Tire Sidewall Diagonal Serration Pattern for Aesthetic and Functional Balance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional tire serration patterns lack visual variation while still needing to suppress air trapping and bulge/dent occurrence, failing to meet market demands for aesthetically appealing designs.

Innovation Solution

A tire with a decorative zone featuring a diagonal serration pattern using continuous and discontinuous ridges arranged in a diagonal pattern, where discontinuity-pattern elements are formed by adjacent ridges, providing visual interest and maintaining air escape functionality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional serration patterns with radially extending ridges are used, then air trapping is suppressed and bulge/dent occurrence is reduced, but visual variation and design appeal are insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveair trapping suppressionVSAvoidvisual variation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The ridges are divided into continuous ridges extending radially and discontinuous ridges with discontinuity parts. This segmentation allows the continuous ridges to maintain air escape channels while the discontinuous ridges create visual variation through their interrupted structure, resolving the contradiction between functional reliability and visual appeal

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The discontinuous ridges are positioned asymmetrically with discontinuity parts at different locations along the ridge lengths. This asymmetric arrangement creates visually interesting patterns while the remaining continuous portions of the ridges continue to provide air escape pathways, maintaining both aesthetic appeal and functional performance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

2Reliability

If ridges are arranged strictly radially to ensure air exhaust function, then air trapping is suppressed, but pattern variation and design flexibility are limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveair exhaust functionVSAvoidpattern variation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSShape

Solution Approach 1:

Different portions of the ridge structure are given different properties: continuous ridges maintain radial orientation for air exhaust, while discontinuous ridges have interrupted sections creating visual variation. This local differentiation allows simultaneous achievement of functional reliability and shape variety

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The ridge structure is extended from a simple radial arrangement into the circumferential dimension through the addition of discontinuous segments positioned at various circumferential locations. This dimensional extension creates pattern variation while preserving the radial air escape pathways

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS11014414B2Tire

Publication Date: 2021.05.25 SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD

AI summary

A tire sidewall portion is provided with a circumferentially extending decorative zone which comprises a serrated region formed from ridges extending in a radial direction and arranged side by side in the tire circumferential direction. The ridges include continuous ridges and discontinuous ridges with a discontinuity part. A diagonal pattern is formed by discontinuity-pattern elements each formed from the discontinuity parts of the discontinuous ridges positioned adjacently in the tire circumferential direction. In the diagonal pattern, one of the continuous ridges is disposed between every two of the adjacent discontinuity-pattern elements.