| 摘要 |
<p>The invention relates to methods for improving vehicle steering performance and robustness of that performance through control of non-uniformities in the vehicle's tires, wheels and tire/wheel assemblies as a way to overcome the tendency of the steering systems in certain vehicle types to undergo "steering performance loss." While minimizing lateral force variations (e.g., couple imbalance), a controlled amount of radial and/or tangential force variation is induced in one or more tire/wheel assemblies by means of mass non-uniformity, dimensional non-uniformity, and/or stiffness non-uniformity. For stiffness non-uniformity, the preferred method comprises imparting a controlled amount of stiffness non-uniformity to the tire in at least one of the tire/wheel assemblies, followed by statically and dynamically balancing all of the vehicle's tire/wheel assemblies. The stiffness non-uniformity comprises one or more sectors of the tire having a different (less or preferably more) stiffness than the remainder of the tire. All tire non-uniformities imparted according to the invention are preferably distributed meridionally symmetrically about the equatorial plane of the tire, so as to induce tangential and/or radial force variations but not lateral force variations. Beneficial tangential and/or radial force variations will result from the operation of such a tire, even if the tire/wheel assembly is balanced by weights added to the wheel. The stiffness non-uniformity is preferably imparted in the tire by means of one or more heavy splices, and/or extra pieces of fabric applied to the carcass or tread, and/or sectors of tire components having different stiffness. Synergistic beneficial effects result from combinations of the various forms of beneficial mass, stiffness, and dimensional non-uniformity. <IMAGE></p> |
