Pneumatic Tire Block Segmentation for Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pneumatic tires with block patterns for enhanced snow performance face challenges in suppressing uneven wear of the blocks, which affects traction and durability.
Innovation Solution
The tire design incorporates at least four circumferential main grooves and five land portions, with the second land portion featuring multiple lug grooves and circumferential narrow grooves that penetrate through the blocks, reducing rigidity and enhancing edge components for improved traction and wear resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If blocks with high rigidity are used, then structural strength is improved, but ground contact patch pressure increases leading to uneven wear
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing blocks into multiple segments through circumferential narrow grooves, the patent reduces the effective rigidity of each block. This segmentation allows the block structure to maintain overall strength while distributing contact pressure more evenly across multiple smaller contact patches, reducing the peak pressure that causes uneven wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The circumferential narrow grooves allow the blocks to deform more dynamically under load, adapting to ground irregularities and distributing pressure more uniformly. This dynamic flexibility reduces the rigid contact that leads to localized wear while maintaining sufficient structural integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A pneumatic tire includes at least four circumferential main grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction; and at least five rows of land portions including a center land portion, a pair of second land portions, and a pair of shoulder land portions, which are defined by the circumferential main grooves. Additionally, at least one row of the second land portions is provided with a plurality of lug grooves penetrating through the second land portion in the tire width direction, and a plurality of blocks defined by the plurality of lug grooves. Moreover, the plurality of blocks include one of the circumferential narrow grooves, respectively, which penetrates through the blocks in the tire circumferential direction.