple support groups, each support group comprising two support bodies. The distance between the inner ends of the two support bodies within the same support group is defined as the inner end spacing, and the distance between their outer ends is defined as the outer end spacing. The inner end spacing can be greater than or less than the outer end spacing. By pre-setting the angle of the paired support bodies, the spacing between the two ends of the two support bodies can be changed. The angle setting refers to rotating the support body along its axial axis passing through its center during simulation analysis to set the angle. The two support bodies in the same support group can be rotated in the same direction by the same angle or in opposite directions by the same angle, thereby effectively changing the spacing between the two ends of the two support bodies, ultimately improving the load-bearing capacity and cushioning and shock absorption performance of the non-pneumatic tire. It is understood that the inner end refers to the end closer to the rotation axis at the tire center, and the outer end refers to the end radially closest to the circumferential tire portion.

[0060] Reference Figure 8 and Figure 9 The support structure shown exhibits an "outward octagon" shape (B1) when the distance between the inner ends of the two support bodies is greater than the distance between their outer ends; and an "inward octagon" shape (B2) when the distance between the inner ends is less than the distance between their outer ends. It should be noted that the rotation of the "inward octagon" or "outward octagon" shape is an axial rotation, meaning it rotates around the X-axis with a reference point as the reference. For example, the reference point could be the center of the support's height and width. Before and after the axial rotation, radial draft rotation can also be performed, meaning a radial draft rotation around the Y-axis with a reference point as the reference. For example, a radial draft rotation around the Y-axis with the center of the support's height and width as the reference point.

[0061] For example, continue to refer to Figure 9 And refer to Figure 10In this diagram, A represents a support assembly with two initially equidistant ends. Two adjacent support bodies 220 are arranged such that if the left support body at m3 rotates clockwise around the X-axis by a certain angle, and the right support body at m3 rotates counterclockwise around the X-axis by a certain angle, meaning their radial inner ends rotate to the same direction, an "inward-pointing" shape B2 is obtained. Conversely, if the left support body at m3 rotates counterclockwise around the X-axis by a certain angle, and the right support body at m3 rotates clockwise around the X-axis by a certain angle, meaning their radial outer ends rotate to opposite directions, an "outward-pointing" shape B1 is obtained. Based on the "inward-pointing" shape B2, a radial draft rotation of 2 degrees is applied to the support body to obtain a draft-rotated shape C2. Similarly, performance tests were conducted on a non-pneumatic tire with the support body assembly in its initial state and a non-pneumatic tire with the support body assembly after rotation. The results are shown in Table 4 below.

[0062] Table 4 Performance results before and after rotation The test results are shown in Table 4. Rotating the support body 220 of the support group can significantly improve the radial stiffness and longitudinal stiffness of the entire non-pneumatic tire. In addition, it can also significantly improve the first-order natural frequency, which can further improve the load-bearing capacity and shock absorption performance of the non-pneumatic tire.

[0063] During the use of the support 220, the inner buffer layer 210 can be attached to the inner hub using adhesives, fasteners, or combinations thereof. For example, the inner hub and the inner buffer layer 210 can be bonded together using adhesive. After the adhesive is applied, the durability requirements can be met for daily use. However, under the impact of extreme conditions, the adhesive may be subjected to great tension, causing partial delamination between the hub and the inner buffer layer 210. Once partial delamination occurs, the bonding fatigue durability will be greatly reduced.

[0064] Therefore, to further improve the reliability of non-pneumatic tires, a snap-fit ​​assembly 400 is provided between the inner buffer layer 210 and the wheel hub, as shown in the reference. Figure 11 And refer to other sources. Figure 13The example illustrates an embodiment of a snap-fit ​​assembly 400, which includes two mating snap rings, namely a first snap ring and a second snap ring. Each snap ring has an annular portion 410 and a plurality of snap rods 420 with one end disposed on the annular portion 410 and distributed circumferentially along the annular portion 410. There is an annular gap between adjacent snap rods for inserting another snap rod. The two snap rings are connected by the snap rods on opposite sides. The annular portion 410 can be fixed to the inner hub connection layer 100 by bolts and bolt holes. Each support 220 is disposed between two sequentially adjacent snap rods 420. In the illustrated embodiment, the end faces of the first and second retaining rings are bolted to the two sides of the wheel hub, respectively. The retaining rod 420 of the buckle is inserted into the gap between two adjacent support bodies 220. The retaining rod 420 is located on the outer edge of the outer buffer layer 230, such that the total number of retaining rods 420 of the two retaining rings is equal to the total number of support bodies 220. In this way, the retaining rod 420 can further press the outer buffer layer 230 to prevent the outer buffer layer 230 from delaminating with the wheel hub.

[0065] Furthermore, such as Figure 13 As shown, the annular portion 410 is also provided with multiple protrusions 430, which are spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the inner edge of the annular portion 410. After the first retaining ring and the second retaining ring are connected by multiple retaining rods, the ends of the retaining rods can abut against the protrusions 430 on the annular portion 410 to prevent one end of the retaining rod 420 from tilting up and converting the cantilever beam structure of the retaining rod 420 into a simply supported beam. Furthermore, the protrusions 430 can be provided with slots to engage the ends of the retaining rods on the opposite side into the slots of the protrusions 430, which can further improve the fatigue durability of the retaining rings.

[0066] The preferred embodiments of this application have been described in detail above, but this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described. Those skilled in the art can make various equivalent modifications or substitutions without departing from the spirit of this application, and these equivalent modifications or substitutions are all included within the scope defined by the claims of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A non-pneumatic tire, characterized in that: include: Inner hub connecting layer (100) and ring tire part (300); A support assembly is provided, wherein the outer surface of the inner hub connecting layer (100) and the inner surface of the ring tire portion (300) are connected by the support assembly, the support assembly comprising a plurality of support bodies (220) spaced apart along the tire circumference; the width of at least one of the support bodies (220) gradually decreases from the outside to the inside in the radial direction; The support (220) includes a first connecting portion (221), a second connecting portion (222), a third connecting portion (223) and a fourth connecting portion (224) extending outward from the inner end. The minimum thickness of the first connecting portion (221) is greater than the maximum thickness of the second connecting portion (222) and the maximum thickness of the third connecting portion (223). The innermost radial point of the support (220) is m1, the connection between the first connecting part (221) and the second connecting part (222) is m2, the connection between the second connecting part (222) and the third connecting part (223) is m3, the connection between the third connecting part (223) and the fourth connecting part (224) is m4, the outermost radial point of the support (220) is m5, the overall radial height of the support (220) is H, the radial distance between m2 and m1 is 1 / 5 to 1 / 3 of H, and the thickness of m2 is 60% to 95% of the thickness of m1. The thickness of the second connecting part (222), the third connecting part (223) and the fourth connecting part (224) decreases sequentially from the inside to the outside in the radial direction, and the amount of each decrease is 1% to 5% of the thickness of m2.

2. The non-pneumatic tire according to claim 1, characterized in that: The direction in which the support (220) extends from its central axis to both ends is the draft direction, and the support (220) has a draft angle of 0.2° to 0.6° on the surface in the draft direction.

3. The non-pneumatic tire according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support (220) has thickened layers on both sides along the radial direction.

4. The non-pneumatic tire according to claim 1, characterized in that: The position of the support body satisfies the following relationship: in, This refers to the position of the i-th support after unequal spacing. When the supports are distributed at unequal intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner hub connection layer... To ensure the uniform distribution of the i-th support position within the support structure, The modulation amplitude is less than 30%, and the modulation period is m, which is 2, 3 or 4.

5. The non-pneumatic tire according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support assembly includes multiple support groups, and each support group includes two support bodies (220). The distance between the inner ends of the two support bodies (220) in the same support group is called the inner end spacing, and the distance between the outer ends is called the outer end spacing. The inner end spacing is greater than or less than the outer end spacing.

6. The non-pneumatic tire according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a snap-fit ​​assembly (400), which includes two engaging snap rings. Each snap ring has an annular portion (410) and a plurality of snap rods (420) with one end disposed on the annular portion (410) and distributed circumferentially along the annular portion (410). There is an annular gap between adjacent snap rods (420) for inserting another snap rod (420). The two snap rings are engaged and connected by the snap rods (420) on opposite sides. The annular portion (410) is fixed to the inner hub connecting layer (100) by bolts and bolt holes. Each support body (220) is disposed between two sequentially adjacent snap rods (420).

7. The non-pneumatic tire according to claim 6, characterized in that: The annular portion (410) is also provided with a plurality of protrusions that are spaced apart along its circumference.

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