Segmented Tire Sound Absorber for Sealant Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
The flow behavior of high-viscosity sealants in pneumatic vehicle tires is adversely affected by the presence of sound absorbers, leading to delayed or unreliable sealing in the event of punctures, especially when foreign bodies exit, causing air ducts and compromising the sealing effect.
Innovation Solution
The sound absorber is composed of numerous individual geometric bodies with diameters ranging from 1 mm to 50 mm, arranged in a ring on the inner tire surface, allowing for improved flow behavior of the sealant by maintaining ideal free surface areas between them, enhancing both sound absorption and sealing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a one-piece foam ring sound absorber is applied to the entire sealant surface, then sound absorption is improved, but sealant flow behavior deteriorates and sealing reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The sound absorber is divided into multiple individual foam pieces instead of a single continuous ring. These discrete pieces are distributed across the sealant surface, allowing sound absorption functionality while leaving gaps that preserve sealant flow paths for effective puncture sealing.
2Loss of substance
If the sealant layer thickness is reduced to save costs and weight, then manufacturing costs and tire weight decrease, but sealing reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the sound absorber into discrete pieces, the sealant can be applied in a thinner layer while still maintaining sufficient flow capability. The gaps between foam pieces allow the sealant to flow freely to puncture sites even at reduced thickness, thereby maintaining sealing reliability while reducing material consumption.
3Strength
If high-viscosity sealant is used to improve adhesion, then bonding strength increases, but flow behavior deteriorates and sealing response time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented foam piece configuration creates a distributed pattern that allows high-viscosity sealant to maintain adequate flow paths between pieces. This enables the sealant to reach puncture sites effectively while still providing strong adhesion where it bonds to the foam pieces and tire interior.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the sound absorber covers 30-95% of the inner surface, then sound absorption is improved, but sealant flow behavior deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sound absorber is implemented as numerous small foam pieces distributed across 30-95% of the inner surface rather than a continuous covering. This segmentation allows the foam pieces to absorb sound vibrations effectively while the spaces between them provide channels for sealant flow, maintaining ease of operation for puncture sealing.
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
This configuration significantly improves sound absorption and sealing reliability, reducing the sealant layer thickness by 30-50% while maintaining effective adhesion, thereby reducing costs and tire weight.
Implementation Method 1
The inner absorber is a ring made of open-cell foam, which reduces the air vibrations in the tire and leads to an improvement in the noise level in the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
the sealant also serves as an 'adhesive' for attaching the sound-absorbing foam ring
Implementation Method 3
It seals an unwanted puncture in the tire in the area of the tread by allowing the viscous sealant to flow into the area of the damage if the inner layer is damaged
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a pneumatic vehicle tire with a sound absorber (9) made of foam that is adhesively attached in the interior of the tire to the inner surface opposite the tread (1), said sound absorber (9) adhering to a previously applied self-sealing sealant (8) that has the tackiness required for the adhesive attachment of the sound absorber (9) at least immediately after application. The sound absorber (9) is composed of a plurality of individual, geometric sound-absorbing sub-elements (10) that are not connected to each other, each geometric sound-absorbing sub-element (10) adhering to the sealant (8) and each geometric sound-absorbing sub-element (10) having a diameter (11) of 1 mm to 50 mm.