Tire Tread Sipe Chamfers for Steering Stability and Noise Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tires face challenges in achieving excellent steering stability and noise performance, particularly under stricter vehicle exterior noise regulations in Europe, where existing tire designs do not adequately address the need for improved quietness and steering stability.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring a tread portion with specific circumferential grooves and land portions, including chamfered sipes that open at the ground contact surface, providing increased rigidity and frictional force, thereby enhancing steering stability and noise performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes are provided on the tread surface to improve wet performance and steering stability, then steering stability is improved, but impact noise occurs when sipe edges contact the ground
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful impact noise generated by sipe edges contacting the ground into a beneficial effect by forming chamfer portions that increase frictional force during braking. The chamfer portions allow sipe edges to contact the ground with reduced impact noise while maintaining or enhancing braking performance through increased friction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the sipe structure by forming chamfer portions with specific width and depth dimensions. This parameter change modifies how sipe edges contact the ground, reducing impact noise while maintaining steering stability and improving frictional force for braking performance.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the tread structure is modified to improve noise performance, then noise performance is improved, but steering stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing chamfer portions specifically at the sipe edges that contact the ground, while maintaining the overall sipe structure for steering stability. This localized modification reduces impact noise at the contact points without compromising the structural integrity and steering stability function of the sipes.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If chamfer portions are formed on sipe edges to reduce impact noise, then noise performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent defines specific parameter ranges for chamfer portion width and depth to optimize the balance between noise reduction and manufacturing feasibility. By establishing concrete dimensional parameters, the invention makes the complex chamfer structure manufacturable while achieving the noise reduction objective.
Data Source
AI summary
A tire includes a tread portion including four circumferential grooves extending continuously in the tire circumferential direction and five land portions divided by the four circumferential grooves. The five land portions include a first middle land portion located between a first tread edge and a tire equator. The first middle land portion is provided with first middle sipes inclined with respect to a tire axial direction and fully traversing the first middle land portion in the tire axial direction. Each first middle sipe includes a pair of sipe edges, and at least one of the pair of sipe edges opens at the ground contact surface via a chamfer portion over an entire length thereof. The chamfer portion has a chamfer width increasing continuously from a first longitudinal edge to a second longitudinal edge of the first middle land portion.