Non-pneumatic Tire Backbone and Strut Load Distribution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current non-pneumatic tire designs are unsuitable for carrying loads over 450 lbs. due to spring fatigue and temperature issues, limiting their use to low speeds and making them unsafe for high-speed vehicles due to small side stability and rapid rubber degradation.
Innovation Solution
A non-pneumatic tire design featuring a tire body with radially extending springs embedded in the tire body, a circumferentially extending backbone, and connector components such as struts or sinuous ring connectors to distribute load and maintain stability at high speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If non-pneumatic tire designs use spring elements to support load, then load-bearing capability is improved, but spring fatigue and breaking occur at loads over 450 lbs due to large deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The tire structure is divided into multiple functional components: crown portion, sidewalls, shoulder portions, beads, and an internal support structure with backbone and struts. This segmentation allows each component to handle specific portions of the load, distributing stress and preventing any single element from experiencing excessive deformation that would lead to fatigue and failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a circumferential backbone structure that adds a new dimensional framework to the traditional spring-based support system. The backbone, combined with struts connecting to individual springs, creates a three-dimensional load distribution network that reduces the deformation burden on individual spring elements while maintaining load-bearing capability.
2Force
If non-pneumatic tire designs use spring elements for load support, then load-bearing is improved, but temperature significantly exceeds acceptable limits at larger loads due to large spring deformations
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the load support function across multiple components (backbone, struts, and distributed springs), the deformation per component is reduced. This segmentation directly lowers the energy dissipation and heat generation in each element, preventing temperature from exceeding acceptable limits during heavy loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The internal support structure provides localized reinforcement at critical stress points through the backbone and strut connections. This local quality enhancement reduces overall deformation magnitude, thereby reducing the mechanical energy converted to heat and keeping temperatures within acceptable ranges during heavy loads.
3Force
If non-pneumatic tire designs use high profile with large spring deformations, then load support is improved, but side stability characteristic becomes small making safe operation at high speeds impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The circumferential backbone structure adds a rigid dimensional framework that maintains tire shape and side stability during high-speed operation. This backbone prevents excessive sidewall deformation and maintains geometric integrity, providing the side stability necessary for safe high-speed operation while still allowing the spring elements to function for load support.
Solution Approach 2:
The tire combines flexible elastomer materials with a rigid internal support structure comprising backbone and struts. This composite construction allows the flexible portions to accommodate load variations while the rigid backbone maintains structural integrity and side stability at high speeds, resolving the contradiction between load support flexibility and high-speed stability.
4Force
If non-pneumatic tire designs use large spring deformations to support load, then load-bearing is improved, but rubber material ages very quickly becoming unsuitable for further use
Solution Approach 1:
Segmenting the load support across multiple components reduces the deformation magnitude experienced by each component, particularly the rubber spring elements. This reduced deformation per cycle significantly decreases fatigue accumulation and material degradation, extending the tire's service life while maintaining load-bearing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The internal support structure provides localized reinforcement that reduces overall deformation demands on the rubber material. By concentrating support functions in the backbone and strut framework, the rubber spring elements experience smaller deformations, reducing oxidative degradation and extending the operational lifespan of the tire.
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 design enables the tire to support heavier loads and maintain stability at high speeds, preventing spring fatigue and rubber degradation, thus ensuring safe operation in high-speed vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of radially extending springs (126) that are each at least partially embedded in the tire body (104)
Implementation Method 2
the temperature of the vehicle tires can significantly exceed the acceptable temperature limit of 175° F. to 195° F. due to large spring deformations
Data Source
AI summary
A non-pneumatic tire for a vehicle is provided that has a body of elastic material and a circumferentially-extending crown portion that has a running surface and circumferentially-extending sidewalls joined to the crown portion. A number of radially-extending springs are at least partially embedded within the tire body. An internal support structure includes a circumferentially extending backbone and at least one connector component that connects the backbone to each of the springs.