Motorcycle Tire Tread Block Edge Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional motorcycle tires for rough terrain with siped tread blocks face durability issues due to excessive deformation and damage on the lateral edges during use.
Innovation Solution
The tire design incorporates blocks with lateral narrow grooves and edge-side portions that increase in length from a neck portion, enhancing rigidity and reducing edge damage, along with longitudinal grooves and inner portions to improve grip and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes are provided on the ground contact surfaces of tread blocks, then grip performance is improved, but damage occurs on both sides of laterally extending edges of the ground contact surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different structural characteristics to different regions of the tread block. The edge-side portions are specifically designed with increased rigidity through the neck portion configuration, while the inner portion maintains flexibility for grip. This localized structural differentiation allows the edges to resist damage while the overall block maintains grip performance through sipes.
Solution Approach 2:
The tread block is segmented into distinct regions: edge-side portions with enhanced rigidity and an inner portion. The lateral narrow grooves create this segmentation, separating the edge regions from the central area. This segmentation allows each region to be optimized independently - edges for durability and inner portion for grip - resolving the contradiction between edge strength and overall grip performance.
2Strength
If the lateral edges of ground contact surfaces are made more rigid to prevent damage, then edge durability is improved, but grip performance may be reduced due to decreased flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements local quality by making only the edge-side portions rigid through the neck portion design, while the inner portion remains flexible. This localized rigidity enhancement prevents the contradiction from arising - the edges gain durability without the entire block becoming rigid, thus maintaining grip performance through the flexible inner portion and sipe structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A motorcycle tyre for traveling on rough terrain, the tyre includes a tread portion provided with blocks. The at least one of the blocks includes a ground contact surface having a pair of lateral edges extending in a tyre axial direction. The at least one of the blocks is provided with a pair of lateral narrow grooves extending in the tyre axial direction on the ground contact surface to form a pair of edge-side portions defined between the pair of lateral narrow grooves and the pair of lateral edges. The at least one of the pair of edge-side portions includes a neck portion having a minimum circumferential length thereof, wherein a circumferential length of the at least one of the pair of edge-side portions increases toward axially both sides from the neck portion.