Twisted Sipes Enhance Tread Rigidity and Wear Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tire treads with sipes experience undesired wear due to reduced stiffness, which compromises traction and handling, especially during cornering and straight-line vehicle travel.
Innovation Solution
The tire tread design incorporates twisted sipes with varying angles of inclination, increasing interlocking between tread blocks, thereby enhancing rigidity and reducing wear while maintaining traction benefits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes are incorporated into the tire tread to improve traction, then traction performance is improved, but tread stiffness is reduced leading to increased wear
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe cross-section is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a thicker first portion and a thinner second portion. This local variation in geometry allows the sipe to provide traction enhancement while maintaining overall tread stiffness through strategic placement of material.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a depth dimension variation to the sipe structure by creating different thickness portions at different depths. The first portion extends from the outer surface to a first depth, while the second portion extends from the first depth to a second depth, adding vertical dimensionality to the sipe design.
2Ease of manufacture
If sipes are made with uniform thickness to simplify manufacturing, then ease of manufacture is improved, but interlocking between tread blocks is reduced increasing wear
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe incorporates local quality variations with a thicker first portion and a thinner second portion at different depth levels. This non-uniform cross-section enhances interlocking between adjacent tread blocks while remaining compatible with standard molding processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the sipe cross-section, specifically varying the thickness parameter along the depth direction. This parameter variation optimizes the balance between manufacturing feasibility and wear resistance through improved interlocking.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention includes tire treads, tires including the tire treads, and methods of forming a tire tread. The tire tread includes a length extending in a lengthwise direction, a width extending in a lateral direction, and a thickness extending in a depthwise direction from an outer, ground-engaging side of the tread. The tire treads further include a sipe having a length, a height, a width, a thickness extending in a direction of the sipe width, and a cross-section taken along a plane extending in a direction of the sipe width and height, where the cross-section twists as the sipe thickness extends along the length of the sipe. Method of forming the tire tread includes molding into the tread a sipe and a void feature as recited herein.