Truck Tire Belt Package With Split Belt for Crown Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial truck tires face challenges in handling increased vehicle weight due to heavier motors and equipment, requiring improved crown durability and increased load carrying capacity.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic tire design featuring a belt structure with reinforced plies and specific angles for reinforcement elements, including working belts, a transition belt, and a split belt, utilizing high elongation wires and materials like steel or hybrid cords, to enhance durability and load capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the overall vehicle weight increases due to heavier motors and equipment, then the load carrying capacity requirement increases, but the crown durability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The belt structure is segmented into multiple distinct layers: a first working belt with cords at 15-30 degrees, a second working belt with cords at 15-30 degrees, and a low angle belt with cords at less than 5 degrees. This segmentation allows each layer to perform specific functions - the working belts provide load carrying capacity while the low angle belt provides crown durability, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The tire employs a composite belt structure combining different cord orientations and material properties. The working belts use cords oriented at 15-30 degrees for load support, while the low angle belt uses cords at less than 5 degrees for crown stability. This composite approach allows the tire to simultaneously achieve high load carrying capacity and improved crown durability under increased vehicle weights.
2Force
If a single belt structure is used, then the device complexity is low, but the load carrying capacity and crown durability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than using a single complex belt, the invention segments the reinforcement into three distinct belts with specific cord orientations. This segmentation provides the necessary load carrying capacity and crown durability while keeping each individual belt layer relatively simple in structure, managing overall complexity through functional decomposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-layer belt structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: the working belts (first and second) provide load carrying capacity through their 15-30 degree cord angles, while the low angle belt provides crown durability through its less than 5 degree cord angle. This multi-functionality approach justifies the increased structural complexity by delivering multiple performance benefits.
3Reliability
If the cord angle in working belts is reduced to improve crown durability, then the crown durability improves, but the load carrying capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The belt structure is segmented into functional layers: working belts with 15-30 degree cords for load carrying and a separate low angle belt with less than 5 degree cords for crown durability. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by assigning different cord angles to different functional requirements within the same belt structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the belt structure have different cord orientations optimized for their specific functions. The working belt regions have 15-30 degree angles for load support, while the low angle belt region has less than 5 degree angles for crown stability. This local optimization allows each region to perform its specific function effectively without compromising the other.
Data Source
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AI summary
A pneumatic tire (10) is disclosed comprising a tread (12) and a belt package (50) located radially inward of the tread (12). The belt package (50) includes a pair of working belts (54, 56), wherein the working belts (54, 56) are reinforced plies each comprising parallel reinforcement elements, wherein the angle of the reinforcement elements in the respective working belt (54, 56) is in a range of from 12 degrees to 35 degrees with respect to the circumferential direction. The belt package (50) includes a further belt (58) positioned between the working belts (54, 56), said further belt (58) comprising parallel reinforcement elements angled in a range of from 5 degrees to 0 degree with respect to the circumferential direction. Finally, there is a split belt formed of a first split belt structure and second split belt structure (62), wherein the first and second split belt structure (62) are each positioned radially inward of an axially outermost groove (36) on each side of the tread (12) and each extend at least partially below said axially outermost groove (36) on each side of the tread (12). The reinforcement elements in the working belts (54, 56) have an elongation at 10% of the breaking load greater than 0.4 % when measured at reinforcement elements extracted from a cured tire.