Tread Profile Segmentation for Winter Grip and Durability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing pneumatic vehicle tire tread profiles experience reduced winter grip and durability due to wear-induced loss of fine incisions and increased number of lateral grooves, leading to a diminished effective contact surface and increased notch forces.

Innovation Solution

A tread profile design with radially raised profile bands featuring alternating radial extension areas, including fine incisions and wider sections that transform into transverse or oblique grooves with service life, maintaining a consistent number of water-absorbing grooves and fine incisions for improved grip and support, while reducing notch forces.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If fine incisions are formed extending through the entire profile depth to maintain grip effect with increasing service life, then winter grip properties are improved, but notch forces at the base of grooves increase and durability is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewinter grip propertiesVSAvoiddurability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The incisions are segmented into two distinct radial extension areas: a first radial extension area with fine incisions (section thickness d) and a second radial extension area with wider sections (section thickness B ≥ 2d). This segmentation allows the fine incisions to provide grip effect while the wider sections prevent high notch forces at the base, thus resolving the contradiction between winter grip properties and durability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If a large number of transverse grooves are formed to maintain water drainage capability, then wet grip is improved, but the effective contact surface area is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewet gripVSAvoideffective contact surface
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The incisions have different local qualities at different radial positions: the first radial extension area has fine incisions for grip effect while the second radial extension area has wider sections for water drainage. This local differentiation allows the tread to provide both wet grip through water drainage and maintain sufficient effective contact surface area, resolving the contradiction between wet grip and contact surface area.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2509803B1Tread profile of a pneumatic vehicle tire
Publication Date: 2014.04.16 CONTINENTAL REIFEN DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
  • EP2509803B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2509803B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2509803B1 patent drawingFigure 3a~3b

AI summary

The invention relates to a tread profile of a pneumatic vehicle tire, comprising profile strips (1) that extend over the entire circumference of the pneumatic vehicle tire, wherein a plurality of transverse or oblique recesses (5, 6, 7, 8) are designed over the circumference of the pneumatic vehicle tire in at least one profile strip (1), wherein the recess (5, 6, 7, 8) in a first radial extension region (9) is designed as fine recess having a thickness d and an extension height H1 as measured in the radial direction R, and in a second radial extension region (10) is designed as a wide recess with a thickness B, with B = (2d), and an extension height H2 as measured in the radial direction R, wherein the radial positions of the first radial extension region (9) and of the second radial extension region (10) formed in relation to each other within a recess (5, 6, 7, 8) are selected to be different from each other in the recesses (5, 6, 7,8) distributed over the circumference of the tire.