Tyre Sidewall Concave Mark Optical Legibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Concave marks on tyre sidewalls suffer from poor legibility due to limited rubber thickness, and using a different colored rubber to enhance legibility complicates the production process and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
The concave mark on the tyre sidewall is designed with a shadow area and a main area, where the shadow area features minute protrusions that increase light absorption, creating a darker appearance and enhancing contrast, making the mark appear deeper optically.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a convex mark is formed on the sidewall surface, then legibility is improved, but air resistance increases and fuel efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by forming a concave mark instead of a convex mark. The mark is recessed into the sidewall surface rather than protruding, which reduces air resistance and improves fuel efficiency while maintaining legibility through optical effects created by minute protrusions on the bottom surface of the concave mark
2Loss of energy
If a concave mark is formed on the sidewall surface, then air resistance is reduced and fuel efficiency is improved, but legibility deteriorates due to limited rubber thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating minute protrusions only on the bottom surface of the concave mark rather than changing the entire mark structure or using different colored rubber throughout. This localized modification enhances light absorption and creates shadow effects that improve legibility without affecting the overall concave structure that provides fuel efficiency benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates optical color changes through the minute protrusions on the bottom surface of the concave mark. These protrusions absorb light and create shadow effects that make the mark appear darker and more visible, achieving the effect of different colored rubber without actually using different materials
3Loss of information
If a different colored rubber is used on the inner surface of the concave mark, then legibility is improved, but the formation process becomes complicated and production efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses homogeneity by forming all features of the mark (the concave structure and the minute protrusions on the bottom surface) from the same rubber material in a single molding process. This eliminates the need for separate materials or additional processing steps, maintaining production efficiency while achieving improved legibility through the optical effects of the minute protrusions
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
This design increases the perceived depth of the concave mark, improving legibility without the need for a different colored rubber, thus simplifying the production process and reducing costs while maintaining fuel efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
by providing a plurality of the minute protrusions, the absorption rate of the light is increased, therefore, it is possible that the shadow area (Ya) is made to look darker than the main area
Data Source
AI summary
A tyre with a concave mark provided on a surface of a sidewall portion. A bottom surface of the concave mark is divided into a shadow area and a remaining main area. The shadow area is an area along a shadow wall portion that is in the shadow of a wall portion of the concave mark when light is shed to the concave mark from a direction. The shadow area has a plurality of minute protrusions.