Tire Including A High-Contrast Texture In A Groove

Abstract

A tire made of rubber material, comprising a tread (2), said tread (2) having a plurality of grooves (21), each groove (21, 23) having a groove bottom, walls flanking the groove bottom and transition regions between the walls and the groove bottom. The tire is characterized in that all or some of the grooves (21, 23) comprise a texture (3) extending only over the groove bottom and over at least a part of the transition regions associated with this groove bottom, said texture (3) contrasting with the rest of the tire (2).

Claims

1. A tire made of rubber material, comprising a tread, said tread having a plurality of grooves, each of said grooves having a groove bottom, walls flanking the groove bottom and transition regions between the walls and the groove bottom, wherein all or some of the grooves comprise a texture extending only over the groove bottom and over at least a part of the transition regions associated with this groove bottom, said texture contrasting with the rest of the tire.

2. The tire according to claim 1, wherein the texture has a lightness, known as first lightness L*1, of between 6 and 15, and the rest of the tire has a lightness, known as second lightness L*2, greater than or equal to 18 and less than or equal to 30.

3. The tire according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the grooves extends transversely through the tread and leads onto a shoulder region of the tire, the texture extending onto this shoulder region in continuation of the groove.

4. The tire according to claim 1, wherein the texture comprises a plurality of elements that protrude from the bottom of the grooves and from the associated transition regions.

5. The tire according to claim 4, wherein at least 30% of the protruding elements form an angle of greater than 40 with respect to a plane tangent to the groove, and wherein at most 25% of the protruding elements of the texture form an angle of less than 20 with respect to this plane tangent to the groove.

6. The tire according to claim 4, wherein all or some of the protruding elements are strands distributed through the texture at a density at least equal to one strand per square millimetre (mm.sup.2), each strand having a mean cross section of between 0.003 mm.sup.2 and 1 mm.sup.2.

7. The tire according to claim 4, wherein all or some of the protruding elements are substantially mutually parallel lamellae, the spacing of the lamellae in the texture being at most equal to 0.5 mm, each lamella having a mean width of between 0.03 mm and 0.25 mm.

8. The tire according to claim 4, wherein all or some of the protruding elements form parallelepipeds having a side length of between 0.05 mm and 0.5 mm and a height of between 0.05 mm and 0.5 mm, the distance between two adjacent parallelepipeds in the texture being between 0.05 mm and 0.5 mm.

9. The tire according to claim 4, wherein the protruding elements have variable shapes and distances between protruding elements in the texture.

10. The tire according to claim 1, wherein the texture has a plurality of elements that are recessed into the bottom of the grooves and into the associated transition regions, the recessed elements forming openings in the bottom of the grooves and in the associated transition regions, the texture comprising a plurality of openings, these openings being distributed through the texture at a density at least equal to one opening per square millimetre (mm.sup.2), these openings having equivalent diameters of between 0.03 mm and 1.2 mm.

11. The tire according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the grooves of the plurality of grooves has, in cross section, an undulating overall shape with entirely open groove portions at the tread surface and completely or partially closed groove portions at this tread surface, the texture extending through the open portions and the closed portions of the groove.

12. The tire according to claim 1, wherein the texture has a lightness, known as first lightness L*1, of between 8 and 9, and the rest of the tire has a lightness, known as second lightness L*2, greater than or equal to 18 and less than or equal to 30.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings in which:

[0033] FIG. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a part of a tire having a tread in accordance with the prior art;

[0034] FIG. 2 schematically shows a perspective view of a part of a tire having a particular texture at the bottom of the grooves of the tread and in the associated transition regions, according to the invention;

[0035] FIG. 3 schematically shows a view in cross section of a groove of the tread from FIG. 2 with the particular texture;

[0036] FIG. 4 schematically shows a perspective view of a part of a tire from FIG. 2, having a particular texture at the bottom of the grooves of the tread and in the associated transition regions, said texture extending over the tire according to a non-limiting embodiment;

[0037] FIG. 5 shows a part of the texture from FIG. 2, according to a first variant embodiment of a first embodiment of said texture, according to which the texture has protruding elements;

[0038] FIG. 6 shows a part of the texture from FIG. 2, according to a second variant embodiment of a first embodiment of said texture, according to which the texture has protruding elements;

[0039] FIG. 7 shows a part of the texture from FIG. 2, according to a third variant embodiment of a first embodiment of said texture, according to which the texture has protruding elements;

[0040] FIG. 8 shows a part of the texture from FIG. 2, according to a fourth variant embodiment of a first embodiment of said texture, according to which the texture has protruding elements;

[0041] FIG. 9 shows a part of the texture from FIG. 2, according to a second embodiment of said texture, according to which the texture has recessed elements;

[0042] FIG. 10 shows an enlarged view of a cavity of a recessed element of the texture from FIG. 9;

[0043] FIG. 11 shows a variant embodiment of a groove having a texture in accordance with the invention.

[0044] In the following description, elements which are substantially identical or similar will be denoted by identical references.

[0045] FIG. 1 shows a part of the tire 1 having a tread 2 according to the prior art. As can be seen, the tread 2 has a tread surface 20 and grooves 21, 23. The tread surface 20 (also known as the useful region) is intended to come into contact with a road surface when the tire 1 is being driven on. The grooves 21, 23 (also known as tread patterns) make it possible notably to evacuate water and thereby improve the grip of the tire 1 on a wet road surface. On account of the laser sintering method used, the grooves have level lines 4 notably at their bottom.

[0046] FIG. 2 shows a part of the tire 1 having a tread 2 according to the invention. The tread 2 has a tread surface 20 and a plurality of grooves 21, 23, circumferential grooves 21 and transverse grooves 23.

[0047] As illustrated in the view in cross section of a groove 21 in FIG. 3, each groove 21, 23 has a groove bottom 210, walls 211 flanking the groove bottom 210 and transition regions 212 (also known as connecting regions) between the walls 211 and the groove bottom 210, these regions 212 being curved and having a radius of around 1 mm in one non-limiting example. It will be noted that the texture 3 is illustrated schematically in a groove 21, 23 in a zoomed-in view. It will also be noted that the wall 211 is shown here as extending perpendicularly to the bottom 210 of the groove. In a variant, this wall 211 may be at an angle other than 90 with respect to the bottom 210.

[0048] As illustrated in FIG. 2 and in FIG. 3, all or some of the grooves 21, 23 comprise a texture 3 extending only over the groove bottom 210 and over at least a part of the transition regions 212 associated with this groove bottom, said texture 3 contrasting with the rest of the tire 2. At least a part of a transition region means that the texture extends over at least 25% of the surface of this transition region. The texture 3 does not extend over the walls 211 of the groove 21, 23. The texture 3 is thus absent from the walls 211.

[0049] The texture 3 thus makes it possible to conceal the level lines on the bottom, the level lines on the bottom being particularly visible to a person looking at the tire. Furthermore, the fact that the texture 3 is disposed in the grooves 21, 23 makes it possible to give said texture 3 greater durability. Specifically, the impact of mechanical attack on the texture, such as rubbing against stones, is low. It will be noted that the fact that the texture 3 is also present in the transition regions 212 of the grooves 21 makes it possible to improve the impression of depth provided by the texture 3 in the groove.

[0050] FIG. 4 shows a part of the tire 1 having a tread 2 in which, according to one non-limiting embodiment, grooves 23 extend transversely through the tread 2 and lead onto a shoulder region 22 of the tire, the texture 3 extending onto this shoulder region 22 in continuation of the transverse grooves 23.

[0051] It will be recalled that the shoulder region 22 is a transition region between the tread surface 20 of the tire 1 and the sidewall 5 of the tire 1. The shoulder region 22 is not intended to come into contact with the road surface when the tire 1 is running in a straight line. The shoulder region 22 has grooves 23 which are transverse grooves of the tread 2.

[0052] As can be seen in the figure, a transverse groove 23 which leads onto the shoulder region 22 is illustrated. The texture 3 covers not only the bottom 210 and the transition regions 212 of this transverse groove 23, but also covers a part of the tire which extends beyond this groove 23, namely a part of the shoulder region 22 which is situated in continuation of said groove 23. There is thus continuity in the texture 3 which covers the bottom 210 of the groove 23 and which covers the shoulder region 22 no longer having the groove 23.

[0053] This embodiment makes it possible to reduce the size of the transverse grooves 23 leading onto the shoulder region 22 while retaining an aesthetic appearance of the tire for an observer. Specifically, when the transverse grooves 21 are too long and thus extend too far into the shoulder region 22, this causes problems of friction and an increase in the rolling resistance. Furthermore, in order to preserve the aesthetic appearance brought about by the transverse grooves in the shoulder region 22 (the region of the tire that is visible to an observer) while reducing the size of said grooves, the part of each transverse groove 23 which has been removed is replaced with the texture 3 of the velvet type in continuation of said transverse grooves.

[0054] According to a first non-limiting embodiment of the texture 3, the texture 3 comprises a plurality of elements that protrude from the bottom 210 of the grooves and from the associated transition regions 212. The effect of these protruding elements is to trap a large amount of the incident light rays that strike the texture 3. In this first embodiment, the texture 3 (known as velvet) makes it possible to obtain a visual appearance of the velvet type since the protruding elements absorb light and thus make the grooves 21 blacker. It will be noted that because the texture 3 is not attached to the walls 211 of the grooves 21, 23, this improves the depth effect of the tread. Owing to their structure and the fact that they are inlaid in the grooves 21, 23, these protruding elements furthermore make it possible to evacuate water, mud and dust more easily from the grooves 21.

[0055] According to one non-limiting variant embodiment, at least 30% of the protruding elements of the texture 3 form an angle of greater than 40 with respect to a plane X tangent to the bottom of the grooves 210, and at most 25% of the protruding elements of the texture form an angle a of less than 20 with respect to the tangent plane X. The protruding elements, said tangent plane X and said angle are illustrated schematically in the zoomed-in part of the texture 3 in FIG. 2. It will be noted that the angle is the angle between the tangent plane X and the side of the protruding elements. This variant is applicable to the protruding elements 6 and 7 described below. In the same way, when the texture extends onto a transition region 212, the tangent plane is determined with respect to this transition region 212.

[0056] FIG. 5 illustrates the texture 3 according to a first non-limiting variant embodiment of the first embodiment. In this variant, all or some of the protruding elements are strands 6 distributed through the texture 3 at a density at least equal to one strand per square millimetre (mm.sup.2), each strand having a mean cross section S of between 0.003 mm.sup.2 and 1 mm.sup.2. It will be noted that the mean cross section of each strand corresponds to the mean of the cross sections S measured at regular intervals from the base of the strand. The strands 6 have a conical overall shape with a cross section that decreases over the height Hb of these strands.

[0057] FIG. 6 illustrates the texture 3 according to a second non-limiting variant embodiment of the first embodiment. In this variant, all or some of the protruding elements are substantially mutually parallel lamellae 7, the spacing P of the lamellae in the texture being between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm, each lamella 7 having a mean width of between 0.03 mm and 0.25 mm. It will be noted that the mean width corresponds to the mean of the widths l measured at regular intervals over the height Hl of the lamella, the height of each lamella being between 0.05 and 0.5 mm.

[0058] In another variant embodiment, the texture has a combination of strands 6 and lamellae 7.

[0059] FIG. 7 illustrates the texture 3 according to a third non-limiting variant embodiment of the first embodiment. In this variant, all or some of the protruding elements form parallelepipeds 8 having a side length C of between 0.05 mm and 0.5 mm and a height Hp of between 0.05 mm and 0.5 mm, the distance Dp between two adjacent parallelepipeds 8 in the texture being between 0.05 mm and 0.5 mm.

[0060] In another variant embodiment, the texture has a combination of elements in relief 6, 7 and 8, or 6 and 8, or 7 and 8 described above.

[0061] FIG. 8 illustrates the texture 3 according to a fourth non-limiting variant embodiment of the first embodiment. In this variant, the protruding elements 9 have variable shapes and distances between protruding elements in the texture 3. This variant makes it possible to improve the aesthetic appearance of the texture 3.

[0062] According to a second non-limiting embodiment of the texture 3, the texture 3 comprises a plurality of elements 10 (also known as holes) that are recessed into the bottom 210 of the grooves and into the associated transition regions 212. The recessed elements 10 are made up of openings 11 in the bottom 210 and in the transition regions 212, and of associated cavities 12 that extend into the depth of the bottom 210 and into the depth of the associated transition regions 212.

[0063] Thus, the texture 3 has a plurality of openings 11 in the bottom 210 of the grooves and in the associated transition regions 212, said openings 11 being distributed through the texture 3 at a density at least equal to one opening per square millimetre (mm.sup.2) and having (in the bottom and in the transition regions) equivalent diameters Dt of between 0.03 mm and 1.2 mm.

[0064] In one non-limiting embodiment, the openings 11 occupy at least 30% of the texture 3.

According to other non-limiting embodiments, the openings 11 occupy at least 50% of the texture 3, or even more than 70%. It will be noted that the greater the rate of occupation of the texture by the openings, the better the concealment of the level lines brought about by the moulding method is, and the better this texture contrasts with the rest of the tread (notably with the tread surface, with the shoulder region or with the sidewall).

[0065] The openings 11 continue into the depth of the bottom 210 of the grooves and into the depth of the transition regions 212 of the grooves so as to form cavities 12.

[0066] The effect of these cavities 12 is to trap a large amount of the incident light rays that strike the texture 3. Specifically, since the cavities 12 are recessed into the bottom 210 and into the transition regions 212, the impact of mechanical attack on the texture, such as rubbing against stones, is lower than for protrusions. In this second embodiment, the texture 3 (known as velvet) makes it possible to obtain a visual appearance of the velvet type since the cavities absorb light and thus make the bottom 210 of the grooves 21 blacker. The visual effect of the grooves is improved.

[0067] In one non-limiting embodiment, all or some of the cavities 12 have a depth at least equal to 0.1 mm. In one non-limiting variant embodiment, all or some of the cavities 12 have a depth of between 0.2 mm and 0.6 mm. This ensures that a large amount of incident light rays that strike the texture 3 are trapped by said texture and, since the depth of the cavities is limited, also prevents the mechanical strength of the grooves 21 from deteriorating excessively.

[0068] FIG. 9 illustrates the texture 3 according to a first non-limiting variant of this second embodiment. In this variant, all or some of the cavities 12 are in the form of cones which extend into the depth of the bottom 210 and of the transition regions 212 of the grooves 21 and lead onto the surface of said bottom 210 and of said transition regions 212, forming circular openings 11. The cavities 12 thus have a cross section which decreases with depth. This improves the contrast of the texture 3 and thus of the bottom 210 and of the transition regions 212 with respect to the rest of the tread 2. It will be noted that in this variant, the openings 11 of the cavities 12 are not in contact. The openings 11 are separated by intermediate regions 13. Moreover, the openings 11 are distributed regularly over the bottom 210 of the grooves 21, 23 such that the distance d between each opening in the texture 3 is similar overall. The same goes for the transition regions 212 of the grooves 21.

[0069] FIG. 10 is a zoomed-in view of a cavity 12 of a recessed element 10 of the texture from FIG. 9. In one non-limiting embodiment, all or some of the cavities have at least one wall 14 which, in cross section, forms an angle of between 10 and 60 with respect to a direction Z perpendicular to the texture 3.

[0070] Each time a light ray strikes a wall 14 of the cavity 12, this ray is reflected by said wall 14. The direction of reflection of the light ray depends on the initial direction of this light ray and on the inclination angle of the wall 14. Thus, depending on this initial direction and on this inclination angle, the light ray can be sent towards another wall 14 of the cavity. By contrast, the light ray can be sent to the outside of the cavity, for example directly towards an observer. In the first case, the light ray is lost in the cavity and will no longer be perceptible to an observer. In the second case, the observer can perceive the light ray and the texture can then appear to be lighter and thus to contrast less with the rest of the tread. Choosing a cavity 12 having at least one wall 14 which forms an angle of between 10 and 60 ensures that a large part of the light rays entering the cavity 12 will be absorbed by this cavity under the effect of multiple reflections inside the cavity. This improves the contrast of the texture 3 (and notably of the bottom 210 of the grooves 21, 23) with respect to the rest of the tire (notably with respect to the sidewall or with respect to the tread surface), while preserving the same rate of occupation of the texture by the cavities. Moreover, with this wall inclination, the strength of the texture is improved overall, notably in the event of repeated rubbing against stones.

[0071] FIG. 11 shows a variant embodiment in which at least one of the grooves of the plurality of grooves 21, 23 has, in cross section, an undulating overall shape with entirely open groove portions 25 at the tread surface and completely or partially closed groove portions at this tread surface. The texture 3 extends through the open portions 25 and the closed portions 27 of the groove 21, 23.

[0072] The invention is not limited to the examples described and shown and various modifications can be made thereto without departing from its scope.

[0073] Thus, according to another non-limiting variant embodiment, the lamellae 7 from FIG. 6 can be discontinuous. They have a flat part between one another. They can also have cross-sectional differences between one another. In addition, the lamellae can have curves or angles, notably along their length. They can also have a variable length.

[0074] Thus, according to another non-limiting variant embodiment, the openings 11 can have a circular, square or polygonal (for example hexagonal) shape and the corresponding cavities 12 can have a cylindrical, parallelepipedal or polygonal shape. With these two latter structures (square or polygonal), it is possible to more easily organize the openings 11 with respect to one another so as to limit the area of the intermediate regions 13 between these openings. With such opening shapes, it is easier to achieve consistent rates of occupation of the openings.

[0075] Thus, in one non-limiting variant embodiment, the continuation of the texture onto the sidewall is present only on the sidewall mounted on the outer side of the vehicle, that is to say the sidewall present on that side of the tire that is visible to a user when the tire is mounted on a vehicle.

[0076] Thus, the invention described has notably the following advantages: [0077] The texture 3 makes it possible to conceal the level lines in the grooves 21, 23; [0078] The texture 3 (regardless of whether it has protruding elements and/or recessed elements) makes it possible at the same time to absorb light and thus to give the grooves 21, 23 a blacker appearance compared with the rest of the tread 2. This improves the contrast of the grooves 21 with respect to the rest of the tread; [0079] The texture 3 makes it possible to obtain a visual appearance of the velvet type at the grooves 21, 23, this providing an effect of contrast and depth in the grooves 21, 23 such that they appear deeper to an observer; [0080] The continuation of the texture 3 onto the shoulder region 22 makes it possible, if required, to reduce the length of the transverse grooves in the shoulder region. This thus improves the aerodynamic performance of the tire (reduction in aerodynamic torque loads) while maintaining a tire with an aesthetic overall appearance. There is thus less rolling resistance and consequently the fuel consumption is reduced.