Pneumatic Tyre Circumferential Groove Segmentation for Winter Traction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pneumatic vehicle tires face challenges in maintaining rigidity during steering while ensuring effective water drainage, particularly under wintry conditions, as the design of circumferential grooves often compromises between these two requirements.
Innovation Solution
The circumferential grooves are designed with offset sections, where a wider groove section opens into a diagonal groove at the outgoing tread block edge and a narrower section at the incoming edge, allowing for mutual support during transverse forces and maintaining water drainage capacity by keeping the wider section open.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If circumferential grooves are designed deeper to improve water drainage capacity, then water drainage is improved, but the rigidity of the tread strip decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The circumferential groove is segmented into multiple groove sections (first groove section, second groove section, third groove section) with different widths and depths. This segmentation allows each section to serve different functions: wider sections for water drainage and narrower sections for maintaining tread rigidity, thereby resolving the contradiction between drainage capacity and structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the circumferential groove are designed with different local qualities (widths and depths). The first groove section has a first width, the second groove section has a second width greater than the first, and the third groove section has a third width greater than the second. This local variation in geometry optimizes both water drainage in wider sections and tread strip rigidity in narrower sections.
2Strength
If circumferential grooves are designed with varying widths to improve rigidity under transverse forces, then tread strip rigidity is improved, but water drainage capacity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The circumferential groove is divided into multiple groove sections with progressively varying widths. This segmentation ensures that narrower sections provide rigidity under transverse forces while wider sections maintain adequate water drainage capacity, resolving the contradiction between structural strength and drainage function.
Solution Approach 2:
Each groove section is designed with specific local width characteristics tailored to its position and function. The progressive width variation (first width < second width < third width) creates local quality differences that optimize both rigidity where needed and drainage where capacity is prioritized, thereby resolving the contradiction.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~5
AI summary
The invention relates to pneumatic vehicle tires, in particular for use under winter driving conditions, comprising a directional tread, which is divided into shoulder-side profile blocks (3) and into central profile blocks (4) by diagonal grooves (1), which extend over the tread width in a substantially V-shaped manner, and by circumferential grooves (2) connecting adjacent diagonal grooves (1) to one another, wherein the circumferential grooves (2) extend at an angle of 3° to 15° to the circumferential direction and in the opposite direction to the diagonal grooves (1) extending in the V-shaped manner. The circumferential grooves (2) comprise groove sections (2a, 2b) which are offset in an axial direction with respect to one another and extend parallel to one another, and comprise a connecting section (2c) which connects same and which is short in relation to the groove sections (2a, 2b) which are axially offset with respect to one another, wherein the respective groove section (2a) opening into a diagonal groove (1) with the outward profile block edges during forward travel is wider than the groove section (2b) opening into a diagonal groove (1) with the inward profile block edges, wherein the narrow groove section (2b) is sufficiently wide that when transverse forces of certain size occur, a mutual supporting of the profile blocks bordering to same is made possible by closing the groove section (2b).