Tread Groove Array Layout for Lower Tire Pitch Noise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tires with sipes and lateral grooves generate noise during driving, and there is a need to improve noise performance as vehicles become quieter.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring a tread portion with continuous circumferential grooves and land portions, where lateral groove-shaped elements are inclined and arranged in a specific array across the tire's circumference, ensuring that each pair's ends align in the circumferential direction and are formed on different land portions, reducing impact force fluctuations and noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes or lateral grooves are provided on the tread portion for drainage performance, then drainage performance is improved, but running noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tread portion is divided into multiple land portions by circumferential grooves, and each land portion is further divided into tread edge land portions and crown land portions. Lateral groove-shaped elements are selectively provided on specific land portions, segmenting the noise-generating surfaces and reducing overall running noise while maintaining drainage functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
Lateral groove-shaped elements are provided only on the tread edge land portions and crown land portions, but not uniformly across the entire tread. This local differentiation optimizes drainage performance where needed while reducing noise generation in critical areas, achieving a balance between the two requirements.
2Reliability
If lateral grooves are provided for drainage, then drainage performance is improved, but pitch noise increases due to impact force fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral groove-shaped elements are arranged in a specific array pattern around the tire circumference, creating a periodic structure. This periodic arrangement ensures that impact forces are distributed more evenly over time as the tire rotates, reducing the fluctuation of impact forces and thereby reducing pitch noise while maintaining effective drainage through the grooved structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A tread portion includes land portions divided by circumferential grooves. The land portions are provided with a set of lateral groove-shaped elements inclined with respect to tire axial and circumferential directions. Each lateral groove-shaped elements includes a circumferential first and second ends. The set of lateral groove-shaped elements is arranged in a first array over an entire circumference of the tire. The first array is such that in each of all pairs of two lateral groove-shaped elements adjacent to each other in the tire circumferential direction of the lateral groove-shaped elements, the first end of one of the two lateral groove-shaped elements is located at a circumferential same position as the second end of the other one of the two lateral groove-shaped elements. Two lateral groove-shaped elements included in at least one pair of the all pairs are formed on different land portions from one another.