Siping geometry to delay the onset of rib edge wear in truck tires

摘要

The present invention provides a truck tire with a siping geometry to protect the main ribs of the tire's tread by delaying the onset of irregular wear and the growth thereof. The improved tire tread comprises a plurality of main ribs formed by grooves extending generally circumferentially around an outer surface of the tire forming a tread width for contacting the supporting surface. A plurality of sipes, positioned on both lateral edges of each one of the main ribs, provide protection for the main ribs to delay the onset of irregular wear. A pitch length and a sipe length are both selected to be within a certain range of values, as well as a ratio of the sipe length to the pitch length is selected. The sipes are preferably narrow in width having a maximum width dimension of about 0.40 millimeter. The sipes may be inset from the lateral edges of the ribs, may be curvilinear sipes, may have an inclination angle with respect to a normal to the ribs and may be at an acute angle from the circumferential direction of the tire tread.