Rough Terrain Tire Tread Pattern with Zigzag Grooves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tires for rough terrain, such as those used in dirt trials, experience significant changes in traction and lateral grip on hard dirt roads, making vehicle controllability difficult due to inadequate frictional force distribution and edge component alignment.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring at least three main grooves in a zigzag pattern with alternating land portions divided by inclined grooves, where the first and second land portions are inclined in opposite directions, and the blocks are positioned to overlap, ensuring balanced frictional force generation and minimizing stiffness variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a tire has a tread pattern with inclined grooves to provide traction and lateral grip on rough terrain, then traction and lateral grip are improved, but the change in grip during running becomes too great, reducing vehicle controllability
Solution Approach 1:
The tread pattern is segmented into multiple land portions (first land portion and second land portion) separated by main grooves, with each land portion further divided into blocks by inclined grooves. This segmentation allows different regions to provide different functions - some blocks provide traction while others maintain lateral grip stability, reducing the overall change in grip during running
Solution Approach 2:
The first land portion and second land portion are configured asymmetrically with respect to the tire centerline. The first land portion has blocks inclined in one direction while the second land portion has blocks inclined in the opposite direction, creating a balanced tread pattern that stabilizes grip characteristics during vehicle operation
2Device complexity
If the tread pattern uses simple grooves for basic traction, then the structure is simple, but on hard dirt roads the change in traction and lateral grip is significant, making control difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the tread pattern are given different local characteristics. The first land portion and second land portion have different block orientations and configurations, allowing each region to optimize for specific functions (traction vs. lateral grip) while collectively providing stable vehicle control on hard dirt surfaces
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a tire, for running on rough terrain, that exhibits sufficient traction and lateral grip, and also has excellent controllability, on a hard dirt road. The tire is a tire 1, for running on rough terrain, having a tread portion 2. The tread portion 2 includes at least three main grooves 3 continuously extending in a zigzag manner in a tire circumferential direction, and at least two land portions demarcated by the main grooves 3. The main grooves 3 are provided such that zigzag phases thereof coincide with each other, and the land portions include a first land portion 11 and a second land portion 12. The first land portion 11 is divided into a plurality of first blocks 31 by a plurality of first inclined grooves 21 that are inclined in a first direction relative to a tire axial direction. The second land portion 12 is divided into a plurality of second blocks 32 by a plurality of second inclined grooves 22 that are inclined in a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, relative to the tire axial direction. The respective first blocks 31 are disposed so as to overlap the respective second blocks 32 in the tire circumferential direction.