Submerged Tread Features for Wear Indication and Stone Ejection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing tire tread designs with submerged grooves lack effective mechanisms to indicate wear, prevent stone retention, and reduce noise, as projecting features within these grooves are not adequately exposed or designed to perform these functions effectively.

Innovation Solution

The development of tire treads with projecting features, such as wear indicators, stone ejectors, and noise suppressors, that extend partially across the width of submerged voids, formed using a specific mold design that includes cavities for these features, allowing for their formation during the molding process and ensuring they are exposed as the tread wears.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If projecting features are placed within submerged grooves, then wear indication, stone ejection, and noise suppression functions are provided, but the features remain hidden and ineffective until the tread wears significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewear indication reliabilityVSAvoidfeature visibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The projecting features (wear indicators, stone ejectors, noise suppressors) are nested within the submerged grooves of the tread structure. These features are embedded in the tread material at specific depths, becoming exposed as the tread wears down, providing progressive functionality without compromising the intact tread surface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Solution Approach 2:

The projecting features are pre-positioned within the tread structure during manufacturing, prepared in advance to become functional as the tread wears. The wear indicators are positioned at specific depths to be exposed at predetermined wear stages, and stone ejectors are pre-placed to become active when stones become lodged in the grooves.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Object-affected harmful factors

If stone ejectors are positioned to prevent stone retention, then stone removal capability is improved, but the ejectors may interfere with normal tread function if improperly positioned

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestone retentionVSAvoidtread operation

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Stone ejectors are positioned at specific locations within the submerged grooves, with varying depths and orientations tailored to local requirements. Each ejector is strategically placed to address stone retention in specific groove sections while maintaining normal tread operation in other areas. The ejectors have different cross-sectional shapes (circular, oval, rectangular) optimized for their specific positions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The stone ejectors are designed to become dynamically active only when needed - that is, when stones become lodged in the grooves. The ejectors protrude from the groove bottoms and make contact with stones under operational conditions, providing stone ejection functionality while remaining passive during normal tread operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple projecting features are included in submerged grooves, then multiple functions (wear indication, stone ejection, noise suppression) are achieved, but the groove structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefunctional versatilityVSAvoidgroove structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The submerged groove structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides wear indication through exposed projecting features, stone ejection through strategically positioned ejectors, and noise suppression through the groove geometry itself. The groove structure acts as a multi-functional element that integrates wear monitoring, stone management, and acoustic dampening capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

Multiple functional features are merged within the single submerged groove structure. Wear indicators, stone ejectors, and noise suppression elements are combined in one integrated groove system, eliminating the need for separate structures for each function and reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining functional versatility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS10336140B2Projecting features molded within submerged tread voids

Publication Date: 2019.07.02 MICHELIN & CO (CIE GEN DES ESTAB MICHELIN)

AI summary

The present invention concerns tire treads having projecting features comprising wear indicators, stone ejectors, and/or noise suppressors arranged within voids submerged below the top, outer side of a tread. Particular embodiments of the invention provide a tire tread having a submerged void extending into to the tread thickness from the bottom side of the tread to a terminal location spaced below the tread top side, the top side forming a ground-engaging side of the tread. Such embodiments further include a plurality of projecting features arranged within the submerged void below the terminal location of the submerged void, the plurality of projecting features being further arranged in a spaced arrangement along a length of the submerged void, each of the plurality of projecting features extending partially across a width of the submerged void, which may comprise a groove, for example. The invention includes methods of forming the tread and a treaded tire.