Tire Mold Interchangeable Elements for Worn Tread Grip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tire molds fail to maintain optimal tire performance when the tread depth decreases, as the tire's grip and traction capabilities deteriorate with wear, leading to a need for improved tread design even with minimal residual tread depth.
Innovation Solution
A tire mold design featuring a base mold and interchangeable mold elements with specific cross-sectional dimensions and ventilation channels to create a tread pattern that enhances performance in worn tires, allowing for adjustable and flexible production of tire profiles with improved grip and traction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If the tread depth decreases due to wear, then the tire's residual tread depth reduces, but the tire performance (grip and traction) deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tread pattern is segmented into multiple lamellar incisions that create numerous small edges and surfaces. These segmented structures remain effective even when overall tread depth is reduced, providing continued grip and traction performance throughout the tire's usable life.
Solution Approach 2:
The incisions create localized high-performance areas with specific edge geometries and surface characteristics. These local features maintain effective contact with the road surface even when the overall tread depth is worn down to just a few millimeters.
2Reliability
If ventilation channels are added to the mold, then the intermediate spaces can be vented during vulcanization, but the mold complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation channels are merged with the existing mold structure, utilizing the base section and intermediate spaces already present in the mold design. This integration approach provides necessary venting functionality without adding separate, complex ventilation systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
Vehicle tire (1) with a tread made of rubber material, wherein the tread has a running surface (2) with a plurality of profile blocks (3), and wherein lamellar incisions (4) are provided in a number of profile blocks (3), the cross-sectional shape of which is designed as a slot (5) with a width B up to a depth t from the running surface (2) and from the depth t to a depth T has several slots (6) with widths b, wherein the slots (6) are separated from each other by webs (7) and b <B gilt.