Pneumatic Tire Stud Affixing Protrusions

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional studded tires face challenges in accurately pinpointing stud affixing positions, leading to incorrect or failed stud placement, which impairs on-ice performance and requires measures to prevent stud dropping-off.

Innovation Solution

A pneumatic tire design featuring protruding portions formed in a ring shape around stud affixing positions, with heights between 0.2 mm and 1.0 mm, enhancing visibility and stiffness to ensure correct stud placement and prevent dropping-off, while also improving initial braking performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If sipes are not formed in the stud affixing positions to provide stiffness, then the stud holding ability is improved, but the visibility of the stud affixing positions deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestud holding abilityVSAvoidvisibility of stud affixing position
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating protruding portions at specific locations around the stud affixing position. These protrusions provide localized stiffness enhancement and visual guidance without requiring complete removal of sipes from the entire affixing area, thus maintaining both stud holding ability and visibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The protruding portions serve as an intermediary element between the sipe pattern and the stud affixing position. They provide the necessary stiffness and visibility functions without completely eliminating sipes, acting as a mediator that reconciles the conflicting requirements of stud retention and position visibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If the protruding portions are made higher to improve visibility, then the visibility of the stud affixing position is improved, but the contact of the stud with the road is impeded

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisibility of stud affixing positionVSAvoidimpediment to stud contact with road
Core Design Contradiction:
Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies parameter changes by optimizing the height of protruding portions to a specific range (0.2-1.0 mm). This parameter optimization ensures that the protrusions are tall enough to provide visible guidance for stud placement but not so tall as to interfere with the stud's contact with the road surface, thus resolving the contradiction between visibility and functional contact.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If a wider area is used for protruding portions to improve visibility, then the visibility of the stud affixing position is improved, but the drainage effect is sacrificed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisibility of stud affixing positionVSAvoiddrainage effect
Core Design Contradiction:
Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by confining the protruding portions to a specific width range (5 mm or smaller from the outer-end position of the stud). This localized approach provides sufficient visual guidance for stud placement while preserving the drainage function of sipes in the wider tread area, thus resolving the contradiction between visibility and drainage effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2165859B1Pneumatic tire
Publication Date: 2012.06.20 THE YOKOHAMA RUBBER CO LTD
  • EP2165859B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2165859B1 patent drawingFigure 3~5
  • EP2165859B1 patent drawingFigure 6~8

AI summary

Pneumatic tire capable of improving the visibility of stud affixing positions and capable of enhancing stud holding ability, wherein studs (20) are embedded in a tread portion (1), whereby the stud affixing positions (7) are located in the tread portion (1), and a plurality of protruding portions (10) are formed to surround, in a ring shape, each of the stud affixing positions (7).