Pneumatic Tire V-Shaped Grooves Water Drainage

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current winter tires face challenges in achieving enhanced breaking performance on snow and wet conditions, as existing tread patterns do not effectively combine rigidity and water drainage capabilities.

Innovation Solution

A pneumatic tire design featuring V-shaped crossing grooves, lateral communication grooves that only communicate with one side of adjacent V-shaped grooves, and circumferential grooves that extend in the tire circumferential direction, creating a configuration that enhances rigidity and water drainage, thereby improving breaking on snow and wet performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If lateral communication grooves communicate with both V-shaped crossing grooves of the pair, then water drainage capability is improved, but block rigidity deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewater drainage capabilityVSAvoidblock rigidity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The lateral communication groove is segmented in its communication function: it communicates with only one V-shaped crossing groove (the projecting side one) rather than both, thereby segmenting the water drainage paths while preserving block rigidity. This selective communication creates independent drainage zones that maintain structural integrity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the tread pattern are given different communication qualities: the projecting side V-shaped groove receives communication from the lateral communication groove, while the other V-shaped groove remains isolated. This local differentiation optimizes both rigidity in critical areas and water drainage in others.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3047983B1Pneumatic tire
Publication Date: 2019.12.25 THE YOKOHAMA RUBBER CO LTD
  • EP3047983B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3047983B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3047983B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The pneumatic tire (1) includes lateral communication grooves (3, 3a, 3b), and circumferential grooves (4). In a tread portion shoulder region, the lateral communication groove (3a) is disposed between a pair of V-shaped crossing grooves (2a, 2b) adjacent in a tire circumferential direction and extends from a tread edge portion toward a tire equatorial plane (CL). In a tread portion center region, the lateral communication groove (3a) communicates with the V-shaped crossing groove (2b) located to a projecting side of the V-shape of the pair of V-shaped crossing grooves (2a, 2b) and does not communicate with the other V-shaped crossing groove (2a) of the pair. The circumferential grooves (4) are disposed in the tread portion shoulder region and extend in the tire circumferential direction, communicating with the V-shaped crossing grooves (2) and the lateral communication grooves (3).