Pneumatic Tire Middle Lateral Groove Angle Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic tires with sipes and lateral grooves for improved on-snow performance compromise steering stability on dry road surfaces due to reduced tread rigidity.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic tire design featuring shoulder main grooves, center main grooves, middle land portions with middle lateral grooves that decrease in angle towards the tire's circumferential direction, and groove bottom sipes, which enhance edge components and water absorption, maintaining rigidity and improving on-snow performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes and lateral grooves are added to the tread portion, then on-snow performance is improved, but steering stability on dry road surface is deteriorated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different groove patterns in different regions of the tread. The middle land portion has middle lateral grooves with specific angles (10-30 degrees relative to circumferential direction) and dimensions, while the shoulder land portion has shoulder lateral grooves with different angles (30-60 degrees). This regional differentiation allows the middle land to maintain rigidity for steering stability while the shoulder land provides edge components for snow performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes geometric parameters of the grooves to resolve the contradiction. Specifically, the middle lateral grooves have smaller groove widths (0.5-2.0mm) and shallower depths (0.3-1.0mm) compared to traditional lateral grooves, which maintains tread rigidity. Meanwhile, the shoulder lateral grooves have larger dimensions (1.0-3.0mm width, 0.5-1.5mm depth) to provide sufficient edge components for snow traction.
2Reliability
If lateral grooves extend deeply in the tread portion, then on-snow performance is improved, but rigidity of the tread portion is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by restricting deep grooves to specific regions. The middle lateral grooves in the middle land portion have limited depth (0.3-1.0mm) to preserve tread rigidity, while the shoulder lateral grooves in the shoulder land portion extend deeper (0.5-1.5mm) to provide edge components for snow performance without compromising overall tread stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the tread into functionally distinct zones: the middle land portion with shallow middle lateral grooves for maintaining rigidity and steering stability, and the shoulder land portion with deeper shoulder lateral grooves for providing snow traction. This segmentation allows each region to optimize its groove characteristics for its specific function.
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a pneumatic tire which is improved in on-snow performance, while maintaining steering stability on dry road surface. The pneumatic tire is provided in a tread portion 2 with a pair of shoulder main grooves 3, a center main groove 4, shoulder land portions 6, and middle land portions 5. The middle land portions 5 are provided with middle lateral grooves 10 extending from the shoulder main grooves 3 toward the inside in the tire axial direction, while gradually decreasing the angle with respect to tire circumferential direction. The middle lateral groove 10 is provided with a groove bottom sipe 15 opened in the groove bottom.