Tyre Tread Sipe Layout for Wet Grip and Uneven Wear Resistance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current tires face challenges in enhancing dry performance, wet performance, and uneven wear resistance, as existing designs often compromise on rigidity and water drainage efficiency.

Innovation Solution

The tire design incorporates arc-shaped sipes on the tread portion that do not communicate with lateral grooves, maintaining high rigidity and effective water drainage, along with strategically placed circumferential grooves and lug grooves to improve contactability and reduce self-aligning torque power, thereby enhancing dry and wet performance while maintaining uneven wear resistance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If sipes are arranged to improve water drainage and contactability, then wet performance and dry performance are improved, but rigidity of the tread portion decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewet performanceVSAvoidrigidity of tread portion
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating different sipe configurations in different regions of the tread. First sipes are arranged in a first land portion with specific orientations (angle α1 between 0-10 degrees relative to circumferential direction), while second sipes are arranged in a second land portion with different orientations (angle α2 between 30-45 degrees). This regional differentiation allows each area to optimize for both water drainage and rigidity maintenance, resolving the contradiction between improved wet performance and maintained structural strength.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If more sipes are added to improve contactability, then dry performance is improved, but rigidity of the tread portion decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedry performanceVSAvoidrigidity of tread portion
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating different sipe configurations in different regions of the tread. First sipes are arranged in a first land portion with specific orientations (angle α1 between 0-10 degrees relative to circumferential direction), while second sipes are arranged in a second land portion with different orientations (angle α2 between 30-45 degrees). This regional differentiation allows each area to optimize for both water drainage and rigidity maintenance, resolving the contradiction between improved wet performance and maintained structural strength.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If sipes are arranged at larger angles to improve water drainage, then wet performance is improved, but self-aligning torque power increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewet performanceVSAvoidself-aligning torque power
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSPower

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs asymmetry by establishing distinct sipe patterns for different land portions. The first sipes in the first land portion have one orientation configuration (α1: 0-10 degrees), while the second sipes in the second land portion have a different orientation configuration (α2: 30-45 degrees). This asymmetric arrangement ensures that no single region experiences excessive stress concentration, thereby improving uneven wear resistance while maintaining effective water drainage across the entire tread surface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentEP4070972B1tyre
Publication Date: 2023.12.13 SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD
  • EP4070972B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4070972B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP4070972B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A tyre includes a tread portion (2) including a first land portion (3), the first land portion (3) being provided with a plurality of first sipes (7). The plurality of first sipes (7) extends in an arc shape manner. The plurality of first sipes (7) is arranged on the first land portion (3) without communicating with lateral grooves extending in a tyre axial direction. In a tread plan view, a virtual sipe reference line of each of the plurality of first sipes (7) has an angle equal to or less than 10 degrees with respect to a tyre circumferential direction, wherein the virtual sipe reference line is a straight line that connects both ends of each of the plurality of first sipes (7).