Directional Tire Tread Structure for Snow Grip and Water Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pneumatic vehicle tires face a deterioration in snow grip properties and water drainage capacity with increasing tread wear, particularly affecting braking performance on snow.
Innovation Solution
The tire design incorporates block flanks with a uniformly stepped structure, featuring flank surfaces and transition surfaces that maintain grip edges and increase stiffness, while ensuring minimal impact on water drainage capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tread blocks are provided with incisions and zigzag-shaped edges to improve snow grip, then the braking performance on snow is improved, but the water drainage capacity deteriorates due to reduced water flow paths
Solution Approach 1:
The block flanks are provided with a uniformly stepped structure consisting of flank surfaces and transition surfaces, creating different local geometries: the flank surfaces provide gripping edges for snow contact, while the transition surfaces maintain water flow paths. This local differentiation allows the same block structure to simultaneously improve snow grip through enhanced edge geometry while preserving water drainage capacity through maintained flow channels.
2Reliability
If the circumferential grooves are made strongly zigzag or wave-shaped to enhance snow grip, then the braking performance on snow is improved, but the water drainage capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The groove sections are designed with a uniformly stepped structure on their inner surfaces, creating local geometric variations that provide gripping edges for snow contact while maintaining overall groove functionality for water drainage. The stepped structure consists of flank surfaces that contact snow and transition surfaces that preserve water flow paths, allowing simultaneous optimization of both snow grip and water drainage.
3Strength
If the tread blocks are made stiffer to maintain structural integrity, then the rigidity is improved, but the bending ability decreases which reduces grip effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The block flanks are segmented into multiple stepped levels with flank surfaces and transition surfaces, creating a hierarchical structure that provides both stiffness and flexibility. The segmentation allows the block to maintain overall rigidity while the stepped structure enables localized bending and deformation, preserving the ability to conform to uneven snow surfaces and maintain effective grip.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a pneumatic tyre for a vehicle - having a tread with a design in accordance with the rolling direction, the tread having at least two rows (1, 2) of tread bars which are separated by a circumferential groove (5) and are subdivided into tread bars (7, 9) by transverse grooves (6, 8) which open into the circumferential groove (5) and run in parallel with one another in plan view, wherein: - the circumferential groove (5) has groove portions (5a) which run in parallel with one another, each separate a tread bar (7) of one row (2) of tread bars from a tread bar (9) of the other row (1) of tread bars and have a groove base (5a') and a front end (5a1) which enters the subsurface first when the tyre rolls in forward travel (arrow R), and a rear end (5a2), - the tread bars (7, 9) each have, at the tread periphery along the groove portions (5a), a bar edge (9c, 13) running in a straight line in plan view and a bar flange (11, 12) starting from the bar edge and extending as far as the groove base (5a') of the groove portion (5a), - at least the tread bars (9) of one row (1) of tread bars are provided with incisions (10) which open into the groove portions (5a), have incision bases (10c) and subdivide each of the bar edges (9c) into bar edge portions (9c'). The bar flanges (11) of the tread bars (9) which are provided with the incisions (10) opening into the groove portions (5a) form a uniformly stepped structure along the groove portion (5a), which structure is composed of flange faces (11a) and transition faces (11b), wherein: - the flange faces (11a) originate from the bar edge portions (9c') and extend as far as the groove base (5a'), and - the transition faces (11b) extend between the flange faces (11a) and from the groove base (5a') to the incision base (10c) and are narrower than the flange faces (11a), and - when viewed through a groove portion (5a) in the direction (arrow P) from the front end (5a1) to the rear end (5a2), the flange faces (11a) obscure the transition faces (11b).