Pneumatic Tire Tread Block Corner Stress Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic vehicle tires suffer from damage such as tears, ruptures, and flaking of rubber material at the block corners due to incisions and transverse grooves, which affect wet grip, traction, and durability, especially on uneven surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The edges of blocks in the circumferential direction are offset inward compared to the base ribs, with rounded corner regions and zigzag-shaped circumferential grooves, and incisions within the block structure provide additional edges for grip while preventing material damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If incisions and transverse grooves are introduced to improve wet grip and traction, then wet grip and traction are improved, but tears, ruptures, and flaking of rubber material occur at block corners
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by rounding the corner regions where circumferential grooves intersect with block edges. This rounding eliminates sharp corners that concentrate stress, thereby preventing the initiation of tears and ruptures while maintaining the grooves necessary for wet grip and traction enhancement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces asymmetric block designs where blocks at different positions have different geometries. Specifically, blocks adjacent to circumferential grooves have rounded corners, while other blocks maintain sharper edges for better grip. This local differentiation allows the tire to simultaneously achieve good wet grip and resistance to material damage.
2Reliability
If profile ribs are structured with blocks and grooves to improve traction, then traction is improved, but the complexity of the tread structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the tread into distinct profile ribs with blocks separated by grooves. This segmentation creates multiple discrete elements that can be independently optimized for traction while simplifying the overall manufacturing process compared to fully continuous structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different structural characteristics to different regions of the tread. Profile ribs in the central area have different block configurations compared to shoulder ribs, allowing each region to be optimized for its specific functional requirements while maintaining overall structural coherence.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The pneumatic tyre has a tread rubber with three tread strip profile ribs (2,3) in circumferential direction, and the zigzag-shaped rotating circumferential grooves (1). The grooves are extended in the central region of the tread strip profile ribs. Each profile rib is arranged in radial direction of the unstructured base ribs (4,8), and provided with the patch block structures formed at the corner regions.