Pneumatic Tire Shoulder Segmentation for Snow Traction and Ice Grip
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pneumatic vehicle tires face limitations in achieving both good ice grip and snow traction while maintaining durability and reducing noise, as traditional designs compromise on surface area, stiffness, and manufacturing complexity.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates alternating sequences of first and second profile block elements with depressions outside the ground contact width, creating pockets for enhanced snow traction and additional gripping edges, while maintaining tire rigidity and using conventional manufacturing processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If web-like attachments are formed outside the ground contact width to improve snow grip, then snow traction is improved, but the tire becomes highly sensitive to stone and rubble damage, generates high flow resistance, increased noise, and has reduced effective surface area for ice grip
Solution Approach 1:
The shoulder area is segmented into first profile block elements with pockets and second profile block elements without pockets, arranged in alternating sequence. This segmentation allows different functional zones within the shoulder area to serve different purposes: pockets for snow grip and smooth surfaces for ice grip and durability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different local qualities are applied to different circumferential positions: first profile block elements have pockets for enhanced snow traction, while second profile block elements have smooth surfaces for ice grip and resistance to stone damage. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between snow grip and durability.
2Reliability
If web-like attachments are regularly distributed over the entire circumference to improve off-road grip, then snow traction is improved, but the effective surface area is reduced limiting ice grip properties
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous web-like attachment is segmented into discrete first profile block elements with pockets, interspersed with second profile block elements without pockets. This creates a pattern that provides snow grip where needed while preserving effective surface area for ice grip.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of providing web-like attachments over the entire circumference, the invention applies pockets only to first profile block elements in an alternating pattern. This partial application provides sufficient snow grip while maintaining adequate effective surface area for ice grip conditions.
3Reliability
If fine incisions are formed within the ground contact width to improve snow grip, then snow traction is improved, but the stiffness of tread block elements is affected and design freedom is limited
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of forming fine incisions within the ground contact width (two-dimensional modification), the invention forms pockets in the shoulder area outside the ground contact width (three-dimensional modification). This dimensional shift provides snow grip functionality without interfering with tread block stiffness and design freedom.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to pneumatic vehicle tyres having a shoulder profile strip, wherein the shoulder profile strip is a row of profile blocks (5) formed of profile block elements arranged behind one another in the circumferential direction U and separated from one another by cross grooves (12), said profile block row (5) being formed by first (10) and second (11) profile block elements, in which first profile block elements (10) respective multiple axially extended recesses (14) are formed outside of the ground contact width TA, arranged behind one another in the circumferential direction U, arranged at a distance from one another and having a width b where 5mm <b< 10mm, which recesses extend up to the edge of the shoulder profile strip forming the surface (15) of the pneumatic vehicle tyre side wall, and wherein there are no recesses of this type formed in the second profile block elements (11).