Flexible Gate Apparatus for Tire Tread Noise Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tires with tread patterns designed for wet conditions generate pattern noise during dry operations due to air flowing through groove features, which can be uncomfortable for vehicle occupants and compromise driving experience.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a flexible gate apparatus with multiple adjacent elements that extend from the groove base, providing rigidity against air pressure but deflecting under water pressure, to mitigate pattern noise while maintaining effective water evacuation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If circumferential grooves are added to direct water flow, then wet performance is improved, but pattern noise is generated during dry operation
Solution Approach 1:
The gate apparatus is designed to dynamically change its state based on operating conditions: it remains closed during dry operation to block air flow and reduce pattern noise, and opens during wet operation to allow water to pass through and improve wet performance. This dynamic behavior directly resolves the contradiction between wet performance and pattern noise generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The gate apparatus utilizes parameter changes in material properties, specifically the difference in compressibility between air and water. The gate elements are designed with rigidity that allows them to deflect under water pressure but remain substantially rigid under air pressure, enabling automatic state change based on the operating condition without additional control systems.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the gate apparatus is made rigid to block air flow, then pattern noise is reduced, but water evacuation is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The gate apparatus exploits the parameter change in pressure magnitude between air flow and water flow. The structural parameters of the gate elements (thickness, material properties, geometry) are specifically designed so that the rigidity is sufficient to resist typical air pressures during dry operation, but the same structure becomes flexible enough to deflect under the higher pressures generated by water flow, enabling both functions with a single structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The gate apparatus acts as an intermediary element between the groove and the外部环境, selectively mediating the passage of different fluids. Its intermediate rigidity property allows it to serve as a barrier for air while remaining permeable to water, resolving the contradiction between blocking air flow and allowing water evacuation.
3Reliability
If the gate apparatus is made flexible to allow water flow, then wet performance is improved, but air flow is not blocked effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The gate apparatus utilizes the parameter change in pressure magnitude between air and water flow. The structural parameters are designed so that the gate elements maintain substantial rigidity under air pressure to block air flow effectively, but become flexible under water pressure to allow water to pass through, thereby improving wet performance without compromising air flow blocking capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The flexible gate apparatus reduces pattern noise during dry conditions while enhancing wet performance by allowing water to flow through without significant disruption, thus improving traction and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one flexible gate apparatus comprises a rigidity such that the at least one flexible gate apparatus does not substantially deflect at the application of an air pressure during operation; and wherein the at least one flexible gate apparatus comprises a rigidity such that the at least one flexible gate apparatus deflects at the application of a water pressure during operation
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of a tire tread having one or more flexible gate apparatuses are disclosed. In one embodiment, a tire having a tread is provided, the tire comprising: a groove comprising a groove base and at least one groove sidewall; at least one flexible gate apparatus comprising a plurality of adjacent flexible gate elements oriented in a single row across at least a portion of the groove; wherein the plurality of flexible gate elements extend from the groove base; wherein the at least one flexible gate apparatus comprises a rigidity such that the at least one flexible gate apparatus does not substantially deflect at the application of an air pressure during operation; and wherein the at least one flexible gate apparatus comprises a rigidity such that the at least one flexible gate apparatus deflects at the application of a water pressure during operation.