JP6411949B2 - tire - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire having a pattern formed on an outer surface.

  Conventionally, a pattern having contrast is formed by forming fine protrusions on a side portion of a tire. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for obtaining a marking exhibiting a large contrast on the surface of the same color by forming a plurality of fibrous objects distributed over the entire pattern.

International Publication No. 2012/131089

  The pattern having the above contrast exhibits a contrast with the surroundings that reflect the light by controlling the reflection of the light. However, in Patent Document 1, since the protrusion has anisotropy, the pattern portion may not be seen uniformly when the viewing angle is changed. Further ingenuity is required for the irregularities formed in the pattern in order to improve the visibility by controlling the reflection of light.

  In consideration of the above fact, the present invention improves the visibility by improving the uniformity of the appearance of the pattern portion when the viewing angle is changed in the pattern region on the outer surface of the tire, and is formed in the pattern region. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tire in which the durability and formability of the protrusions are ensured.

  The tire according to claim 1 is formed on the outer surface of the tire and protrudes from a pattern region having a base portion and the base portion, and a protruding height from the base portion is 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less. A unit pattern having a starting point portion and an extending portion extending from the starting point portion in a plurality of directions in a plan view and extending from the starting point side toward the extending tip side. In the adjacent unit patterns, the interval between the starting point portions is 0.2 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less.

  A pattern region having a base portion is formed on the outer surface of the tire of the present invention. Here, the outer surface of the tire refers to a surface that is visible from the outside of the tire, such as a tire side portion, a tread portion, a tread groove bottom, and a groove wall. The tire of the present invention includes both pneumatic tires and non-pneumatic tires.

  A plurality of unit patterns are formed in the pattern region. The unit pattern has an extending part that extends from the starting part in a plurality of directions in plan view. In the unit pattern, the protruding height from the base portion of the starting portion is 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, and the protruding height on the extending tip side is lower than the starting portion. Further, in the adjacent unit patterns, the interval between the starting point portions is 0.2 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, and one of the unit patterns is the extension of at least one of the other adjacent unit patterns. The extending direction of the protrusion is different. By forming such a unit pattern, reflection of light incident on the pattern region can be suppressed, and contrast with the outside of the pattern region can be obtained, thereby improving visibility.

  Further, the projecting height of the extending portion decreases from the starting portion side toward the extending distal end side. Therefore, chipping and falling are suppressed at the extended tip of the extended portion, and the durability of the unit pattern can be improved. Further, the rubber flow is improved during molding, and the moldability can be improved.

  In the tire according to claim 2, the extension portions are adjacent to each other in the unit pattern, and at least one extension portion of the one unit pattern is the extension of all the other unit patterns. It is extended in a different direction from the protruding part.

  As described above, in the adjacent unit patterns, at least one extension portion extends in a direction different from all the extension portions of the other unit patterns, thereby reflecting the light reflected from the pattern region. The concentration of reflected light can be suppressed. Thereby, the uniformity of the appearance of the pattern portion when the viewing angle is changed can be improved, and the visibility of the tire outer surface can be improved.

  In the tire according to claim 3, the length of the extending portion in the width direction orthogonal to the extending direction becomes shorter from the base portion toward the projecting tip side.

  The projecting tip side here refers to the tip side in the projecting direction from the base portion. Thus, by shortening the length in the width direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the extending part from the base part toward the projecting tip side, the extending part becomes more stable, and the durability of the unit pattern is improved. Can be improved.

  In the tire according to claim 4, the extending portion has a triangular shape in a side view.

  In this way, by configuring the extending portion, the unit pattern can be stably prevented from falling down, and the durability of the unit pattern can be improved.

  The tire according to claim 5 is configured such that the unit pattern has a plurality of extending portions extending radially from the starting point portion.

  In this manner, by extending the extending portions radially to form the unit pattern, the extending portions support each other at the starting point, so that it is difficult to fall down stably and the durability of the unit pattern can be improved. Moreover, since the extending part extends radially, the reflection angle of the light reflected by the unit pattern can be varied, and the concentration of the reflected light is suppressed. Thereby, when the viewing angle is changed, the visibility of the pattern portion can be improved and the visibility can be improved.

  The tire according to claim 6 is characterized in that the pattern region is formed in a tire side portion.

  Since the tire side portion is visible even after the tire is mounted on the vehicle, the appearance can be further improved by forming a pattern region that increases the contrast.

  The tire according to claim 7 is characterized in that the pattern region is formed in a groove of a tread.

  Here, the groove of the tread includes both the groove bottom and the groove wall. By forming the pattern region in the tread groove, the contrast between the tread surface and the tread groove is increased, and the appearance of the tread portion can be improved.

  According to the present invention, when the viewing angle is changed in the pattern region on the outer surface of the tire, the uniformity of the appearance of the pattern portion is improved to improve the visibility, and the durability of the protrusion formed in the pattern region is improved. Can be secured.

1 is a side view of a tire according to a first embodiment. It is a part of pattern area | region of the tire which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) of a 1st embodiment is a top view of a star pattern, and (B) is a sectional view of an extension part. (A) is a perspective view of a star pattern, and (B) is a side view of the star pattern. It is a partial enlarged view of the mark part of the tire concerning a 1st embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the extension part which concerns on the modification of 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view (A) (B) of star pattern 24 concerning the modification of a 1st embodiment. (A) of 2nd Embodiment is a top view of a star-shaped pattern, (B) is sectional drawing of an extension part. It is a part of pattern area | region of the tire which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. (A) of 3rd Embodiment is a top view of a star-shaped pattern, (B) is sectional drawing of an extension part. It is a part of pattern area | region of the tire which concerns on the modification of 3rd Embodiment. It is a partial perspective sectional view of the tread of the tire concerning a 4th embodiment. It is Table 1 which shows the result of a test example.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a side view of a tire 10 according to this embodiment. In the present embodiment, the tire circumferential direction is indicated by C, and the tire radial direction is indicated by R.

  A mark portion 14 is formed on the tire side portion 12 of the tire 10. The mark portion 14 has a belt-like arc shape and is formed at two symmetrical positions with the tire center axis CE (see FIG. 1) in between. In the mark portion 14, a pattern area 20A and a character area 16 are arranged. The character area 16 is displayed with characters “ABCDEFGH” displayed on a smooth surface, for example.

  In the mark portion 14 </ b> A on the upper side of FIG. 1, the pattern region 20 is a part of the mark portion 14 </ b> A other than the character region 16 and is a kind of decorative band, and is formed so as to surround the character region 16. On the other hand, in the mark portion 14B on the lower side of the paper surface of FIG. 1, the pattern region 20 is the same region as the character region 16 of the mark portion 14B, and the portion other than the character region 16 of the mark portion 14B is the tire side portion. The outer surface other than the twelve mark portions 14 is the same. In the present embodiment, the mark portion 14A will be described. Note that the mark portion 14 including the pattern region 20A can be formed by providing corresponding irregularities in the tire mold by laser processing. Moreover, it is preferable that the pattern area | region 20 is arrange | positioned on the outer side of the tire radial direction R rather than the tire maximum width part (maximum part of the linear distance between tire side parts).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pattern region 20 </ b> A has a base portion 22. The base portion 22 forms a bottom surface in the pattern region 20A, and a star pattern 24 as a unit pattern is formed protruding from the base portion 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the star pattern 24 has a starting point portion 26 at the center thereof. As shown in FIG. 3B, the starting point portion 26 has a protruding height H1 of 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less from the base portion 22. The protrusion height H1 is more preferably set within the range of 0.2 mm or more and 0.8 mm or less. Six extending portions 25 are radially extended from the starting point portion 26 to form one protrusion (star pattern 24). The six extending portions 25 are connected to each other at the starting point portion 26.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the extension 25 has a protrusion height H that gradually decreases from the starting point 26 toward the extension tip 27, and the extension tip 27 is the base. It is arranged on the part 22. Therefore, the extending part 25 is triangular when viewed from the side.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the extending portion 25 has a width direction length W1 orthogonal to the extending direction (the direction from the starting portion 26 to the extending tip 27) on the base portion 22. The taper shape is shortened from the starting portion 26 toward the extending tip 27. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the extending portion 25 has a width direction length W2 orthogonal to the extending direction, which decreases from the base portion 22 toward the protruding tip 25P, and has a cross section. It is an isosceles triangle. A ridge line formed by the top of the isosceles triangle is referred to as “ridge line 28P”, and a side surface formed by the hypotenuse of the isosceles triangle is referred to as “side wall surface 28”.

  The ridge lines 28P between the extending portions 25 adjacent in one star pattern 24 form an angle θ with each other in plan view. In the present embodiment, the angle θ is 60 °. Moreover, the base part 22 between the extension parts 25 adjacent in the one star pattern 24 is made flat.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the star pattern 24 is arranged in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C so as to fill the entire pattern region 20A. The star patterns 24 adjacent to each other in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C are arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° around the starting point portion 26. Hereinafter, the star pattern 24 in which the ridge line 28P is arranged along the tire radial direction R is referred to as a first star pattern 24A, and is arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the first star pattern 24A. The star pattern 24 arranged along the circumferential direction C is referred to as a second star pattern 24B. In the pattern region 20A, the first star pattern 24A and the second star pattern 24B are alternately arranged in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C. The extending direction of the extending portion 25 of the first star pattern 24A and the extending portion 25 of the second star pattern 24B are different.

  The extended portion 25 where the ridge line 28P is arranged along the tire radial direction R of the first star pattern 24A has two extended portions of the second star pattern 24B whose extended tip 27 side is adjacent in the tire radial direction R. 25 is inserted. The extended portion 25 in which the ridge line 28P is arranged along the tire circumferential direction C of the second star pattern 24B has two extended portions of the first star pattern 24A whose extended tip 27 side is adjacent in the tire radial direction R. 25 is inserted. The first star pattern 24A and the second star pattern 24B are spaced apart.

  An interval between the starting point portions 26 of the first star pattern 24A and the second star pattern 24B adjacent to each other in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C (hereinafter referred to as “interval P”) is 0.2 mm or more and 1.0 mm. It is as follows.

  Next, the function and effect of the tire according to this embodiment will be described.

  In the pattern region 20 </ b> A of the tire side portion 12 as described above, light incident on the pattern region 20 </ b> A hits the star pattern 24. And it attenuate | damps, repeating reflection between the side wall surfaces 28 of the adjacent extension part 25. FIG. As a result, the light reflected to the outside of the pattern area 20A is reduced, and as shown in FIG. 5, the pattern area 20A looks black and the other areas (the character area 16 and the other tire side portions 12) are relatively Looks white. Therefore, the contrast between the pattern region 20A and other regions can be obtained. As in the present embodiment, the contrast between the pattern region 20A and the character region 16 surrounded by the pattern region 20A is increased, so that the character region 16 can be clearly seen and visibility can be improved.

  Further, in the pattern region 20A of the present embodiment, in the extended portion 25 of the star pattern 24, the protruding height H decreases from the starting portion 26 (projecting height H1) toward the extending tip 27 side. In the extended tip 27 side of the extended portion 25, chipping and falling are suppressed, and the durability of the star pattern 24 can be improved.

  Further, the first star pattern 24A and the second star pattern 24B are alternately arranged in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C, and the adjacent extending portions 25 have different extending directions. Therefore, the reflection direction of the light reflected by the pattern region 20A can be changed, and the concentration of the reflected light is suppressed. Thereby, the uniformity of the appearance of the pattern portion when the viewing angle is changed can be improved and the visibility can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the extending portion 25 has a length W2 in the width direction orthogonal to the extending direction that is shorter from the base portion 22 toward the protruding tip 25P. Furthermore, the extending part 25 is triangular when viewed from the side. Thereby, the extension part 25 is stabilized more and the durability of the star-shaped pattern 24 can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the star pattern 24 is configured by extending a plurality (six in this embodiment) of extending portions 25 radially from the starting point portion 26. Therefore, since the extended portions 25 are supported by the starting point portion 26, it is difficult to stably fall down, and the durability of the star pattern 24 can be further improved. Moreover, since the extension part 25 is extended radially, the reflection angle of the light reflected by the star pattern 24 can be varied, and the concentration of reflected light is suppressed. Thereby, when the viewing angle is changed, the visibility of the pattern portion can be further improved and the visibility can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the cross section in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the extending portion 25 is a substantially isosceles triangular shape, but other shapes, for example, the vicinity of the protruding tip 25P as shown in FIG. It may be curved.
In the present embodiment, the extending portion 25 has a triangular shape as viewed from the side. However, the extending portion 25 does not necessarily have a triangular shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the ridge line 28P may be a curved star pattern 24R, or, as shown in FIG. The star pattern 24 </ b> S may be formed so that the extending portion 25 has a trapezoidal shape in a side view.

  In the present embodiment, the base portions 22 between the extending portions 25 adjacent in the one star pattern 24 are flattened. However, the extending portions 25 adjacent in the one star pattern 24 The base portion 22 between them may be curved. By making the base portion 22 a curved surface, reflection of incident light is suppressed, contrast with the outside of the pattern region 20A is increased, and visibility is improved.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The tire 10 of the present embodiment includes a star pattern 40 instead of the star pattern 24 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the star pattern 40 has a starting point portion 26 at the center thereof, and four extending portions 25 extend radially from the starting point portion 26. The four extending portions 25 are connected to each other at the starting point portion 26, and the ridge lines 28P between the adjacent extending portions 25 in one star pattern 24 form an angle of 90 ° with each other in plan view. .

  As shown in FIG. 9, the star pattern 40 is arranged in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C so as to fill the entire pattern region 20B. The star patterns 40 adjacent to each other in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C are arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° around the starting point portion 26. Hereinafter, the star pattern 40 in which the ridge line 28P is arranged along the tire radial direction R is referred to as a first star pattern 40A, and is arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the first star pattern 40A. The star pattern 40 arranged along the circumferential direction C is referred to as a second star pattern 40B. In the pattern region 20B, the first star pattern 40A and the second star pattern 40B are alternately arranged in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C. The extending direction of the extending portion 25 of the first star pattern 40A and the extending portion 25 of the second star pattern 40B are different.

  Also in the pattern region 20B of the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the same parts as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The tire 10 of the present embodiment includes a star pattern 44 instead of the star pattern 24 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the star pattern 44 has a starting point portion 26 at the center thereof, and five extending portions 25 are radially extended from the starting point portion 26. The four extending portions 25 are connected to each other at the starting point portion 26, and the ridgelines 28P between the adjacent extending portions 25 in one star pattern 44 form an angle of 72 ° with each other in plan view. (Angle θ).

  As shown in FIG. 11, the star pattern 44 is arranged in the tire radial direction R and the tire circumferential direction C so as to fill the entire pattern region 20 </ b> C. In the tire radial direction R, star patterns 44 facing in the same direction are arranged. The star patterns 44 adjacent to each other in the tire circumferential direction C are arranged in a direction rotated by 36 ° about the starting point portion 26. Hereinafter, the star pattern 44 in which the ridge line 28P is arranged along the tire radial direction R is referred to as a first star pattern 44A, and the star pattern 44 arranged in a direction rotated by 36 ° from the first star pattern 44A. Is referred to as a second star pattern 40B. In the pattern region 20C, the first star pattern 44A rows and the second star pattern 44B rows are alternately arranged in the tire circumferential direction C. The extending direction of the extending portion 25 of the first star pattern 44A and the extending portion 25 of the second star pattern 44B are different.

  Also in the pattern region 20C of this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the same parts as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The tire 10 of the present embodiment is different from the first to third embodiments in that the pattern region 20 is formed on the tread 30, and the configuration of the pattern region 20 is the same as that of the first to third embodiments. .

  As shown in FIG. 12, the tire 10 includes a tread 30 on the outer side in the tire radial direction. A plurality of circumferential grooves 32 are formed in the tread 30. A mark portion 14 having a character area 16 and a pattern area 20 is formed on the groove bottom 32 </ b> A of one circumferential groove 32. The pattern region 20 can be formed in the same configuration as in the first to fourth embodiments.

  In the present embodiment, the contrast between the character region 16 of the mark portion 14 formed on the groove bottom 32A of the tread 30 and the pattern region 20 can be increased, and the visibility of the tread 30 can be improved.

  Note that the tire 10 of the first to fourth embodiments may be a pneumatic tire or a non-pneumatic tire.

<Test example>
In order to prove the effect of the present invention, tires of Examples 1 to 7 to which the present invention was applied and tires of Comparative Examples 1 to 5 were prepared, and the following Test 1 and Test 2 were performed.

(Test conditions)
As the test tires, tires having a size of 205 / 55R16 and a tire cross-section height SH of 114 mm were used.

  The tires of Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5 are tires having the same structure as the tire according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and the star pattern 2424 formed in the pattern region 20A of the mark portion 14A. The distance P, the protrusion height H1, and the angle θ are different as shown in Table 1 of FIG.

  The tire of Comparative Example 5 is further different in that the protruding height of the extended portion of the star pattern 24 is constant without gradually decreasing toward the extended tip.

(Test 1)
In Test 1, the visibility when the pattern region was viewed from each direction was evaluated.

  First, each test tire was assembled on an applied rim, and then 20 observers observed and conducted a questionnaire survey to see if the pattern area appeared blacker than a normal tire. The results are shown in Table 1 as “visibility”. In Table 1, when the number of viewers who answered that the pattern area looked blacker than a normal tire was 18 or more, A, when 10 to 17 people were B, and when 9 or less people were evaluated as C did. Table 1 also shows the number of viewers who answered that the pattern portion looked black.

(Test 2)
In Test 2, the moldability of the protrusions constituting the pattern portion was evaluated.

  ○ when the star pattern 24 after manufacture has a fall rate of less than 0.1%, fall rate of 0.1% or more and less than 0.3%, and fall rate of 0 .3% or more is shown in Table 1 as x.

  As shown in Table 1, it can be seen that the tires of Examples 1 to 7 to which the present invention is applied are improved in both visibility and moldability as compared with the tires of Comparative Examples 1 to 5.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 tire, 12 tire side part, 20 pattern area | region, 22 base part 24, 40, 44 star pattern (unit pattern), 25 extension part 25P protrusion tip, 26 starting part, 27 extension tip 30 tread, 32 circumferential direction Groove (groove), P interval, H, H1 Projection height

Claims (7)

A pattern region formed on the outer surface of the tire and having a base portion;
A starting portion that protrudes from the base portion and has a protruding height from the base portion of 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, and extends from the starting portion in a plurality of directions in plan view, from the starting portion side. A plurality of unit patterns having an extending portion in which the protruding height decreases toward the extending tip side;
With
In the adjacent unit patterns, the interval between the starting point portions is 0.2 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, and one unit pattern is the extension of at least one of the other adjacent unit patterns. Tires with different extension directions.   The adjacent unit patterns are extended in a direction in which at least one extension portion of one unit pattern is different from all the extension portions of other unit patterns in plan view. The tire according to 1.   The tire according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the extension portion has a length in a width direction orthogonal to the extension direction that decreases from the base portion toward the projecting tip side.   The tire according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the extending portion has a triangular shape in a side view.   The tire according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the unit pattern is configured such that a plurality of the extending portions extend radially from the starting point portion.   The tire according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pattern region is formed in a tire side portion.   The tire according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pattern region is formed in a groove of a tread.