Urban Bus Tire Sidewall Wear Indicator With Textured Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Visual inspection of wear indicators on urban bus tires is challenging due to insufficient contrast with the surrounding sidewall, leading to subjective assessments of remaining sidewall thickness, which can result in potential tire degradation and safety risks.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a wear indicator with a recessed design and a non-smooth inner wall featuring raised or recessed elements, such as striations or textured surfaces, to provide visual contrast and allow accurate determination of sidewall thickness through geometric discretization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a wear indicator is formed as a simple recessed cavity in the sidewall, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the visibility and measurement precision of the wear indicator is insufficient due to lack of contrast with the surrounding sidewall
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a non-smooth inner wall with striations or textured relief specifically within the wear indicator cavity, while leaving the outer sidewall surface relatively smooth. This localized texturing provides visual contrast and enables measurement without requiring complex manufacturing processes for the entire sidewall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a simple two-dimensional recessed cavity to a three-dimensional structure with a non-smooth inner wall featuring striations or textured relief. This adds dimensional complexity to the wear indicator surface, creating visual contrast and measurement references that improve visibility and measurement precision.
2Device complexity
If visual inspection of the sidewall is performed to assess wear indicator presence, then no additional sensors or complex equipment are needed, but the assessment becomes subjective and unreliable due to insufficient contrast between the wear indicator and surrounding sidewall
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses visual contrast created by the non-smooth inner wall with striations or textured relief to effectively create a 'visual color change' or appearance difference between the wear indicator and the surrounding smooth sidewall. This allows inspectors to easily distinguish the wear indicator through visual inspection without subjective assessment, maintaining equipment simplicity while improving reliability.
3Strength
If the outer sidewall layer is made thick to protect the carcass reinforcement from friction against curbs, then the tire durability and safety are improved, but the ability to monitor remaining thickness through visual inspection becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-forming a recessed wear indicator cavity with a non-smooth inner wall surface during tire manufacturing. This cavity serves as a built-in monitoring reference that allows inspectors to visually assess remaining sidewall thickness at various wear stages, making thickness detection feasible even in thick sidewalls that protect the carcass reinforcement.
Data Source
Figure 1~2B
Figure 3
Figure 4A~4D
AI summary
The present invention relates to a tyre (1) for a heavy-duty vehicle for urban use and aims to improve the visibility of a sidewall wear indicator (6), and therefore the reliability of the measurement of the residual thickness of the outer sidewall layer (2). According to the invention, with at least one sidewall (2) comprising, on an outer sidewall face (21) in contact with the atmospheric air, at least one wear indicator (6) that is recessed with respect to the outer sidewall face (21), every wear indicator (6) has an open section (61) on the outer sidewall face (21) containing an inscribed circle (7), the diameter (D) of which decreases continuously as the sidewall (2) becomes worn, and every wear indicator (6) has a non-smooth inner wall (62) comprising a distribution of elements (63) that are raised or recessed with respect to the inner wall (62), and/or a texture (64) that is raised with respect to the inner wall (62), such that the inner wall (62) contrasts visibly with the outer sidewall face (21).