Tire Tread Layout for Mud Traction and Paved-Road Stability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing tires are not suitable for running on both paved roads and rough terrain, particularly muddy terrain, due to inadequate traction and slide control performance.

Innovation Solution

A tire design featuring V-shaped lateral grooves, circumferential grooves, and sipes that enhance traction and slide control by maintaining stiffness and facilitating mud removal, with specific groove and sipe dimensions and orientations to improve performance on both surfaces.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-generated harmful factors

If V-shaped lateral grooves are formed on the tread portion, then mud removal capability is improved, but traction performance on paved roads deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemud accumulationVSAvoidtraction performance on paved roads
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-generated harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The tread portion is segmented into multiple functional regions: V-shaped lateral grooves for mud removal, circumferential grooves for additional drainage, and land portions with sipes for traction. This segmentation allows each region to specialize in one function, resolving the contradiction between mud removal and paved road traction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the tread are given different properties: the lateral grooves provide aggressive mud evacuation, while the land portions with sipes provide controlled traction. The circumferential grooves add localized drainage capability without affecting the overall traction pattern on paved surfaces.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If circumferential grooves are added to divide land portions, then slide control on muddy terrain is improved, but structural complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveslide control performanceVSAvoidtread pattern complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The land portions are further segmented by circumferential grooves into crown blocks and shoulder blocks. This creates distinct zones for different functions: crown blocks for central traction and shoulder blocks for lateral stability, improving slide control without excessive complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If sipes are formed on crown blocks, then traction on rough terrain is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetraction on muddy terrainVSAvoidsipe formation precision
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The sipes are pre-formed as integral parts of the crown blocks during the molding process, rather than being added as separate components. This preliminary action ensures precise positioning and consistent geometry without requiring additional manufacturing steps or high-precision post-processing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4400334B1tire
Publication Date: 2026.03.04 SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD
  • EP4400334B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4400334B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4400334B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A tire suitable for running on paved roads and rough terrain is provided. A tread portion 2 includes a plurality of lateral grooves 21 crossing a tire equator C and bent in a V-shape, and a plurality of land portions 22 demarcated by the plurality of lateral grooves 21. Each of the plurality of land portions 22 is divided by a plurality of circumferential grooves 23 so as to include a crown block 24 located on the tire equator C and a pair of shoulder blocks 25 located outward of the crown block 24 in a tire axial direction. The crown blocks 24 include a first crown block 31. A first sipe 41 is formed on the first crown block 31 so as to be located on the tire equator C and fully traverse the first crown block 31 in a tire circumferential direction.