Car Tyre Tread Pattern with Segmented Shoulder Grooves
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-performance car tires face challenges in maintaining safety and performance on both dry and wet surfaces due to conflicting requirements of traction, braking, noise, and wear, exacerbated by the shape of the tire footprint during sudden load transfers, which can lead to loss of grip and instability.
Innovation Solution
A tire tread pattern with a low void-to-rubber ratio in the central area and varying block mobility on shoulder portions, featuring specific transverse and circumferential grooves to enhance traction, braking, and stability, while minimizing noise and wear, and maintaining a consistent footprint shape during cornering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a high number of transverse grooves with accentuated width is provided to improve water drainage and traction on wet surfaces, then aquaplaning resistance is improved, but tyre noise increases due to continuous collision of ridges and grooves against the road surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the tread structure between central and shoulder portions. The central portion has a low void-to-rubber ratio with fewer and narrower transverse grooves to minimize noise, while the shoulder portions have higher void-to-rubber ratios with more and wider transverse grooves to maximize water drainage and traction. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction by optimizing each region for its specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
The tread is segmented into distinct functional zones: a central portion for stability and low noise, and shoulder portions for water evacuation and traction. This segmentation allows each zone to be optimized independently, with the central portion using fewer grooves to reduce noise while shoulder portions use more grooves to improve aquaplaning resistance.
2Reliability
If a high void-to-rubber ratio is provided to improve water drainage capability, then aquaplaning resistance is improved, but brake performance deteriorates due to reduced tyre contact area with the road surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by assigning different void-to-rubber ratios to different tread regions. The central portion maintains a low void-to-rubber ratio (0.05-0.15) to ensure adequate contact area for brake performance, while shoulder portions have high void-to-rubber ratios (0.20-0.40) to maximize water drainage capability. This resolves the contradiction by localizing water evacuation functions to shoulder areas while preserving central contact for braking.
Solution Approach 2:
The tread pattern is segmented into central and shoulder zones with fundamentally different void-to-rubber ratios. This segmentation enables the shoulder portions to handle water evacuation while the central portion maintains road contact for braking, thus resolving the conflict between water drainage and brake performance.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the footprint area deforms excessively towards the outer side during cornering with sudden load transfer, then cornering stability is improved, but loss of grip occurs on the inner side resulting in transitory zigzag motion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating asymmetric block mobility characteristics between inner and outer shoulder portions. The inner shoulder portion has higher block mobility to allow controlled deformation and maintain grip during load transfer, while the outer shoulder portion has lower block mobility to provide structural stability. This resolves the contradiction by optimizing each shoulder for its specific role during cornering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamics by allowing the inner shoulder blocks to move and deform more freely during cornering, enabling the footprint to adapt gradually to load transfer. This dynamic behavior prevents sudden loss of grip while maintaining overall stability, resolving the contradiction between cornering stability and grip consistency.
4Strength
If a low void-to-rubber ratio is provided in the central area to improve brake performance and reduce noise, then brake performance is improved, but water drainage capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by concentrating water drainage functions in the shoulder portions while maintaining a low void-to-rubber ratio in the central portion. The central area (0.05-0.15) optimizes brake performance and noise reduction, while shoulder areas (0.20-0.40) provide water evacuation capacity. This resolves the contradiction by localizing water drainage to shoulder regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The tread is segmented into central and shoulder zones with different void-to-rubber ratios. The central portion is dedicated to brake performance with minimal grooves, while shoulder portions are dedicated to water drainage with higher void ratios. This segmentation resolves the conflict by assigning separate functions to separate regions.
Data Source
AI summary
A tyre having a tread is described. The tyre has a central portion located across an equatorial plane, a first shoulder portion located towards an outer side of the tyre and a second shoulder portion located towards an inner side of the tyre. The central portion is separated from the first shoulder portion by two first circumferential grooves. The first shoulder portion and the second shoulder portion have a plurality of first transverse grooves having a first end located substantially at the respective edge of the tread, having a width greater than or equal to about 4 mm and an axial extension equal to at least 50% of the width of the shoulder portion in which they are located.