Sinusoidal Tire Tread Grooves for Stone Trapping and Noise Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Tire tread patterns face challenges in balancing competing demands such as grip, noise reduction, and wear resistance, often resulting in designs with sharp angles that increase stress and road noise, and are prone to stone trapping and irregular wear.

Innovation Solution

A tire tread pattern featuring straight circumferential grooves with tapered or V-shaped walls and sinusoidal contours, eliminating sharp corners and featuring inwardly or outwardly curved groove opening edges, which reduces stress points and improves stone trapping resistance, traction, and noise reduction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If grooves are formed with negatively sloped walls to increase gripping capabilities, then grip performance is improved, but stone trapping increases which can damage the tire

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegrip performanceVSAvoidstone trapping

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The groove walls are formed with curved contours instead of straight lines, creating sinusoidal patterns that eliminate sharp angles. This curvature allows stones to roll off more easily while maintaining the negative slope needed for grip, resolving the contradiction between grip performance and stone trapping resistance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

2Strength

If block elements are used in tread design for superior grip performance, then grip capability is improved, but noise level increases and irregular wear occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegrip capabilityVSAvoidnoise level

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The block elements are designed with curved, sinusoidal contours instead of sharp edges. This eliminates the acute angles that cause stress concentration and irregular wear, while also reducing noise generation from the tread blocks contacting the road surface

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

3Ease of manufacture

If sharp or acute angles are used in transitional areas of tread pattern, then manufacturing is simplified, but stress components increase which lead to increased road noise and rolling resistance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetread pattern fabricationVSAvoidroad noise

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

All transitional areas and groove intersections are designed with curved sinusoidal contours instead of sharp angles. This eliminates stress concentration points that generate noise and increase rolling resistance, while still being manufacturable using standard tire molding processes

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

4Object-affected harmful factors

If vertical walls forming grooves are used, then stone trapping resistance is improved, but grip performance decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestone trapping resistanceVSAvoidgrip performance

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The groove walls combine the vertical orientation needed for stone trapping resistance with curved sinusoidal contours that maintain negative slopes. This allows stones to be deflected outward while preserving the gripping edge geometry needed for traction

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentUS7597127B2Tire with tread including circumferential grooves having generally sinusoidal contour

Publication Date: 2009.10.06 CONTINENTAL AG

AI summary

Tire having a tread pattern with superior performance characteristics. The tread pattern includes ribs and circumferential grooves which are at least one of tapered and/or generally V-shaped. The walls of each circumferential groove have a wavy and/or sinusoidal contour extending in a generally circumferential direction.