The tire tread having a tread surface and a total thickness E and at least one main groove which opens when new onto a tread surface. In the vicinity of this main groove, at least one discontinuous secondary groove has a plurality of hidden parts and a plurality of open parts. The open parts are open onto the tread surface when new. The main groove and the discontinuous secondary groove have roughly identical main directions. The mean distance L1, which is a distance measured at the open parts between the mean surface of the main groove and the mean surface of the discontinuous groove, is less than the mean distance L2 measured between the mean surface of the main groove and the mean surface of the discontinuous groove in the regions of the discontinuous groove that do not have open parts.

Particular embodiments of the invention include a tire tread having a plurality of tread elements including one or more shoulder elements arranged along a first lateral side edge of the tread. The one or more shoulder elements include a recessed terminal side spaced apart from the first lateral side edge, where the recessed terminal side is offset in a direction of the tread width towards the second lateral side edge from a pair of adjacent terminal sides of the one or more shoulder elements. A sipe is arranged in connection with a submerged void within the tread thickness, where the sipe and submerged void extend in a direction of the tread width towards a second lateral side edge from the recessed terminal side such that the sipe and submerged void are recessed from the pair of adjacent terminal sides.

Tread (1) for a heavy-duty vehicle tire having a total thickness corresponding to the thickness of material to be worn away during running, this tread having, in the new state, a tread surface (10) intended to come into contact with a roadway when running. The tread comprises at least one hidden cavity (2) forming a new groove opening onto the tread surface after a predetermined amount of partial wear. Cavity (2) comprises two opposite lateral walls (21, 22) connected together by bottom (23) radially towards the inside and by crown part (24) radially towards the outside. Crown part (24) is provided with a plurality of fine grooves (25) extending radially towards the outside from crown part (24) delimiting the cavity and extending in a direction that makes an angle at least equal to 40 degrees with the main direction of cavity (2).

The molding element has a molding surface forming a contact face and a groove forming rib portion forming the groove comprising two opposed rib side faces and a rib top face connecting two rib side faces. The groove forming rib portion provides at least one cavity opening to the rib top face and to at least one of the rib side faces. The cavity has two opposed cavity faces. The molding element comprises at least one cutting means extending and/or projecting in a direction the groove forming rib portion extends for cutting a material filled in the cavity during demolding.

A sipe includes a first widened and a second widened portion. In a cross section orthogonal to the sipe extending direction, the sipe includes at least one bent portion, at least one bent portion has a widened portion where the width of sipe portions sandwiching the bent portion is increased, and at least one widened portion has a straight line portion, in which an angle formed with a line segment orthogonal to the normal line at the opening center of the sipe on the tread surface is 30 or more, in a wall surface on the major angle side of the bent portion of wall surfaces defining the widened portion.

Tire tread (1) comprising groove (2) of depth (P) that opens onto tread surface (10) of the tread in the new state, this groove comprising a plurality of first and second portions of groove, each first portion (21) of groove being delimited by facing walls (211, 212) spaced apart by a maximum width (L1) measured at the tread surface when new, these walls (211, 212) approaching one another such that, at a depth (H11) between 20 and 80% of the total depth (P) of the groove, they are spaced apart by a width (L1) less than the maximum width (L1). Walls (211, 212) diverge from one another down to the depth (P) of the groove such that they are spaced apart from one another by a width (L1). Each second portion (22) of groove is delimited by facing walls (221, 222) spaced apart by a minimum width (L2) measured at the tread surface (10) when new, these walls (221, 222) diverging from one another such that, at a depth (H21) between 20% and 80% of the total depth (P) of the groove, they are spaced apart from one another by a width (L2) greater than the width (L2). Walls (221, 222) then approach one another down to the depth (P) of the groove such that they are spaced apart by a width (L2). Groove (2) is formed by a plurality of first and second portions of groove so as to form a continuous passage (3) between all the portions of groove in order to allow liquid to flow in the groove regardless of the level of wear, this continuous passage (3) being broken down into two elementary passages (31, 32).

A tire tread having a tread surface (20) in the new state and at least one wavy groove (1) opening into the tread surface, the groove is the new state having external cavities (11) that open onto the tread surface in the new state along a length (Le) and internal cavities (12) that do not open onto the tread surface. The external cavities (11) have a bottom (110) of which the points that are innermost in the tread are at a distance (H1) from the tread surface (20) in the new state, the internal cavities (12) having a bottom (120) of which the innermost points are at a distance (H22) from the same tread surface (20). The external cavities (11) and the internal cavities (12) being connected together by linking cavities (13). The tread (2) being such that at least two sipes (31, 32) are formed from the bottom (110) of the external cavities (11) and along an entire length (Le) of these external cavities (11).

In the pneumatic tire according to this disclosure, a plurality of sipes on a tread surface include a large intermediate width sipe 4 having: a pair of intermediate sipe wall surface portions 61, a pair of bottom-side sipe wall surface portions 62 and a pair of tread-surface-side sipe wall surface portions 63; and within a central region of the tread surface, a spacing along a tire circumferential direction between the large intermediate width sipe and another sipe or groove is 2.0 to 4.0 times of a sipe depth D of the large intermediate width sipe.

A sipe formed in a block of a pneumatic tire includes a first inclined portion inclined against a tire radial direction, a second inclined portion formed at an outer side in the tire radial direction with respect to the first inclined portion and inclined in a direction opposite to the first inclined portion with respect to the tire radial direction, a bent portion communicated with the first inclined portion and the second inclined portion and bent to be protruded toward a direction in which a gap between the first inclined portion and the second inclined portion becomes narrow, and a widened portion formed at an inner side in the tire radial direction with respect to the first inclined portion and widened in a groove width more than the first inclined portion. The widened portion is communicated with the first inclined portion and formed at a side of the bent portion with respect to an extension line of the first inclined portion.

A pneumatic tire includes rib-shaped land parts adjacent to each other with a circumferential groove therebetween, and raised-row-shaped projections projecting toward each other from both mutually opposed side wall surfaces of the adjacent rib-shaped land parts are provided to extend in the tread circumferential direction. As compared to a raised-row-shaped projection in an outermost-side circumferential groove located on a tire width direction outermost side, a raised-row-shaped projection in an inner adjacent circumferential groove located on tire width direction inner side of and adjacent to the outermost-side circumferential groove is formed at a shallower position near a tread surface between the tread surface and the groove bottom. As a result, it is possible to obtain suitable drainage properties according to the tire width direction positions of the circumferential grooves, while restraining an increase in rolling resistance, and to realize improved wet grip performance owing to an enlarged grounding area.