Pneumatic Tire Sipes with Chamfered Edges for Stability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic tires face a trade-off in steering stability performance, where increasing sipes for improved wet road stability compromises dry road stability due to reduced rib rigidity, and existing chamfered sipe designs may not adequately address both conditions.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic tire design featuring sipes with chamfered portions on leading or trailing edges, connected via a lug groove, which minimizes chamfered area and enhances drainage, ensuring improved stability on both dry and wet surfaces by maintaining rib rigidity and optimizing sipe depth and width relationships.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large number of sipes are disposed in a tread portion to improve steering stability performance on wet road surfaces, then drainage properties are ensured and steering stability on wet roads is improved, but the rigidity of the ribs decreases and steering stability performance on dry road surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating asymmetric chamfered portions only at specific locations (leading or trailing edges) of selected sipes rather than uniformly across all sipes. This localized modification enhances drainage at critical water ejection points while preserving rib rigidity in other areas, resolving the contradiction between wet road stability and dry road rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the sipe structure by dividing sipes into different types: those with chamfered portions at leading edges, those with chamfered portions at trailing edges, and those without chamfers. This segmentation allows selective placement of drainage-enhancing features only where needed, maintaining overall rib strength while improving wet road performance.
2Reliability
If sipes are formed and chamfered to improve drainage, then steering stability performance on wet road surfaces is improved, but edge effects may be lost depending on the shape of the chamfers and improvement of steering stability performance on dry road surfaces or wet road surfaces may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by specifying precise chamfer dimensions (width W1 between 0.3-2.0mm and depth D1 between 0.2-1.5mm) and geometric relationships (where depth D1 and width W1 satisfy specific ratios). These controlled parameter variations optimize the edge effect for water drainage while ensuring manufacturability and consistent performance across different operating conditions.
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
The design achieves enhanced steering stability on both dry and wet road surfaces by balancing drainage effects and rib rigidity, providing superior performance compared to conventional chamfered sipe designs.
Implementation Method 1
This allows the drainage effect from the chamfered portions to be enhanced and for a water film to be effectively removed via an edge effect in the regions without other chamfered portions
Data Source
AI summary
A pneumatic tire is provided. A rib includes a lug groove that opens at a first end portion to one of the main grooves and terminates at a second end portion within the rib, a first sipe that opens at a first end portion to the one of the main grooves the lug groove opens to and opens at a second end portion to the lug groove, and a second sipe that opens at a first end portion to another main groove located on the opposite side of the one of the main grooves the lug groove opens to and opens at a second end portion to the lug groove; and the first sipe and the second sipe each include a chamfered portion on the edge on the leading side or the edge on the trailing side.