Patent ID: 7201195

Claim:
A tread for a tire, comprising a tread pattern formed by at least two grooves of generally circumferential orientation, these grooves delimiting at least two ridges each comprising a contact face intended to come in contact with the road and two lateral faces, these lateral faces intersecting the contact face to form edges, at least one of said ridges, of mean width L, comprising a plurality of incisions with maximum depth Hi which, in the new condition, open onto the contact face and onto the two lateral faces of the ridge, the trace of each incision on the contact surface extending between two points of intersection A and B with the edges of the ridge, the segment AB making an angle α with the transverse direction of the tread at most equal to 40°, said tread being characterized in that: each incision of mean width E, comprises, from one lateral face of the ridge to its other lateral face, a succession of incision portions, some of these incision portions, over at least a height He equal to half the maximum depth Hi of the incision and for any surface parallel to the contact surface in the new condition over said height He, having traces that make, with the longitudinal direction Y of the tread, an average angle β at most equal to 15°, said some incision portions, viewed in projection on this longitudinal direction Y, having a total length Lt at least equal to one-fifth of the width L of the ridge; and in that the incision portions whose traces make an average angle β are provided on their opposite walls with relief elements of amplitude K designed to cooperate with one another, during passage through the road contact zone, to block the relative movements between one incision wall and the opposite wall in the direction of the thickness of the tread and in the longitudinal direction of the tread, the amplitude K of said relief elements being between 4 and 10 times the mean width E of the incision; each of other incision portions of said succession of incision portions of the incision extending into the tread in a direction forming an average inclination γ smaller than 15° with a plane that is oriented perpendicular to the contact surface of the tread, wherein the respective inclinations Y of the other incision portions are opposite one another.