TIRE TREADS HAVING TAPERED, UNDULATING SIPES

摘要

Particular embodiments of the disclosure provide a tire tread (18), the tire tread including at least one sipe (24) extending into the tread thickness along a depthwise path into the tread thickness away from an outer, ground-engaging side of the tread and to a terminal end. The sipe has a thickness extending perpendicular to the depthwise path, the depthwise path being located midway across the sipe thickness, where a portion of the depthwise path undulates back and forth in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the tread thickness as the depthwise path extends into the tread thickness to form a plurality of undulations (U24), the undulations decreasing in amplitude relative to a centerline of the depthwise path as the sipe extends further into the tread thickness towards the terminal end (26).