Toyo Tire has been granted a patent for a pneumatic tire design that includes main and lateral grooves, a block with a slit and corrugated sipes, and a center sipe with a bend and two portions. The design aims to improve tire performance and traction. GlobalData’s report on Toyo Tire gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s company profile on Toyo Tire, Anti-skid tyre treads was a key innovation area identified from patents. Toyo Tire's grant share as of September 2023 was 21%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.
Patent granted for a pneumatic tire with specific grooves and sipes
A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11772431B2) describes a pneumatic tire with specific design features aimed at improving performance and traction. The tire includes first and second main grooves that extend in the tire's circumferential direction, as well as first and second lateral grooves that are inclined with respect to the tire's width direction and connected to the main grooves. These grooves define a block within the tire.
The block within the tire includes a slit that is open at one end to the first main groove and terminates within the block. Additionally, there are two corrugated sipes within the block, one open to the first main groove and the other open to the second main groove. The slit also includes a notch groove that is open to the first main groove, and a center sipe connected to the notch groove. The center sipe includes a bend, with a first portion extending from the notch groove at a specific angle relative to the tire's width direction, and a second portion extending from the terminal end of the first portion at a different angle relative to the tire's width direction.
The patent also mentions that the first corrugated sipe overlaps the second corrugated sipe by 50% or more of the width of the second corrugated sipe when viewed in the tire's circumferential direction. The groove width of the notch groove is larger than the groove width of the center sipe. The block within the tire also includes acute-angled corners formed by the main grooves and lateral grooves intersecting with each other. The first corrugated sipe is open to the first main groove closer to the first corner, while the second corrugated sipe is open to the second main groove closer to the second corner.
Other features of the tire include the equal spacing of the first corrugated sipe, the second portion of the center sipe, and the second corrugated sipe in the tire's circumferential direction. The first lateral groove extends in a straight shape, while the second lateral groove extends in a zigzag shape with bent portions at both ends of a central portion. The block within the tire also has a chamfer on the tread surface side of a sidewall closest to the second lateral groove.
Overall, this patented tire design aims to enhance traction and performance by incorporating specific groove and sipe configurations within the tire's block.
To know more about GlobalData’s detailed insights on Toyo Tire, buy the report here.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData Patent Analytics tracks bibliographic data, legal events data, point in time patent ownerships, and backward and forward citations from global patenting offices. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
