Quadrangular Tire Stud with Lozenge Cermet Tip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-skid studs for winter tires face issues with grip, durability, and ease of installation, particularly when made of ceramic or carbide materials, leading to reduced traction and frequent detachment due to excessive inclination and weight, which affects road wear and automatic installation feasibility.
Innovation Solution
The use of a lozenge-shaped hard cermet piece with a quadrangular bottom flange, oriented diagonally in the tire tread, enhances grip and reduces inclination, allowing for easier automatic installation without increasing the stud's weight, and providing improved wear resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a spike is made of hard metal to improve durability and impact resistance, then strength is improved, but weight increases which causes intensive road wear and easy tire tread damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining a hard metal tip (providing impact resistance and durability) with a lighter metal body (reducing overall weight). This composite structure allows the spike to maintain strength where needed while minimizing weight to prevent excessive road wear and tire damage.
2Weight of moving object
If a ceramic spike is used to reduce weight, then weight is reduced, but durability is insufficient and the spike becomes detached easily
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines ceramic material for the tip (providing hardness and wear resistance) with a metal body (providing toughness and durability). This composite approach allows the spike to be lightweight while maintaining sufficient durability and resistance to detachment during use.
3Ease of manufacture
If a round cross-section spike is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but grip is reduced and the spike inclines excessively during driving
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric cross-sectional shapes (such as triangular, rectangular, or pentagonal) instead of round sections. These asymmetric shapes provide better grip stability and reduce excessive inclination during driving by distributing forces more effectively across the contact surface, while still remaining manufacturable through conventional processes.
4Reliability
If a quadratic hard cermet piece is used to improve fixing, then reliability is improved, but automatic installation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses asymmetric cross-sectional shapes that, while providing reliable fixing stability, are designed with features that facilitate automatic installation. The asymmetric geometry allows for self-alignment and proper orientation during automated studding processes, resolving the conflict between fixing reliability and automation compatibility.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are several embodiments of an anti-skid stud for insertion into the rubber tread of an air-filled vehicle tire. The stud can include a body that has a bottom flange, a shank element that extends outwardly from the bottom flange, and a hard cermet piece made from a material different than the body. The hard cermet piece is positioned at least partially within the body. The bottom flange can have a substantially quadrangular shape that defines diagonal dimensions. The hard cermet piece can be substantially lozenge-shaped in cross-section and define mutually different diagonal dimensions that extend in a direction perpendicular to a total length of the stud.