Tire Tread Sipe and Groove Arrangement for Snow and Dry Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
All-season tires face a trade-off between improving snow road performance and maintaining steering stability on dry roads, as features that enhance snow traction, such as lateral grooves and sipes, often reduce tread pattern rigidity and deteriorate steering stability on dry surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A tire tread design featuring axially spaced land portions with lateral grooves, first, second, and third sipes that extend without intersecting the grooves, and are inclined in the same direction, along with chamfered portions, to enhance snow-shearing force while maintaining rigidity and traction on dry roads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If lateral grooves and sipes are extended completely through the tread land portion, then snow road performance is improved, but tread pattern rigidity is reduced resulting in deteriorated steering stability on dry roads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful effect of complete groove traversal by terminating lateral grooves within the tread land portion rather than allowing them to extend completely through. This extraction of the groove termination point maintains snow-shearing capability while preserving tread rigidity for steering stability on dry roads.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating different groove configurations in different regions of the tread. Lateral grooves are extended in the snow-affected regions to improve snow road performance, while being terminated in other regions to maintain tread rigidity. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction between snow performance and steering stability.
2Force
If high density and lengthy lateral grooves are provided, then snow-shearing force is improved, but tread pattern rigidity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by providing lateral grooves that extend partway through the tread land portion rather than completely through it. This partial extension provides sufficient snow-shearing force for improved snow road performance while avoiding the excessive groove penetration that would compromise tread rigidity and steering stability.
3Force
If edges of lateral grooves and sipes are used for road scratching, then traction on snow is increased, but tread pattern rigidity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the road scratching function at specific locations where lateral grooves and sipes are positioned to maximize traction on snow. By strategically locating these features rather than distributing them uniformly across the entire tread, the patent achieves improved traction while maintaining overall tread rigidity for steering stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A tire includes a tread portion including at least one land portion having axially spaced first and second ends. The at least one land portion is provided with lateral grooves extending from the first end to terminal ends terminating within the at least one land portion, first sipes each extending along a tire circumferential direction to connect a pair of lateral grooves arranged adjacently in the tire circumferential direction, second sipes extending from the first end toward the first sipes, and third sipes extending from the second end toward the first sipes. The second sipes and the third sipes are arranged without intersecting the lateral grooves.