Pneumatic Tire Rim Protector Recess Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic tires with rim protectors suffer from insufficient rigidity due to recesses, leading to flexing and strain concentration at thinned regions, while continuous recesses without gaps result in inadequate heat dissipation.
Innovation Solution
A rim protector design featuring an annular protrusion with alternating recesses and ridges, where recesses are arranged with spaces in the tire circumferential direction, and ridges connect adjacent recesses, distributing strain and improving heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If recesses are arranged continuously without gaps in the tire circumferential direction, then heat dissipation characteristics are improved, but rigidity becomes insufficient and the tire becomes susceptible to flexing
Solution Approach 1:
The rim protector is segmented into multiple recesses arranged in the tire circumferential direction, with each recess being a separate entity. This segmentation allows heat dissipation through multiple discrete regions while the spaces between recesses maintain structural rigidity, preventing continuous flexing that would occur with a single continuous recess.
Solution Approach 2:
The rim protector features non-uniform thickness distribution with thinned regions at recess locations for heat dissipation and thickened regions at ridge locations for rigidity. This local quality variation allows different parts of the rim protector to serve different functions - heat dissipation at recesses and structural support at ridges.
2Strength
If recesses are arranged with spaces between them in the tire circumferential direction, then rigidity is maintained, but strain concentrates at thinned regions
Solution Approach 1:
Adjacent recesses are positioned such that their projections onto a plane perpendicular to the tire radial direction overlap, causing the thinned regions to merge or partially overlap. This merging distributes strain more evenly across the rim protector structure, preventing strain concentration at isolated thinned regions while maintaining rigidity through the spaces between ridge structures.
3Ease of manufacture
If the rim protector has a uniform cross-sectional shape along the entire circumference, then manufacturing is simplified, but heat dissipation characteristics are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The rim protector incorporates multiple discrete recesses segmented around the circumference, creating multiple heat dissipation zones. This segmented approach significantly improves heat dissipation characteristics compared to a uniform cross-section, while the regular periodic arrangement of recesses maintains relative manufacturing simplicity through standardized molding processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A tire has a rim protector which is formed at a sidewall and which constitutes an annular protrusion that extends in a tire circumferential direction. The rim protector has not less than two recesses that extend toward the tread region from a location toward the bead region in such fashion as to be directed toward a location in a second direction from a location in a first direction in the tire circumferential direction, the not less than two recesses being arranged with spaces therebetween in the tire circumferential direction. A mutually adjacent pair of recesses among the not less than two recesses are in a positional relationship such that they partially overlap as seen when projected onto a virtual plane perpendicular to a tire radial direction.