Patent Description:
In general, other than tire information such as tire dimensions, a manufacture date, a manufacture factory, maximum speed and load, etc., a diagonal pattern, company and model logos, other decorations, etc. related to the external appearance may be marked on a side of a tire.

In order to set off the decoration with an advantage, colors such a white were added or a fine groove, prominence and depression, etc. were included to make a difference from flat portions, thereby visually applying a difference.

However, the patterns on the sides of tires substantially do not look different much from other parts under an environment with an external light source such as the sun, so there is a problem that the effect is small.

Various research projects for a technology of controlling the shape and structure of patterns that are formed on the sides of tires have been conducted to solve this problem.

For tires manufactured through common processes, the patterns forming a brand name, a model name, etc. were formed by cross-sections composed of repeated common straight lines.

A high-contrast tire pattern and a production method thereof are disclosed in <CIT> in the related art.

In this document, it is described that when the gaps between serrations are made close, contrast is improved.

However, although contrast can be improved by making the gaps of serrations close, there is a problem that particles may be stuck in the gaps of the serrations.

Further, there is a problem that maintenance such as a difficult cleaning method is required to remove particles stuck in the gaps of serrations.

Other known pneumatic tires are described in the documents <CIT> and <CIT>.

The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems and an objective of the present invention is to provide a tire that can be given excellent visibility by securing high contrast, that can be easily maintained, and of which the quality of external appearance can be improved.

A tire according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of knurling units including: a first knurling part that is convex; a second knurling part that continues from a side of the first knurling part and is convex; a third knurling part that continues from a side of the second knurling part and is convex; and a fourth knurling part that is convex and is continuously connected from a side of the third knurling part to another side of the first knurling part.

The tire may include the plurality of knurling units on any one or more of an edge and a side.

The first knurling part, the second knurling part, the third knurling part, and the fourth knurling part may be asymmetrically formed up, down, left, and right.

The first knurling part, the second knurling part, the third knurling part, and the fourth knurling part may be formed in the same shape.

The first knurling part, the second knurling part, the third knurling part, and the fourth knurling part may be formed around the same apex.

The first knurling part, the second knurling part, the third knurling part, and the fourth knurling part each may be formed in triangular pyramid shape.

The length of an edge of the bottom of the knurling unit may be <NUM> ~ <NUM>.

The length of the height of the knurling unit may be <NUM> ~ <NUM>.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to improve the degree of blackness in comparison to the related art.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that contrast is improved, as compared with the related art, so visibility is improved.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the degree of protrusion of a knurling unit is minimized, as compared with the related art, which is advantageous in terms of aerodynamics and improves the fuel efficiency of a vehicle.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to improve durability of a knurling unit in comparison to the related art.

According to the present invention, since a cleaner is not stuck in a mold for manufacturing a tire, sandblasting can be used for cleaning, so there is an effect that a cleaning price and a cleaning time are reduced in comparison to the related art, which can achieve cost efficiency.

According to the present invention, there is an effect of a high touch feeling like a fabric is implemented, so the more aesthetic external appearance is achieved.

Hereinafter, a tire according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to typical meanings or dictionary definitions, but should be interpreted as having meanings and concepts relevant to the technical scope of the present invention based on the rule according to which an inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term to describe most appropriately the best method he or she knows for carrying out the invention. Therefore, the configurations described in the embodiments and drawings of the present invention are merely the most preferable embodiments but do not represent limitations of the present invention. Thus, it should be understood that the present invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

The size of components or specific portions of the components are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically shown in the drawings for convenience and clarity of description. Accordingly, the sizes of components do not completely reflect the actual sizes. Detailed description of well-known functions or configurations is not described when it may make the subject of the present invention unclear.

<FIG> is a perspective view schematically showing a plurality of knurling units according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, a tire according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of knurling units <NUM> including a first knurling part <NUM> that is convex, a second knurling part <NUM> that continues from a side of the first knurling part <NUM> and is convex, a third knurling part <NUM> that continues from a side of the second knurling part <NUM> and is convex, and a fourth knurling part <NUM> that is convex and is continuously connected from a side of the third knurling part <NUM> to another side of the first knurling part <NUM>.

The first knurling part <NUM> may be convexly formed in a triangular pyramid shape.

The first knurling part <NUM> may be asymmetrically formed up, down, left, and right. That is, the upper end of the first knurling part <NUM> may be biased to a side.

The first knurling part <NUM>, the second knurling part <NUM>, the third knurling part <NUM>, and the fourth knurling part <NUM> may be formed in the same shape.

The first knurling part <NUM>, the second knurling part <NUM>, the third knurling part <NUM>, and the fourth knurling part <NUM> may be connected to each other around the same apex.

The knurling unit <NUM> composed of the first knurling part <NUM>, the second knurling part <NUM>, the third knurling part <NUM>, and the fourth knurling part <NUM> may form a vane shape.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing only one knurling unit separated from <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the knurling unit <NUM> is formed such that the first knurling part <NUM>, the second knurling part <NUM>, the third knurling part <NUM>, and the fourth knurling part <NUM> are connected to each other around one apex.

The first knurling part <NUM>, the second knurling part <NUM>, the third knurling part <NUM>, and the fourth knurling part <NUM> may be formed in the same shape with the same size, and the length of the height 'c' of the first, second, third, and fourth knurling parts <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be <NUM> ~ <NUM>.

That is, the length of the height 'c' of the first, second, third, and fourth knurling parts <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be the convex height of the knurling unit <NUM>.

When the length of the height 'c' of the first, second, third, and fourth knurling parts <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> is <NUM> ~ <NUM>, the height of the knurling unit <NUM> that is convexly formed on a tire can be minimized, which is advantageous in terms of aerodynamics of the tire.

The length of an edge 'a' of the bottom of the knurling unit <NUM> may be <NUM> ~ <NUM>.

That is, the length of the edge 'a' connecting two apexes except for the apex shared by the first, second, third, and fourth knurling parts <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be <NUM> ~ <NUM>.

When the length of the edge 'a' connecting two apexes of the bottom except for the apex shared by the first, second, third, and fourth knurling parts <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> is <NUM> ~ <NUM>, the knurling unit <NUM> is formed a relatively small component, which may be advantageous in terms of aerodynamics of a tire.

The inclination of the upper portion forming the triangular pyramid of the first knurling part <NUM>, second knurling part <NUM>, third knurling part <NUM>, and fourth knurling part <NUM> may be <NUM>° ~ <NUM>°.

That is, when the inclination of the upper portion forming the triangular pyramid of the first knurling part <NUM>, second knurling part <NUM>, third knurling part <NUM>, and fourth knurling part <NUM> is <NUM>° ~ <NUM>°, it is possible to minimize the size of the knurling unit <NUM> and maximize visibility of the knurling unit <NUM>.

A plurality of knurling units <NUM> form a micro knurling structure on a tire, whereby it is possible to improve the quality of external appearance of the tread and the sidewall of a tire and improve the performance the tire.

<FIG> is a partially enlarged view showing engraved characters, etc. on a tire in the related art.

As shown in <FIG>, a character <NUM>, such as a brand name and a model name that are engraved on a sidewall of a tire in the related art, etc., forms a structure extending straightly like serrations on a tire to improve contrast for securing visibility.

<FIG> is an enlarged view showing a portion of a mold for manufacturing a tire in the related art, and <FIG> is a partially enlarged view showing portions with cleaner stuck therein of a mold for manufacturing a tire in the related art.

As shown in <FIG>, straight serrations are formed on the portion of a mold 10a for forming a sidewall portion of a tire of the related art.

The mold 10a should be cleaned when it is used over a predetermined number of times. According to sandblasting that is used to clean the mold 10a by spraying sand, cleaner particles <NUM> may be stuck in the gaps of a serrated cross-section.

When a tire is manufactured by the mold 10a, there is a problem that the contrast of the detailed design of the character <NUM> such as brand name and a model name of the tire is decreased.

<FIG> is an actual picture partially enlarging a character, etc. engraved on a tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, a character <NUM>, etc. such as a brand name and a model name that are engraved on a sidewall of a tire according to an embodiment of the present invention may form a micro knurling structure having, as a fundamental unit, a plurality of vane-shaped knurling units <NUM> having a cross-section of a plurality of rotated triangular pyramids to secure visibility.

A micro knurling structure having a multi-directional cutting structure can absorb light and improve the degree of blackness of a surface.

A high touch feeling like a fabric can increase visibility and achieve a more aesthetic external appearance of a product.

<FIG> is an actual picture of a mold for engraving characters, etc. on a tire according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, a mold 20a for forming a micro knurling structure on a tire forms a plurality of cross-sections of rotated triangular pyramids that are asymmetric up, down, left, and right. Accordingly, even though the mold is cleaned by sandblasting that sprays sand, a cleaner is not stuck in the cross-sections, so the cleaning price and cleaning time are decreased, whereby efficiency can be increased in terms of cost.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to improve the degree of blackness as compared with the existing serration structure.

For example, the existing serration structure protrudes more than <NUM> from a tire, but the micro knurling structure of the present invention can protrude less than <NUM> from a tire.

According to the present invention, there is an effect a high touch feeling like a fabric is implemented, so the more aesthetic external appearance is achieved.

Claim 1:
A tire comprising a plurality of knurling units (<NUM>) on a sidewall of the tire, the plurality of knurling units (<NUM>) including:
a first knurling part (<NUM>) that is convex;
a second knurling part (<NUM>) that continues from a side of the first knurling part (<NUM>) and is convex;
a third knurling part (<NUM>) that continues from a side of the second knurling part (<NUM>) and is convex; and
a fourth knurling part (<NUM>) that is convex and is continuously connected from a side of the third knurling part (<NUM>) to another side of the first knurling part (<NUM>).