Pneumatic Tyre Tread Stiffness Distribution for Uniform Wear

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current pneumatic vehicle tire designs face challenges in achieving optimal abrasion performance and uniform wear across the tread width, requiring lengthy development times and high costs due to the complex interplay of circumferential stiffness and rubber distribution.

Innovation Solution

The tire is divided into three circumferential sections with varying positive surface proportions and stiffness, where the outer sections have greater circumferential rigidity and positive surface area, optimizing the tread profile to ensure uniform wear and extended mileage by distributing circumferential stiffness and positive surface area effectively.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the tread is designed with higher circumferential stiffness in outer sections, then uniform wear performance is improved, but the complexity of tread design increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuniform wear performanceVSAvoidtread design complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The tread is divided into three distinct circumferential sections (first, second, and third sections) with different stiffness characteristics. The outer sections (first and second) have lower circumferential stiffness while the inner section (third) has higher stiffness, allowing each section to be optimized independently for its specific functional requirements regarding wear and handling

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different circumferential sections of the tread are assigned different stiffness properties tailored to their specific locations and functions. The outer sections have reduced stiffness to prevent excessive wear, while the inner section maintains higher stiffness for stability, creating local optimization rather than uniform design across the entire tread

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Duration of action of moving object

If the tread depth in the central area is reduced, then mileage is extended, but abrasion performance becomes non-uniform across the tread width

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetire mileageVSAvoidabrasion performance uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
Duration of action of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The tread depth is locally optimized for each circumferential section. The central area (third section) has reduced tread depth to extend mileage, while the outer sections (first and second) maintain higher tread depth with lower stiffness to ensure uniform wear patterns. This local differentiation allows the tire to achieve both extended service life and consistent abrasion performance across different tread regions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2785536B1Pneumatic vehicle tyre
Publication Date: 2015.10.21 CONTINENTAL REIFEN DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
  • EP2785536B1 patent drawingFigure 1

AI summary

Pneumatic vehicle tyre, in particle a tyre for passenger cars having a tread which is divided by grooves, channels (3, 4) and the like into profile positives, for example profile blocks (2, 5, 7) and which has a smaller profile depth in its central region than in the lateral regions. Given division of each tread half - between the tyre equator (A-A) and the tread edge (L) bounding the ground contact patch width (B) - into three circumferential sections (S1, S2, S3), the first circumferential section (S1) of which, which runs adjacent to the tyre equator (A-A) having a width of 15 % of the ground contact patch width (B) and the two further circumferential sections (S2, S3) each having a width of 17.5 % of the ground contact patch width (B), in each case a relatively small portion of the positive face of the tread half is located in the first and in the second circumferential section (S1, S2) than in the third circumferential section (S3) and the circumferential rigidity is in each case smaller in the first and in the second circumferential section (S1, S2) than in the third circumferential section (S3).