Asymmetrical Pneumatic Tire Tread Groove Area Ratios
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic tires that reduce rolling resistance often compromise steering stability due to narrowed ground contact width, leading to decreased cornering force and potential steering instability.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic tire with an asymmetrical tread pattern and specific groove area ratios, where the total width to outer diameter ratio is ≤0.3, and groove area ratios in different regions of the tread portion are optimized to maintain steering stability while reducing rolling resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the total width of the pneumatic tire is narrowed to reduce air resistance, then rolling resistance is reduced, but the ground contact width is narrowed which decreases cornering force and steering stability
Solution Approach 1:
The tread pattern is designed with different groove area ratios in different regions: the tire inside region (vehicle side) has a higher groove area ratio than the tire outside region (opposite side). This local differentiation allows the inside region to provide drainage and flexibility while the outside region maintains higher rigidity for cornering force, resolving the contradiction between reduced width and steering stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tread pattern employs an asymmetrical design where the groove area ratio varies between the left and right sides of the tire relative to the equatorial line. Specifically, the tire inside region has a groove area ratio GRi and the tire outside region has a groove area ratio GRo, with GRi > GRo. This asymmetrical configuration optimizes both rolling resistance and steering stability by distributing tread properties differently across the tire width.
2Reliability
If the ground contact length is lengthened to improve drainage, then WET performance is improved, but the ground contact width is narrowed which may decrease cornering force
Solution Approach 1:
The tread pattern creates local quality differences by setting higher groove area ratios in the tire inside region compared to the outside region. This allows the inside region to excel at drainage while the outside region maintains sufficient contact area for cornering force, resolving the contradiction between drainage and cornering performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of uniformly increasing ground contact length, the invention optimizes the groove area ratio distribution across the width dimension of the tire. By controlling the asymmetrical distribution of grooves in different width regions (inside vs. outside), the patent achieves both drainage and cornering force optimization through dimensional redistribution rather than simple length extension.
Data Source
AI summary
The present technology pertains to a pneumatic tire having an asymmetrical pattern, which is formed by grooves, formed on a tread portion. A ratio SW/OD between the total width SW and the outer diameter OD of the pneumatic tire satisfies SW/OD≦0.3. A groove area ratio in a ground contact region G in the tread portion is GR, and a range from a tire equator line CL to the vehicle side in the ground contact region is a tire inside region Ai and the groove area ratio in the tire inside region Ai is GRi, and a range from the tire equator line CL to the opposite side of the vehicle side in the ground contact region is a tire outside region Ao and the groove area ratio in the tire outside region Ao is GRo, the ground contact region satisfies 10%≦GR≦25%, GRo.