Tire Sipe Unit Layout for On-Ice Grip and Land Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The compatibility between the rigidity of the land portion and water drainage by sipes in conventional tires is not sufficient, limiting further improvement in on-ice gripping performance.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring sipe units with sipes that extend in an angle of 0° < φ < 45° to the tire width direction, connected by shallow grooves, and arranged in a specific pattern to enhance rigidity and water drainage, thereby improving on-ice gripping performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes are densely arranged in the land portion to improve water drainage, then on-ice gripping performance is improved, but rigidity of the land portion is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The land portion is divided into multiple block land portions by width direction grooves, and each block land portion is further divided into sipe units by sipes. This segmentation allows water drainage paths to be created without compromising the overall structural integrity of the land portion, as each segmented block maintains its rigidity while collectively providing effective water evacuation.
Solution Approach 2:
Sipes are selectively arranged in specific patterns within block land portions rather than uniformly across the entire land portion. The sipe units are positioned to optimize water drainage in areas where it is most needed, while maintaining higher rigidity in areas where structural support is critical. This localized approach allows different regions of the land portion to have different functional qualities.
2Reliability
If sipes are extended to increase water drainage capacity, then on-ice gripping performance is improved, but footprint area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of extending sipes across the entire width of the land portion, sipes are implemented as sipe units with specific lengths and spacing. The sipes extend partially through the block land portions, providing sufficient water drainage capacity through multiple distributed units rather than through fewer longer sipes that would occupy more space and reduce footprint area.
Solution Approach 2:
Water drainage is achieved not only through the length of individual sipes but also through the multi-dimensional arrangement of multiple sipe units across the block land portions. The width direction grooves and the arrangement of sipe units in both tire circumferential and width directions create a three-dimensional drainage network that efficiently evacuates water without requiring excessive sipe length that would reduce footprint area.
Data Source
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AI summary
The tire of this disclosure is a tire having a land portion on a tread surface, wherein the land portion comprises a sipe unit consisting of a pair of sipes, each of the pair of sipes extends such that both ends in the extending direction of sipes terminate within the land portion, and the pair of sipes are opposed to each other in the tire circumferential direction only in part in the tire width direction.