Shoulder Tread Rib Micro-Incisions for Tire Cornering Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic vehicle tires, especially those used in SUVs and light trucks, face challenges in maintaining optimal tire-road contact during cornering at high speeds, leading to increased risk of accidents due to reduced handling properties and potential tilting.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of micro-incisions in the shoulder-side profile rib, which run at an angle of 5° to 20° to the circumferential direction, segment the rib laterally, reducing static friction and improving tire-road contact by allowing easier sliding when cornering. These micro-incisions can extend in both the inner and outer sections, with specific angles and depths optimizing the reduction of static friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the shoulder-side tread rib is made rigid with a narrow circumferential groove to improve handling characteristics, then the tire maintains good straight-line driving performance, but the tire-road contact is reduced during cornering due to increased static friction
Solution Approach 1:
The shoulder-side tread rib is segmented by introducing micro-incisions that run at an angle of 5° to 20° to the circumferential direction. These micro-incisions divide the rigid rib structure into multiple segments, allowing relative movement between segments during cornering. This segmentation reduces static friction while maintaining the overall rigidity needed for handling, thus resolving the contradiction between handling characteristics and tire-road contact reliability.
2Reliability
If micro-incisions are introduced to reduce static friction and improve cornering contact, then handling during cornering is improved, but the structural integrity and rigidity of the tread rib may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The micro-incisions are strategically positioned and dimensioned to create local flexibility only where needed for cornering performance. The incisions have specific width (0.2-2.0 mm) and depth (0.5-5.0 mm) parameters that allow controlled segmentation without compromising overall rib strength. The angled orientation (5°-20° to circumferential direction) provides local quality change that enables lateral movement while maintaining circumferential rigidity.
3Ease of operation
If the circumferential groove width is reduced to create a handling rib, then handling characteristics are improved, but water drainage capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces micro-incisions with a specific angular orientation (5° to 20° to the circumferential direction) to add a lateral dimension to water drainage. While the circumferential groove remains narrow for handling rib integrity, the angled micro-incisions create additional drainage pathways that extend laterally, allowing water to escape in multiple directions and compensating for the reduced circumferential drainage capacity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The micro-incisions significantly enhance handling properties by reducing static friction during lateral forces, ensuring better tire-road contact and reducing the likelihood of vehicle tilting during cornering, thereby improving safety and performance.
Implementation Method 1
reducing static friction occurring in the area of the shoulder-side tread rib transverse to the circumferential direction (lateral direction) when forces occur in a lateral direction
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle pneumatic tire with a tread having at least one shoulder-side profile rib (1), which is bounded by a shoulder-side circumferential groove (4) designed to the profile depth (TUR) and which comprises an inner section (1a) extending within the ground contact area and an outer section (1b) extending outside the ground contact area, wherein transverse grooves (5) extending at least largely in the outer section (1b) with a maximum circumferential width (bQR) of 2.0 mm to 10.0 mm are formed in the shoulder-side profile rib (1), wherein a circumferential groove (6) extending straight in plan view and circumferentially with a width (bN) of 0.5 mm to 5.0 mm extends in the inner section (1a), and wherein in the area between circumferentially adjacent transverse grooves (5) there is a notch (7) opening into the circumferential groove (6) with a width (bE) of 0.4 mm to 2.0 mm and a maximum depth of 70% to 100% of the profile depth (TUR). Between each incision (7) and an adjacent transverse groove (5), a micro-incision (9) is formed, extending at an angle (λ) of 5° to 20° in plan view to the circumferential direction, with a depth of 0.5 mm to 50% of the profile depth (TUR) and a width (bE) of 0.4 mm to 2.0 mm, wherein the ends of the micro-incision (9) are located within a distance (aME) of up to 10.0 mm from the lateral edge (I) of the ground contact surface, determined transversely to the circumferential direction.