Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited

Yuto Hashimoto

Ryuhei Sanae

Hiroyuki Ishino

Sho Nakajima

Kosuke Miyoshi

Takayuki Namera

Shogo Izakura

A tire includes first blocks each with a zigzag first sipe. The first sipe includes a sipe bottom and a tie-bar locally raising outwardly in a tire radial direction from the sipe bottom so as not to reach the ground contact surface to divide the first sipe into first and second portions. The sipe bottom of the first portion communicates with a first widening portion which has a circular cross-section and has a groove width greater than that of the first portion. The first widening portion extends linearly over the entire length. The sipe bottom of the second portion communicates with a second widening portion which has a circular cross-section and has a groove width greater than that of the second portion. The second widening portion extends linearly over the entire length. The first widening portion does not communicate with the second widening portion.

Tire

A main object is to provide a tire that suppresses snow clogging of sipes. The tire includes a tread portion. The tread portion includes a first land portion demarcated by circumferential grooves continuously extending in a tire circumferential direction, and a plurality of first lateral grooves inclined in a first direction relative to a tire axial direction and traversing the first land portion. The first land portion includes a plurality of first blocks demarcated by the first lateral grooves. Each first block has at least one sipe inclined in a second direction opposite to the first direction, relative to the tire axial direction. The sipe includes a portion deeper than a maximum depth of the first lateral groove, and a portion shallower than the maximum depth of the first lateral groove.

A tire, for which a mounting direction on a vehicle is specified, has a tread portion comprising an outboard shoulder land region provided with outboard shoulder lateral grooves, and an inboard shoulder land region provided with inboard shoulder lateral grooves. The outboard shoulder lateral grooves are bent convexly toward one side in the tire circumferential direction, whereas the inboard shoulder lateral grooves are bent convexly toward the other side in the tire circumferential direction. The bent angle of the outboard shoulder lateral groove is larger than the bent angle of the inboard shoulder lateral groove.

Growing community of inventors

Kobe, Japan

Yuto Hashimoto