Pneumatic vehicle tire with specified circumferential side wall groove

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9487053-B2
Application number	US-201514645270-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 11, 2015
Priority date	Sep 11, 2012
Publication date	Nov 8, 2016
Grant date	Nov 8, 2016

Abstract

A vehicle tire has a pattern visible in the side wall located in a groove thereof extending across the entire circumference of the tire and oriented in a circumferential direction (U). The groove is formed of first groove segments and second groove segments, which in the circumferential direction are arranged in alternating sequence one behind the other. Radially outwardly, the groove segments are each defined by a radially outward defining flank and radially inwardly, are defined by a radially inward defining flank defining the groove radially inward. The first groove segments are arranged radially outside the second groove segments and the transition between a first groove segment and the adjacent second groove segment is configured as a radial offset of the groove by the amount of displacement (a).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle tire defining a tire circumference and a circumferential direction, the vehicle tire comprising:
a profiled tread;
a first and a second side wall rubber strip, one on each axial side of the profiled tread, each side wall strip having a side wall surface forming part of the outer surface of the tire;
at least one of said first and said second side wall strips having a groove extending over the entirety of the tire circumference on the outer surface of the tire;
said groove having a repeating pattern formed therein over the entirety of the tire circumference;
said groove having first and second groove segments each being oriented in the circumferential direction and being arranged in an alternating sequence in the circumferential direction;
said first and second groove segments being arranged one behind the other in the alternating sequence in the circumferential direction;
said at least one of said first and second side wall strips further having an outer delimiting flank delimiting said first and second groove segments radially outwardly and an inner delimiting flank delimiting said first and second groove segments radially inwardly;
said first groove segments being arranged radially outside of said second groove segments so as to define respective first transitions from said first groove segments to adjacent ones of said second groove segments configured as first radial offsets of said groove by an offset dimension a radially inwardly and to define respective second transitions from said second groove segments to adjacent ones of said first groove segments configured as second radial offsets of said groove by an offset dimension a radially outwardly;
said first groove segments each having a maximum width B 1 measured in the radial direction;
said second groove segments each having a maximum width B 2 measured in the radial direction;
said first groove segments each being configured to have said maximum width B 1 in at least a circumferential extension section thereof with said offset dimension a being ≧ said width B 1 ;
said second groove segments being configured to have said maximum width B 2 in at least a circumferential extension section thereof with said offset dimension a being ≧ said width B 2 ,
said first groove segments extend over a circumferential angle α lying in a range of 10°≦α≦50° measured along said outer delimiting flank; and,
said second groove segments extend over a circumferential angle β lying in a range of 10°≦β≦50° measured along said outer delimiting flank.

2. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein said circumferential angle α and said circumferential angle β are equal to each other (α=β).

3. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein:
said outer delimiting flank extends oriented in the circumferential direction in said first groove segments and forms a circular segment in the side wall surface of said at least one of said first and second side wall strips.

4. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein:
said inner delimiting flank extends oriented in the circumferential direction in said first groove segments and forms a circular segment in the side wall surface of said at least one of said first and second side wall strips.

5. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein said groove in said first groove segments is configured with a constant maximum width B 1 along its extent at least over a circumferential angle γ with γ≧2°.

6. The vehicle tire of claim 5 , wherein:
each of said first groove segments in a circumferential section between the corresponding one of said first radial offsets and the extension section having said constant maximum width B 1 have a width B 3 with (⅓)B 1 ≦B 3 ≦B 1 .

7. The vehicle tire of claim 5 , wherein each of said first groove segments is formed with a constant maximum width B 1 measured in the radial direction from a corresponding one of said first radial offsets to the second groove segment in the circumferential direction up to the next second groove segment in the circumferential direction.

8. The vehicle tire of claim 5 , wherein each of said first groove segments have said maximum width B 1 at least in a circumferential extent section directly adjoining the corresponding one of said first radial offsets.

9. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein:
said inner delimiting flank extends oriented in the circumferential direction in said second groove segments and forms a segment of a circle in said side wall surface of said at least one of said first and second side wall strips.

10. The vehicle tire of claim 9 , wherein:
each of said second groove segments have said maximum width B 2 at least in a circumferential extent section directly adjoining the corresponding one of said second radial offsets.

11. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein each of said second groove segments is formed with a constant maximum width B 2 measured in the radial direction from a corresponding one of said second radial offsets to the first groove segment in the circumferential direction up to the next first groove segment in the circumferential direction.

12. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein said first maximum width and said second maximum width are configured such that 0.25 B 1 ≦B 2 ≦B 1 .

13. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle tire is a pneumatic vehicle tire.

14. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein:
said first side wall surface and said second side wall surface each have a radial extent including an outer half of said radial extent; and,
said at least one of said first and said second side wall strips having said groove disposed in said respective outer half of said radial extent.

15. The vehicle tire of claim 1 , wherein said repeating pattern is a hatched pattern.

Assignees

• Continental Reifen Deutschland Gmbh

Inventors

• Rittweger Stefan

Classifications

• B60C5/00

  Inflatable pneumatic tyres or inner tubes (B60C1/00, B60C9/00 - B60C17/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• B60C13/001

  Decorating, marking or the like · CPC title

• B60C13/02 Primary

  Arrangement of grooves or ribs · CPC title