This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119, of European patent application EP 09 169 199.8, filed Sep. 2, 2009; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The invention relates to a pneumatic vehicle tire for heavy duty, commercial utility vehicles. The tire has a tread with at least two circumferential grooves which run in the circumferential direction and divide the tread into circumferential ribs. A gross tread volume is defined by an envelope running in the tread parallel to the periphery of the tread and touching the lowest circumferential groove(s) from the inside radially, together with the periphery of the tread and flank portions at the shoulders. A groove volume is defined by all the grooves in the tread.
A tire of the generic type is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,798. There, to achieve uniform abrasion of the tread, it is divided into circumferential ribs by four wide circumferential grooves running in the circumferential direction, a further, narrow circumferential groove that runs around in the circumferential direction being respectively provided in the two circumferential ribs at the shoulders, near the edges of the tread. The wide circumferential grooves are bounded by groove flank areas which are provided with depressions that are the negative of three-sided pyramids, the tips of which are facing the periphery of the tread.
In order to lower the rolling resistance of pneumatic vehicle tires, a large number of measures have already been proposed, for example reducing the profile depth or reducing the width of the tread. These measures are aimed at reducing the volume of rubber that has to be deformed during rolling. In addition, specific tread compounds reduce the rolling resistance, for example those which have a low filler content.
A large number of published patent applications and patents are concerned with the issue of lowering the rolling resistance of commercial vehicle tires in order to reduce the fuel consumption of a vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,834 B1 and its counterpart European patent EP 0 973 652 B1 describe a tire for driving wheels of heavy vehicles. The tread of the tire is divided into blocks which are passed through axially by slits, to reduce the rolling resistance. The blocks are also separated from one another by transverse grooves, which are respectively provided with further slits. In addition, a large number of longitudinal slits are provided.
The customary tires for commercial vehicles having treads with circumferential ribs and circumferential grooves have a groove volume which is at least 12% of the gross volume of the tread defined at the beginning. An increase in the volume of rubber of the tread at the expense of the groove volume would merely result in a prospective increase in the service life of the tire.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a pneumatic vehicle tire for heavy duty vehicles which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which effectively lowers the rolling resistance of a commercial vehicle tire by simple measures, without the prospect of adverse effects on other properties of the tread as well as the abrasion and life expectancy of the tire.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a pneumatic vehicle tire for a commercial utility vehicle, comprising:
a tread formed with at least two circumferential grooves running in a circumferential direction of the tire and dividing the tread into circumferential ribs, the tread having a periphery and shoulders with flank portions;
an envelope running in the tread parallel to the periphery and touching a lowest the circumferential groove radially from inside, together with the periphery and the flank portions defining a gross tread volume;
a volume of all of the grooves formed in the tread together defining a groove volume; and
the groove volume in the tread amounting to between 1% and 10% of the gross tread volume.
In contrast with the existing consensus of those skilled in the art, in the case of the invention the rolling resistance is surprisingly reduced to a considerably degree by an increase in the volume of rubber in the tread. It has been found that, with a groove volume of up to 10% of the gross volume, the profile stiffness in the radial direction is increased in such a way that the deformation amplitude of the tread is reduced to an extent that more than compensates for the effect to be expected—worsening of the rolling resistance by more rubber being present. The rolling resistance of the tire is consequently lower, and it is possible for the reduction in the rolling resistance that can be achieved in comparison with a tire configured according to the prior art to be significant, depending on the proportion of the groove volume.
Since the proportion of the groove volume correlates with the achievable reduction in the rolling resistance of the tire, it is particularly advantageous according to a preferred embodiment of the invention if the proportion of the groove volume in relation to the gross volume is up to 7%.
The reduction in the rolling resistance is particularly significant in the case of configurations in which the proportion of the groove volume in relation to the gross volume is no more than and up to 4%.
In particular, the configuration of the circumferential grooves and the number thereof influence the size of the groove volume. In principle it is possible within the scope of the invention for there to be arranged in the tread at least one wide circumferential groove, the width of which at the periphery of the tread is between 5 mm and 20 mm and the depth of which is between 10 mm and 25 mm. Furthermore, in principle it is possible according to the invention for there to be provided in the tread at least one narrow circumferential groove, the width of which at or near the periphery of the tread is between 0.5 mm and 3 mm and the depth of which is likewise between 10 mm and 25 mm.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, up to seven circumferential grooves are provided in the tread.
If mainly or only narrow circumferential grooves are arranged in the tread as circumferential grooves, there are up to seven of them. In the case of configurations which mainly or only have wide circumferential grooves as circumferential grooves, there are up to four of them.
A tire configured according to the invention may therefore also have a combination of narrow and wide circumferential grooves in the tread, the respective number influencing the size of the groove volume.
The design-related configuration of the circumferential grooves also has an effect on the groove volume or the proportion of the groove volume in relation to the gross volume. The design-related or geometrical configuration of the circumferential grooves influences many important properties of the tread, for example the water drainage ability, the abrasion behavior, the traction properties, the rolling noise and the like. It is therefore important to configure the circumferential grooves in terms of their geometry or their cross section in such a way that, on the one hand, they keep the proportion of the groove volume in relation to the gross volume low according to the invention and, on the other hand, they ensure the desired properties of the tread. In this connection, it is of advantage according to the invention if the wide circumferential groove(s) has or have groove flanks which are provided with outwardly projecting design elements, for example elevations or sloping surfaces. In the case of narrow circumferential grooves, particularly advantageous are those configurations which have a groove cross section that widens in the radial direction starting from the periphery of the tread.
Wide circumferential grooves that can be formed with a relatively small groove volume are, for example, designed in such a way that they are respectively bounded at the periphery of the tread by two peripheral edges running parallel to one another and in a straight line and have a groove base running in a zigzag form in the circumferential direction.
Wide circumferential grooves are often critical with regard to catching stones. To effectively prevent stones from being caught, it is provided in the case of a preferred embodiment of the invention that the inwardly projecting corners of the groove base, projecting inward with respect to the peripheral edges, are respectively assigned the tip of a triangular area, which is inclined in relation to the radial direction and the one side of the triangle of which runs along a peripheral edge, these areas bounding the elevations, which protrude from both groove flanks into the circumferential groove.
The particular shaping of the elevations also contributes to preventing any stones from becoming caught in the circumferential grooves; in particular, it is favorable if the elevations are pyramidal in design and the triangular areas that are inclined in relation to the radial direction are in each case a side face of these elevations, the tips of which are located at a distance from the groove base that is at least 25% of the depth of the circumferential groove, two further pyramid faces adjoining the areas running from the peripheral edges, and two of these faces from adjacent elevations respectively having a common side, which runs from the peripheral edge to the groove base and forms a line of inflection.
A particularly advantageous structural variant of a tread that can be formed with a groove volume of, in particular, just under 7% has two wide circumferential grooves running at the shoulders and a third wide circumferential groove in the central region, a narrow circumferential groove respectively running between the wide circumferential grooves. A further embodiment that can have a groove volume of just under 7% has two wide circumferential grooves running at the shoulders and three narrow circumferential grooves between them.
In the case of these and other combinations of wide and narrow circumferential grooves in the tread, it is favorable if all the circumferential grooves have the same depths. The narrow circumferential grooves are then also effective on a worn tread.
In order to reduce the groove volume, it may be favorable to configure the circumferential grooves in the tread with different depths.
Treads according to the invention may have in the circumferential ribs transverse grooves, sipes and the like, the “air volume” of which contributes to the groove volume.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a pneumatic vehicle tire for commercial vehicles, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
a-11b show views of further embodiments of a tread configured according to the invention and
The invention is concerned with a particular configuration of treads for tires of heavy-duty, commercial utility vehicles, particularly trucks, buses and trailers. Tires configured according to the invention are preferably designed for use on the trailer or trailing axle of corresponding vehicles and may be of the customary construction of radial tires intended for these applications. The structural configuration of the tires themselves is therefore neither shown nor described.
The envelope symbolized by the auxiliary line h, the periphery of the tread and the flank portions 5 at the shoulders of the tread 1 enclose a gross volume V, which is the sum of the volume of rubber located here and of the groove volume VR, which for its part is the sum of the “air volumes” of all the wide circumferential grooves 3—determined between the groove boundaries and an envelope of the periphery of the tread. In the case of a tire configured according to the invention, the proportion of the groove volume VR in relation to the gross volume V is between 1% and 10%, preferably at most 7% and in particular between 1% and 4%. A tire configured according to the invention therefore has a tread with a small groove volume VR.
At the corners 6c of the groove base 6 that project outward in the direction of the peripheral edges 4, lines of inflection 12 extend from the groove base 6 to the peripheral edges 4 at an angle α1 of 2° to 10° in relation to the radial direction. The line of inflection 12 is at the same time a common side of the two triangular areas 8, which extend to the tips S and to the elevations 7 that are adjacent in the circumferential direction. The lines of inflection 12 reach as far as the corners of the areas 9 at the peripheral edges 4, so that two of the triangular areas 8 respectively come together at the tip S of an elevation 7. Viewed in cross section according to
The two groove flanks of the circumferential grooves 3 are provided in the same way with elevations 7, a line of inflection 12 on the one groove flank respectively lying opposite a line of inflection 14 and a tip S on the other groove flank.
The distance a of the tips S from the deepest point of the groove base 6 is between 25% and 80% of the depth t1. The wave length of the zigzag form of the groove base 6 corresponds to the mutual spacing between two tips S and is between 15 mm and 80 mm.
Of particular advantage in the case of the wide circumferential grooves 3 shown in
In the case of the configurational variant shown in
Tires configured according to the invention may therefore have treads in which a combination of wide and narrow circumferential grooves 3 and 15 divides the tread 1 into circumferential ribs 2, but it is also possible for only wide circumferential grooves 3 or only narrow circumferential grooves 15 to be provided in the tread 1.
In the case of a configuration of the tread 1 with narrow circumferential grooves 15, the tread 1 may be divided into circumferential ribs 2 by two to seven narrow circumferential grooves 15.
With two reference tires R1 and R2 and a tire RE configured according to the invention, in the configuration according to
Table 2 shows a comparison of the reference tire R1 with the tire RE configured according to the invention. Both tires had a profile depth of 15 mm; the groove volume VR of the reference tire R1 was 13%, that of the tire RE according to the invention 6%. The tire RE had a 7% greater abrasion volume than the reference tire R1. The determined rolling resistance of the tire RE was 2% less than that of the tire R1.
The low groove volume VR in the case of the tire configured according to the invention has the effect that the volume of rubber offered in the tread 1 is correspondingly higher. With a higher volume of rubber, in principle a worsening of the rolling resistance can be expected, since more rubber has to be deformed as the tire runs through the area of contact with the ground, and consequently more energy is distributed in the tread 1. In the case of the tire configured according to the invention, the groove volume VR is reduced to an extent that the profile stiffness in the radial direction is significantly increased, whereby the deformation amplitude of the tread 1 is significantly reduced. This effect more than compensates for the worsening “to be expected” of the rolling resistance by far, so that the rolling resistance as a whole falls significantly.
In the case of tires configured according to the invention, the width of the two circumferential ribs 2 situated at the shoulders—measured at that point where the shoulder ribs have their smallest width—should in each case be at most 30% of the overall width of the tread. One or more of the circumferential grooves 3, 15 provided may, furthermore, also run over the circumference of the tire in a zigzag or wave form, the portions of the circumferential grooves that are created by the zigzag form being intended to form an included angle with the circumferential direction that is at most 60°. Circumferential ribs may be additionally provided with grooves running in the transverse direction of the tread or narrow sipes, the “air volume” of which is included in the groove volume VR.
The embodiments shown and described for wide and narrow circumferential grooves are preferred examples. The circumferential grooves may also be configured differently; in particular, wide circumferential grooves may have differently configured elevations on the groove flanks or elevations at the groove base, which keep the “air volume” formed by the grooves together with an envelope at the periphery of the tread, the groove volume VR, relatively small.
Viewed over the circumference of the tire, the circumferential grooves may, furthermore, have portions of different widths. For example, narrow circumferential grooves may be made somewhat wider at regular intervals, in order to be able to determine the remaining profile depth more easily with a profile depth gage. Furthermore, in some or all of the circumferential grooves there may be so-called wear indicators (rubber bars) or re-groove indicators (depressions), which indicate the maximum allowed re-groove depth.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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09 169 199.8 | Sep 2009 | EP | regional |