Vehicle tire
AssigneeSumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
InventorMasahiro Hanya
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle tire includes a tread provided with a tread pattern, which is made up of circumferentially arranged design units having a plurality of pitch lengths Pi (i=l to j) including a minimum pitch length Pl and a maximum pitch length Pj. Each of the design units has at least one groove with side walls each having an inclination angle αi in a cross section parallel to the tire equator, and the inclination angle α1 in the design unit having the minimum pitch length P1 is less than the inclination angle αj in the design unit having the maximum pitch length Pj, whereby the rigidity difference between the design units having different pitch lengths is decreased. Preferably, the angle αi in a design unit having a pitch length Pi is not more than the angle αi+1 in a design unit having the next longer pitch length Pi+1.
Claims2
A vehicle tire comprising
- a tread provided with a tread pattern,
- the tread pattern made up of circumferentially arranged three dimensional design units, having a radially inward extent,
- the three-dimensional design units having pitch angles θi and pitch lengths Pi (i=l to j) including a minimum pitch length P1 and a maximum pitch length Pj,
- each of the three-dimensional design units comprising at least one groove having side walls, each said side wall having an inclination angle αi in a cross section parallel to the tire equator,
- the three-dimensional design units formed by changing pitch angles θi so that each of the three-dimensional design units elongates or shrinks only in the tire circumferential direction, whereby the inclination angle αi (i=l) in the design unit having the minimum pitch length Pl is less than the inclination angle αi (i=j) in the design unit having the maximum pitch length Pj.
A method of making a tread pattern for a vehicle tire, comprising
- making a three-dimensional basic design unit having a pitch angle θi and a pitch length Pi,
- making a number (j) of three-dimensional design units having different pitch angles θi and different pitch lengths Pi (i=l to j) by changing the pitch angle θi of said three-dimensional basis design unit so as to elongate or shrink only in the tire circumferential direction, and
- arranging said a number (j) of three-dimensional design units around a tire axis to form a circumferentially continuous tread pattern.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.