JP6002568B2 - Non pneumatic tire - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a non-pneumatic tire.

  In conventional pneumatic tires that are filled with pressurized air, the occurrence of puncture is an unavoidable structural problem. In recent years, in order to solve this problem, an attachment body attached to an axle, and the attachment A non-pneumatic tire is proposed that includes a ring-shaped body that surrounds the body, and a plurality of connecting members disposed along the tire circumferential direction between the attachment body and the ring-shaped body (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-156905 A

  However, in the conventional non-pneumatic tire as described above, there is room for examination regarding the shape of the tread portion, and in particular, improvement of the ground contact performance when the tire is inclined (given camber angle) with respect to the road surface. Was demanded.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a non-pneumatic tire with improved ground contact performance with respect to the road surface.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the non-pneumatic tire of the present invention includes a mounting body, an outer cylindrical body, a connecting member, and a tread portion, and includes a tire width direction cross section. A curve in which the contour of the outer surface of the tread member in the central region, which is a tire width direction region having a width of 50% of the tread width centering on the tire equator plane, is at least partially convex outward in the tire radial direction. der is,
In the cross-sectional view in the tire width direction, the outer cylindrical body has a protruding portion that protrudes outward in the tire radial direction, and the protruding portion has a width in the tire width direction that is greater than the width in the tire width direction at the base portion of the protruding portion. It has the large width expansion part . According to such a non-pneumatic tire, since the outer surface of the tread portion follows the road surface according to the camber angle of the tire, the ground contact performance of the tire compared to the conventional non-pneumatic tire in which the outer surface of the tread portion is flat Can be improved. Further, the tread portion and the outer cylinder can be engaged with each other, so that the detachment of the tread portion can be more reliably suppressed.

  Further, in the non-pneumatic tire of the present invention, the thickness in the tire radial direction of the tread portion in the central region is preferably larger than the thickness in the tire radial direction at the tire width direction end of the tread portion. According to the present invention, the wear life of the tire can be improved by increasing the thickness of the central region of the tread portion that is easily worn during straight running.

  Further, in the non-pneumatic tire of the present invention, the outer cylinder is divided into one side outer cylinder and the other side outer cylinder, and the one side outer cylinder and the other side outer cylinder It is preferable that the thickness in the tire radial direction of the outer cylindrical body in the joint portion is larger than the thickness in the average tire radial direction of the outer cylindrical body. According to this, one side outer cylindrical body and the other side outer cylindrical body By increasing the contact area at the time of joining, the strength of joining can be increased. Here, "the thickness in the tire radial direction of the outer cylinder body at the joint portion between the one outer cylinder body and the other outer cylinder body" means that the one outer cylinder body and the other outer cylinder body are in contact with each other. It refers to the thickness in the tire radial direction on the edge surface in the tire width direction.

  In the non-pneumatic tire of the present invention, the connecting member includes one side connecting member and the other side connecting member that are spaced apart in the tire width direction, and the one side connecting member and the other side connecting member The thickness of the outer cylinder in the tire width direction region between is preferably larger than the average thickness of the outer cylinder, and according to this, the rigidity of the tire width direction region where the connecting member is not arranged is ensured. , The driving stability can be improved.

  Further, in the non-pneumatic tire of the present invention, it is preferable that the thickness of the outer cylindrical body in the tire radial direction gradually increases at least partially toward the center side in the tire width direction. The tread portion can be easily attached to the outer cylindrical body, and the tread portion can be prevented from being detached from the outer cylindrical body during traveling on the road surface.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the non-pneumatic tire which improved the ground contact performance with respect to a road surface.

It is a schematic perspective view which decomposed | disassembled some non-pneumatic tires concerning one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is width direction sectional drawing which shows a part of non-pneumatic tire which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, (b) shows a part of non-pneumatic tire which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is width direction sectional drawing. (A) is width direction sectional drawing which shows a part of non-pneumatic tire which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, (b) is a part of non-pneumatic tire which concerns on further embodiment of this invention. (C) is a width direction sectional view showing a part of a non-pneumatic tire according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and (d) is a conventional non-pneumatic tire. It is width direction sectional drawing which shows a part of.

Hereinafter, an example of a non-pneumatic tire according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the structure of each part of a non-pneumatic tire is not limited to the following description.
This non-pneumatic tire (hereinafter also simply referred to as “tire”) 1 includes an attachment body 3 attached to an axle (not shown), an outer cylinder 5 surrounding the attachment body 3 from the outer side in the tire radial direction, and an attachment. A plurality of connecting members 7 are provided between the body 3 and the outer cylinder 5 along the tire circumferential direction to connect the outer cylinder 5 and the attachment body 3 so as to be relatively elastically displaceable, and the outer cylinder 5 is a tire. And a tread portion 9 surrounding from the outside in the radial direction. In this example, the inner cylinder 4 is mounted on the mounting body 3, and the connecting member 7 is disposed between the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 5. The attachment body 3 is formed of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy, for example. The tread portion 9 is made of, for example, vulcanized rubber obtained by vulcanizing natural rubber or / and a rubber composition, or a thermoplastic material. Examples of the thermoplastic material include a thermoplastic elastomer or a thermoplastic resin. Examples of the thermoplastic elastomer include amide-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPA), ester-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPC), olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPO), styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPS), and urethane as defined in JIS K6418. Examples thereof include a thermoplastic elastomer (TPU), a crosslinked thermoplastic rubber (TPV), and other thermoplastic elastomers (TPZ). Examples of the thermoplastic resin include urethane resin, olefin resin, vinyl chloride resin, and polyamide resin. From the viewpoint of wear resistance, it is preferable to form the tread member 16 from vulcanized rubber.

  Here, the attachment body 3, the inner cylinder body 4, the outer cylinder body 5, and the tread portion 9 are each arranged coaxially with the common shaft. Hereinafter, the common axis is referred to as an axis O, a direction along the axis O is referred to as a tire width direction H, a direction orthogonal to the axis O is referred to as a tire radial direction, and a direction around the axis O is a tire circumference. It is called direction. In this example, the attachment body 3, the inner cylinder body 4, the outer cylinder body 5, and the tread portion 9 are disposed so that the center portions in the tire width direction H coincide with each other. And in this embodiment, the outer cylinder 5 is the center part of the tire width direction H, the one side outer cylinder 17 located in the one side of the tire width direction H, and the other side located in the other side of the tire width direction H The outer cylindrical body 18 is divided into two, and the edges in the tire width direction H are joined to each other by, for example, welding or adhesion. Of these, in the case of welding, for example, hot plate welding or the like may be employed. The inner cylinder 4 is divided into one inner cylinder 19 located on one side in the tire width direction H and the other inner cylinder 20 located on the other side in the tire width direction H. The connecting member 7 includes a first elastic connecting plate 21 which is one side connecting member and a second elastic connecting plate 22 which is the other side connecting member. The first elastic connecting plate 21 and the second elastic connecting plate 22 are They are spaced apart in the tire width direction H. Further, the first elastic coupling plates 21 adjacent in the tire circumferential direction are not in contact with each other, and the second elastic coupling plates 22 adjacent in the tire circumferential direction are also in non-contact with each other. Further, the first elastic connecting plate 21 and the second elastic connecting plate 22 adjacent in the tire width direction H are not in contact with each other. The first elastic connecting plate 21 and the second elastic connecting plate 22 have the same width and thickness. Of the first elastic connecting plate 21, one end 21 a connected to the outer cylinder 5 is located on one side in the tire circumferential direction from the other end 21 b connected to the inner cylinder 4, and the second elastic connection Of the plate 22, one end 22 a connected to the outer cylinder 5 is located on the other side in the tire circumferential direction with respect to the other end 22 b connected to the inner cylinder 4. In the illustrated example, in each of the first elastic connecting plate 21 and the second elastic connecting plate 22, a bending portion is provided at an intermediate portion located between the one end 21a and the other end 21b, 22b. , 22 are formed along the extending direction. In this example, the one-side inner cylinder 19, the one-side outer cylinder 17, and the plurality of first elastic connecting plates 21 are formed integrally, and similarly, the other-side inner cylinder 20, the other-side outer cylinder. The body 18 and the plurality of second elastic connecting plates 22 are integrally formed.

  On the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylindrical body 4, a plurality of protrusions 4 a that protrude toward the inner side in the tire radial direction and extend over the entire length in the tire width direction H are disposed at intervals in the tire circumferential direction. . The attachment body 3 connects the mounting cylinder part 11 to which the tip end portion of the axle is mounted, the outer ring part 13 surrounding the mounting cylinder part 11 from the outer side in the tire radial direction, and the mounting cylinder part 11 and the outer ring part 13. And a plurality of ribs 15. A plurality of key groove portions 13a that are recessed toward the inside in the tire radial direction and that extend in the tire width direction H are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring portion 13 at intervals in the tire circumferential direction. The key groove portion 13a is opened only on one side of both ends in the tire width direction H on the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring portion 13, and the other side is closed. The protrusions 4a of the inner cylinder 4 are fitted into these key groove portions 13a. A concave portion 13b into which the plate material 14 is fitted is formed at an edge on one side of the outer ring portion 13 in the tire width direction H at a position corresponding to the key groove portion 13a. A through hole is formed in the plate member 14, and a female screw communicating with the through hole of the plate member 14 fitted in the recess 13b on a wall surface facing the one side in the tire width direction H among the wall surfaces defining the recess 13b The part is formed. A plurality of these internal thread portions and through holes are formed at intervals in the tire circumferential direction. The inner cylindrical body 4 is externally fitted to the attachment body 3 and the bolts are connected to the female thread portions through the through holes of the plate material 14 fitted in the concave portions 13b in a state where the protrusions 4a are fitted in the key groove portions 13a. It is fixed to the attachment body 3 by screwing.

  The tread portion 9 is formed in a cylindrical shape and bonded so as to integrally cover the outer peripheral surface side of the outer cylindrical body 5 over the entire region. FIG. 2A shows a cross section in the tire width direction of the tread portion 9 and the outer cylindrical body 5 of the non-pneumatic tire 1. As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the non-pneumatic tire 1 has an outer surface of the tread portion 9 in a central region 25 which is a tire width direction region having a width of 50% of the tread width TW with the tire equatorial plane E as the center. The contour 9a is at least partially a curved curve convex outward in the tire radial direction. In this example, the contour 9a forms one arc that protrudes outward in the tire radial direction between both ends 9b, 9b of the tread portion 9 in the tire width direction, and the center of curvature of the arc is the inner side in the tire radial direction from the contour 9a. Is located. Further, the thickness t in the tire radial direction of the tread portion 9 in the central region 25 is the tire at the tire width direction end 9b of the tread portion 9 in all the tire width direction positions excluding the portion where the groove is formed on the outer surface. It is larger than the thickness t1 in the radial direction.

  The non-pneumatic tire 1 having such a configuration corresponds to the camber angle as compared with the conventional tire in which the contour 9a ′ of the outer surface of the tread portion 9 ′ is linear as shown in FIG. Since the outer surface of the tread portion 9 follows the road surface, high grounding performance can be exhibited. Therefore, the present invention is particularly effective in a motorcycle in which a large camber angle is given during cornering. In addition, the outline 9a of the outer surface of the tread portion 9 in the tire width direction cross section may be a curve and a straight line connected. From the viewpoint of improving the ground contact performance with respect to the road surface, in any case, the outline 9a is: It is preferable to extend smoothly without having a corner. Further, as the tire is assumed to be used at a large camber angle, the contour 9a of the outer surface of the tread portion 9 is an arc shape having a small curvature radius or a combination of a plurality of arcs and / or straight lines having a small curvature radius. It is preferable that there is a high ground contact performance even at a large camber angle.

  Further, when the non-pneumatic tire 1 is used, the time for traveling in a state where the camber angle is hardly given is longer than the time for traveling in a large camber state. When the camber is not applied, the central region 25 of the tread portion 9 is mainly in contact with the road surface, so that the central region 25 is more easily worn than the end portion of the tread portion 9. Since the thickness t in the tire radial direction of the central region 25 of the tread portion 9 is larger than the thickness t1 at the tire width direction end 9b, the tire 1 has a long wear life.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the thickness t 3 in the tire radial direction of the outer cylinder 5 at the joint 24 between the one outer cylinder 17 and the other outer cylinder 18 is the tire of the outer cylinder 5. The thickness is larger than the average thickness in the radial direction, thereby increasing the contact area when joining the one-side outer cylinder 17 and the other-side outer cylinder 18, and the strength of joining such as welding and adhesion. Can be increased.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the tire width between the first elastic connecting plate 21 as one side connecting member and the second elastic connecting plate 22 as the other side connecting member, that is, the connecting member 7 is not disposed. It is preferable that the thickness in the tire radial direction of the outer cylinder 5 in the direction region 30 is larger than the average thickness in the tire radial direction of the outer cylinder at any position. Of the outer cylinder 5, the tire width direction region 30 in which the connecting member 7 is not arranged is not supported in the tire radial direction, so that the rigidity tends to be insufficient, and the thickness of this portion is made larger than the other portions. As a result, the rigidity can be ensured and the steering stability during traveling can be improved. As shown in FIG. 2B, the width w1 in the tire width direction of the portion where the thickness in the tire radial direction is formed is larger than the width w2 of the tire width direction region 30 where the connecting member 7 is not disposed. In this way, it is possible to increase the rigidity more reliably and improve the steering stability more reliably.

  3A to 3C are partial cross-sectional views showing a non-pneumatic tire according to another embodiment of the present invention in a cross section in the tire width direction. In the non-pneumatic tire 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3A, the thickness of the outer cylindrical body 5 in the tire radial direction gradually increases at least partially toward the center side in the tire width direction. Preferably, according to this, the operation | work at the time of attaching the tread part 9 previously formed in the cylindrical shape to the radial direction outer side of the outer cylinder 5 can be made easy. Further, it is possible to prevent the tread portion 9 from being detached from the outer cylindrical body 5 due to the deformation of the tread portion 9 when traveling on the road surface.

  Further, in the non-pneumatic tire 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3B, the outer cylinder 5 has a protruding portion 26 that protrudes outward in the tire radial direction, and the base portion of the protruding portion 26. The width w4 of the widened portion 26b can be configured to be larger than the width w3 of 26a. By doing so, the protruding portion 26 of the outer cylinder 5 has a recess corresponding to the protruding portion 26. By engaging with 9, the detachment of the tread portion 9 from the outer cylinder 5 can be more reliably suppressed. Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, it is possible to increase the thickness of the outer cylinder 5 in the tire radial direction so as to protrude inward in the tire radial direction, and according to this, the thickness of the tread portion 9 can be increased. The securing of the thickness and the improvement of the rigidity of the outer cylindrical body 5 can be more reliably performed. FIG. 3E shows a cross section of a conventional non-pneumatic tire in which the contour 9a ′ of the outer surface of the tread portion 9 ′ is flat in the tire width direction and the thickness of the outer cylinder 5 ′ is constant. FIG.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the first elastic connecting plate 21 and the second elastic connecting plate 22 are provided as the connecting member 7 one by one in the tire width direction has been described. A plurality of connecting plates 21 and a plurality of second elastic connecting plates 22 may be provided with different positions in the tire width direction.

  Next, a non-pneumatic tire according to the present invention was prototyped and performance evaluation was performed, which will be described below. As Examples 1 and 2, non-pneumatic tires each having the tread portion 9 and the outer cylinder 5 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B are adopted, and as a comparative example, the tread portion shown in FIG. 9 and a non-pneumatic tire having an outer cylindrical body 5 were employed. The tires of Examples 1 and 2 and the comparative example have the same configuration as shown in FIG. 1 except for the tread portion 9 and the outer cylinder 5, and the tire size is 3.00-8. .

The ground contact performance on the road surface was evaluated by examining the handling stability by the driver's feeling when running on the test course with each tire mounted on a motorcycle.
For wear life, each tire was mounted on a motorcycle, and the test course was run at a speed of 30 km / h, and the travel distance until the tire became unusable due to wear on the tread portion was evaluated.
The welding strength was evaluated by a distance from running on a drum testing machine until the welded portion was broken. The results are shown in Table 1. All results are expressed as an index with a comparative example of 100, and the larger the value, the better the performance.

  From the results in Table 1, it can be seen that the non-pneumatic tires of Examples 1 and 2 according to the present invention have improved ground contact performance and wear life. It can also be seen that the non-pneumatic tire of Example 2 has improved welding strength.

Further, as Examples 3 and 4, a non-pneumatic tire having a tread portion 9 and an outer cylindrical body 5 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B is adopted, and the tread portion 9 and the tread portion 9 shown in FIG. The non-pneumatic tire of the comparative example which has the outer cylinder 5 was employ | adopted, and the adhesive strength of the tread part with respect to an outer cylinder was evaluated. The tires of Examples 3 and 4 and the comparative example have the same configuration as shown in FIG. 1 except for the tread portion 9 and the outer cylinder 5, and the tire size is 3.00-8. .
The adhesive strength was evaluated by the distance from the tread part being detached after the slip angle was applied by the drum tester.

  From the results of Table 2, it can be seen that the non-pneumatic tires of Examples 3 and 4 according to the present invention have improved adhesive strength at the tread portion.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a non-pneumatic tire having improved contact performance with respect to the road surface.

  1: non-pneumatic tire, 3: mounting body, 5: outer cylinder, 7: connecting member, 9: tread part, 21: first elastic connecting plate (one side connecting member), 22: second elastic connecting plate ( Other side connecting member), 24: joint, 25: central region, H: tire width direction

Claims (6)

An attachment attached to the axle;
An outer cylinder surrounding the mounting body from the outside in the tire radial direction;
A plurality of connecting members that are disposed along the tire circumferential direction between the attachment body and the outer cylinder, and that connect the outer cylinder and the attachment body in a relatively elastically displaceable manner,
A tread portion that surrounds the outer cylindrical body from the outer side in the tire radial direction,
In the cross-sectional view in the tire width direction, the contour of the outer surface of the tread portion in the central region, which is a tire width direction region having a width of 50% of the tread width centering on the tire equatorial plane, is at least partially outside in the tire radial direction. curve der that is convex to is,
In the cross-sectional view in the tire width direction, the outer cylindrical body has a protruding portion that protrudes outward in the tire radial direction, and the protruding portion has a width in the tire width direction that is greater than the width in the tire width direction at the base portion of the protruding portion. A non-pneumatic tire characterized by having a large width enlarged portion .   2. The non-pneumatic structure according to claim 1, wherein a tire radial direction thickness of the tread portion in the central region is larger than a tire radial direction thickness of the tread portion at a tire width direction end in a cross-sectional view in the tire width direction. tire. The outer cylinder is divided into one outer cylinder positioned on one side in the tire width direction and the other outer cylinder positioned on the other side in the tire width direction,
The thickness in the tire radial direction of the outer cylinder at the joint portion between the one outer cylinder and the other outer cylinder is greater than the average thickness in the tire radial direction of the outer cylinder. 2. The non-pneumatic tire according to 2. The connecting member includes a first side connecting member and a second side connecting member that are spaced apart in the tire width direction,
The tire radial direction thickness of the said outer cylinder in the tire width direction area | region between the said one side connection member and the said other side connection member is larger than the average thickness of the said outer cylinder body of the tire radial direction. The non-pneumatic tire as described in any one of -3.   The non-pneumatic tire according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a thickness of the outer cylindrical body in the tire radial direction gradually increases at least partially toward a center side in the tire width direction.   The width in the tire width direction of the portion formed with a large thickness in the tire radial direction of the outer cylinder is larger than the width in the tire width direction region between the one side connecting member and the other side connecting member. Item 5. A non-pneumatic tire according to item 4.

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