Winter Tire Shoulder Blocks with Zigzag Incisions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing winter tires with wide shoulder-side tread block rows suffer from reduced ground contact patch width, leading to impaired braking properties and wear patterns due to increased lateral stiffness and transverse blind slip, which negatively affect handling and traction on various road surfaces.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating parallel incisions with varying course characteristics in each block part of the shoulder-side tread blocks, allowing for reduced lateral force during contact and increased footprint width, along with zigzag or wavy sections for stabilization, enables better force transfer and adaptability to road surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the shoulder-side tread block rows are made significantly wider to improve lateral stiffness and dry handling characteristics, then the tire's dry handling properties are improved, but the ground contact patch width is reduced and braking properties on all road surfaces are impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The shoulder-side tread blocks are divided into two block parts by circumferential grooves, and each block part is further divided by transverse incisions. This segmentation reduces the lateral stiffness of individual blocks while maintaining overall tread stability, allowing better flattening in the contact patch and wider ground contact area without sacrificing dry handling characteristics.
2Reliability
If the shoulder-side tread block rows are made significantly wider to improve lateral stiffness, then cornering on snow and ice is improved, but the shoulder areas of the tread rub off more heavily due to transverse blind slip
Solution Approach 1:
The wide shoulder-side tread blocks are segmented into multiple smaller block parts through circumferential grooves and transverse incisions. This reduces transverse blind slip within the contact patch, distributing wear more evenly across the shoulder areas and preventing excessive rubbing off while maintaining reliable cornering performance on snow and ice.
Solution Approach 2:
The incisions in the block parts feature zigzag or wavy courses rather than straight lines. This curved geometry reduces transverse blind slip and improves the tread's ability to adapt to road surface irregularities, thereby reducing uneven wear in the shoulder areas while maintaining cornering reliability on winter surfaces.
3Reliability
If incisions with zigzag or wavy courses are provided in block parts, then abrasion and handling properties are improved, but the complexity of the groove design increases
Solution Approach 1:
The zigzag or wavy course characteristics are applied locally to specific sections of the incisions in block parts, rather than throughout the entire tread pattern. This provides the abrasion and handling benefits where needed while limiting the increase in overall design complexity to manageable levels.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle pneumatic tire, in particular for use in winter driving conditions, comprising a tread having a central profile region divided into profile positives and two shoulder-side tread bar rows (4) separated from said profile region by wide circumferential grooves (1) running in the circumferential direction, wherein the shoulder-side tread bar rows (4) have a width (bs) which equals between 20% and 30% of the ground contact area width (B) of the tread. The tread bars (5) in the shoulder-side tread bar rows (4) are each divided into two bar parts (5a, 5b) in the middle region thereof by a groove (8) extending at least substantially in the circumferential direction and having a width between 1 mm and 2.5 mm and a depth between 2 mm and 3.5 mm, wherein the groove (8) has at least one section (8a) having a zig-zag or wave-shaped course.