METHOD OF DESIGNING A TIRE HAVING A TARGET RESIDUAL ALIGNING TORQUE

• US 20090281773A1
• Filed: 05/06/2009
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC (Bridgestone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC (Bridgestone Corporation)
• Inventors: Steenwyk, Brian D., Coe, Scott J., Kupchella, Ryan L
• Granted Patent: US 8,447,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 11/01 Shape of the shoulders between tread and sidewall, e.g. rounded, stepped or cantilevered
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 11/11 in which the raised area of the pattern consists only of isolated elements, e.g. blocks B60C11/12, B60C11/13 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 99/006 Computer aided tyre design or simulation

Abstract

A method of designing a tire, wherein a tire designer identifies a target residual aligning torque range for a tire design and creates a computer model of the tire, including a buttress angle. Further, the method includes calculating the residual aligning torque of the modeled tire and comparing the calculated residual aligning torque value to the target residual aligning torque to determine whether the calculated residual aligning torque value is within the target residual aligning torque range. The method produces a final tire design having a target residual aligning torque.

Claims

1. A method of designing a tire, the method comprising:

identifying a target residual aligning torque range for a tire having tire geometrical attributes including buttress portions and buttress angles on each side of the tire;

creating a computer model of the tire that includes the buttress angles;

calculating a residual aligning torque of the modeled tire;

comparing the calculated residual aligning torque value to the target residual aligning torque range;

determining whether the calculated residual aligning torque value is within the target residual aligning torque range;

adjusting at least one of the buttress angles in the computer model;

repeating the calculating, comparing, determining, and adjusting until the calculated residual aligning torque value is within the target residual aligning torque range; and

producing a final tire design.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the tire geometrical attributes further include at least one of:

a slot angle, an inclined sipe, and a slope-top tie bar.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer model of the tire is a finite element model.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising including tire material properties in the finite element model.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the tire material properties include mechanical properties, including at least one of:

linear stress-strain relationships, non-linear stress-strain relationships, density, Poisson'"'"'s ratio, and viscoelasticity.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the tire material properties include thermal properties, including at least one of:

thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising designing a buttress angle on a first side of the tire so that it is oriented in an opposite direction of a buttress angle on a second side of the tire.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the buttress angle on the first side of the tire has substantially the same angle as the buttress angle on the second side of the tire.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the buttress angle on the first side of the tire does not have substantially the same angle as the buttress angle on the second side of the tire.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein a buttress portion on the first side of the tire has a geometrical shape different from a buttress portion on the second side of the tire.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising designing a buttress angle on a first side of the tire so that it is oriented in a same direction of a buttress angle on a second side of the tire.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the buttress angle on the first side of the tire is substantially equal to the buttress angle on the second side of the tire.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the buttress angle on the first side of the tire is not substantially equal to the buttress angle on the second side of the tire.

14. A method of designing a tire, the method comprising:

identifying a target residual aligning torque range for a tire;

creating a computer model of the tire that includes tire geometrical attributes, including a buttress angle on each side of the tire;

calculating a residual aligning torque of the modeled tire;

comparing the calculated residual aligning torque value to the target residual aligning torque range;

determining whether the calculated residual aligning torque value is within the target residual aligning torque range;

producing a tire;

measuring a measured residual aligning torque of the produced tire; and

determining whether the measured residual aligning torque value is within the target residual aligning torque range.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

adjusting at least one of the buttress angles in the computer model and repeating the calculating, comparing, determining, and the adjusting until a difference between an adjusted calculated residual aligning torque and the calculated residual aligning torque is substantially the same as a difference between the measured residual aligning torque and the target residual aligning torque;

producing at least a second tire;

measuring at least a second residual aligning torque value; and

comparing at least a second measured residual aligning torque value to the target residual aligning torque and repeating the adjusting, creating, comparing differences, and producing tire steps until the at least a second measured residual aligning torque is within the target residual aligning torque.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising producing a final tire design.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising designing the buttress angle on a first side of the tire so that it is oriented in an opposite direction of the buttress angle on a second side of the tire.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising designing the buttress angle on a first side of the tire so that it is substantially equal to the buttress angle on a second side of the tire.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising designing the buttress angle on a first side of the tire so that it is not substantially equal to the buttress angle on a second side of the tire.

20. A method of designing a tire, the method comprising:

identifying a target residual aligning torque range for a tire having tire geometrical attributes including buttress portions and buttress angles on each side of the tire;

creating a computer model of the tire that includes the buttress angles;

calculating a residual aligning torque of the modeled tire;

comparing the calculated residual aligning torque value to the target residual aligning torque range;

determining whether the calculated residual aligning torque value is within the target residual aligning torque range; and

producing a final tire design.