Non-pneumatic Tire Elastic Coupling Plate Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional non-pneumatic tires face challenges in reducing weight without compromising the strength of the coupling member.
Innovation Solution
A non-pneumatic tire design featuring an attachment body, a ring-shaped exterior body, and a coupling member with elastic coupling plates that have curved portions in the tire circumferential direction, where the size and transverse section area are minimized at specific inflection points, allowing for weight reduction while maintaining strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the elastic coupling plate is made thinner or smaller in cross-section to reduce weight, then the weight decreases, but the strength and load-bearing capacity of the coupling member deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic coupling plate features non-uniform thickness distribution with thicker regions at curved portions (load-bearing areas) and thinner regions at inflection portions (non-load-bearing areas). This local quality variation allows the plate to maintain strength where needed while reducing weight in less critical areas, directly resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and strength maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling plate incorporates multiple curved portions with specific radii of curvature that create inflection portions. These curved geometries optimize the distribution of mechanical stresses, allowing the plate to achieve higher strength-to-weight ratio by concentrating material where stress is highest and reducing material where stress is lowest, thus resolving the weight-strength contradiction.
2Weight of moving object
If the coupling member is made lighter by reducing material quantity, then the weight decreases, but the reliability and durability of the tire structure deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The varying thickness design ensures that material is strategically distributed to match the stress distribution pattern in the coupling plate. Thicker sections at curved portions provide enhanced reliability for load-bearing functions, while thinner sections at inflection portions reduce unnecessary weight, achieving optimal reliability-to-weight ratio.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes specific geometric parameters including the radii of curvature of curved portions and the positions of inflection portions. By carefully controlling these parameters, the coupling plate achieves maximum structural efficiency and reliability while minimizing weight, directly addressing the contradiction between lightweight design and structural reliability.
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 effectively reduces the weight of the tire by 15% while increasing the compressive force by 20% compared to conventional designs, without compromising the strength of the coupling member.
Implementation Method 1
a coupling member which displaceably couples the exterior body and the ring-shaped body, wherein the coupling member includes an elastic coupling plate
Data Source
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AI summary
In a non-pneumatic tire according to the present invention, a plurality of curved portions (21d to 21f and 22d to 22f) curved in a tire circumferential direction are formed on elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) in an extending direction in which the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) extend in a tire side view when the non-pneumatic tire 1 is viewed from a tire width direction, curvature directions of the curved portions (21d to 21f and 22d to 22f) adjacent to each other in the extending direction are opposite to each other, the size or thickness in the tire width direction and a transverse section area of the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) are the minimum at one of a plurality of inflection portions (21g, 21h, 22g, and 22h) positioned between curved portions adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22), and the size or thickness in the tire width direction and the transverse section area of the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) gradually decrease in the extending direction from opposite sides toward one inflection portion (21h and 22h).