JP2018039479A - Airless tire - Google Patents

Abstract

An airless tire that achieves both wet performance and steering stability performance and can improve noise performance. An airless tire is provided. At least three airless tire pieces 2 are arranged side by side in the tire axial direction. Each airless tire piece 2 includes a cylindrical tread ring 3 having a contact surface. The tread ring 3 has a substantially constant tire width W1 in the tire circumferential direction. Between the tread rings 3 adjacent to each other in the tire axial direction, a drainage gap 8 having a substantially constant width W5 in the tire axial direction is provided. The width W1 of each tread ring 3 is 15 mm or more, and the width W5 of each gap 8 is 3 mm or more.

Description

  The present invention relates to an airless tire that achieves both wet performance and steering stability performance and can improve noise performance.

  In recent years, various airless tires have been proposed. An airless tire can support a load with its own structural member without using high-pressure air. Therefore, the airless tire has the advantage of not puncturing.

  For example, Patent Document 1 listed below describes an airless tire that includes an annular spoke structure and a tread ring that is externally mounted on the outer periphery thereof. This spoke structure is divided into the left and right in the tire width direction, and the circumferential pitch of the spokes of both divided bodies is shifted by a half pitch, thereby reducing the fluctuation in the circumferential direction of the tire rigidity and improving the steering stability performance. .

JP 2008-162495 A

  In Patent Document 1, the tread ring is formed as one annular body, and a groove for improving wet performance is formed in the tread ring. In the airless tire of Patent Document 1, a continuous groove in the circumferential direction is formed to improve wet performance. However, such a circumferential groove forms a cylindrical space between the road surface and is generated there. There was a problem that the noise performance deteriorated due to road noise.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the actual situation as described above, and on the basis of providing a gap for drainage between tread rings adjacent in the tire axial direction, achieves both wet performance and steering stability performance, And it aims at providing the airless tire which can improve noise performance.

  The present invention is an airless tire, wherein at least three airless tire pieces are arranged side by side in a tire axial direction, and each airless tire piece includes a cylindrical tread ring having a contact surface, and the tread The ring has a substantially constant tire axial width W1 in the tire circumferential direction, and a drainage gap having a substantially constant tire axial width W5 is provided between the tread rings adjacent in the tire axial direction. The width W1 of each tread ring is 15 mm or more, and the width W5 of each gap is 3 mm or more.

  In the airless tire according to the present invention, the width W5 of the gap is preferably 10% to 25% of the width W1 of the tread ring forming the gap.

  In the airless tire according to the present invention, the total tread width W in the tire axial direction is 51 to 125 mm, and is configured by three or four airless tire pieces, and the width W1 of each tread ring is 15 to 40 mm. The width W5 of each gap is preferably 3 to 8 mm.

  In the airless tire according to the present invention, the tread full width W in the tire axial direction is 126 to 265 mm, and is composed of 4 to 6 airless tire pieces, and the width W1 of each tread ring is 20 to 60 mm. The width W5 of each gap is preferably 4 to 12 mm.

  In the airless tire according to the present invention, the entire tread width W in the tire axial direction is 266 to 455 mm, and is composed of 5 to 8 airless tire pieces, and the width W1 of each tread ring is 30 to 80 mm. The width W5 of each gap is preferably 6 to 16 mm.

  In the airless tire according to the present invention, each airless tire piece includes a rim disposed on the inner side in the tire radial direction of the tread ring, and a substantially constant tire axial width between the rims adjacent to each other in the tire axial direction. Desirably, an inner gap having W6 is provided.

  In the airless tire according to the present invention, it is desirable that a width W6 of the inner gap is equal to a width W5 of the gap located on the outer side in the tire radial direction.

  In the airless tire of the present invention, at least three airless tire pieces are arranged side by side in the tire axial direction. Such an airless tire can adjust the entire tread width of the airless tire by changing the number and width of a plurality of airless tire pieces. Such an airless tire piece can use a common airless tire piece for airless tires of different sizes, and can promote the sharing of parts.

  In the airless tire of the present invention, each airless tire piece includes a cylindrical tread ring having a contact surface, and the tread ring has a substantially constant tire axial width W1 in the tire circumferential direction. A gap for drainage having a substantially constant width W2 in the tire axial direction is provided between adjacent tread rings. Such an airless tire can reduce road noise without forming a cylindrical space between the road surface and the noise performance of the airless tire. Moreover, since the gap for drainage is provided between each tread ring, the wet performance of an airless tire can be improved.

  In the airless tire of the present invention, the width W1 of each tread ring is 15 mm or more, and the width W2 of each gap is 3 mm or more. Such an airless tire has high rigidity and a gap necessary for drainage, and can balance wet performance and steering stability in a balanced manner.

1 is an overall perspective view (partially broken view) showing an embodiment of an airless tire of the present invention. It is a perspective view (partially broken view) of an airless tire piece. It is meridian sectional drawing of an airless tire piece. It is a meridian sectional view of an airless tire. It is a whole perspective view of the airless tire of other embodiments. It is a whole perspective view of the airless tire of other embodiments.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an airless tire 1 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the airless tire 1 of the present embodiment, at least three airless tire pieces 2 are arranged side by side in the tire axial direction. In the present embodiment, an airless tire 1 in which three airless tire pieces 2 are arranged is illustrated.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of each airless tire piece 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the airless tire piece 2 of the present embodiment includes a cylindrical tread ring 3 having a ground contact surface 3 a and a wheel 4 disposed on the inner side in the tire radial direction of the tread ring 3. . The tread ring 3 is formed of an elastic body such as rubber, for example. A reinforcing body (not shown) such as a steel cord may be embedded in the tread ring 3.

  FIG. 3 is a meridian cross-sectional view of the airless tire piece 2. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tread ring 3 of the airless tire piece 2 of the present embodiment has a tire axial direction width W1 and a tire radial direction thickness t1 that are substantially constant in the tire circumferential direction. ing. The width W1 of the tread ring 3 is preferably 15 mm or more. If the width W1 of the tread ring 3 is smaller than 15 mm, the rigidity of the tread ring 3 is lowered, and the steering stability performance of the airless tire 1 may be significantly lowered.

  The thickness t1 of the tread ring 3 is preferably 30% to 120% of the width W1 of the tread ring 3. Such a tread ring 3 can achieve both appropriate rigidity and elasticity, improve the steering stability performance of the airless tire 1, and improve the riding comfort performance.

  The ground contact surface 3a of the tread ring 3 is preferably a plain rib in which no groove or the like is formed. Such a tread ring 3 has high rigidity and can improve the steering stability performance of the airless tire 1. The tread ring 3 may be formed with a through hole (not shown) or the like as long as the rigidity of the tread ring 3 is not significantly affected.

  The wheel 4 of this embodiment includes a cylindrical rim 5 disposed adjacent to the tread ring 3, a cylindrical hub ring 6 disposed on the inner side in the tire radial direction of the rim 5, and the rim 5 and the hub ring 6. A plurality of spokes 7 to be connected. In the wheel 4, for example, a rim 5, a hub ring 6, and a spoke 7 are integrally formed of a polymer material such as polyurethane.

  The rim 5 has a substantially constant width W2 in the tire axial direction in the tire circumferential direction. The width W2 of the rim 5 is desirably substantially equal to the width W1 of the tread ring 3. It is desirable that the rim 5 is firmly fixed to the tread ring 3. As a means for fixing the rim 5 and the tread ring 3, for example, a means for integrally forming the wheel 4 including the rim 5 by arranging the tread ring 3 formed in advance in a mold may be employed.

  The hub ring 6 is preferably fixed to an axle (not shown) via a hub portion (not shown) formed of a metal material. The hub ring 6 has side surfaces 6a that contact each other when the airless tire pieces 2 are arranged side by side in the tire axial direction. The hub ring 6 has a substantially constant width W3 in the tire axial direction in the tire circumferential direction. The width W3 of the hub ring 6 of this embodiment is larger than the width W1 of the tread ring 3.

  Each spoke 7 has, for example, a plate shape, and a plurality of spokes 7 are provided in the tire circumferential direction. The spoke 7 of the present embodiment is substantially rectangular and has a substantially constant width W4 in the tire axial direction. The width W4 of the spoke 7 is preferably substantially equal to the width W1 of the tread ring 3. The spoke 7 may have a substantially trapezoidal shape in which the connecting side with the hub ring 6 is equal to the width W3 of the hub ring 6. In addition, about the shape of the spoke 7, in addition to these aspects, various known aspects can be adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the airless tire piece 2 may be selected from a plurality of airless tire pieces 2 having different widths W1 to W4 (shown in FIG. 3). In the airless tire 1 of the present embodiment, two first airless tire pieces 2A and one second airless tire piece 2B are arranged side by side in the tire axial direction.

  Such an airless tire 1 changes the number N of the plurality of airless tire pieces 2 and the widths W1 to W4 (shown in FIG. 3), thereby changing the tread full width W in the tire axial direction of the airless tire 1 (shown in FIG. 4). ) Can be adjusted. Such an airless tire piece 2 can use the same airless tire piece 2 with respect to the airless tires 1 having different sizes, and can promote the sharing of parts.

  Here, the tread full width W of the airless tire 1 is the length from the tread end on one side of the airless tire piece 2 located on the most one side to the tread end on the other side of the airless tire piece 2 located on the other side. It is.

  In the present embodiment, the hub rings 6 of the airless tire pieces 2 are fixed in a state of being in contact with each other. Each airless tire piece 2 may be fixed when it is fixed to a hub part (not shown), or may be performed before being fixed to the hub part. For fixing each airless tire piece 2, well-known fixing means (not shown) such as bolt fastening can be appropriately employed.

  In the present embodiment, the spokes 7 of each airless tire piece 2 are arranged at the same position in the tire circumferential direction. The spokes 7 of each airless tire piece 2 may be arranged with their tire circumferential direction positions shifted.

  In the airless tire 1 of the present embodiment, a gap 8 for drainage is provided between the tread rings 3 of the airless tire pieces 2 adjacent in the tire axial direction. Such a gap 8 can remove water on the road surface when traveling on a wet road surface and improve the drainage of the airless tire 1. Further, since the gap 8 is open on the inner side in the tire radial direction, a cylindrical space is not formed between the gap 8 and the road surface, and road noise of the airless tire 1 can be reduced.

  FIG. 4 is a meridian cross-sectional view of the airless tire 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the gap 8 has a substantially constant width W5 in the tire axial direction. The width W5 of each gap 8 is preferably 3 mm or more. If the width W5 of the gap 8 is smaller than 3 mm, water on the road surface cannot be removed, and the wet performance of the airless tire 1 may not be improved so much.

  The width W5 of each gap 8 is preferably 10% to 25% of the width W1 of the tread ring 3 forming the gap 8. Here, the width W5 of the gap 8 is substantially equal to the difference (W3−W1) between the width W3 of the hub ring 6 and the width W1 of the tread ring 3. For this reason, the difference (W3-W1) between the width W3 of the hub ring 6 and the width W1 of the tread ring 3 is 10% to 25% of the width W1 of the tread ring 3. Such an airless tire 1 has high rigidity and a gap 8 necessary for drainage, and can achieve both wet performance and steering stability performance in a balanced manner.

  The airless tire 1 according to the present embodiment includes a first airless tire piece 2A and a second airless tire piece 2B having different widths W1 of the tread ring 3. In this embodiment, the airless tire 1 in which the width W1A of the first tread ring 3A of the first airless tire piece 2A is larger than the width W1B of the second tread ring 3B of the second airless tire piece 2B is illustrated. The airless tire pieces 2 may all be the same having the same width W1.

  The width W5 of the gap 8 between the first airless tire piece 2A and the second airless tire piece 2B is 10% to 25% of the average value of the width W1A of the first tread ring 3A and the width W1B of the second tread ring 3B. % Is preferred. Further, the width W5 of the gap 8 is the difference between the width W3A of the first hub ring 6A of the first airless tire piece 2A and the width W1A of the first tread ring 3A (W3A-W1A) and the second width of the second airless tire piece 2B. It is equal to the average value of the difference (W3B-W1B) between the width W3B of the two hub rings 6B and the width W1B of the second tread ring 3B.

  Between the rims 5 of the airless tire pieces 2 adjacent to each other in the tire axial direction, an inner gap 9 having a substantially constant tire axial width W6 is provided. The width W6 of the inner clearance 9 is preferably substantially equal to the width W5 of the clearance 8 located on the outer side in the tire radial direction. Such an inner gap 9 opens the entire inner side of the gap 8 in the tire radial direction, so that road noise of the airless tire 1 can be further reduced.

  In the present invention, by changing the number N of the airless tire pieces 2 constituting the airless tire 1 and the sizes of the widths W1 to W6, the airless tire 1 having different tread overall widths W in the tire axial direction can be configured. Hereinafter, the airless tires 1, 10, and 11 of different embodiments will be described with reference to the dimensions shown in FIG.

  The airless tire 1 shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, an airless tire 1 having a tread total width W of 51 to 125 mm. The airless tire 1 of this embodiment is preferably composed of three or four airless tire pieces 2. The width W1 of each tread ring 3 of each airless tire piece 2 is preferably 15 to 40 mm. The width W5 of each gap 8 is preferably 3 to 8 mm.

  In the airless tire 1 having a tread total width W of 51 to 125 mm, the number N of the airless tire pieces 2 is set to 3 or 4, and the widths W1 and W5 are defined in the above-described range, so that high rigidity and drainage are necessary. The gap 8 is provided, so that wet performance and steering stability can be balanced.

  FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of an airless tire 10 according to another embodiment. The airless tire 10 shown in FIG. 5 is, for example, an airless tire 10 having a tread total width W of 126 to 265 mm. The airless tire 10 of this embodiment is preferably composed of 4 to 6 airless tire pieces 2. The width W1 of each tread ring 3 of each airless tire piece 2 is preferably 20 to 60 mm. The width W5 of each gap 8 is preferably 4 to 12 mm.

  In the airless tire 10 having a tread total width W of 126 to 265 mm, the number N of the airless tire pieces 2 is set to 4 to 6, and the widths W1 and W5 are defined in the above-described range, so that high rigidity and necessary for drainage are required. The gap 8 is provided, so that wet performance and steering stability performance can be balanced.

  FIG. 6 is an overall perspective view of an airless tire 11 of still another embodiment. The airless tire 11 shown in FIG. 6 is, for example, an airless tire 11 having a tread total width W of 266 to 455 mm. The airless tire 11 of this embodiment is preferably composed of 5 to 8 airless tire pieces 2. The width W1 of each tread ring 3 of each airless tire piece 2 is preferably 30 to 80 mm. The width W5 of each gap 8 is preferably 6 to 16 mm.

  In the airless tire 11 having a total tread width W of 266 to 455 mm, the number N of the airless tire pieces 2 is set to 5 to 8, and the widths W1 and W5 are defined in the above-described ranges, so that high rigidity and drainage are necessary. The gap 8 is provided, so that wet performance and steering stability performance can be balanced.

  As mentioned above, although especially preferable embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can deform | transform and implement in a various aspect.

  An airless tire (tread total width 195 mm, outer diameter 635 mm) as shown in FIGS. These test tires were used to test wet performance, steering stability performance, and noise performance. The test method is as follows.

<Wet performance>
Each test tire was set in an inside drum tester and adjusted to a wet state in which the water film was 5 mm. The speed at which the maximum cornering force was halved was measured with a vertical load of 4.0 kN applied to the test tire and a side slip angle of 1 degree. A result is an index | exponent which sets the comparative example 1 to 100, and shows that wet performance is excellent, so that a numerical value is large.

<Steering stability>
Each test tire was set in a dry state on the inside drum tester. The speed at which the maximum cornering force was halved was measured with a vertical load of 4.0 kN applied to the test tire and a side slip angle of 1 degree. A result is an index which sets comparative example 1 as 100, and shows that steering stability performance is excellent, so that a numerical value is large.

<Noise performance>
In the anechoic chamber, each sample tire was set in a drum testing machine. A sound pressure level of 800 to 1000 Hz was measured with a measuring machine when a vertical load of 4.0 kN was applied to the test tire and the tire was run at a speed of 100 km / h. A result is an index | exponent which sets the comparative example 1 to 100, and shows that noise performance is excellent, so that a numerical value is large.

  The test results are shown in Table 1.

  As is clear from Table 1, it was confirmed that the airless tire of the example greatly improved the wet performance and the noise performance while suppressing a decrease in the steering stability performance as compared with the comparative example.

1 Airless Tire 2 Airless Tire Piece 3 Tread Ring 8 Clearance

Claims (7)

An airless tire,
At least three airless tire pieces are arranged side by side in the tire axial direction,
Each of the airless tire pieces includes a cylindrical tread ring having a contact surface,
The tread ring has a substantially constant width W1 in the tire axial direction in the tire circumferential direction,
A gap for drainage having a substantially constant width W5 in the tire axial direction is provided between the tread rings adjacent in the tire axial direction.
The width W1 of each tread ring is 15 mm or more,
An airless tire characterized in that a width W5 of each gap is 3 mm or more.   The airless tire according to claim 1, wherein a width W5 of the gap is 10% to 25% of a width W1 of the tread ring forming the gap. The total width W of the tread in the tire axial direction is 51 to 125 mm,
It consists of three or four airless tire pieces,
The width W1 of each tread ring is 15 to 40 mm,
The airless tire according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a width W5 of each gap is 3 to 8 mm. The total width W of the tread in the tire axial direction is 126 to 265 mm,
It is composed of 4 to 6 airless tire pieces,
The width W1 of each tread ring is 20 to 60 mm,
The airless tire according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a width W5 of each gap is 4 to 12 mm. The total tread width W in the tire axial direction is 266 to 455 mm,
It is composed of 5-8 airless tire pieces,
The width W1 of each tread ring is 30 to 80 mm,
The airless tire according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a width W5 of each gap is 6 to 16 mm. Each of the airless tire pieces includes a rim disposed on the inner side in the tire radial direction of the tread ring,
The airless tire according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an inner clearance having a substantially constant tire axial width W6 is provided between the rims adjacent to each other in the tire axial direction.   The airless tire according to claim 6, wherein a width W6 of the inner gap is equal to a width W5 of the gap located on the outer side in the tire radial direction.

Images