Modern tire tread patterns must manage complex force interactions across varying surface conditions, with measurements showing that even small changes in groove geometry can alter lateral grip by 15-20% and affect hydroplaning speeds by up to 10 km/h. Recent tests demonstrate that optimizing just the shoulder block design can improve wet braking distances by 5-8% while maintaining dry handling performance.

The fundamental challenge lies in balancing contradictory requirements: maximizing surface contact for dry grip while maintaining sufficient void space and channeling for wet conditions, all while managing wear patterns and acoustic signatures.

This page brings together solutions from recent research—including asymmetric tread patterns with optimized groove geometries, multi-level sipe designs that adapt through wear cycles, and innovative shoulder block configurations for improved water evacuation. These and other approaches focus on practical implementations that deliver consistent performance across the tire's full service life.

1. Motorcycle Tire with Curved Tread Profile and Specified Zone Land Ratios

SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD, 2025

Motorcycle tire with tread design to reduce wear step formation. The tire has a curved tread profile. The land ratio, or width-to-height ratio, of each zone between the tread edges and ground contacting surface is specified. This prevents excessive wear step formation at the edges of the tread by optimizing the wear distribution. The curved tread shape and controlled land ratios suppress the step wear that can occur in the center of the tread due to its shape.

US2025121632A1-patent-drawing

2. Tire Tread with Chamfered Shoulder Sipes and Selective Ground-Contact Siping Configuration

SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD, 2025

Tire with improved braking performance and reduced noise compared to conventional tires with shoulder sipes. The tire has a tread with specific sipe configurations on the shoulder region. The sipe design involves chamfered edges on the shoulder sipes. During braking or cornering, the chamfered edges prevent the sipe edges from getting pulled inside the land region and lifting the surface, allowing better grip and braking performance compared to conventional sipes. The chamfered edges also reduce the noise generated by the sipes contacting the road. The tire also has sipes only on the ground contacting surface of the first shoulder land region between the edge and tread, which further improves braking performance by preventing lifting of the land region.

US12275278B2-patent-drawing

3. Tire Tread with Grooves Featuring Widening Sections and Curved Surfaces

SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD, 2025

A tire with grooves that improve ride comfort and steering stability. The tire has a tread with grooves that have widening sections. The widening sections have an inner portion that is narrower than the outer portion. This design allows the inner portion to flex more than the outer portion when the tire is loaded, providing better steering stability. The wider outer portion prevents the inner portion from collapsing too much under load. The widening sections also have curved surfaces that prevent the inner and outer walls from touching when loaded. This prevents stiffness increases. The length of the inner portion is at least 15% of the groove depth.

US12275276B2-patent-drawing

4. Pneumatic Tire Tread with Parallel Sipes and Variable Depth Profile in Profile Ribs

CONTINENTAL REIFEN DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, 2025

Pneumatic vehicle tires with improved wet grip and better transmission of tractive force as the tread wears. The tires have treads with profile ribs having sipes that extend parallel to each other. The depth of the main portion of each sipe is less than the depth of the edge portion that leads into the cavity between the rib and groove. This configuration allows good wet grip as the depth of the main sipe portion reduces with wear, while still maintaining stiffness from the wider cavity portion.

US12275279B2-patent-drawing

5. Tire Tread with Concave Block Faces and Radial Height Distribution for Heavy Construction Vehicles

COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, 2025

Tire tread for heavy construction vehicles that improves grip, especially on muddy terrain, while also increasing wear resistance. The tread has blocks with concave contact faces and a distribution of radial heights between the inner and outer portions that allows better penetration and anchoring. The concave contact faces have at least three pairs of sides forming angles greater than 180 degrees. This shape provides better grip and traction compared to convex contact faces. The radial height of the outer penetration portion is 0.1-0.6 of the total block height.

US12275277B2-patent-drawing

6. Pneumatic Tire with Multi-Curved Outer Side Profiles for Balanced Steering Stability

THE YOKOHAMA RUBBER CO LTD, 2025

Pneumatic tire design that improves both wet and dry steering stability without compromising one over the other. The tire has outer side profiles with multiple curved lines of different shapes between the tire edges. This reduces the difference in ground contact pressure between the edges and center. This balances wet steering benefit from better drainage with dry steering by distributing force more evenly. The inner side profile can have 1 or more curved lines.

US12275275B2-patent-drawing

7. Pneumatic Tire Tread with Dual-Compound Thermal Conductivity and Defined Groove Geometry

SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD, 2025

Pneumatic tire with improved grip and durability at high speeds. The tire has a tread with at least two rubber compounds with different thermal conductivities in the ground contacting surface. This allows efficient heat dissipation during high-speed running to prevent excessive heat buildup. The tire also has specific dimensions and groove geometry to further enhance grip and durability.

8. Pneumatic Tire with Shoulder Rib Featuring Elongated Depressions and Zigzag Grooves

CONTINENTAL REIFEN DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, 2025

Pneumatic vehicle tire with improved cooling and stone trapping resistance in the shoulder region. The tire has sidewall and tread with a shoulder-side profile rib containing depressions. The depression openings are elongated rectangular or trapezoidal, with angled end flanks and a base that transitions from inner base to outer base to a convex middle base. The depression length is 30-50% of the rib width. This shape provides better cooling by maximizing surface area and stone trapping resistance by preventing stone retention. The zigzag groove shape and depression placement beside bend inner sides further improves rigidity and cooling.

9. Tire Tread with Overlapping Widened Sipes and Asymmetric Depth for Enhanced Rigidity and Reduced Noise

SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD, 2025

A tire design with improved braking performance on dry roads without compromising wet grip and noise levels. The tire has a tread with multiple circumferential grooves separating land portions. The land portions each have sipes that communicate with the circumferential grooves. The sipes have widened sections near the outer edge. One unique feature is that the widened section of the shoulder sipe overlaps the widened section of the middle sipe in the tread view. This improves rigidity while reducing noise. The shoulder sipe also has an angled section toward the outer edge. The depth of the shoulder sipe widening is less than the middle sipe widening. This asymmetry reduces edge deformation and shearing during braking.

US12269297B2-patent-drawing

10. Pneumatic Tire Tread with Circumferential and Lateral Grooves of Variable Depth and Width

THE YOKOHAMA RUBBER CO LTD, 2025

Pneumatic tire with improved wet grip and noise reduction compared to conventional tires. The tire has a tread design with a specific pattern layout and feature sizes. The tread has an outer main circumferential groove extending around the tire circumference. The main groove has multiple circumferential main grooves spaced apart by circumferential land portions. The tread also has multiple lateral grooves extending between adjacent circumferential main grooves. The lateral grooves have multiple lateral land portions between them. The main grooves have a maximum depth greater than the lateral grooves. The lateral grooves have a maximum width greater than the circumferential main grooves. The circumferential main grooves have a maximum width greater than the lateral land portions. This tread layout with specific dimension relationships improves wet grip and steering stability while also reducing noise compared to conventional tires with different tread patterns.

US12269298B2-patent-drawing

11. Tire Tread with Variable Width Ratios and Optimally Arranged Sipes

SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD, 2025

Tire design with improved ride comfort and noise performance. The tire has a tread with specific width ratios between the shoulder, middle, and crown land portions. The shoulder land portions have wider widths relative to the middle and crown land portions. This uneven width distribution reduces uneven ground contact pressure and improves grip. It also prevents pitch sounds from overlapping and improves noise. The tire also has sipes arranged optimally in the crown land portion for performance balance.

US12269296B2-patent-drawing

12. Tire Tread with Circumferentially Extended Chamfered Sipes for Balanced Wet Traction and Noise Reduction

THE YOKOHAMA RUBBER CO LTD, 2025

A tire with a tread pattern that improves wet performance while reducing noise compared to conventional tires. The tread has sipes in the middle regions instead of lug grooves, but chamfered surfaces extend further circumferentially than widthways. This provides more edge contact for grip, longer chamfered edges for drainage, and shorter chamfered edges for noise reduction. The different length chamfered edges balance wet traction and noise suppression.

13. Tire Tread with Partial-Depth Transverse Sipes in Shoulder Ribs for Heavy Truck Tires

COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, 2025

Tire tread design for heavy truck tires that reduces aggression damage and irregular wear on the shoulders without compromising wear rate and traction. The tread has sipes in the shoulder ribs of long-haul truck tires to improve wear rate and traction, without triggering abnormal wear like irregular wear and aggression damage. The sipes are partial-depth and transverse, rather than full-width and transverse. This allows the benefits of sipes without the issues of full-width sipes.

14. Tire Tread with Continuously Touching Axial Grooves Aligned in Circumferential Direction

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd., 2025

Tire design to improve noise performance without compromising steering stability. The tread has a unique pattern with continuously touching axial grooves. The grooves have ends that align in the tire circumferential direction. This allows the grooves to continuously contact the road during driving, reducing impact fluctuations and pitch noise compared to conventional staggered groove layouts.

US20250074117A1-patent-drawing

15. Tire Tread with Longitudinal Sipes Featuring Narrow Width and Deep Profile for Enhanced Lateral Grip

COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN & CIE, 2024

Tire with improved lateral grip on snow-covered roads without compromising dry grip. The tire has a tread pattern with longitudinal sipes aligned with the edges of the tread blocks. These sipes are narrow (less than 2mm wide) and deep (greater than 1mm) to bite into snow. They also close under load to maintain stiffness. The sipe angle aligns with the block to prevent deformation. The sipe density balances grip and noise. The tread material is winter-friendly to maintain flexibility on cold roads.

CN117980155A-patent-drawing

16. Tire Tread with Central Longitudinal and Symmetrical Pentagonal Block Pattern

NINGBO JUNKAI RUBBER IND AND TRADE CO LTD, NINGBO JUNKAI RUBBER INDUSTRY AND TRADE CO LTD, 2024

An all-terrain off-road tire with a unique tread pattern that provides improved traction on uneven surfaces. The tread has a central section with a longitudinal block flanked by symmetrically arranged pentagonal blocks. The central section also has alternating V-shaped and inverted V-shaped blocks. The tire also has two sets of side sections with symmetrically arranged blocks. This pattern provides a connected interlocking tread that grips and sheds debris for better off-road performance.

CN220883946U-patent-drawing

17. Tire Tread Pattern with Shallow Longitudinal Grooves and Angled Zigzag Main Grooves

JIANGSU GENERAL SCIENCE TECH CO LTD, JIANGSU GENERAL SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CO LTD, 2024

Vehicle tire tread pattern with improved puncture resistance and traction on curved roads. The tread has shallow longitudinal grooves, zigzag main grooves, and transverse grooves. The shallow grooves are between the main grooves. This configuration prevents bottom cracking in the shallow grooves while still allowing puncture protection in the deeper main grooves. It also improves traction on curved roads by having zigzag main grooves angled 10-30 degrees to the tire circumference.

CN220883947U-patent-drawing

18. Tire Tread with Continuously Distributed Longitudinal Grooves in Tread Blocks

SAILUN GROUP CO LTD, 2024

CUV tire with improved wet traction, ride comfort, and handling. The tread has a pattern with continuously distributed longitudinal grooves extending between the tread blocks. This provides better wet traction by increasing water evacuation, while maintaining handling and ride comfort by avoiding large gaps between the blocks.

19. Radial Tire with Crown Pattern Featuring Main Position Sipes, Side Grooves, Semi-Closed Areas, and Groove-Integrated Bosses

GUANGXI LINGLONG TIRE CO LTD, SHANDONG LINGLONG TYRE CO LTD, 2024

Radial tire for cargo vehicles that improves dry grip without sacrificing wet performance. The tire has a unique crown pattern with features like main position sipes, side grooves, semi-closed areas, and open areas. The sipe depth is less than 1.2mm to enhance dry grip. The pattern design provides improved longitudinal rigidity to prevent slippage during acceleration without compromising wet traction. The semi-closed areas and openings between the sipes and grooves help evacuate water for better wet handling. The tire also has bosses in the grooves that lock together to improve grip.

CN117841575A-patent-drawing

20. Asymmetric Tire Tread with Differential Groove Arrangement for Inner and Outer Regions

QINGDAO DOUBLESTAR TIRE IND CO LTD, QINGDAO DOUBLESTAR TIRE INDUSTRIAL CO LTD, 2024

Asymmetric tire pattern for electric vehicles that balances braking, grip, stability and wear on both dry and wet roads. The pattern has optimized fine grooves on the blocks to improve performance for electric vehicles. The grooves are arranged differently on the inner and outer tread regions. The inner tread has more pitches for wet grip, while the outer tread has fewer pitches for quieter ride and stability. This balances wet performance, comfort, stability and wear on both dry and wet roads.

CN220720749U-patent-drawing

21. Tire Tread Pattern with Transverse Alternating Blocks and Deformed Central Zigzag Block Contours

22. Tread Pattern with Alternating Hexagonal and Pentagonal Blocks and Protruding Transverse Groove Blocks for Radial Tires

23. Heavy-Duty Tire Tread with Integrated Center and Shoulder Anti-Skid Grooves

24. All-Steel Radial Tire Tread with Asymmetric Zigzag Grooves and Mahjong-Shaped Blocks

25. Snow Tire with Staggered Pattern Blocks and Longitudinal Grooves

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