Commercial Tire Tread with Radial Projections for Wet Traction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial vehicle tires, particularly trailer tires, face challenges in achieving improved wet performance and traction while maintaining low rolling resistance, as they are primarily designed as 'ribbed tires' without block structures.
Innovation Solution
The tire design features shallow depressions in central and middle circumferential ribs covered with radial elevations, with widths decreasing towards the outer tread and projections into circumferential grooves, optimizing traction and reducing rolling resistance by narrowing indentations towards the grooves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If trailer tires are designed as pure ribbed tires without block structures to minimize rolling resistance, then rolling resistance is reduced, but wet performance and traction are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating depressions with radial elevations only in specific regions of the circumferential ribs (central and intermediate ribs), while maintaining smooth surfaces in other areas. This localized structuring improves wet performance and traction in critical contact zones without adding block structures that would increase overall rolling resistance, thus resolving the contradiction between energy loss and reliability.
2Reliability
If block structures are added to ribbed tire treads to improve wet performance and traction, then wet performance and traction are improved, but rolling resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the tread surface by creating discrete depressions with radial elevations in specific circumferential ribs rather than adding complete block structures. This segmentation provides localized traction improvement in wet conditions while maintaining the overall ribbed tire configuration that ensures low rolling resistance, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and energy loss.
3Force
If the width of depressions in circumferential ribs is increased to improve traction, then traction is improved, but rolling resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating depressions with specific width characteristics in central and intermediate circumferential ribs only, while maintaining smooth surfaces in other areas. The depressions have controlled dimensions (1-4 mm depth, 3-8 mm width) that provide sufficient traction improvement without excessive width that would increase rolling resistance, thus resolving the contradiction between force and energy loss.
Data Source
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AI summary
Vehicle pneumatic tires, in particular for commercial vehicles, with a tread having at least five circumferential ribs (1, 2, 3) – at least one central circumferential rib (1), two middle circumferential ribs (2) and two shoulder circumferential ribs (3) – separated from one another by circumferential grooves (4, 5) having a depth corresponding to the maximum intended tread depth, wherein shallow depressions (10, 11) are formed in the central circumferential rib (1) and the middle circumferential ribs (2), having a depth of 1 mm to 4 mm and at least in sections a width of at least 5 mm, and the bottoms of which are provided with a plurality of radial projections (13) running parallel to each other, extending at most to the level of the outer surface of the tread, wherein the depressions (10, 11) have sections (10a, 10b, 10c, 11a, 11b, 11c) which are in circumferential grooves (4, 5) flow into.The bottoms of all depressions (10, 11) are completely covered or provided with the rib-like elevations (13), wherein the depressions (11) formed in the middle circumferential ribs (2) have a width that decreases towards the outside of the profile, and wherein the sections (10a, 10c, 11a) of the depressions (10, 11) which open into the circumferential grooves (4) which bound at least one central circumferential rib (1) terminate on projections (12) which extend up to 2.5 mm into the circumferential grooves (4).