Wavy Sipe Tread for Ice Grip and Wear Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional studless tires face issues with reduced ice performance and excessive wear due to sipe collapse, as increasing sipe numbers lowers land portion rigidity and edge effect, and existing three-dimensional sipe designs either fail to adequately suppress collapse or are difficult to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic tire with a tread pattern featuring a sipe inner wall surface comprising wavy first and second concave and convex rows, and a third concave and convex row extending diagonally towards the sipe bottom, increasing the engaging effect and grounding property, while being easier to manufacture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the number of sipes is increased to enhance edge effect, then ice performance is improved, but land portion rigidity is lowered causing excessive collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe inner wall surface is designed with three-dimensional concave-convex shapes extending in the depth direction, transforming the conventional two-dimensional flat sipe structure. This dimensional change creates multiple engaging surfaces that suppress land portion collapse while maintaining high edge effect, resolving the contradiction between increasing sipe number and maintaining land portion rigidity
Solution Approach 2:
The sipe inner wall surface incorporates wavy concave-convex rows with curved surfaces instead of flat surfaces. These curved surfaces engage with the rubber material more effectively, providing enhanced mechanical interlocking that prevents excessive collapse while allowing multiple sipes to be formed without compromising land portion strength
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional three-dimensional sipe shapes are used to suppress collapse, then land portion stability is improved, but manufacturing difficulty increases due to complex concave-convex shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe inner wall surface is segmented into multiple distinct concave-convex rows (first, second, and third rows) with different orientations and functions. This segmentation allows each row to be formed by separate molding actions, simplifying the manufacturing process while achieving the complex three-dimensional structure needed for collapse suppression
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the sipe inner wall surface are given different local characteristics: the first concave-convex row provides initial engagement, the second row provides additional engagement at a different angle, and the third row provides final stabilization. This local differentiation allows each region to be optimized for its specific function while simplifying the overall manufacturing approach
Data Source
AI summary
A sipe inner wall surface of a sipe is provided with a wavy first concave and convex row, a wavy second concave and convex row arranged in a sipe bottom side from the first concave and convex row so as to be spaced, and structured such that a wavelength is made shorter than the first concave and convex row so as to increase the number of waves, and a third concave and convex row extending toward the sipe bottom side in a branched manner while being inclined to a longitudinal direction side of the sipe with respect to a normal direction of a tread surface, and interposed between the first concave and convex row and the second concave and convex row so as to be connected to both elements.