JP2008273505A - Pneumatic tire - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pneumatic tire capable of improving tire appearance by varying light reflecting performance on an outer surface of a side wall part. <P>SOLUTION: In the pneumatic tire T1, an irregular part 5 wherein recessed parts 10 and projecting parts 20 are alternately arranged is formed on at least part of the outer surface of the side wall part 3. At least part of the surface of the recessed part 10 comprises a mirror surface of 0.4-1.5 μm of arithmetic average surface roughness (Ra), and a peripheral region surrounding the mirror surface comprises a rough surface wherein Ra exceeds 1.5 μm. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire, and more particularly, to a pneumatic tire having an improved appearance by providing an uneven portion on the outer surface of a tire side portion and imparting different glossiness between the recessed portion and the protruding portion. is there.

  Conventionally, pneumatic tires have characters, numbers, symbols indicating the manufacturer name, brand name, tire size, etc. on the outer surface of the sidewall, and the shape of the tire rotation direction, design pattern for dressing up the side, etc. The mark consisting of is projected from the side surface and displayed. The side regions other than these mark portions are generally formed by a flat plane. In some cases, a decorative body is formed by cutting a large number of narrow grooves called ridges on the outer surface of the side portion.

  However, when the side outer surface is constituted by a flat surface or a ridge, the visual perception is monotonous and the tire appearance may not be satisfactory.

  For improving the appearance of the tire, the surface roughness is specified to be 1.5 to 20 μm to increase the glossiness of the tire surface (such as Patent Document 1), and the surface roughness is relatively large to 5 to 100 μm. The range is specified, the light is diffusely reflected on the non-glossy surface to make the tire surface color tone black (Patent Document 2, etc.), and the surface roughness is set to a very small range of less than 0.381 μm. Various techniques have been proposed in the past, such as a technique for improving the appearance by delaying diffusion of the additive to the surface (Patent Document 3).

However, what specifies the surface roughness of the tire also gives a monotonous impression to the eye without any change in the sight of the side surface, and does not improve the tire appearance so much. As described above, the surface roughness can be reduced to improve the reflectivity, but the appearance may be adversely affected by dirt or scratches during use.
JP 2000-142026 A JP 2003-252012 A JP 2004-17964 A

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a pneumatic tire that can improve the tire appearance by providing a change in light reflectivity on the outer surface of the sidewall portion.

  As a result of diligent investigations to solve the above problems, the present inventors formed uneven portions on the outer surface of the side portion of the tire, changed the surface roughness of the concave portions and the convex portions, and changed the glossiness thereof. By improving the visibility of the side portion, the tire appearance is improved.

  That is, the pneumatic tire according to the present invention forms an uneven portion in which concave portions and convex portions are alternately arranged on at least a part of the outer surface of the sidewall portion, and at least a partial surface of the concave portion has an arithmetic average surface roughness ( Ra) It consists of a mirror surface of 0.4 to 1.5 μm, and the peripheral region surrounding the mirror surface is a rough surface exceeding Ra 1.5 μm.

  In the pneumatic tire, it is preferable that the convex portion is an outer surface reference surface of the sidewall portion, and the concave portion is recessed from the reference surface of the sidewall portion.

  In the pneumatic tire, the concave and convex portions may be arranged in a checkered pattern in which the concave portion is formed of a valley and the convex portion is formed of a mountain surrounding the valley.

  Moreover, the said pneumatic tire is effective when the internal peripheral surface inclination of the said recessed part has a different inclination on this recessed part periphery.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said mirror surface occupies 20 to 80% of the area of the said uneven | corrugated | grooved part formation area.

  According to the pneumatic tire of the present invention, the unevenness formed in the sidewall portion increases the glossiness of the recess, thereby improving the visual sense by changing the light reflectivity of the uneven portion, and the tire Appearance can be improved. Furthermore, the change in the reflectivity is increased by making the arrangement of the concave and convex portions checkered, or by changing the inclination of the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion to give a difference in glossiness between the concave portion and the surrounding area surrounding it. The effect of improving the appearance can be further enhanced.

  In addition, the mold for vulcanization molding of the tire according to the present invention is such that the concave portion molding portion of the side portion is convex, the mirror polishing is easy to process, and maintenance such as re-polishing after use is easy. Productivity and maintenance efficiency can also be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a tire side view showing a sidewall surface of a pneumatic tire T1 (hereinafter, the pneumatic tire may be simply referred to as “tire”) according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the curved surface of the sidewall surface is shown in a flat plane for convenience.

  The tire T1 includes a tread portion 2, a sidewall portion 3 extending outward in the tire radial direction from both ends, and a bead portion 4 connected to the outer end of the sidewall portion 3 and fixed to a rim flange. .

  On the outer surface of the sidewall portion 3 of the tire T1, an uneven portion 5 is formed in which the concave portions 10 and the convex portions 20 are adjacently and repeatedly arranged alternately.

  In the tire T <b> 1, the concavo-convex portion 5 is composed of a row in which the concave portions 10 and the convex portions 20 are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction and have the same dimensions and the same dimensions, and the convex portions 20 form a checkered pattern surrounding the concave portions 10. These are arranged concentrically along the tire circumferential direction.

  The tire T <b> 1 is formed in a quadrangular pyramid valley shape in which the concave portion 10 is recessed from the reference surface 3 a of the sidewall portion 3.

  Further, the convex portion 20 is composed of the outer surface reference surface 3 a of the sidewall portion 3, and the convex portion 20 is formed as a flat surface and has a square plate shape with respect to the concave portion 10.

  The dimensions of the concave portion 10 and the convex portion 20 are not particularly limited, but the circumferential width W is about 0.5 to 20 mm, preferably 0.5 to 15 mm, and the radial height H is about 0.3 to 15 mm. Preferably it is 0.5-12 mm. Further, the depth (or height) F is preferably about 0.2 to 5 mm, preferably 0.3 to 3 mm, from the viewpoint of maintaining tire characteristics and safety.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the area where the said recessed part 10 is formed occupies 20 to 80% of the uneven | corrugated | grooved part 5 formation area, and has shown the case of 50% in FIG. When the area ratio of the concave portion 10 is outside 20 to 80%, the mirror surface (glossy portion) or the rough surface (non-glossy portion) of the uneven portion 5 is biased, and the effect of improving the visibility is lost.

  The inner peripheral surface of the concave portion 10 is formed in a mirror surface whose surface has an arithmetic average surface roughness (Ra) of 0.4 to 1.5 μm. This mirror surface formation region may be the entire inner peripheral surface of the recess 10, or may be a part centered on the vertex 11 of the recess 10. When the mirror surface is a part, it is 50% or more, preferably 60% or more, more preferably 70% or more, of the inner peripheral area of the recess including the apex 11 for securing the gloss of the recess 10.

  The Ra of the mirror surface is set in the range of 0.4 to 1.5 μm. However, if Ra is less than 0.4 μm, the light reflectivity becomes too large and may appear white with a glare tendency. The appearance may be deteriorated, and if mud, oil or the like adheres to the surface, it is easy to clean, but small injuries such as rubbing with a curb are easily noticeable. Furthermore, a special surface treatment (for example, plating treatment of chromium or the like) is required for the tire molding die, which is not preferable because the tire manufacturing cost increases. On the other hand, when Ra exceeds 1.5 μm, fine dust such as dust and dirt such as oil enter the fine irregularities on the surface, and the cleaning property is deteriorated and the dirt is not removed forever and the appearance is deteriorated.

  The peripheral region including the convex portion 20 surrounding the mirror surface of the concave portion 10 is a rough surface exceeding Ra 1.5 μm. The difference in Ra between the mirror surface and the rough surface is preferably 1 μm or more, and the effect of improving the tire appearance is enhanced by changing the glossiness of the two to improve the visual perception of the sidewall portion 3.

  If the rough surface Ra exceeds 10 μm, the surface becomes remarkably textured, and the rubber surface becomes uneven, so that a lot of dust enters easily. It becomes a cause and disadvantageous to ozone resistance, and ozone cracks are likely to occur due to long-term use. Therefore, Ra of the rough surface is preferably 10 μm or less, and more preferably 5 μm or less.

  The region in which the uneven portion 5 is formed is not particularly limited, and may be continuous or intermittent in the circumferential direction of the sidewall portion 3, and the tire radial direction of the sidewall portion 3 Or may be provided only in part.

  Moreover, the said recessed part 10 and the convex part 20 may arrange the thing of the same shape as mentioned above, may combine the thing of a different shape, and may arrange it at random, and it faces toward a tire radial direction. Sequentially increasing or decreasing dimensions may be used. Moreover, although the uneven | corrugated | grooved part may arrange | position the concave line and convex line which consist of a straight line or a curve alternately, what repeats a mountain valley as shown in a figure alternately has a big effect which brings a change in light reflectivity, and is preferable.

  The tire T1 according to the present invention having the above-described configuration has a mirror appearance and a rough surface that are alternately and repeatedly appearing to change the light reflectivity due to the difference in glossiness and improve the visual appearance. It will be excellent.

  Further, on the concavo-convex portion 5, a mark made up of characters, numbers, symbols indicating the manufacturer name, brand name, tire size, etc., and a figure such as a design pattern for the tire rotation direction and side dressing is displayed. You can also.

  The gloss of the concave portion 10 and the rough surface of the convex portion 20 can be formed by a tire vulcanization mold having a molding surface having a surface roughness Ra substantially equal to the roughness of the tire surface. Ra of the molding surface can be adjusted using a known method such as a shot blasting method or a mirror polishing method.

  Further, since the concave portion 10 is formed in a convex shape on the tire mold side, it is easy to polish the mold surface, and scale removal such as a release agent deposited on the mold surface after use of tire vulcanization molding Therefore, maintenance such as re-grinding is easy, and tire productivity and maintenance efficiency can be improved.

  The surface roughness (Ra) is a surface having an area per unit length measured using a stylus type surface roughness meter in accordance with JIS B0601 (stylus type surface roughness measuring instrument). Arithmetic average surface roughness.

  Hereinafter, modified examples 1 to 4 of the concave and convex portions of the concave and convex portions will be described.

(Modification 1)
In the concavo-convex portion 6 shown in FIG. 4, the concave portion 12 is provided in a quadrangular pyramid shape from the sidewall surface 3 a in the same manner as the concavo-convex portion 5. (Rectangular ridgelines 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d are indicated by broken lines). Further, the convex portion 21 is provided in a quadrangular pyramid shape from the sidewall surface 3a. (The ridgelines 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d of the quadrangular pyramids are indicated by solid lines). A cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG. 4 is shown in FIG. The inner peripheral surface of the concave portion 12 is formed as a mirror surface having a surface Ra of 0.4 to 1.5 μm, and the peripheral region including the convex portion 21 surrounding the mirror surface of the concave portion 12 is made of a rough surface exceeding Ra 1.5 μm. .

(Modification 2)
In the recess 13 shown in FIG. 6 (an enlarged view of one recess is shown), the recess 13 is provided in a quadrangular pyramid shape from the sidewall surface 3a in the same manner as the recess 5 and the protrusion is formed from the sidewall surface 3a. Is formed. As shown in the figure, the apex 14 of the quadrangular pyramid is located eccentrically away from the center 13A of the recess 13. Thereby, the ridgelines 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d of the quadrangular pyramids have different lengths, and the inclination of the inner peripheral surfaces 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d formed by the four sides of the recess 13 and the ridgelines 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d. Each have a different slope.

  The inner peripheral surface of the concave portion 13 is formed in a mirror surface having a surface Ra of 0.4 to 1.5 μm, and the light is irregularly reflected, so that the vision can be improved and the tire appearance can be further improved.

  The apexes of the quadrangular pyramids of the recesses 13 may be set at the same position in the plurality of recesses 13 or may be set at different positions in the individual recesses 13.

(Modification 3)
In the concavo-convex portion 7 shown in FIG. 7, the concave portion 16 is recessed from the sidewall surface 3a in the shape of a quadrangular pyramid like the concavo-convex portion 5, and the convex portion 22 is formed from the sidewall surface 3a. As shown in the drawing, the area of the concave portion 16 occupies 25% of the area of the concave-convex portion 7. If the area occupied by the recess 16 is less than 20% of the recess 7, the mirror surface is reduced, the light reflectivity is insufficient, and the tire appearance cannot be sufficiently improved. On the other hand, if the area of the recess 16 exceeds 80%, the reflection of light increases, and the side wall surface becomes glaring and the appearance may be deteriorated.

(Modification 4)
In the above embodiment, an example in which the concavo-convex portion is formed of a quadrangle (weight) is illustrated, but the concavo-convex portion 8 shown in FIG. 8 is a triangular pyramid formed by planar inclined surfaces 17a, 17b, and 17c having three mirror surfaces. A so-called “scale pattern” is shown, which is a combination of the concave portion 17 made of and the convex portion 23 of the triangular plane portion made of a rough surface.

  The concave and convex portions forming the concave and convex portions are not limited to regular polygons such as pentagons and hexagons, unequal sides, rhombuses, circles, ellipses, etc. in addition to the above-mentioned squares and triangles, and a plurality of It may be a combination of shapes.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described based on examples, but the present invention is not limited to the examples.

  A rubber composition for sidewalls having the following formulation was kneaded and prepared by a conventional method using a Banbury mixer with a capacity of 200 liters.

[Rubber composition for sidewall]
・ Natural rubber (50 parts by weight: RSS # 3 made in Thailand) ・ Butadiene rubber (50 parts by weight: Ube Industries, Ltd. BR150B) ・ Carbon black FEF (60 parts by weight: Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd. Seest SO) ・ Aroma oil ( 10 parts by weight: Japan Energy Co., Ltd. X-140), paraffin wax (2 parts by weight: Nippon Seiwa Co., Ltd. OZOACE-0355), anti-aging agent 6C (2 parts by weight: Ouchi Shinsei Chemical Co., Ltd. Nocrack) 6C), stearic acid (2 parts by weight: Kao Corp. Lunac S-20), zinc oxide (3 parts by weight: Mitsui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., Zinc Hua 1), sulfur (2 parts by weight: Hosoi Chemical Co., Ltd.) ) 5% oil-treated powder sulfur) ・ Vulcanization accelerator NS (1.5 parts by weight: Ouchi Shinsei Chemical Co., Ltd. Noxeller NS-P)

  Specifications obtained in Table 1 are radial tires of size 225 / 45R17 in which the obtained rubber composition is applied to a sidewall portion and checkered uneven portions are formed along the circumferential direction of the sidewall portion shown in FIG. Prototype according to The prototype tire uses a steel side wall mold, and the surface roughness of the side wall is determined by a known shot blasting method or mirror polishing method to form a mirror surface and a rough surface (texture) within a predetermined range. Each prototype tire was vulcanized and molded under the same vulcanization conditions. In addition, the inner peripheral surface of the concave part was a mirror surface. Comparative Example 1 is a conventional tire in which the sidewall portion having no concavo-convex portion is a matte surface.

  The surface roughness Ra of the mirror surface portion of the prototype tire and the other rough surface portion was measured by the following method, and then the tire appearance at the time of a new product, after running the actual tire, after contacting the curb, and after running the ozone irradiation drum Appearance was evaluated by the following method. The results are shown in Table 1.

[Surface roughness Ra]
Based on the method of JIS B0601, the arithmetic average surface roughness Ra of the mirror surface part and the rough surface part of the prototype tire was measured using a stylus type surface roughness meter “E-35A” manufactured by Tokyo Seimitsu Co., Ltd.

[Appearance when new]
A prototype tire was assembled with a JIS-defined rim (internal pressure: 220 kPa), the appearance of the sidewall portion was visually observed, and sensory evaluation was performed by a 5-point method. The larger the value, the better.

[Appearance after running the vehicle]
Assembled a prototype tire with a JIS-specified rim (internal pressure 220 kPa), mounted on a domestic passenger car with a displacement of 2500 cc, and visually observed the appearance of the side wall after running a 3000 km actual road on a dry asphalt road surface Then, sensory evaluation was performed by a five-point method. The larger the value, the better.

[Appearance after curb contact]
The prototype tire is assembled with a JIS stip rim (internal pressure 220 kPa) and mounted on a domestic passenger car with a displacement of 2500 cc. The front tire is brought into contact with a concrete curb at a speed of 5 km / h and an entrance angle of 5 degrees. After that, the appearance of the uneven portion when moving 50 cm was visually observed, and sensory evaluation was performed by a five-point method. The larger the value, the better.

[Appearance after running the ozone irradiation drum]
Trial tire is assembled with JIS specified rim (internal pressure 220kPa), JIS maximum load is applied, ozone concentration is 80pphm and temperature is 38 ℃, using drum tester at 30km / h for 3 weeks After running, the ozone crack generation state of the uneven part was visually observed and evaluated by a five-point method. The larger the value, the better.

  As shown in the results of Table 1, the tires of Examples 1 to 5 according to the present invention are not only excellent in appearance when new, but also are less likely to be contaminated by running of an actual vehicle, and are also injuries such as scratches caused by curbstones. It can be seen that the resistance to ozone cracking can be further improved, and the resistance to ozone cracking can be improved, and this appearance can be maintained well over a long period of time.

  The present invention can be applied to pneumatic tires for various sizes and uses such as for passenger cars, light trucks, large tires for buses and trucks.

It is a tire side view of an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the uneven | corrugated state of an uneven | corrugated | grooved part. It is a fragmentary sectional view in the XX line cross section of FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the uneven | corrugated state of the uneven | corrugated | grooved part of the modification 1. FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view in the YY line cross section of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which the vertex of the quadrangular pyramid recessed part of the modification 2 decentered. It is explanatory drawing explaining the uneven | corrugated state of the uneven | corrugated | grooved part of the modification 3. FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the uneven | corrugated state of the uneven | corrugated | grooved part of the modification 4. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

T1 …… Pneumatic tire 3 …… Side wall part 5 …… Uneven part 10 …… Depressed part 11 …… Convex part

Claims (5)

Form an uneven portion in which concave portions and convex portions are alternately arranged on at least a part of the outer surface of the sidewall portion,
At least a part of the surface of the recess is made of a mirror surface having an arithmetic average surface roughness (Ra) of 0.4 to 1.5 μm,
A pneumatic tire characterized in that a peripheral region surrounding the mirror surface is a rough surface exceeding Ra 1.5 μm. 2. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is formed of an outer surface reference surface of the sidewall portion, and the concave portion is recessed from the reference surface of the sidewall portion. 3. The pneumatic tire according to claim 1, wherein the concave and convex portions are arranged in a checkered pattern in which the concave portion is formed of a valley and the convex portion is formed of a mountain surrounding the valley. The pneumatic tire according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an inclination of the inner peripheral surface of the recess has a different inclination on the periphery of the recess. The pneumatic tire according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mirror surface occupies 20 to 80% of an area of the uneven portion forming region.

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