Pneumatic Tire Tread Pattern for Dry Steering and Snow Grip
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Solution Overview
Problem
All-season pneumatic tires face challenges in achieving both steering stability on dry road surfaces and performance on snow-covered surfaces due to existing tread patterns, which prioritize snow performance over dry road handling.
Innovation Solution
A new tread pattern featuring a pair of circumferential main grooves, inclined sipe portions, and groove turning portions that connect to form peak-like shapes, with sipes and lug grooves designed to protrude within specific ranges to enhance edge effects and ground contact pressure, improving both steering stability and snow performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a number of sipes and lug grooves are provided to increase edge components for snow performance, then performance on snow is improved, but steering stability on dry road surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing sipes and lug grooves selectively in specific regions of the tread pattern. The sipes are concentrated in the intermediate land portions between circumferential main grooves, while the shoulder land portions have different configurations. This localized distribution optimizes snow performance in regions where it is most needed without compromising steering stability in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The tread pattern is segmented into distinct functional zones: circumferential main grooves for water evacuation, intermediate land portions with sipes for snow biting, and shoulder land portions for steering stability. This segmentation allows each region to perform its specific function optimally, resolving the contradiction between snow performance and dry road handling.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If lateral main grooves with intermediate depth are provided to ensure center block rigidity and suppress uneven wear, then uneven wear resistance is improved, but steering stability on dry road surfaces is not always exerted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the groove depth parameter of lateral main grooves to an intermediate value that is shallower than outer circumferential main grooves but deeper than the center circumferential main groove. This parameter optimization ensures center block rigidity for wear resistance while maintaining sufficient flexibility for steering stability on dry surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of providing deep lateral grooves throughout the entire tread, the patent applies partial action by limiting the groove depth to intermediate levels only in specific regions, avoiding excessive rigidity that would harm steering stability while still providing sufficient wear resistance.
Data Source
AI summary
A tread pattern of a pneumatic tire includes circumferential main grooves, a land portion defined by the circumferential main grooves in the lateral direction, and sipes at intervals in a circumferential direction, the sipes connecting the circumferential main grooves with each other. Each of the sipes has a peak-like shape protruding to a first side in the circumferential direction. When, in a profile cross-section of the tread portion taken along the lateral direction, an arc passing through two land portion edge points at which a tread surface of the land portion is connected with groove wall surfaces of the circumferential main grooves and having a center point positioned on the equator line is set to a standard profile line, a profile line formed by the tread surface of the land portion is a swelling profile line protruding outward of the standard profile line in a radial direction.