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US-20260124860-A1 - TIRE PROVIDED WITH 3D KERFS COMBINING INTERLOCKING BANDS AND HIDDEN GROOVE-TYPE KERFS

US20260124860A1US 20260124860 A1US20260124860 A1US 20260124860A1US-20260124860-A1

Abstract

An embodiment relates to a tire in which kerf space can be secured after tread wear without a decrease in block rigidity. The tire provided with 3D kerfs combining interlocking bands and hidden groove-type kerfs according to an embodiment comprises: kerfs that are provided with road surface portions and bottom portions; and protrusion parts that protrude from one of the two side wall surfaces of the road surface portions, wherein the road surface portions are spaces extending, in the thickness direction of the blocks, from the outer surface of the blocks in contact with the road surface, and the bottom portions are spaces extending from the road surface in the thickness direction of the block.

Inventors

  • Hee Kyung Kim
  • Su Bin CHOI

Assignees

  • HANKOOK TIRE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251218
Priority Date
20220329

Claims (15)

  1. 1 . A tire comprising: a kerf including an upper portion having a first space extending in a thickness direction of a block of the tire from an outer surface of the block, the outer surface of the block being configured to be in contact with a road surface, the upper portion including a first side wall surface and a second side wall surface facing each other to define the first space, and a lower portion having a second space extending in the thickness direction of the block from the upper portion, the lower portion including a third side wall surface extending from the first side wall surface and a fourth side wall surface extending from the second side wall surface, the third and fourth side wall surfaces defining the second space; and a protrusion protruding from the first side wall surface of the upper portion, wherein a distance between the third and fourth side wall surfaces of the lower portion varies in a depth direction of the lower portion, the distance being perpendicular to the depth direction of the lower portion.
  2. 2 . The tire according to claim 1 , wherein an upper end of the protrusion is positioned lower than the outer surface of the block and a lower end of the protrusion is positioned above a boundary between the upper portion and the lower portion.
  3. 3 . The tire according to claim 2 , wherein when a total depth of the kerf is 5 mm to 10 mm, a depth of the lower portion is 2 mm to 6 mm.
  4. 4 . The tire according to claim 2 , wherein when a total depth of the kerf is 5 mm to 10 mm, a height of the protrusion is 1.5 mm to 5 mm.
  5. 5 . The tire according to claim 1 , wherein each of the third and fourth side wall surfaces includes: a first portion extending from each of the first and second side wall surfaces; and a second portion extending from the first portion to a bottom surface of the lower portion, wherein the distance between the third and fourth side wall surfaces varies at a position corresponding to the first portion of the upper portion.
  6. 6 . The tire according to claim 5 , the distance between the third and fourth side wall surfaces increases in the depth direction of the lower portion toward the bottom surface of the lower portion.
  7. 7 . The tire according to claim 5 , wherein a distance between the second portion of the third side wall surface and the second portion of the fourth side wall surface is constant in the depth direction of the lower portion.
  8. 8 . The tire according to claim 5 , wherein a connection region between each of the first side wall surface and the second side wall surface of the upper portion and the first portion of the lower portion is rounded and has a first curved surface having a first radius of curvature.
  9. 9 . The tire according to claim 8 , wherein the first radius of curvature is 0.5 mm to 5 mm.
  10. 10 . The tire according to claim 5 , wherein a connection region between the second portion of the lower portion and the bottom surface of the lower portion is rounded and has a second curved surface having a second radius of curvature.
  11. 11 . The tire according to claim 10 , wherein the second radius of curvature is 0.3 mm to 1.5 mm.
  12. 12 . The tire according to claim 5 , wherein a connection region between the first portion of the lower portion and the second portion of the lower portion is rounded and has a third curved surface having a third radius of curvature.
  13. 13 . The tire according to claim 12 , wherein the third radius of curvature is 0.3 mm to 5 mm.
  14. 14 . The tire according to claim 1 , wherein a width of the lower portion is 3 mm or less, and a width of the upper portion is 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm.
  15. 15 . The tire according to claim 1 , wherein an outer end of the protrusion facing the second side wall surface of the upper portion is spaced apart from the second side wall surface of the upper portion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of the U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 18/852,138 filed on Sep. 27, 2024, which is a national phase application of PCT/KR2023/003307 filed on Mar. 10, 2023 and claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0039209 filed on Mar. 29, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tire provided with 3D kerfs combining interlocking bands and hidden groove-type kerfs, and more specifically, a kerf space can be secured after tread wear without a decrease in block rigidity. BACKGROUND ART In general, in the case of a pattern formed in the tread of a tire, a void within the tire pattern decreases as the tread wears, and this reduced space can cause problems such as reduced drainage in a water film, reduced traction on a road surface covered with snow, and reduced braking performance on a wet road surface. Various attempts are being made to compensate for the decrease in void volume within the tread due to the groove and kerf that decrease as the tread wears, and from the groove perspective, when the inclination angle of the groove sidewall is 90 degrees or a reverse inclination is applied, the rigidity of the block forming the pattern decreases, resulting in a decrease in braking performance and handling performance on a rough road surface; therefore, an unintended trade-off phenomenon may occur. This has led to a need for a method to secure a kerf space even after tread wear without reducing block rigidity in terms of kerf. In Korean Patent No. 10-1038020 (title of the invention: TREAD KERF STRUCTURE OF MEDIUM-LOAD TIRE FOR IMPROVING DURABILITY AND DRAINAGE), in a tread kerf structure of a heavy load tire in which in order to improve the braking performance and durability on the water and icy surface, the lower end part of a kerf 2 has a volume larger than that of an opening 2a of the kerf 2, the horizontal wave-shaped opening 2a of the kerf 2 communicates with the lower end part of the kerf 2 by a vertical waveform connection hole 2b, and a flow path pipe 3 formed at the lower end part of the kerf 2 is composed of a plurality of sawtooth cylindrical tubes 3a formed along the length direction of the flow path pipe 3 as blade rubber is protruded at an equal angle along the inner direction. RELATED ART Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1038020 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem The present invention is to provide a tire in which a kerf space can be secured after tread wear without a decrease in block rigidity. The aspect of the present invention is not limited to that mentioned above, and other aspects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. Technical Solution To this end, according to the present invention, a tire with a block includes: a kerf having a road surface portion, which is a space formed by extending in the thickness direction of the block from the outer surface of the block in contact with a road surface, and a bottom portion, which is a space formed by extending in the thickness direction of the block from the road surface portion; and a protrusion part formed in a shape that protrudes from one of opposite side wall surfaces of the road surface portion, wherein the distance between opposite side wall surfaces of the bottom portion is variable in the depth direction of the bottom portion. In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the opposite side wall surfaces of the road surface portion may be formed in the shape of a continuous surface. In an embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the opposite side wall surfaces of the bottom portion gradually may increase as the depth of the bottom portion increases. In an embodiment of the present invention, as the depth of the bottom portion increases, the distance between the opposite side wall surfaces of the bottom portion may gradually increase and then become constant. In an embodiment of the present invention, the tire may further include a channel portion having a channel formed in the shape of a groove extending in the depth direction of the road surface portion at a corresponding position of each of the opposite side wall surfaces of the road surface portion. In an embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the opposite side wall surfaces of the bottom portion gradually may increase as the depth of the bottom portion increases. In an embodiment of the present invention, as the depth of the bottom portion increases, the distance between the opposite side wall surfaces of the bottom portion may gradually increase and then become constant. In an embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion part may have a rectangular solid shape. In an embodiment of the present invention, the kerf may have a curved shape extending