Patent ID: 8447578
Filing Date: 2013-05-21
Classification: B60C

Abstract:
1. A method of designing a tire having a circumferential tread, the method comprising: identifying a target residual aligning torque range for a tire having a buttress portion and a non-zero buttress angle (β) on each side of the tire, wherein the buttress portion extends from a sidewall of the tire to an outer boundary of the circumferential tread, and wherein the non-zero buttress angle (β) is an angle between the buttress portion and a plane that contains an axis of rotation of the tire; creating a computer model of the tire that includes the non-zero buttress angle (β) comprising: calculating a residual aligning torque of the computer model of the tire with the non-zero buttress angle (β), the calculated residual aligning torque being based on the tire reactive shear force (F comparing the calculated residual aligning torque value to the target residual aligning torque range; determining whether the calculated residual aligning torque value is within the target residual aligning torque range; adjusting the tire reactive shear force by adjusting the non-zero buttress angle (β), which changes the tire reactive shear force (F repeating the calculating, comparing, determining, and adjusting until the calculated residual aligning torque value is within the target residual aligning torque range; and producing a final tire design.