JP5529643B2 - How to display a string on a pneumatic tire - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for displaying a character string on a pneumatic tire with improved visibility of the character string formed on a sidewall portion of the pneumatic tire.

  Conventionally, pneumatic tires are required to display the company name, product name, etc., for example, the character string is often displayed on the outer surface of the sidewall portion in the tire circumferential direction. In order to make it easy for a user or the like to view a column within a limited display area, it has been widely practiced to improve the visibility by fixing the aspect ratio of the character string and enlarging / reducing the entire character string.

  However, in this conventional method, for example, when the flatness ratio of the tire is small and the surface area of the sidewall portion is small, the entire character string is reduced in order to fit the required character string in a limited area. On the other hand, when the size of the tire is large and the surface area of the sidewall portion is large, the character string may appear to extend sideways, and as a result, the visibility may be increased depending on the enlargement ratio of the character string. There was a risk of a significant drop.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a pneumatic tire that can sufficiently ensure excellent visibility of a character string displayed in the region regardless of the size of the character string display region in the sidewall portion of the tire. Provides a way to display a string.

  A method of displaying a character string on a pneumatic tire according to the present invention is a pneumatic tire that displays a character string including a plurality of characters in a character string display area defined on an outer surface of at least one sidewall portion. A method for displaying a character string, wherein a scaling step for arbitrarily scaling the character string, a determination step for determining whether the character string after scaling satisfies a predetermined condition, and the character string includes: When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, an adjustment step of independently adjusting the vertical and horizontal scaling factors of the character string after scaling so as to satisfy the predetermined condition, and the predetermined after scaling or after the adjustment And a display step of displaying a character string satisfying the condition in the character string display area.

Here, “Randomize the character string arbitrarily” means that the image of the base character string (printing or other medium use) is not changed, and the legibility can be optimized when marking on the tire. To adjust the aspect ratio (sensuously).
“Adjusting the vertical and horizontal scaling factors of a character string independently” means that the vertical magnification is first adjusted with respect to the display area, and then the horizontal direction based on the vertical magnification is adjusted. Adjust the magnification.
The character string includes not only individual characters but also those including figures and symbols, and those mixed with characters.

In such a tire, the character string display region corresponds to the sidewall portion in the range of the angle θ around the central axis of the tire in the range of 60 to 90 ° in a state where the tire is assembled to the applicable rim and filled with air pressure. An area is set, and the character string is arranged in an arc shape in the character string display area.

  Here, “the state where it is assembled to the applicable rim and filled with air pressure” is an industrial standard that is effective in the region where tires are produced and used. In Japan, JATMA (Japan Automobile Tire Association) YEAR BOOK, in Europe , ETRTO (European Tire and Rim Technical Organization) STANDARD MANUAL, in the United States TRA (THE TIRE and RIM ASSOCIATION INC.) It shall mean the state which filled.

Predetermined condition, with respect to the radial direction length of the character string display region, the ratio of the maximum height of the characters in the string and that is 1, the adjustment step, when the ratio is less than 1, The maximum character height and the width of the character string are expanded so that the ratio between the maximum character height in the character string and the width of the character string is 100% of the ratio before adjustment, and the ratio is If it exceeds 1, the maximum character height is reduced so that the ratio between the maximum character height in the character string and the width of the character string is 100 to 160% of the ratio before adjustment. The width of the character string is reduced or enlarged.

Here, the “radial length” means a radial distance under a state in which a tire is assembled to a rim specified in JATMA and the like and a maximum air pressure is filled in accordance with a standard of JATMA or the like. .
Further, the “character string width” can be obtained by T = vtx from the average width t of one character in the character string, the number of characters x, and the scaling factor (stretch ratio) v.

  In the present invention, when the character string is displayed in the character string display area, the scaling process, the determination process, and the adjustment process and the display process when the character string does not satisfy the predetermined condition, It is possible to suitably adjust the size of the column and improve the visibility of the entire character string.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the width direction illustrating a pneumatic tire that can be used in the method of the present invention in an applied rim and shown in a filling posture at a specified internal pressure. It is a side view of FIG. It is a figure which prescribes | regulates the size of the character of a character string. (A) is a figure which expands and shows the width | variety of each character string by each variable magnification, (b) is a figure which shows the result of the legibility of each character string. It is process drawing which illustrates the process of the method of displaying a character string on the pneumatic tire of this invention. It is process drawing which illustrates the adjustment process of FIG. It is the figure which changed the character string concretely by the method of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a method for displaying a character string on the pneumatic tire of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2, in the figure, 1 is a tread portion, 2 is a pair of sidewall portions extending radially inward continuously to the respective side portions of the tread portion 1, and 3 is a side surface. A bead portion continuous inward in the radial direction of the wall portion 2 is shown.

  In the tire shown here, the body portion of the carcass 5 extends in a toroidal shape between the quadrangular bead cores 4 embedded in the pair of bead portions 3, and each side portion of the carcass 5 is connected to the bead core. 4 and a folded portion that is folded back from the inner side in the tire width direction toward the outer side.

Further, a tread rubber 6 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the crown region of the carcass 5, and a plurality of circumferential grooves or the like extending in the tire circumferential direction can be formed on the surface of the tread rubber 6, for example.
A belt or the like can be arranged between the carcass 5 and the tread rubber 6 although not shown in the figure.

The sidewall portion 2 and the bead portion 3 are formed by covering the outer side in the tire width direction of the carcass with a side rubber 7 disposed along the outer side surface thereof.
In the vicinity of the tire maximum width of the side rubber 7, for example, a single annular protrusion having a triangular mountain shape in cross-sectional shape for protecting the tire itself and the rim from contact with a curbstone or the like. The constructed rim guard 8 is provided.

  The character string display area 9 is, for example, to improve the balance, impression, and visibility of the entire character string, and considers the balance with the tire size, tread design, or other design applied to the sidewall. However, preferably, the sidewall portion is set between the tread grounding end 10 or the mold splitting position and the position corresponding to the radially outer end of the rim guard 8, and more Preferably, the center of the character string is radially outward from the tire maximum width position, more preferably radially outward from the rim diameter line, and the position of the tire cross-section height SH × 40% to tire cross-section height SH × 75%. To place.

  For example, in a tire having a tire size of 195 / 70R14 (outer diameter 627.8 mm, tire cross-section height 137.5 mm), the radial length of the display region can be set to 85.8 mm, and the tire size 245 / 35R20 (outer diameter) In the case of a tire having a height of 678 mm and a tire cross-section height of 83.6 mm, the length of the display region in the radial direction can be 30.3 mm.

In the method of displaying a character string on such a pneumatic tire, more preferably, the character string display region 9 corresponds to the sidewall portion within an angle θ around the central axis of the tire of 60 to 90 °. Set the area to be used.
In such a range, the visibility of the character string arranged in the character string display area 9 can be improved.

  That is, when the angle is less than 60 °, for example, a tire having a high flatness ratio and a small character string display area has a small character string size displayed in the area, and a tire having a large character string display area 9 has a large character size. There is a tendency that the legibility of the character is lowered without being able to be enlarged. On the other hand, when the angle exceeds 90 °, for example, in a tire having a large character string display region 9, the character string becomes wider and the legibility tends to be lowered.

  Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram that prescribes the size of characters in a character string. In FIG. 3, B indicates the face width of the described character, H indicates the character height, and C indicates the inclined character. The horizontal distance (slope) from the intersection of the perpendicular line drawn vertically to the lower base at the leftmost part of the lower base and the virtual line drawn horizontally from the upper base (top) to the leftmost part of the upper base, where δ is The inclination angle of the character string with respect to the vertical line, A indicates the entire character width including the inclination.

Also, the character string displayed in the display area 9, the angle [delta], and shall have an inclination to the right, it is possible to improve the readability of characters disposed on the outer surface of the tire by the inclination. In this case, if the inclination angle δ is less than 10 °, the effect of legibility cannot be obtained. If the inclination angle δ exceeds 55 °, there are characters that cannot be read, or the character inclination increases as the character string expands. Therefore, the angle δ is in the range of 10 to 55 ° .

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the width of the character string is enlarged by each scaling factor, and the enlarged character string is investigated for 10 people to “read / unread”, and the result is shown in FIG. Shown in 4 (b).

As shown in FIG. 4B, characters can be recognized at an enlargement rate of 125%, but the visibility is reduced, almost everyone can read at an enlargement of 375%, and the number of people who can read at 437.5% decreases rapidly. However, when the number of people fell below 50% and exceeded 625%, everyone could not read.
From this result, it can be seen that the expansion ratio of the width of the character string is preferably in the range of 130 to 300%.

  When the character height H is 14 mm or less, it is preferable that the character height exceeds 14 mm because the character readability is lowered when viewed from the whole tire.

FIG. 5 is a process diagram illustrating the steps of the method for displaying a character string on the pneumatic tire of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a process diagram illustrating the adjustment process of FIG. 5, and FIG. It is the figure which changed the character string concretely by the method.
Hereinafter, description will be given along the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  First, in the scaling step (S1), the maximum character height H (reference value in FIG. 7) of the basic character string is set to 16 mm (character height + margin), for example, so that the legibility is improved. Consider and set the ratio (sensory).

Next, in the discrimination step (S2), the scaled character string is compared with the length in the radial direction of the character display area 9, and it is discriminated whether the ratio is 1.
When the ratio is not 1, the size of the character string is adjusted by the procedure of the adjustment step (S3) described later, and the vertical and horizontal scaling factors of the character string are independently set. When the character string ratio is 0.6, the scaling factor is adjusted to 135%.
On the other hand, when the ratio is 1, the character string is displayed in the character display area 9 without performing the adjustment step (S3) (display step (S4)).
In the adjustment step (S3), first, a reference value and a minimum value of the maximum height of characters in the character string are set (S301).
3 is defined as the character height H of the largest character in the character string.

  Next, the length in the radial direction of the character string display area 9 and the maximum character height H of the character string described in the character string display area are measured, and the respective lengths are compared (S302). If the lengths are the same, the character string is displayed as it is in the display area 9.

Maximum character when the height H is smaller Ri radial length Saya character string display region, the ratio of the width T of the maximum character height H and the string in the string (T / H) is, before adjustment of the The maximum character height and the width of the character string are enlarged so that the ratio becomes 100% (S303), and the character string is displayed in the display area 9.
By this method, the aspect ratio of the character string is enlarged at an equal magnification, and the character string does not appear to extend in the horizontal direction, and the visibility of the character string can be improved.

  If the maximum character height H is larger than the radial length, the maximum character height H is preferably compared with a reference value for the maximum character height in the character string (S304).

When the maximum character height H in the character string is greater than or equal to the reference value, the character string width / maximum character height (T / H) is set to 100%, and the scaling factor of the reference value for the maximum character height in the character string is 100%. In addition, the scaling factor of the minimum value of the maximum height of characters in the character string is set to a constant value between 100 and 160%, and the interval is reduced by a proportional scaling factor (S305).
By this method, the character width is increased by up to 160% with respect to the character height of the character string, and the visibility of the character string can be improved without reducing the character string.

If the maximum character height H in the character string is less than the reference value, the average character width / maximum character height (A / H) of the character string is enlarged (S306), and the character string is displayed in the display area 9. To do.
This is because if the character in the character string is less than the reference value and the character string width / maximum character height (T / H) is reduced, the character in the character string becomes too small, and the character visibility decreases. This is because there is a fear.

Here, the reference value is set to 16 mm, and the minimum value is set to 8 mm.
Specifically, when the maximum character height H of the character string to be displayed is less than the reference value (16 mm), the character string is enlarged at a scaling factor of 160%, and the maximum character height H is the reference value. When exceeding (16 mm), the scaling factor of the reference value (16 mm) of the maximum height of characters in the character string is set to 160%, and the minimum value (8 mm) of the maximum height of characters in the character string is set. Set the zoom ratio to 250%, and reduce the scale by a proportional zoom ratio.

  By changing the width / maximum character height (T / H) of the character string in this way, for example, the visibility of the character string can be ensured with a tire having a high flatness ratio and a small display area. Thus, it is possible to ensure the consistency of the appearance of the tire displaying this character string.

  Further, the character string displayed in the display area 9 can be displayed not only in one line but also in several lines along the radial direction of the tire, and the scaling factor according to the priority order of the character string can be changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tread part 2 Side wall part 3 Bead part 4 Bead core 5 Carcass 6 Tread rubber 7 Side rubber 8 Rim guard 9 Display area 10 Tread grounding end

Claims (1)

In a method of displaying a character string on a pneumatic tire that displays a character string including a plurality of characters in a character string display region defined on an outer surface of at least one sidewall portion,
A scaling step for arbitrarily scaling the character string;
A determining step of determining whether or not the character string after scaling in the scaling step satisfies a predetermined condition;
When the character string does not satisfy the predetermined condition, an adjustment step for independently adjusting the vertical and horizontal scaling factors of the character string after scaling so as to satisfy the predetermined condition;
A string satisfies the predetermined condition after or after adjustment magnification, have a display step of displaying the character string display region,
In the state where it is assembled to the applicable rim and filled with air pressure, the character string display area is set to an area corresponding to the sidewall portion within an angle θ around the central axis of the tire of 60 to 90 °, In the character string display area, character strings are arranged in an arc shape,
The characters of the character string have an inclination to the right of an angle of 10 to 55 °,
The predetermined condition is that a ratio of a maximum height of a character in the character string to a radial length of the character string display region is 1.
In the adjustment step, when the ratio is less than 1, the maximum character is set so that the ratio between the maximum character height in the character string and the width of the character string is 100% of the ratio before adjustment. Increase the height and width of the string,
When the ratio exceeds 1, the maximum character height is set so that the ratio between the maximum character height in the character string and the width of the character string is 100 to 160% of the ratio before adjustment. A method for displaying a character string on a pneumatic tire, wherein the character string is reduced and the width of the character string is reduced or enlarged .

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