Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A tread for a tyre comprising:
a plurality of longitudinal ribs extending along a substantially circumferential direction;
a plurality of longitudinal channels is arranged between said longitudinal ribs and comprising two lateral walls characterized in that:
a plurality of fin ribs is disposed on said lateral walls projecting radially outwards from the base of said longitudinal channels.
2. The tread according to claim 1, wherein said fin ribs are semi-conical in shape.
3. The tread according to claim 1, wherein said fin ribs are parallelepiped in shape.
4. The tread according to claim 1, wherein said fin ribs are semi-conical in shape.
5. The tread according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said fin ribs resemble a sinusoidal waveform.
6. The tread according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said fin ribs are zig-zag in shape.
7. The tread according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said fin ribs are saw-tooth in shape.
8. The tread according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the height of said fin ribs ranges from 30% to 70% of the depth of said longitudinal channel.
9. The tread according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said fin ribs are disposed at a gap equal to the base diameter of said fin ribs.
10. The tread according to claim 9, wherein said fin ribs on one of said lateral walls are disposed opposite the gap between said fin ribs on the other lateral wall. , Description:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

TITLE OF THE INVENTION
TYRE TREAD

APPLICANT

Name Nationality Address
JK TYRE AND INDUSTRIES LIMITED INDIA JK TYRE TECH CENTRE, RAGHUPATI SINGHANIA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE, PLOT NO. 437, HEBBAL INDUSTRIAL AREA, METAGALLI POST, MYSURU – 570016, KARNATAKA

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
[001] The present application does not claim priority from any patent application.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[002] The present invention relates to tyre tread channels, particularly with fin ribs to achieve faster heat dissipation from the tyre.
BACKGROUND ART
[003] Failure of a tyre in terms of separation is mostly observed due to generation of heat. Designers have been primarily focusing on tread compounds to overcome the heat generation in the first place but the compound should not affect other performance parameter, which makes this target even more challenging. Tyre design based on any such new compound may help in lowering the heat generation but heat dissipation is equally important and therefore, we need to identify or explore effective modes of heat dissipation. If such effective modes are achieved by new design features then we can add some more rubber and build higher mileage (non-skid depth) tyres. Effective heat dissipation tyre will be less prone to the failure related to the heat generation.
[004] Fundamentally, there are three modes of heat transfer, namely convection, conduction and radiation. Convection is the process by which heat is transmitted from one place to another by the movement of heated particles of a gas or liquid. Conduction is the process by which heat is transmitted from one place to another due to direct contact as the atom gets kinetic energy which transfers heat. Radiation is the process in which no medium of heat transfer is required. It takes place through electromagnetic waves, for example, radiations from the Sun. From the tyre design point of view, convection mode appears to be a lot more helpful than the other two.
[005] Convection is of two types, namely natural convection and forced convection. Natural convection occurs due to density difference caused by temperature gradient present between the fluid and the surface. Forced convection is caused by external means such as fans, pumps and compressors that are used to set the fluid in motion. Since we are not looking into any kind of external attachment or carrying fluid in the internal chamber which might affect performance of the tyre, it eliminates the utilization of the concept of conduction as well as forced convection.
[006] In convection process, the rate of heat transfer between the surfaces (Q) depends on three parameters as per the following equation: Q = h A ?t; wherein, h is the coefficient of heat transfer, A is the surface area and ?t is the temperature difference. Out of all the parameters, A is a physical parameter from which a tyre design engineer can make use of effective heat transfer by designing the surfaces appropriately. Therefore, a need exists for designing the surfaces of the tyre in order to increasing the effective surface area for greater heat dissipation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[007] An object of the present invention is to provide a tread for a tyre having features to help achieve faster heat dissipation from the tyre. The tread comprises a plurality of longitudinal ribs extending along a substantially circumferential direction and a plurality of longitudinal channels arranged between the longitudinal ribs. A plurality of fin ribs is disposed on lateral walls of the longitudinal channels thereby increasing the surface area near the base of the longitudinal channel by approximately 50% to 60%. This increase in surface area allows more dissipation of heat with respect to a conventional design of the tread without fin ribs.
[008] Another object of the present invention is to provide the tread channel with the fin ribs disposed in a manner to improve its aesthetics.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[009] The foregoing detailed description of embodiments is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating of the present subject matter, an example of construction of the present subject matter is provided as figures; however, the invention is not limited to the specific method and system disclosed in the document and the figures.
[010] It is therefore to be noted that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered for limiting its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
[011] Figure 1 shows a tread channel for a tyre with fin ribs;
[012] Figure 2 shows an exaggerated view of a tread channel having semi-conical fin ribs according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[013] Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a tread having semi-cylindrical fin ribs according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[014] Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a tread having parallelepiped fin ribs according to another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[015] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", "including" and "having" and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[016] Referring to the FIG. 1, a tread for a tyre is shown comprising a plurality of longitudinal ribs extending along a substantially circumferential direction and a plurality of longitudinal channels arranged between the longitudinal ribs. It is to be noted that the longitudinal ribs, and accordingly the longitudinal channels, can follow any pattern, including but not limited to, a sinusoidal, a zig-zag, a saw-tooth or a straight circumferential pattern.
[017] Further, the longitudinal walls comprise two lateral walls wherein a plurality of fin ribs is disposed on the lateral walls projecting radially outwards from the base of the longitudinal channels. The fin ribs can follow any pattern, including but not limited to, a sinusoidal, a zig-zag, a saw-tooth or a straight radial pattern. With the addition of the fin ribs, surface area within the longitudinal channels increases by up to 10 to 30% approximately. It therefore results in greater dissipation of heat developed when the tyre is in use. However, it is to be understood that the plurality of fin ribs will also be causing turbulence to the air flowing in through the longitudinal channels. The effective rate of heat transfer may therefore increase by up to 10 to 30% of a conventional design of the tread without fin ribs as surface area "A" is directly proportional to heat transfer "Q".
[018] Figure 2 shows exaggerated view of the tread according to the present invention. Although there are many designs within the scope of the present invention, some of the preferred embodiments shall be defined.
[019] In one embodiment, the fin ribs starts at the base of the longitudinal channels and rises up to 50% of the depth of the longitudinal channels. The height of the fin ribs may ranges from 30% to 70% of the depth of the longitudinal channels.
[020] In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the fin ribs can be semi-conical in shape.
[021] In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, the fin ribs can be semi-cylindrical in shape.
[022] In one preferred embodiment, the fin ribs are disposed at a gap equal to the base diameter of the fin ribs. Further, the fin ribs on one of the lateral walls of the longitudinal channels are disposed opposite the gap between the fin ribs on the other lateral wall of the longitudinal channels. Such an arrangement implies that if the fin ribs of the lateral walls were to be superimposed, they would snug-fit into each other. There are many other methods of arranging the fin ribs in the longitudinal channels, including wider gaps or equally spaced gaps or non-uniform spaced gaps between the fin ribs. The fin ribs can also be disposed on the lateral walls radially or in an angular form.
[023] In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, the fin ribs can be parallelepiped in shape rising from the base of the longitudinal channels and split into two sections at a predetermined height to allow an additional air gap between them. The fin ribs sections are preferably separated from each other through transverse cuts.
[024] The invention has been described with reference to various specific and illustrative embodiments and techniques. However, it should be understood that many variations and modifications may be made while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention.
[025] For instance, while the various designs have been described with respect to a tread channel for a tyre, novel aspects of the embodiments described may be incorporated in other designs. Also, the description is made with respect to exemplary embodiments only and it should be understood that the arrangement of many of the design blocks and components may be changed without departing from the scope of an appended claim. Also, it should be understood that in alternate embodiments claimed in the claims, many of the components described with respect to the exemplary embodiments may be withheld or may be replaced by equivalent structures. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations which fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.