Tread structure and tire

Abstract

The tread structure comprises main grooves, first transverse grooves, second transverse grooves and third transverse grooves, the main grooves extend in the circumferential direction, the multiple main grooves are arranged at intervals in the transverse direction, the main grooves define outer shoulder ribs, inner shoulder ribs and middle ribs on the tread structure, the first transverse grooves are formed in the outer shoulder ribs, the second transverse grooves are formed in the inner shoulder ribs, and the third transverse grooves are formed in the third transverse grooves. The first transverse groove is disconnected with the main groove, the second transverse groove is formed in the inner shoulder rib and comprises a narrow opening section, the width size of the narrow opening section is smaller than that of the first transverse groove, the width size of other sections of the second transverse groove is larger than or equal to that of the first transverse groove, and the third transverse groove is formed in the middle rib. At least part of the third transverse grooves penetrate through the middle rib so as to be communicated with the main grooves located in the two sides of the middle rib. And the tread structure is beneficial to ensuring the drainage performance and considering the control performance of the tire at the same time. A tread structure relates to the field of tires.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of tires, and in particular to a tread structure and a tire. Background Art

[0002] The design of tire treads needs to consider many factors. In addition to conventional safety performance and wear performance, noise, comfort, braking performance, rolling resistance performance, etc. are also receiving more and more attention. How to improve the tire's handling performance and braking performance, while ensuring the tire's quietness and comfort performance to the greatest extent, achieving a balance between the performances, and designing the best tire products has always been a technical issue that tire tread pattern designers need to focus on.

[0003] For this reason, related technologies have proposed asymmetric tires, that is, different pattern designs are used on the inner and outer sides of the tread. For example, the outer side focuses on the handling stability of the tire and adopts a closed pattern design, while the inner side focuses on the wetland drainage performance of the tire and adopts an open pattern design, thereby achieving a balance of performance. However, the open pattern on the inner side will inevitably have a negative impact on the handling performance. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present application proposes a tread structure and a tire, wherein the tread structure helps to ensure drainage performance while taking into account the handling performance of the tire.

[0005] According to the tread structure provided in the present application, it includes a main groove, a first transverse groove, a second transverse groove and a third transverse groove, the main groove extends in the circumferential direction, and a plurality of main grooves are arranged in a transverse interval, the main groove defines an outer shoulder rib, an inner shoulder rib and an intermediate rib on the tread structure, the first transverse groove is arranged on the outer shoulder rib, the first transverse groove is disconnected from the main groove, the second transverse groove is arranged on the inner shoulder rib, the second transverse groove includes a narrow section, the width dimension of the narrow section is smaller than the width dimension of the first transverse groove, the width dimension of the remaining sections of the second transverse groove is greater than or equal to the width dimension of the first transverse groove, the third transverse groove is arranged on the intermediate rib, and at least a portion of the third transverse groove passes through the intermediate rib to connect the main grooves located on both sides of the intermediate rib.

[0006] The tread structure provided by the present application has at least the following technical effects: the first transverse groove and the main groove are disconnected, that is, the outer shoulder rib adopts a closed design, and the handling stability is relatively better; the second transverse groove and the third transverse groove are connected to the main groove, that is, the inner shoulder rib and the middle rib adopt an open design, and the water on the inner side of the tread can be discharged outward along the second transverse groove and the third transverse groove, and the drainage performance is relatively better, thereby achieving performance balance; further, by adopting a relatively small width dimension for the narrow section, in scenarios with sudden changes in state such as starting / braking / turning, the walls located in the narrow section can contact and support each other to avoid excessive deformation of the inner-inner-inner shoulder ribs, thereby enhancing the stiffness of the inner-inner-inner shoulder ribs in these scenarios and improving the handling stability of the tread structure to a certain extent; therefore, the tread structure helps to ensure drainage performance while taking into account the handling performance of the tire.

[0007] According to some embodiments of the present application, the second transverse groove includes a groove body and a groove opening, the second transverse groove is connected to the adjacent main groove through the groove opening, the groove opening serves as the narrow mouth section, the width dimension of the groove opening is smaller than the width dimension of the first transverse groove, and the width dimension of the groove body is greater than or equal to the width dimension of the first transverse groove.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present application, the width dimension of the narrow mouth section is less than or equal to 5 mm.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present application, the first transverse grooves are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction, the second transverse grooves are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction, and the spacing between the first transverse grooves is greater than the spacing between the second transverse grooves.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present application, a lateral dimension of the main groove close to the outer side is smaller than a lateral dimension of the main groove close to the inner side.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present application, the width of the third transverse groove gradually decreases from the entrance to the inside.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present application, the third transverse grooves on each of the middle ribs are arranged in different ways.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present application, the main groove includes an inclined main groove wall, and the inclination angle of the main groove wall is 8° to 15°.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present application, a lateral dimension of the main groove is 5 mm to 18 mm.

[0015] The tire provided according to the present application includes the tread structure provided by the present application.

[0016] The tire provided in the present application includes the tread structure provided in the present application, so the tire correspondingly has the beneficial effects provided by the tread structure, which will not be described in detail here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The accompanying drawings are used to provide further understanding of the technical solution disclosed in the present application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments disclosed in the present application, they are used to explain the technical solution disclosed in the present application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution disclosed in the present application.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a tread structure of an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the tread structure of an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a tire according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Reference numerals:

[0022] The main groove 110, the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130, the groove body 131, the groove opening 132, the third transverse groove 140, the slope wall 141, and the straight wall 142;

[0023] Outer shoulder ribs 210 , inner shoulder ribs 220 , and middle ribs 230 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present application, and cannot be understood as limiting the present application.

[0025] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that descriptions involving orientation, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying 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 specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0026] In the description of this application, "several" means one or more, "more" means more than two, "greater than", "less than", "exceed", etc. are understood to exclude the number itself, and "above", "below", "within", etc. are understood to include the number itself. If there is a description of "first" or "second", it is only used for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0027] In the description of this application, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in this application based on the specific content of the technical solution.

[0028] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0029] Reference Figure 1 According to the tread structure provided by the embodiment of the present application, it includes a main groove 110, a first transverse groove 120, a second transverse groove 130 and a third transverse groove 140. The main groove 110 extends in the circumferential direction, and a plurality of main grooves 110 are arranged at intervals in the lateral direction. The main groove 110 defines an outer shoulder rib 210, an inner shoulder rib 220 and an intermediate rib 230 on the tread structure. The first transverse groove 120 is arranged on the outer shoulder rib 210, and the first transverse groove 120 is disconnected from the main groove 110. The second transverse groove 130 is arranged on the inner shoulder rib 220. The second transverse groove 130 includes a narrow section, and the width dimension of the narrow section is smaller than the width dimension of the first transverse groove 120. The width dimension of the remaining section of the second transverse groove 130 is greater than or equal to the width dimension of the first transverse groove 120. The third transverse groove 140 is arranged on the intermediate rib 230, and at least a portion of the third transverse groove 140 passes through the intermediate rib 230 to connect the main grooves 110 located on both sides of the intermediate rib 230.

[0030] It can be understood that the tread structure of the present application is applicable to an asymmetric tire, that is, a tire with a unique installation direction. The outer shoulder rib 210, the inner shoulder rib 220 and the middle rib 230 are separated by the main groove 110. The outer shoulder rib 210 refers to the rib that is relatively close to the vehicle body in the installed state, and the inner shoulder rib 220 refers to the rib that is relatively far from the vehicle body in the installed state. Figure 1 Indicative arrows are used to show the inward and outward directions of the tread structure.

[0031] The circumferential direction of the tread structure is determined according to the formation state of the tread structure on the tire, so the circumferential direction here is also the circumferential direction of the tire, and the transverse direction refers to the inside-outside direction. In the tread structure, the main groove 110, the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130 and the third transverse groove 140 all extend in strips, so the length direction refers to the extension direction of the main groove 110, the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130 and the third transverse groove 140 at any point (determined by the tangent), and the width direction refers to the direction perpendicular to the length direction.

[0032] According to the tread structure provided in the present application, the first transverse groove 120 and the main groove 110 are disconnected, that is, the outer shoulder rib 210 adopts a closed design, and the outer side control stability of the tread structure is relatively better.

[0033] The second transverse grooves 130 and the third transverse grooves 140 are connected to the main grooves 110, that is, the inner-inner shoulder ribs 220 and the middle ribs 230 adopt an open design. The water on the inner side of the tread can be discharged outward along the second transverse grooves 130 and the third transverse grooves 140, and the water in different main grooves 110 can be transferred with the help of the third transverse grooves 140. The inner side of the tread structure has relatively better drainage performance, thereby achieving performance balance.

[0034] Furthermore, considering that the open design has a negative impact on the stiffness of the tread structure, the present application specially designs a narrow section. By adopting a relatively small width dimension for the narrow section, in scenarios with sudden state changes such as starting / braking / turning, the inner-inner-inner shoulder rib 220 is deformed. At this time, the walls located in the narrow section can contact and support each other to avoid excessive deformation of the inner-inner-inner shoulder rib 220, thereby enhancing the stiffness of the inner-inner-inner shoulder rib 220 in these scenarios, improving the handling stability of the tread structure to a certain extent, and reducing the negative impact of the open design on stiffness.

[0035] Therefore, the tread structure provided in the present application helps to ensure drainage performance while taking into account the handling performance of the tire.

[0036] Reference Figure 3 The present application also provides a tire, which includes the tread structure provided by the present application. Therefore, the tire correspondingly has the beneficial effects provided by the tread structure in the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated here.

[0037] It should be noted that if the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130 and the third transverse groove 140 extend in the transverse direction, the drainage effect in the moving state needs to be improved. For this reason, in some embodiments, at least one of the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130 and the third transverse groove 140 is inclined to extend in the transverse direction (or is bent relative to the circumferential direction). Taking the transverse extension of the first transverse groove 120 as an example, during the rotation of the tire, the various sections of the first transverse groove 120 contact the ground in sequence, thereby achieving a better drainage effect.

[0038] Preferably, the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130, and the third transverse groove 140 are all inclined to extend laterally, and the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130, and the third transverse groove 140 are inclined to the same side relative to the transverse direction, and the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130, and the third transverse groove 140 are arranged correspondingly and have the same direction.

[0039] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second transverse groove 130 includes a groove body 131 and a groove opening 132. The second transverse groove 130 is connected to the adjacent main groove 110 through the groove opening 132. The groove opening 132 serves as a narrow section. The width dimension of the groove opening 132 is smaller than the width dimension of the first transverse groove 120. The width dimension of the groove body 131 is greater than or equal to the width dimension of the first transverse groove 120.

[0040] In this way, by arranging the narrow mouth section at a position relatively closer to the outside of the second transverse groove 130 , it can be ensured that the narrow mouth section can better perform its designed function.

[0041] In some implementations, the width of the narrow section is less than or equal to 5 mm, thereby ensuring that the walls of the narrow section of the tail wing can contact each other when the inner inner shoulder rib 220 is deformed, ensuring that the narrow section can better perform its design function.

[0042] It should be pointed out that the purpose of the narrow section is to improve the handling stability under the premise of ensuring the drainage performance of the inner inner inner shoulder rib 220. That is to say, the design of the inner inner inner shoulder rib 220 is mainly focused on the wetland drainage performance of the tire. To this end, in some embodiments, the first transverse grooves 120 are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction, and the second transverse grooves 130 are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction, and the spacing of the first transverse grooves 120 is greater than the spacing of the second transverse grooves 130.

[0043] At this time, since the number of the first transverse grooves 120 in the circumferential direction is relatively small and the width of the first transverse grooves 120 is also relatively small (that is, the width of the remaining sections outside the narrow section of the second transverse groove 130 is larger than the width of the first transverse groove 120), the contact area between the outer shoulder rib 210 and the ground is relatively large, which is beneficial to the cornering control stability of the tire; the contact area between the inner-inner-inner shoulder rib 220 and the ground is relatively small, which effectively increases the drainage of the inner-inner-inner shoulder rib 220.

[0044] In addition, in some embodiments, the lateral dimension of the main groove 110 near the outside is smaller than the lateral dimension of the main groove 110 near the inside. This also enables the tread structure to have a relatively larger contact area on the outside to ensure the handling stability, and a relatively smaller contact area on the inside to ensure the drainage performance.

[0045] In order to further improve the drainage performance, in some embodiments, the width of the third transverse groove 140 gradually decreases from the entrance to the inside. This makes the third transverse groove 140 have a larger opening, which is conducive to drainage. In addition, this also makes the entrance of the third transverse groove 140 have a certain inclination angle to avoid vertical contact with the ground, thereby improving the abnormal wear phenomenon in the early stage of tire use.

[0046] Specifically, in some embodiments, referring to Figure 2 The third transverse groove 140 includes a slope wall 141 and a straight wall 142. The slope wall 141 is located at the entrance of the third transverse groove 140. On the one hand, the slope wall 141 is inclined to form a shape with a gradually decreasing width between the two slope walls 141. On the other hand, the two straight walls 142 are parallel to each other, so that the internal width of the third transverse groove 140 is relatively narrow. During starting / braking / turning, the mutual support effect of the deformation of the third transverse groove 140 can be increased, excessive deformation can be reduced, and the stiffness of the middle rib 230 in this scenario can be enhanced, while maintaining the handling performance of the tire, effectively improving the quietness and comfort.

[0047] For example, in some embodiments, the distance between two straight walls 142 is less than or equal to 5 mm.

[0048] Similarly, the first transverse groove 120 and the second transverse groove 130 may also adopt a slope wall design similar to that of the third transverse groove 140 (eg, a wedge-shaped chamfered entrance design).

[0049] In some embodiments, the third transverse grooves 140 on each of the middle ribs 230 are arranged in different ways.

[0050] For example, refer to Figure 2 In some embodiments, the tread structure has three middle ribs 230. On the outermost middle rib 230, each third transverse groove 140 passes through the middle rib; on the middle middle rib 230, a portion of the third transverse grooves 140 passes through the middle rib, and another portion of the third transverse grooves 140 is connected to the outer main groove 110, and the two portions of the third grooves 140 are arranged alternately; on the innermost middle rib 230, a portion of the third transverse grooves 140 passes through the middle rib, and another portion of the third transverse grooves 140 is connected to the inner main groove 110, and the two portions of the third grooves 140 are arranged alternately.

[0051] Of course, in other possible embodiments, the third transverse grooves 140 on each of the middle ribs 230 may also have the same shape and length.

[0052] It should be pointed out that no matter what arrangement is adopted, at least a portion of the third transverse grooves 140 on each middle rib 230 can penetrate the middle rib 230 to ensure drainage.

[0053] To further improve drainage performance, in some embodiments, the width of the main groove 110 gradually decreases from the entrance to the inside. For example, in some embodiments, the main groove 110 includes an inclined main groove wall, and the inclination angle of the main groove wall is 8° to 15°.

[0054] In some embodiments, the lateral dimension of the main groove is 5 mm to 18 mm.

[0055] In some embodiments, the depths of the first transverse groove 120 , the second transverse groove 130 , and the third transverse groove 140 are not completely the same. For example, the depths of the first transverse groove 120 , the second transverse groove 130 , and the third transverse groove 140 may fluctuate within a set range.

[0056] In some embodiments, the first transverse groove 120, the second transverse groove 130, and the third transverse groove 140 can be designed with several different pitch widths (circumferential spacing) and multiple pitch quantities. For example, the pattern pitch width can fluctuate between 20 mm and 45 mm, and the pitch quantity can be controlled between 60 and 90.

[0057] The use of a non-equidistant wave design can avoid the resonance problem caused by an equal spacing setting, avoid and reduce the resonance, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing noise and improving the noise performance of the tread structure.

[0058] It can be understood that the area where the middle rib 230 is located can be defined as the middle area. In some embodiments, the ratio of the width of the middle area to the width of the tread structure is 0.4 to 0.6, and the ratio of the width of the outer shoulder rib 210 and the inner-inner shoulder rib 220 to the width of the tread structure is 0.2 to 0.3.

[0059] In some selectable embodiments, the function / operation mentioned in the block diagram may not occur in the order mentioned in the operation diagram. For example, depending on the function / operation involved, the two boxes shown in succession can actually be executed substantially simultaneously or the boxes can sometimes be executed in reverse order. In addition, the embodiment presented and described in the flow chart of the application is provided by way of example, for the purpose of providing a more comprehensive understanding of technology. The disclosed method is not limited to the operation and logic flow presented herein. Selectable embodiments are expected, wherein the order of various operations is changed and the sub-operation of a part described as a larger operation is performed independently.

[0060] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and that the scope of the present application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A tread structure, characterized in that: include: A main groove, the main groove extending in a circumferential direction, a plurality of main grooves being arranged at intervals in a lateral direction, the main groove defining an outer shoulder rib, an inner shoulder rib and a middle rib on the tread structure; a first transverse groove, the first transverse groove being arranged on the outer shoulder rib, the first transverse groove being disconnected from the main groove; a second transverse groove, the second transverse groove being arranged on the inner shoulder rib, the second transverse groove comprising a narrow section, the width of the narrow section being smaller than the width of the first transverse groove, and the width of the remaining section of the second transverse groove being greater than or equal to the width of the first transverse groove; A third transverse groove is provided in the middle rib, and at least a portion of the third transverse groove passes through the middle rib to communicate with the main grooves located on both sides of the middle rib.

2. The tread structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second transverse groove includes a groove body and a groove opening, the second transverse groove is connected to the adjacent main groove through the groove opening, the groove opening serves as the narrow mouth section, the width dimension of the groove opening is smaller than the width dimension of the first transverse groove, and the width dimension of the groove body is greater than or equal to the width dimension of the first transverse groove.

3. The tread structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The width of the narrow mouth section is less than or equal to 5 mm.

4. The tread structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first transverse grooves are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction, and the second transverse grooves are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction, and the spacing between the first transverse grooves is greater than the spacing between the second transverse grooves.

5. The tread structure according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that: The lateral dimension of the main groove close to the outer side is smaller than the lateral dimension of the main groove close to the inner side.

6. The tread structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The width of the third transverse groove gradually decreases from the entrance to the inside.

7. The tread structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: The third transverse grooves on each of the middle ribs are arranged in different ways.

8. The tread structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main groove comprises a main groove wall which is arranged obliquely, and the inclination angle of the main groove wall is 8° to 15°.

9. The tread structure according to claim 1 or 8, characterized in that: The transverse dimension of the main groove is 5 mm to 18 mm.

10. A tire, characterized in that: The tire comprises the tread structure according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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