Pneumatic Tire Sipe with Concave Grooves for Ice Performance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Studless tires face issues with excessive collapse of the land portion and sudden changes in sipe width due to wear, leading to reduced ice performance and increased toe and heel wear.

Innovation Solution

A pneumatic tire design featuring a sipe with a wide region formed by alternately providing concave grooves in the depth direction of the sipe walls, which inhibits excessive collapse and maintains effective drainage and adhesive friction, while the concave grooves' phase shift and V-shaped structure enhance rigidity and wear resistance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a sipe having wide portions constructed by arranging concave grooves continuously along the longitudinal direction is formed, then the drainage effect is improved, but the block collapses excessively and the edge effect is weakened

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedrainage effectVSAvoidedge effect

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The continuous wide portion structure is segmented into multiple sections by arranging concave grooves alternately on both sides of the sipe wall surface. This segmentation prevents excessive block collapse while maintaining drainage capability, as the grooves are distributed intermittently rather than continuously along the longitudinal direction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The concave grooves are arranged asymmetrically by alternating their position between left and right sides of the sipe wall surface. This asymmetric arrangement creates a balanced structure that prevents excessive collapse while maintaining effective drainage, avoiding the symmetry that would cause continuous wide portions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

2Stability of the object's composition

If the sipe width becomes maximum over the whole center portion in the depth direction, then the steering stability difference between wet and dry road surfaces is reduced, but the land portion collapses excessively on ice road surface

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesteering stabilityVSAvoidland portion rigidity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The center portion wide structure is segmented by alternating concave grooves on both sides, creating multiple sections rather than one continuous wide area. This segmentation maintains steering stability while preventing excessive land portion collapse on ice surfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The sipe structure has varying local qualities with wide portions at specific locations and narrower portions at others due to the alternating groove arrangement. This local variation optimizes both steering stability and land portion rigidity for ice performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

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 design effectively enhances ice performance by maintaining ground contact area and preventing excessive collapse, while also improving toe and heel wear resistance by ensuring consistent sipe width during wear progression.

Implementation Method 1

a deformation generated by the load is absorbed by the wide portions 21 to 24

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElastic deformation: Elasticity

Implementation Method 2

a traveling performance on an ice road surface having a low coefficient of friction (hereinafter, refer to as an ice performance) is enhanced based on an edge effect and a drainage effect generated by the sipe

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectDrainage effect:

Implementation Method 3

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEdge effect:

Implementation Method 4

there is fear that a toe and heel wear is generated... making an adhesive friction effect generated by a softness of the rubber hard to be achieved

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAdhesive friction: Friction

Data Source

PatentUS8733412B2Pneumatic tire with sipe having concave grooves

Publication Date: 2014.05.27 TOYO TIRE CORP

AI summary

A pneumatic tire has a sipe is formed in a land portion of a tread surface. The sipe has a wide region in which a sipe width is made larger than a tread at position which is at a distance from the tread. The wide region is constructed by alternately providing a concave groove extending in a depth direction of the sipe in both sides of a sipe wall surface along a longitudinal direction of the sipe.