Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin

Virgile Ayglon

Daniel McEachern Hicks

Nicholas Mailhiot

Charles Andrew McPillan

Brian Joseph Keefe

Stefan Voss

Paul Andrew Mayni

Fang Zhu

Clarence Vernon Hair, Jr

John R Davidson, Jr

Terence Wallace

Jenifer Jones

Charles Mcpillan

Tyler Sites

Clarence Hair

A heavy truck tire tread that has a shoulder rib and shoulder groove is provided. A sipe is in the shoulder rib that extends from the shoulder groove to the lateral outer surface. A first end of a teardrop of the sipe is located at the lateral outer surface, and a second end at the shoulder groove. A middle section of the teardrop is located between the first and second ends in the lateral direction. A first transition is located between the first end and the middle section, and a second transition is located between the second end and the middle section and they both extend in the lateral and thickness directions. The entire middle section is farther from the upper surface in the thickness direction than any portion of the first or second ends are to the upper surface in the thickness direction.

Tread having turn around sipe

The invention provides for a heavy truck tire tread () having a longitudinal direction, a lateral direction and a thickness direction, said tread having a ground-engaging contact surface (CS) and having a main longitudinal center groove (), two main longitudinal shoulder grooves () and two main longitudinal intermediate grooves (), said five main longitudinal grooves defining six main longitudinal ribs (), said five main longitudinal grooves comprising one hidden groove, two open grooves and two partially hidden grooves; wherein each of said two partially hidden grooves comprises openings () to the ground-engaging contact surface and undersurface channels () connecting adjacent openings, longitudinal sipes () extending substantially along the longitudinal direction and connecting successive openings to the respective channel; and wherein said hidden groove () comprises an undersurface duct (), a longitudinal sipe () extending substantially along the longitudinal direction and connecting said undersurface duct to the ground-engaging contact surface, said hidden groove being the main longitudinal center groove of the tread.

Truck tire tread and truck tire

A heavy truck tire tread () is provided that has a tread groove () that is not oriented completely in the longitudinal direction so as to extend in both the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction. The tread groove is at least partially defined by a leading edge wall and a trailing edge wall and a bottom surface. A stone ejector () engages either the leading edge wall or the trailing edge wall but not both the leading edge wall and the trailing edge wall. The stone ejector faces the non-engaged leading edge wall or the trailing edge wall. Also, the tread has an average void depth that does not go past a twenty percent line (). The twenty percent line () is twenty percent of a full void depth () located from the outer surface of the tread, and the average void depth does not include decouple grooves and tread outboard from them.

Truck tire tread with angled ribs having stone ejectors

A heavy truck tire tread with a rib () located between first () and second () tread grooves. A shoulder block () is adjacent the rib and at a shoulder edge of the tread, and a decouple groove () is present that decouples the shoulder block from the rib. The decouple groove is spaced from and free from engagement with the shoulder edge, and extends at least twice as long in the longitudinal direction than in the lateral direction. The width of the decouple groove is less than widths of the first and second tread grooves. The tread has an average void depth that does not go past a twenty percent line, where the twenty percent line is twenty percent of a full void depth located from an outer surface of the tread, and where the average void depth does not include decouple grooves and tread outboard from the decouple grooves.

Average void depth truck tire with angled ribs having decoupled shoulder blocks

Tire

Tire tread

Growing community of inventors

Simpsonville, SC, United States of America

Virgile Ayglon