Non-pneumatic Tire Wheel Disk Rim Thickness Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Non-pneumatic tires lack the responsiveness and comfort characteristics of pneumatic tires, particularly during turning, which affects the driving experience and user comfort.
Innovation Solution
A non-pneumatic tire design featuring a cylindrical tread part, a wheel part with a disk and rim structure where the disk's average thickness is greater than the rim's, and a spoke part with internal and external rings and radial spokes, allowing for improved flexibility and responsiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the disk part is made thinner to reduce weight, then the weight decreases, but the responsiveness during turns deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel part employs varying thickness distribution: the disk part has a first thickness while the rim part has a second thickness that is 0.5 to 1.5 times the first thickness. This local variation in thickness provides different stiffness characteristics to different regions, allowing the disk part to remain relatively thin for weight reduction while the rim part compensates for stiffness to maintain turn responsiveness.
2Speed
If the disk part is made thicker to improve turn responsiveness, then the responsiveness improves, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different thickness characteristics to different parts of the wheel structure. The rim part is designed with a thickness of 0.5 to 1.5 times the disk part thickness, concentrating the stiffness enhancement where it is most needed for turn responsiveness while keeping the central disk part thinner to minimize weight increase.
3Ease of manufacture
If the disk part and rim part are made as separate members, then the manufacturing flexibility improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel part is divided into two separate members: the disk part and the rim part. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently with optimized processes and materials, then joined together. The separate manufacturing improves flexibility while the simple joining structure minimizes the increase in overall device complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
This non-pneumatic tire (10a) is provided with a tread ring (12), a wheel (14a) which is arranged radially inside of the tread ring (12), and spokes (16a) which are interposed between the tread ring (12) and the wheel (14a). Further, the wheel (14a) has a disc part (20a) to which the vehicle shaft (26) is linked, and a rim part (22a) which is connected on the inner peripheral side to the disc part (20a) and is joined on the outer peripheral side to the spokes (16a). In this configuration, the average thickness (T1) of the disc part (20a) is set to be greater than the average thickness (T2) of the rim part (22a). In other words, the relation T1 > T2 holds.