Pneumatic Tire Groove Depth Optimization for Dry and Snow Traction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pneumatic tires fail to simultaneously enhance drive performance, braking performance, and turning performance while maintaining effective drain performance on both dry and snowy road surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The tire design features four main grooves and multiple block rows with specific groove configurations, including raised portions and sipes, to enhance rigidity and water drainage, allowing for improved performance on both dry and snowy surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the tread pattern has multiple block rows with grooves to enhance drain performance, then water drainage capability is improved, but drive performance and braking performance on dry surfaces deteriorate due to reduced ground contact area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating groove depths across different tread regions. The inner shoulder row has lateral grooves with first depth, while the outer shoulder row has lateral grooves with second depth greater than the first depth. This localized variation allows the inner region to maintain ground contact for drive/braking performance while the outer region provides enhanced water drainage capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tread pattern is segmented into five distinct block rows (inner shoulder row, outer shoulder row, two inner intermediate rows, two outer intermediate rows) with different groove configurations. Each segment serves specific functions: inner rows for motion performance, outer rows for drainage, creating a balanced overall performance through segmentation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If groove depths are increased to enhance drain performance, then water evacuation capability is improved, but rigidity of the tread portion is reduced worsening motion performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality through differentiated groove depths: lateral grooves in the inner shoulder row have first depth, while lateral grooves in the outer shoulder row have second depth greater than the first. This allows the outer region to prioritize drainage with deeper grooves while the inner region maintains tread rigidity with shallower grooves for motion performance.
Data Source
AI summary
Groove widths of center main grooves are larger than groove widths of inner and outer main grooves. Plurality of lateral grooves are formed at intervals in a tire circumferential direction so as to define inner shoulder blocks belonging to an inner shoulder row. A first raised portion connecting a pair of inner shoulder blocks to each other is formed in the lateral grooves every one other on an inner main groove side. A depth of the lateral groove in the first raised portion is smaller than the depth of the lateral groove in other portions. A second raised portion is formed on the outer main groove in a region defined by an imaginary line connecting an outer intermediate block and an outer shoulder block. A depth of the outer main groove in the second raised portion is smaller than that of the outer main groove in other portions.