Snow Tire Tread Groove Layout for Low Noise and Snow Grip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tires designed for snowy roads face a trade-off between maintaining on-snow performance and improving noise performance, as increasing the number or volume of grooves for enhanced snow shearing force can lead to deteriorated noise performance.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring a tread portion with circumferential grooves and land regions, including crown and middle land regions with specifically inclined lateral grooves, where the angle between the grooves is between 90 degrees and 150 degrees, and the center portion of the grooves has a smaller width than the end portions, dispersing noise frequencies and reducing air passage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the number or volume of grooves is increased to enhance snow shearing force, then on-snow performance is improved, but noise performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The groove width varies along its length, with the center portion having a smaller width than the end portions. This local variation in geometry allows the groove to generate sufficient snow shearing force at the ends while reducing noise generation at the center, thus resolving the contradiction between on-snow performance and noise performance
Solution Approach 2:
The groove width parameter is changed along the length of the groove, creating a non-uniform cross-sectional shape. This parameter change enables the groove to optimize both snow shearing capability and noise reduction, achieving improved on-snow performance without sacrificing noise performance
2Reliability
If circumferential grooves and lateral grooves are provided to generate snow shearing force, then on-snow performance is ensured, but noise performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The groove width varies along its length, with the center portion having a smaller width than the end portions. This local variation in geometry allows the groove to generate sufficient snow shearing force at the ends while reducing noise generation at the center, thus resolving the contradiction between on-snow performance and noise performance
Solution Approach 2:
The groove width parameter is changed along the length of the groove, creating a non-uniform cross-sectional shape. This parameter change enables the groove to optimize both snow shearing capability and noise reduction, achieving improved on-snow performance without sacrificing noise performance
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 improves noise performance while maintaining on-snow performance by generating a large snow shearing force and suppressing noise resonance, effectively balancing both requirements.
Implementation Method 1
the center portion has a groove width smaller than a groove width of the first end portion and a groove width of the second end portion
Implementation Method 2
the tread portion is provided with circumferential grooves extending continuously in a tire circumferential direction and lateral grooves inclined with respect to a tire axial direction. During running on snowy roads, the above tire compresses the snow in the circumferential grooves and the lateral grooves and shears the compressed snow to generate snow shearing force
Data Source
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AI summary
The tire includes a tread portion having a plurality of circumferential grooves and land regions. The land regions include a crown land region (10) and a first middle land region (11). The crown land region has a plurality of crown lateral grooves (15). The first middle land region has a plurality of first middle lateral grooves (20). In a tread plan view, an angle between a first linear line (21) connecting both ends of each of the crown lateral grooves (15) and a second linear line (22) connecting both ends of a respective one of the first middle lateral grooves (20) is 90 degrees or more and 150 degrees or less. Each of the crown lateral grooves (15) includes a first end portion (16), a second end portion (17), and a center portion (18). The center portion (18) has a groove width smaller than a groove width of the first end portion and a groove width of the second end portion.