Tire Tread Sipe Width Layout for Dry Braking Stability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Tires with sipes on dry road surfaces experience reduced braking performance due to deformation of the sipe edges, leading to localized reduction in contact pressure.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating widened portions in the sipes of the tire's land portions, particularly the first shoulder land portion, to maintain even ground contact and enhance braking performance on dry surfaces.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If sipes with narrow widths are provided to optimize pattern rigidity, then the steering stability is improved, but the contact pressure around the sipe is locally reduced leading to poor braking performance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepattern rigidityVSAvoidcontact pressure around sipe
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSStress or pressure

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements local quality by varying the opening width of sipes according to their location in the tread pattern. The first shoulder land portion features sipes with larger opening widths that maintain adequate contact pressure with the ground, while other land portions have narrower sipes that optimize pattern rigidity. This spatial differentiation resolves the contradiction between maintaining pattern rigidity and ensuring sufficient contact pressure for braking.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the opening width parameter of sipes based on their positional location. The opening width is increased in the first shoulder land portion compared to other areas, allowing the same sipe structure to serve different functions in different locations - maintaining rigidity where needed and ensuring contact pressure where braking occurs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP4253093B1tire
Publication Date: 2025.12.31 SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD
  • EP4253093B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4253093B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4253093B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

To provide a tire capable of exerting superior brake performance on dry road surfaces. It is a tire having a tread portion 2. The tread portion 2 comprises a plurality of circumferential grooves 3 and a plurality of land portions 4. The land portions 4 include a first shoulder land portion 11 and a first middle land portion 12 adjacent to the first shoulder land portion 11. The first shoulder land portion 11 is provided with a plurality of first shoulder sipes 21. The middle land portion 12 is provided with a plurality of first middle sipes 30. Each of the first shoulder sipes 21 and the first middle sipes 30 comprises a main portion extending in the tire radial direction, and a widened portion having a width greater than the main portion and opened at the tread surface of the land portion. The opening width of the first shoulder sipe 21 at the tread surface is larger than The opening width of the first middle sipe 30 at the tread surface.