Tread Sipe Layout for Ice Tires With Lower Uneven Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tires designed for icy conditions suffer from increased shear deformation in the tire circumferential direction, leading to uneven wear such as heel-and-toe wear due to the presence of sipes in the tread blocks.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring a specific arrangement of circumferential and lateral grooves, shoulder and crown blocks, and sipes that terminate at the ground contact surface, enhancing stiffness and reducing shear deformation while maintaining on-ice performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes are added to enhance on-ice performance, then on-ice performance is improved, but shear deformation increases leading to uneven wear
Solution Approach 1:
The tread blocks are divided into multiple segments by sipes and grooves. The invention segments the crown land portion into multiple crown blocks and the shoulder land portion into multiple shoulder blocks, creating a segmented structure that reduces shear deformation while maintaining on-ice performance through edge effects
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tread are given different sipe configurations. The crown land portion has crown sipes with specific patterns while the shoulder land portion has shoulder sipes with different patterns, optimizing each region for its specific function while managing shear deformation locally
2Reliability
If sipes are configured to connect to circumferential grooves, then on-ice performance is enhanced, but shear deformation in tire circumferential direction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses partial connections of sipes to circumferential grooves. Not all sipes connect to grooves, and the connection is selective based on position and function, providing enough connection for on-ice performance while limiting excessive shear deformation
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates multiple copies of sipe patterns in different orientations and positions. By distributing multiple sipes across different blocks rather than having single long sipes, the structure replicates functional elements to achieve performance without excessive deformation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The tire design effectively reduces uneven wear while maintaining or enhancing on-ice performance by minimizing shear deformation and improving frictional force through edge effects.
Implementation Method 1
The sipe as described above allows on-ice performance to be enhanced by an edge effect or the like
Data Source
AI summary
A tire 1 includes a tread portion 2. The tread portion 2 includes tread ends Te, three circumferential grooves 3, and four land portions 4. The circumferential grooves 3 include one shoulder circumferential groove 5 and one crown circumferential groove 6. The land portions 4 include one shoulder land portion 9 and one crown land portion 10. The shoulder land portion 9 includes shoulder blocks having shoulder sipes. An inner end of the shoulder sipe in the tire axial direction terminates at a ground contact surface of the shoulder block. The crown land portion 10 includes crown blocks having crown sipe groups. The crown sipe group includes a first crown sipe having one end connected to the shoulder circumferential groove 5 and another end terminating at a ground contact surface of the crown block, a second crown sipe having one end connected to the crown circumferential groove 6 and another end terminating at the surface, and a third crown sipe having both ends terminating at the surface.