US 12,233,668 B2
Truck tire with circumferential sipe having blind micro sipes
Stefan Voss, Greer, SC (US); and Robert Ciprian Radulescu, Greenville, SC (US)
Assigned to Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand (FR)
Appl. No. 17/441,864
Filed by Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand (FR)
PCT Filed Apr. 5, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/026065
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 22, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/204942, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 8, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0185025 A1, Jun. 16, 2022
Int. Cl. B60C 11/03 (2006.01); B60C 11/04 (2006.01); B60C 11/12 (2006.01)
CPC B60C 11/0323 (2013.01) [B60C 11/0302 (2013.01); B60C 11/04 (2013.01); B60C 11/124 (2013.01); B60C 11/1281 (2013.01); B60C 2011/1209 (2013.01); B60C 2011/1245 (2013.01); B60C 2011/1254 (2013.01); B60C 2011/129 (2013.01); B60C 2200/06 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A heavy truck tire tread, comprising:
a longitudinal direction, a lateral direction, and a thickness direction, wherein the tread is a directional tread and has a rolling direction that is in the longitudinal direction;
a circumferential rib that extends completely 360 degrees around the tread in the longitudinal direction, wherein the circumferential rib is not a block of the tread and is not separated by a groove;
a first circumferential groove that extends completely 360 degrees around the tread in the longitudinal direction;
a second circumferential groove that extends completely 360 degrees around the tread in the longitudinal direction, wherein the circumferential rib is between the first and second circumferential grooves in the lateral direction and engages both the first and second circumferential grooves;
a circumferential sipe that extends in the longitudinal direction completely around the tread, wherein the circumferential sipe does not bound a sacrificial rib, wherein the circumferential sipe is located in the circumferential rib and extends completely 360 degrees around the circumferential rib in the longitudinal direction, wherein the circumferential sipe has a body and a teardrop, wherein the teardrop is located farther than the body from an outer surface of the tread in the thickness direction;
a plurality of micro sipes that engage the circumferential sipe and are located on opposite sides of the circumferential sipe in the lateral direction, wherein the micro sipes extend from the circumferential sipe so as to terminate within rubber of the tread at a terminal end, wherein the plurality of micro sipes include a first micro sipe that extends from the circumferential sipe at a non-zero angle to the lateral direction so as to have a component of extension in the longitudinal direction opposite to that of the rolling direction, wherein the plurality of micro sipes includes a second micro sipe that extends from the circumferential sipe at a non-zero angle to the lateral direction so as to have a component of extension in the longitudinal direction opposite to that of the rolling direction, wherein the first and second micro sipes are both blind and both engage the circumferential sipe at a common location in the longitudinal direction, wherein the plurality of micro sipes are positioned around an entire length of the circumferential sipe completely around the tread and all of the micro sipes around the length of the circumferential sipe completely around the tread have the same shape and size;
wherein the first micro sipe has a circular cross-sectional shaped first terminal end that extends from the outer surface of the tread into the circumferential rib in the thickness direction, wherein the first micro sipe has a circular cross-sectional shaped first bottom that engages the teardrop and the first terminal end and is the portion of the first micro sipe farthest from the outer surface in the thickness direction;
wherein the second micro sipe has a circular cross-sectional shaped second terminal end that extends from the outer surface of the tread into the circumferential rib in the thickness direction, wherein the second micro sipe has a circular cross-sectional shaped second bottom that engages the teardrop and the second terminal end and is the portion of the second micro sipe farthest from the outer surface in the thickness direction.