Circumferential Sipe Geometry for Stable Worn Tire Drainage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic tires with grooves and sipes experience rapid changes in performance due to wear, affecting drainage performance and tire stability.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic tire design featuring circumferential main grooves and land portions with sipes that gradually change in width from the tread surface to the sipe bottom, maintaining consistent sipe width and rigidity to ensure drainage performance while reducing abrupt changes in tire performance as wear progresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If grooves or sipes are provided in the tread surface to improve drainage performance during wear progression, then drainage performance is improved, but the appearance of widened portions causes rapid changes in tire performance
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe width is designed to vary locally along its length, with a wider portion at the sipe bottom and a narrower portion at the tread surface. This local quality variation ensures that as wear progresses and the sipe opens up, the drainage performance improves while the overall sipe geometry maintains consistent functional characteristics, preventing abrupt performance changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The sipe width parameter is deliberately changed along the sipe length rather than being uniform. By making the sipe width at the bottom larger than at the surface, the patent creates a controlled parameter gradient that compensates for wear-induced opening, maintaining stable tire performance while ensuring adequate drainage capability throughout the tire's service life.
2Reliability
If sipe width increases from tread surface to sipe bottom to ensure drainage performance, then drainage performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to inflection points
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe cross-sectional shape is designed with curved transitions rather than sharp angles or inflection points. The width variation from tread surface to sipe bottom is achieved through smooth curvature, which eliminates stress concentration points and makes the molding process easier while still providing the desired drainage performance.
Data Source
AI summary
A pneumatic tire includes, in a land portion, at least one circumferential sipe extending in the tire circumferential direction. At a first position, from the tread surface towards the sipe bottom, the sipe width gradually decreases from the tread surface to a first changing point and then gradually increases from the first changing point to the sipe bottom. At a second position, from the tread surface towards the sipe bottom, the sipe width gradually increases from the tread surface to a second changing point and then gradually decreases from the second changing point to the sipe bottom. The sipe width at the tread surface and at the sipe bottom gradually decreases in the tire circumferential direction from the first position towards the second position, and the sipe width in a tire radial intermediate portion gradually increases in the tire circumferential direction from the first position towards the second position.