Non-pneumatic Tire Parametric Spoke Structure Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic tires have complex structures, high manufacturing costs, energy consumption, and safety issues due to air pressure management, while non-pneumatic tires lack sufficient supporting force and handling performance during cornering.
Innovation Solution
A non-pneumatic tire with a parametric spoke structure and a hollow type or fiber type reinforcing member, featuring a circular arrangement of spokes with a single closed-loop longitudinal cross-section to provide structural support and minimize contact area loss during cornering, combined with a cylindrical structure reinforcing material layer for improved rigidity and vibration absorption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a non-pneumatic tire uses only tensile force from web spokes to support load, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but handling performance and structural rigidity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The tire structure is segmented into multiple functional components: web spokes for load transmission, a crown for grounding surface, side walls for structural support, and reinforcing members for rigidity enhancement. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally while maintaining overall structural integrity and handling performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The tire employs composite material construction by combining elastic materials (for the main body and web spokes) with reinforcing members (such as rigid or semi-rigid materials). This composite approach provides both the flexibility needed for shock absorption and the rigidity required for handling performance, resolving the contradiction between simplified structure and reliable performance.
2Ease of manufacture
If a non-pneumatic tire uses a simple structural design without reinforcing members, then manufacturing cost decreases, but supporting force and structural rigidity are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Reinforcing members are strategically placed in specific locations where structural support is most needed, such as at the crown and side wall regions. This localized reinforcement provides maximum supporting force with minimum material usage, maintaining ease of manufacture while significantly improving structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The tire uses a sufficient number of web spokes and strategically positioned reinforcing members to provide adequate load support. While not every possible location is reinforced, the partial reinforcement at critical points provides more than enough supporting force for normal operation, balancing manufacturing simplicity with structural adequacy.
3Reliability
If a pneumatic tire is used, then handling performance is good, but air pressure management and safety issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The non-pneumatic tire structure is self-supporting through its elastic material body, web spokes, and reinforcing members. It does not require external air pressure management systems, sensors, or maintenance interventions. The structure automatically adjusts to load conditions and provides consistent handling performance without user involvement in pressure management.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates the air pressure system entirely from the tire design. By removing the pneumatic element and replacing it with a solid elastic structure supported by web spokes and reinforcing members, the tire achieves handling performance without any air pressure management requirements, resolving the contradiction between performance and operational complexity.
4Ease of manufacture
If a non-pneumatic tire uses a symmetric spoke structure, then manufacturing is simplified, but contact area is lost during cornering
Solution Approach 1:
The spoke structure incorporates asymmetric design elements, particularly in the arrangement and orientation of web spokes and reinforcing members. This asymmetry allows the tire to maintain optimal contact area with the ground during cornering maneuvers by distributing forces more effectively across the contact patch, while still maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized component production.
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 tire achieves enhanced handling performance, improved riding comfort, and reduced air resistance by maintaining structural rigidity and minimizing deformation, while eliminating concerns of flat tires due to air pressure loss.
Implementation Method 1
when a hollow type reinforcing member is applied, the vibration absorption ability during driving is excellent, thereby having the advantage of being able to improve riding comfort
Implementation Method 2
a technology of an airless tire configured to absorb shock through a honeycomb-shaped shock-absorbing part
Implementation Method 3
providing a configuration composed of a main body made of an elastic material
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed technology generally relates to a tire, and more particularly to a non-pneumatic tire that has handling performance similar to a pneumatic tire, supports the load of a vehicle and improves riding comfort by employing a parametric structure. In one aspect, a non-pneumatic tire includes a tread that comes in contact with the ground, a rim that is connected with an axle, and a spoke unit that functions as a structural support between the rim and the tread, in which the spoke unit is formed by circularly arranging spokes. The spokes have a single closed-loop longitudinal cross-section circumscribed to the rim and around the center of the tire.