Super-Elliptic Tread Profile for Uniform Tire Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pneumatic tires fail to uniformly distribute ground contact pressure and maintain consistent cornering performance during high-speed travel, leading to suboptimal steering stability and wear resistance.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic tire design featuring a carcass layer, cross belts, and tread rubber defined by a super-elliptic tread profile with specific radii and indices, ensuring a uniform ground contact pressure distribution and improved cornering performance through a flat contact patch shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional tread profiles are used, then manufacturing is simple, but ground contact pressure distribution is non-uniform and cornering performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tread profile is defined by a super-elliptic function with specific parameters (a, b, c, d, e, f) that can be optimized to achieve uniform ground contact pressure distribution. By changing the mathematical parameters of the tread profile equation, the patent achieves both improved cornering performance and controlled manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The super-elliptic function allows for asymmetric tread profiles that better match the actual contact patch shape during cornering. The parameters a, b, c, d, e, f enable creation of non-symmetric profiles that distribute pressure more uniformly across the contact area, improving cornering performance while remaining manufacturable.
2Reliability
If uniform ground contact pressure is achieved, then cornering performance improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides specific parameter ranges for the super-elliptic function (0 < a/SW ≤ 0.50, 0.05 ≤ b/a ≤ 1.20, etc.) that balance manufacturing feasibility with performance requirements. These parameter constraints ensure that the tread profile can be manufactured with standard precision while achieving uniform pressure distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the super-elliptic function specifically to the ground contact region rather than the entire tread, focusing precision requirements where they are most needed. This partial application reduces overall manufacturing complexity while achieving the desired pressure uniformity in the critical contact area.
3Reliability
If tread profile is optimized for cornering performance, then steering stability improves, but wear resistance may deteriorate due to uneven pressure distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The super-elliptic function parameters are optimized to achieve uniform pressure distribution, which simultaneously improves steering stability and wear resistance. The parameter constraints ensure that the profile maintains consistent contact across the tread width, preventing localized wear while preserving cornering performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The tread profile design aims for homogeneous pressure distribution across the ground contact region. By making the pressure distribution more uniform (homogeneous), the patent simultaneously improves steering stability and prevents uneven wear, extending tire life while maintaining performance.
Data Source
AI summary
A pneumatic tire includes a carcass layer, a pair of cross belts disposed on an outer side in a radial direction of the carcass layer, and a tread rubber disposed on the outer side in the radial direction of the cross belts. A tread profile when the tire is mounted on a specified rim, inflated to a specified internal pressure, and in an unloaded state is defined by the following elliptic function ([Mathematical Formula 1]) having a center point on a tire equatorial plane. Here, “a” is the radius in a tire width direction and the major axis, “b” is the radius in the tire radial direction and the minor axis, and conditions of 0<b<a, 0<x, 0<y, 1.00<p, 1.00<q and p≠q are satisfied.(xa)p+(yb)q=1[MathematicalFormula1]