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US 6,523,586 B1Granted
Wear indicator for vehicle tires
AssigneeNokian Tyres PLC
InventorsPentti Eromäki, Henri Kossi, Jouni Raatikainen
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AssigneeNokian Tyres PLC
InventorsPentti Eromäki, Henri Kossi, Jouni Raatikainen
Estimating the term…
The present invention relates to a wear indicator for a vehicle tire (1), the tread of said tire being provided with grooves (2) to improve the grip. As taught by the invention, the surface of the tread in contact with the road surface is provided with indicators (5) indicating the momentary groove depth (H) of the tire, said indicators forming at least one group of elements and extending in radial direction into the tire. The element depth grows by predetermined steps from the shortest element to the longest element. The indicator is formed from a sipe(5) the depth of which is advantageously smaller than the depth (H) of said groove and the cross-section of which in the direction of the tread forms a number, letter, sign or symbol, image or equivalent determining the groove depth of the tread on the height of the plane in the direction of the tread which is tangential to the bottom (2p) of the capillary groove.
Tyre tread for vehicle tyre, said tread being provided with main grooves and with tread pattern pieces, circumferential ribs and/or tread pieces, the surface of said tread pattern pieces, ribs and/or tread pieces being in contact with a road are provided with indicators indicating groove depth of a main groove and having the form of sipes, said indicators extending radially into the tyre tread, and the cross-section of each indicator in the direction of the tread surface being formed into a number, characterized in that the number extends over the whole radial extension of the indicator and directly denotes a minimum remaining depth of the main groove, whereby each indicator disappears from the tread when wearing of the tread has advanced to the groove depth indicated by the number of the indicator, and that a momentary groove depth can be read from those indicators of the indicators still remaining in the tread which have the number disclosing the highest value.
Tyre tread for vehicle tyre, said tread being provided with main grooves and with tread pattern pieces, circumferential ribs and/for tread pieces, the surface of said tread pattern pieces, ribs and/or tread pieces being in contact with a road and having sipes formed into the surface thereof to improve the grip with the road, in which tread a groove piece has been formed in the main groove between the side walls thereof, the top surface of which groove piece being parallel with the tread surface and located radially lower than the tread surface, in which top surface indicators are provided indicating groove depth of a main groove, said indicators being formed as sipes extending in a radial direction into the tyre tread, the cross-section of each indicator in the direction of the tread surface being formed into a number, characterized in that the number extends over the whole radial extension of the indicator and directly denotes a minimum remaining depth of the main groove, whereby each indicator disappears from the tread when wearing of the tread has advanced to the groove depth indicated by the number of the indicator, and that a momentary groove depth can be read from those indicators of the indicators still remaining in the tread which have the number disclosing the highest value.
Tyre tread for a vehicle tyre, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.