Tire

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tire comprising: a tread section that comes into contact with a road surface while a vehicle travels; one or more grooves formed along the tread section in the circumferential direction and at intervals in the width direction of the tread section; and drainage-facilitating sections formed in the grooves to facilitate water drainage. The structure of specific grooves and drainage-facilitating sections can enhance traction when it rains and prevent slippage caused by water. Furthermore, an image of a company can be rendered on the tire in color, and thus a promotional effect can be achieved.

Description

tire

[0001] The present invention relates to a tire, and more particularly, to a functional colored tire that can promote a promotional effect by applying hydrophobic ink within a tire groove to enable water to be quickly discharged from the groove, and additionally applying a pigment included in the ink to express the image of a tire company in color through a colored groove.

[0002]

[0003] Vehicles operated by users are composed of many parts, and among them, tires have a significant impact on the operation of the vehicle and are one of the key parts for ensuring user safety.

[0004] In particular, the number of automobiles driven is increasing due to increased movement of logistics, increased workload of individuals, and increased family life caused by industrial development.

[0005] Meanwhile, for special purpose vehicles such as racing vehicles, racing tires are used to maximize the vehicle's driving performance.

[0006] Racing tires are a special type of tire designed for high-performance automobile racing, designed to provide optimal performance under high-speed and extreme driving conditions. These tires have different characteristics and requirements than regular road tires, as outlined below.

[0007] High Grip: Racing tires must provide excellent grip during high-speed driving and high acceleration / deceleration conditions. They also facilitate safe vehicle handling during high-speed cornering and various track structures.

[0008] Drainage: When it rains on a racing track, an effective drainage design is required to prevent water from reducing the adhesion between the tires and the track.

[0009] Durability: Racing involves high-intensity, slippery conditions and extreme conditions, so durability is crucial. If tires don't last long, they can be replaced mid-race, costing time and money.

[0010] Heat Dissipation: Racing tires must effectively dissipate heat generated by high-speed driving to maintain their performance. They must be designed to minimize performance degradation in high-temperature conditions.

[0011] Lightweight: Racing tires must minimize the weight of the vehicle and keep it light to improve acceleration, deceleration, and cornering performance.

[0012] Specialized Design: Racing tires must have different patterns and structures to suit different types of racing tracks and conditions.

[0013] These racing tires require the following:

[0014] High-Performance Rubber and Materials: Racing tires use special high-performance rubber and materials to maximize grip, durability, and heat dissipation.

[0015] Sophisticated Patterns and Profiles: Tire profiles and patterns must be optimized to suit different racing tracks and conditions.

[0016] High temperature resistance and heat dissipation technology: Special heat dissipation technology and heat-resistant materials are used to withstand rapid thermal changes and durability.

[0017] Sophisticated Structure and Reinforced Materials: Reinforced tire walls and core structures are used to enhance durability and performance.

[0018] Advanced Manufacturing Technology: Racing tires are produced using sophisticated manufacturing techniques and advanced materials.

[0019] In summary, racing tires are developed with special designs and materials to provide optimal performance in extreme environments that require high performance, and emphasize features and requirements such as grip, durability, and heat dissipation.

[0020] Conventional racing tires are manufactured with little or no tread pattern due to their special purpose and driving conditions.

[0021] If your racing tires have no tread pattern or are very shallow, there are several reasons why:

[0022] Maximum contact patch: Racing tires often minimize or eliminate tread blocks to maximize contact patch. This maximizes the tire surface's contact with the road, optimizing grip and enabling high-speed driving and precise handling.

[0023] Dry conditions: Racing tracks are generally kept dry and clean, so drainage patterns that effectively drain water may not be necessary.

[0024] High Temperature and High Speed ​​Driving: Racing tires are typically driven in high temperatures and at high speeds.

[0025] This increases frictional heat between the tire and the road, and may prevent the tread pattern from doing its primary job of reducing slip.

[0026] However, these conventional racing tires have disadvantages such as reduced grip when it rains if the tread pattern of the racing tire is absent or very shallow, water-induced slipping may occur, and the characteristics of racing tires are not suitable for use on general roads.

[0027]

[0028] <Prior Art Literature>

[0029] Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-2605815

[0030] Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1889339

[0031] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-290578

[0032]

[0033] The purpose of the present invention to solve the above problems is to provide a functional colored tire that can improve grip in the event of rain, prevent slipping due to water by allowing water to be quickly discharged from the groove through a specific structure of the ground contact portion and hydrophobic ink applied within the tire groove, and additionally, can express the image of the tire company in color through the colored line groove by applying a pigment included in the ink, thereby promoting a promotional effect.

[0034] The technical problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the description below.

[0035]

[0036] The present invention for achieving the above purpose is characterized by comprising: a tread portion that comes into contact with the road surface when the vehicle is driven; one or more grooves formed along the circumference of the tread portion and spaced apart in the width direction of the tread portion; and a discharge promoting portion formed in the groove to promote discharge of water.

[0037] In the present invention, the discharge promoting portion may be arranged in a continuous band shape along the circumferential direction of the groove.

[0038] In the present invention, the discharge promoting portion is locally arranged within the groove, so that there may be a height difference in the portion where the discharge promoting portion is formed along the longitudinal direction of the groove.

[0039] In the present invention, the groove may have a depth of 9 mm to 11 mm.

[0040] In the present invention, the discharge promoting portion can be formed at a height corresponding to 10 to 30% of the groove depth.

[0041] In the present invention, the discharge promoting portion may be formed by applying it at the same height as the wear limit line formed in the groove or higher than the wear limit line.

[0042] In the present invention, the grooves are formed in a plurality, and the number of grooves formed on the inside with respect to the widthwise center line of the tread portion as the center may be greater than the number of grooves formed on the outside.

[0043] In the present invention, the plurality of grooves may be formed asymmetrically around the widthwise center line of the tread portion.

[0044] In the present invention, the plurality of grooves may be formed such that the width of the grooves formed on the inside of the tire centered on the width-direction center line of the tread portion is smaller than the width of the grooves formed on the outside of the tire.

[0045] In the present invention, the plurality of grooves may be formed with different colors on the inside and outside centered on the width-wise center line of the tread portion.

[0046] In the present invention, the discharge promoting part includes a resin, and the resin may be made of a hydrophobic material that has no affinity for water.

[0047] In the present invention, the discharge promoting part includes a resin, and the resin may include a pigment indicating color.

[0048]

[0049] According to the present invention according to the above configuration, the following effects are provided.

[0050] First, the present invention has the effect of providing a functional tire having grooves of a specific arrangement relationship, some of which can contribute to water drainage, i.e., wet performance, and others can contribute to dry and handling performance.

[0051] Second, the present invention has the effect of improving water drainage characteristics by forming grooves of a certain depth and applying hydrophobic ink within the tire grooves.

[0052] Third, the present invention can express a company's image in color by applying ink to the grooves of a racing tire, thereby having the effect of promoting the company.

[0053] Fourth, the present invention has the effect of enabling the wear limit line to be confirmed using the ink application portion as a reference.

[0054] Fifth, the present invention has the effect of reducing noise by creating a difference in height between an ink-applied section and a non-ink-applied section.

[0055] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described above, and should be understood to include all effects that can be inferred from the detailed description of the present invention or the composition of the invention described in the claims.

[0056]

[0057] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a tire according to the present invention, which is equipped with a draining means.

[0058] Figure 2 is a drawing showing a tire equipped with a discharge promoting unit according to the present invention.

[0059] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a tire according to the present invention.

[0060] Figure 4 is a photograph of a prototype showing a tire according to the present invention.

[0061]

[0062] A most preferred embodiment according to the present invention is characterized by including: a tread portion that comes into contact with a road surface when a vehicle is driven; one or more grooves formed along a circumferential direction of the tread portion and spaced apart in a width direction of the tread portion; and a discharge promoting portion formed in the groove to promote discharge of water.

[0063]

[0064] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms and is therefore not limited to the embodiments described herein. In the drawings, irrelevant parts have been omitted for clarity of description, and similar parts have been designated with similar reference numerals throughout the specification.

[0065] Throughout the specification, when a part is said to be "connected (connected, contacted, or coupled)" to another part, this includes not only cases where it is "directly connected," but also cases where it is "indirectly connected" with another part in between. Furthermore, when a part is said to "include" a component, this does not exclude other components, but rather implies that it may include other components, unless otherwise specifically stated.

[0066] The terminology used herein is merely used to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, it should be understood that the terms "comprises" or "has" indicate the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but do not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0067] Additionally, terms such as “... part,” “... unit,” and “... module” described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0068] Additionally, when a step is said to be located "before" or "after" another step in this specification, this includes not only cases where the step is in a direct time-series relationship with the other step, but also cases where the two steps are in an indirect time-series relationship where the time-series order may be changed, such as a mixing step after each step.

[0069]

[0070] Hereinafter, a tire according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0071] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a tire according to the present invention, which is equipped with a draining means, FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a tire according to the present invention, which is equipped with a discharge promoting part, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a tire according to the present invention.

[0072] Specifically, a tire according to the present invention includes, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a tread portion (100) including an area in contact with a road surface when a vehicle is driven; and one or more grooves (200) provided in the tread portion (100), formed in a circumferential direction of the tread portion, and formed at intervals in a width direction of the tread portion. In addition, the present invention may further include a discharge promoting portion (300) formed in the groove (200) to promote discharge of water.

[0073] The above tread portion (100) is a component that includes an area that comes into contact with the road surface when the vehicle is driven, like a conventional tire.

[0074] The present invention may employ a tread portion of a known tire, but considering that the present invention is employed in a racing tire, it may be configured with a tread portion (100) designed to have a tread pattern and block placement that can secure grip while being linked to the configuration of a groove (200) to be described in detail below.

[0075] Next, the groove (200) is a component provided in the tread portion (100), and is a component configured to improve ground contact when it rains and prevent slipping due to water.

[0076] Specifically, the groove (200) has a predetermined depth and width in the circumferential direction of the tread portion (100) and is composed of a plurality of grooves formed at intervals in the width direction of the tread portion (100).

[0077] It is preferable that the groove (200) above be formed to a depth of 9 mm to 11 mm, preferably 10 mm. In addition, the width (depth) of the groove (200) may be formed to a width of 8 mm to 10 mm.

[0078] The depth and width (width) of the groove (200) above affect the grip and draining ability. If the groove is deep, water can be quickly discharged, but the grip may become weak, and if it is too shallow, there is a problem of a reduced draining effect. Accordingly, the present invention has confirmed through experiments that the above-mentioned range can satisfy the grip force and draining effect.

[0079] In addition, the groove (200) is formed of a plurality of grooves, and as shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the number of grooves formed on the inside (In) with respect to the widthwise center line of the tread (100) (center line of the tire) as the center may be greater than the number of grooves formed on the outside (Out).

[0080] In the drawing, the grooves (200) are shown as three, but there may be more than that.

[0081] In addition, the plurality of grooves (200) are formed asymmetrically around the width-direction center line of the tread portion (100).

[0082] As described above, a plurality of grooves (200) are formed asymmetrically around the width-direction center line of the tread portion (100), and the number of grooves formed on the inside (2 in the drawing) is greater than the number of grooves formed on the outside (1 in the drawing), so that the grooves (200) on the inside provide a water drainage (wet performance) function, and the grooves on the outside provide dry and handling performance.

[0083] Furthermore, the width of each groove can also be formed in various ways.

[0084] That is, the width of the groove formed on the outside (Out) and the width of the groove formed on the inside (In) can both be formed to be different, thereby diversifying the drainage performance of the tire and maintaining ground contact and handling performance.

[0085] As a preferred embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the width of the groove formed at the outermost (Out) is the smallest, and the width of the groove formed at the innermost (In) is the largest, that is, the width of the inner groove is formed relatively larger than the width of the outer groove based on the center line in the width direction of the tread part.

[0086] In addition, by forming a plurality of grooves so that the groove widths sequentially increase as they go inward, the inner grooves provide maximum water drainage (wet performance), and the outer grooves, which receive the most force and friction when steering the vehicle, maximize dry and handling performance.

[0087] Meanwhile, the tire of the present invention may further include a discharge promoting portion (300) formed in the groove (200) to promote discharge of water.

[0088] The discharge facilitation part (300) is filled to a certain extent in the depth of the groove (200), and not only facilitates the discharge of water more smoothly, but can also be formed of a color layer of a color desired by the user.

[0089] That is, the discharge promoting unit (300) includes a resin, and the resin may be made of a hydrophobic material that has no affinity for water, thereby having the effect of allowing water introduced into the groove to be discharged to the outside more quickly.

[0090] Meanwhile, the discharge promoting unit (300) includes a resin, and the resin includes a pigment indicating color, thereby being able to function as a color layer of a specific color.

[0091] These discharge facilitating members may be arranged in a continuous band shape along the circumference of the groove, as illustrated in FIG. 2a, so that the entire groove of the tire is coated with a specific color.

[0092] Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 2b, 2c, and 2d, the exhaust promoting portion may be locally arranged within the groove so that a height difference exists in the portion where the exhaust promoting portion is formed along the longitudinal direction of the groove, thereby having the effect of reducing noise generated from the tire by the height difference of the exhaust promoting portion.

[0093] That is, the discharge promoting portion (300) may be applied to 50% of the length of one groove along the circumferential direction of the tire, and in this case, it may be formed as a single continuous band in the shape of a semicircle (semicircular band), or it may be applied in the form of a divided dotted line in some section of the groove length to fill 50% of the groove length along the circumferential direction of the tire.

[0094] In addition, the discharge promoting portion (300) may be applied to a portion corresponding to 10 to 40% of the length of one groove along the circumferential direction of the tire. Similarly to the above description, it may be applied continuously in a single continuous fan-shaped circular shape corresponding to 10 to 40%, or it may be applied in the form of a divided dotted line to fill 10 to 40% of the groove length along the circumferential direction of the tire.

[0095] In this case, when the tire rotates while the vehicle is being driven, the applied color layer appears to be continuously filled along the entire groove length, which provides a sufficient visual effect, and at the same time, it has the effect of saving the amount of color ink applied to the color layer, and since the color ink can be applied while appropriately varying the height difference between the section where the color ink is applied and the section where it is not (i.e., the height difference between the section where the color ink is applied and the original depth of the groove) as needed, it can provide the effect of reducing noise generated between the tire and the road surface.

[0096] This discharge promotion part (300) can be formed at a height corresponding to 10 to 30% of the depth of the groove (200), as shown in FIGS. 3a to 3c, and specifically, the amount of the color ink application layer applied as the discharge promotion part (300) is preferably 1 to 5 mm, and preferably 2 mm.

[0097] The composition of color ink includes resin, pigment, and additives. The resin may include an acrylic polymer or acrylic copolymer. This resin functions as a major component that provides the ink with flexibility and adhesion to the substrate.

[0098] Acrylic polymers generally exhibit hydrophobic properties, which can contribute to water resistance and ink smear prevention after printing. Acrylic copolymers are typically composed of butyl acrylate (BA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA), and the content can be adjusted to provide printability and flexibility.

[0099] When such a resin is coated on the inside of the tire groove, it can contribute to improving drainage performance on wet roads by suppressing the formation of a water film and inducing water to flow off through surface energy control of the resin.

[0100] Pigments may include, for example, iron oxide (Fe₂O₃), quinacridone, and titanium dioxide (TiO₂), and color can be achieved by adding dyes as needed. Some pigments exhibit transparent properties, allowing color expression while maintaining the effect of allowing the underlying substrate to be seen through.

[0101] Additives may be used to control the viscosity, drying speed, durability, flexibility, etc. of the ink, and examples thereof may include organic solvents, plasticizers, and weathering modifiers.

[0102] The ink composition of this example is composed of the following components and composition ratios.

[0103] Acrylic-based resin: 35-45 wt% (e.g., butyl acrylate / methyl methacrylate copolymer, or styrene-acrylic resin), Pigment: 10-25 wt% (e.g., iron oxide, titanium dioxide, carbon black, or organic pigment quinacridone, Organic solvent: 10-25 wt% (e.g., methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), ethyl acetate, or propylene glycol monoethyl ether), Plasticizer and additives: 5-20 wt% (e.g., dibutyl phthalate (DBP), benzotriazole-based UV stabilizer, drying accelerator, etc.)

[0104] The manufacturing method for the ink of this embodiment involves dissolving an acrylic resin in a solvent and pre-mixing it for at least 30 minutes using a high-speed stirrer at 60-80°C. After adding the pigment and dispersant, a primary dispersion process is performed using a three-roll mill or bead mill. The remaining additives are sequentially added, and the viscosity and dispersion state are checked while stirring for at least one hour. The completed ink composition is filtered to remove impurities and is then ready for use. This method is merely an example and can be applied to inks manufactured using other methods.

[0105] The ink application method and performance test of this embodiment involves uniformly applying the completed ink to the inner surface of the tire grooves, followed by curing through room temperature drying or hot air drying (60 degrees, 5 minutes). The applied tires were subjected to driving tests on wet road conditions.

[0106] Improved performance in suppressing hydrophobic film formation and promoting water discharge was confirmed. The coating layer exhibited excellent adhesion and flex resistance to tire rubber, and was confirmed to be maintained for a long period of time without any change in appearance.

[0107] Additionally, the discharge facilitating portion (300) may be formed by applying it at the same height as the wear limit line (e.g., 1.6 mm) formed in the groove or higher than the wear limit line.

[0108] That is, when the exhaust promotion part (300) is formed at the same height as the wear limit line, when gradual wear of the tread occurs as the tire is driven, instead of having a hard time recognizing the wear limit line marked with the same rubber color in the groove (200), the color of the exhaust promotion part (300) marked with colored ink is easily visible, so that the wear condition of the tire and the time for replacement can be easily recognized, and thus, there is an advantage in that safety accidents caused by the use of tires with reduced performance can be prevented by facilitating tire replacement accordingly.

[0109] In addition, the color ink of the discharge promotion unit (300) may be applied in one color or multiple different colors. In the case of multiple colors, the color of the inner groove centered on the widthwise center line of the tread unit (100) may be the same, and the color of the outer groove may be different from that of the inner groove.

[0110] Here, the depth and width of the grooves where the same color is applied can be the same.

[0111] According to the tire according to the present invention as described above, there is an advantage in that a functional tire can be provided that can contribute to water drainage performance and dry and handling performance by having grooves of a specific arrangement relationship.

[0112] In addition, the present invention has the advantage of improving water drainage characteristics by forming grooves of a certain depth, and expressing a company's image in color by applying ink to the grooves of a racing tire, thereby promoting the company.

[0113] In addition, the present invention has the advantage of being able to confirm the wear limit line using the ink application area as a reference, and to reduce noise by using the height difference between the ink application area and the non-ink application area.

[0114] Although the description of the present invention has been illustrated with limited drawings, it is for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single component may be implemented in a distributed manner, and likewise, components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form. Furthermore, the described techniques may be performed in a different order than the described method.

[0115] The embodiments described in this specification and the accompanying drawings merely illustrate some of the technical concepts encompassed by the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims below, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention.

[0116]

[0117] <Explanation of symbols>

[0118] 100: Tread

[0119] 200: Groove

[0120] 300: Emission promotion unit

Claims

1. The tread area that comes into contact with the road surface when the vehicle is driven; One or more grooves formed along the circumference of the tread portion and spaced apart in the width direction of the tread portion; and A tire characterized by including a discharge promoting portion formed in the groove to promote discharge of water.

2. In paragraph 1, A tire characterized in that the above discharge promoting portion is arranged in a continuous band shape along the circumferential direction of the groove.

3. In paragraph 1, A tire characterized in that the discharge promoting portion is locally arranged within the groove, and there is a height difference in the portion where the discharge promoting portion is formed along the longitudinal direction of the groove.

4. In paragraph 1, A tire characterized in that the groove has a depth of 9 mm to 11 mm.

5. In paragraph 1, A tire characterized in that the discharge promoting portion is formed at a height corresponding to 10 to 30% of the groove depth.

6. In paragraph 1, A tire characterized in that the discharge promoting portion is formed by being applied at a height equal to or higher than the wear limit line formed in the groove.

7. In paragraph 1, The above grooves are formed in multiples, A tire characterized in that the number of grooves formed on the inside of the widthwise center line of the tread portion is greater than the number of grooves formed on the outside.

8. In paragraph 7, A tire characterized in that the plurality of grooves are formed asymmetrically around the widthwise center line of the tread portion.

9. In paragraph 7, A tire characterized in that the width of the grooves formed on the inside of the tire with the plurality of grooves as the center line in the width direction of the tread portion as the center is smaller than the width of the grooves formed on the outside of the tire.

10. In paragraph 7, A tire characterized in that the plurality of grooves are formed with different colors on the inside and outside centered on the width-wise center line of the tread portion.

11. In paragraph 1, A tire characterized in that the above discharge promoting part includes a resin, and the resin is a hydrophobic material that has no affinity for water.

12. In paragraph 1, A tire characterized in that the above discharge promoting part includes a resin, and the resin includes a pigment indicating color.

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