Tire Middle Land Segmentation for Ice Traction and Dry Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tires with high dense sipes for improved driving performance on ice and snow lack steering stability on dry conditions due to reduced rigidity in the middle land portion.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring circumferentially extending main grooves and land portions with strategically placed lug grooves and sipes, including crown and shoulder elements, which enhance both driving performance on ice and snow and steering stability by dispersing force and maintaining rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a high dense sipe is provided to improve driving performance on ice and snow, then driving performance on ice and snow is improved, but steering stability on dry condition deteriorates due to reduced rigidity in the middle land portion
Solution Approach 1:
The middle land portion is divided into multiple segments by providing first and second middle lug grooves that extend in the tire axial direction. These grooves partition the middle land portion into multiple land sections, allowing the introduction of sipes (improving ice/snow performance) while maintaining structural integrity through the segmented design. The segmentation enables independent optimization of different regions for their specific functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tire tread are designed with different characteristics: the middle land portion has lug grooves and sipes optimized for ice and snow traction, while the crown land portion maintains higher rigidity for steering stability. The first and second middle lug grooves create local variations in the middle land portion, with some areas having deeper grooves and others having shallower grooves, allowing localized optimization for both snow performance and structural rigidity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the middle land portion is made more rigid to improve steering stability on dry condition, then steering stability is improved, but driving performance on ice and snow deteriorates due to reduced flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The middle land portion is designed with dynamic characteristics through the provision of lug grooves and sipes that allow controlled deformation under load. The first and second middle lug grooves create flexible zones that can deform to accommodate varying road conditions, while the connecting sipes provide controlled flexibility. This dynamic design allows the middle land portion to be flexible enough for snow performance while maintaining sufficient rigidity for steering stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces depth variation as an additional dimension for optimizing the middle land portion. The first middle lug groove and second middle lug groove have different depths, creating a three-dimensional structure that provides both flexibility (through deeper grooves) and rigidity (through shallower grooves and connecting sipes). This dimensional approach allows simultaneous optimization of conflicting requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A tire includes a middle land portion between a crown main groove and a shoulder main groove. The middle land portion is provided with a first middle lug groove extending axially outwardly from the crown main groove, a second middle lug groove extending axially inwardly from the shoulder main grooves wherein the first and second middle lug grooves are arranged alternately in a tire circumferential direction, and a first middle sipe provided between the first and second middle lug grooves. The first middle sipe includes a crown-side middle sipe element extending axially outwardly from the crown main groove, a shoulder-side middle sipe element extending axially inwardly from the shoulder main groove at a location different from an extension line of the crown-side middle sipe element and a connecting middle sipe element connecting therebetween.