Abstract: A pneumatic tire and monitoring device for monitoring an engineering condition of a pneumatic tire includes a pneumatic tire having a sidewall and a plurality of reinforcing cords carried in the sidewall. The monitoring device includes a sensing element that senses at least an engineering condition of a pneumatic tire and transmits the gathered data from the monitoring device to a data gathering device outside of the tire. The transmission occurs through a dipole antenna that is in communication with the sensing element. The dipole antenna is disposed substantially perpendicular to the reinforcing cords in order to maximize the probability of signal propagation through the tire sidewall.

Abstract: An air spring has a pair of axially spaced end members and an intervening elastomeric flexible sleeve extending therebetween which forms a fluid pressure chamber. A plurality of axially spaced ribs and intervening grooves are formed on an inner surface of a ring which align with corresponding ribs and grooves formed on an axial sealing surface of one of the end members to form a fluid tight seal with the elastomeric sleeve clamped therebetween. An annular radially extending projection is formed on each of the ring and end member which cooperatively mate with each other to provide a mechanical interlock therebetween which is free of intervening elastomeric material, to securely retain the ring in position with respect to the end member sealing surface.

Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a body, a belt package, and a tread package. The tire includes a layer of rubber disposed between the body and the tread package. The layer of rubber creates a thickness of between about 0.5 millimeters and about 1.5 millimeters between the cords in the body and the cords in the belt package. The layer of rubber is fabricated from a rubber having a stiffness greater than the rubber in the body of the tire. This configuration provides a tire having improved cornering coefficient, reduced vibrational levels, and less coarse road noise with only a small increase in rolling loss.

Abstract: A run flat pneumatic tire has a thin annular band embedded in the crown portion of the tire. The band is formed of a composite material such as tows of fiberglass and/or graphite material impregnated with a resin. The resin coated tows are wound about a mandrel having at least one concave recess to provide the band with an anticlastic shape with an arcuate cross section and a concave surface facing radially outwardly.

Abstract: A run flat pneumatic tire includes a thin annular band embedded in the crown portion of the tire wherein the band is formed with three distinct regions. Radially spaced inner and outer regions are formed of high modulus materials and a central region is formed of a material more elastic than the other two regions providing a band having high interlaminar shear strength. Reinforcing fibers are placed in various orientations in certain of the regions to enable various materials to achieve the required band stiffness for load carrying capability and the interlaminar shear strength at the central axis of the band.

Abstract: A vibration damping device is mounted between two spaced portions of a vehicle for absorbing road forces exerted on the vehicle. A cylindrical housing forms an internal piston chamber and is connected at one end to one portion of the vehicle, with an outer end of the rod of a piston which is slidably mounted within the piston chamber, being connected to another portion of the vehicle. A fluid transfer duct is formed between the housing and piston and provides communication between fluid subchambers formed on opposite sides of the piston within the piston chamber. An electrode is attached to either the housing or piston for applying a voltage across the duct to affect the rheological response of an electrorheological (ER) fluid flowing therethrough to provide a controllable mechanism to modify the damping force characteristics of the device. Each end of the piston rod is slidably supported by a slide bushing assembly which is mounted within an end of the housing.

Abstract: An automated defect inspection system has been invented and is used on patterned wafers, whole wafers, broken wafers, partial wafers, sawn wafers such as on film frames, JEDEC trays, Auer boats, die in gel or waffle packs, MCMs, etc. and is specifically intended and designed for second optical wafer inspection for such defects as metalization defects (such as scratches, voids, corrosion, and bridging), diffusion defects, passivation layer defects, scribing defects, glassivation defects, chips and cracks from sawing, solder bump defects, and bond pad area defects.

Abstract: A seal for use on a container such as a beverage or food storage container and more specifically such as a soft drink, beer, or soup can where the seal prevents contamination of the rim or lip, trough and area adjacent to and surrounding the drinking aperture as well as between the drinking aperture and the nearest rim. The seal covers the inner surface of the rim but does not restrict use of 6-pack rings or the like, nor does the seal interfere with stacking of the cans. The seal further includes a peel tab.

Abstract: An air actuator has a rigid piston at one end and a rigid housing and end cap at the other end with an intervening elastomeric flexible sleeve extending therebetween which forms a fluid pressure chamber. The rigid piston, elastomeric flexible sleeve, and rigid housing are all injection or blow molded as one integral piece of preferably a thermoplastic elastomer, while the end cap is injection or blow molded as a second integral piece of preferably a thermoplastic elastomer that is thereafter welded to the rigid housing to define an internal chamber that is pressurizable. The first piece consisting of the piston, flexible membrane and housing, is configured such that the walls of the housing and piston are thick and rigid while the walls of the flexible membrane are thin and thus flexible, thereby allowing the membrane to roll and bend such that the piston may axially move in relation to the housing.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for connecting an electronic monitoring device to a pneumatic tire includes the steps of providing a green tire and attaching the electronic monitoring package to an anchoring patch. The anchoring patch having the electronic monitoring package is then mounted to the green tire and cured during the green tire cure process. A battery is then provided and a direct electrical connection between the electronic monitoring package and battery is then formed by plugging the battery into the electronic monitoring package. The electronic monitoring package may also be mounted in the green tire itself and cured with the green tire. The battery is connected to the electronic monitoring package after the cure process.

Abstract: A method of testing a tire for rain groove wander is provided which allows a tire to be objectively tested in a laboratory wherein the objective test results closely correlate with subjective field analysis type data, thereby allowing for the subjective tire performance to be predicted while precluding the need for subjective field analysis of the particular tire. The method also allows objective testing of a single tire size by varying the radial loading in the laboratory test set, thereby precluding the construction of multiple tire sizes each having the same tread design. The method simulates rain groove road conditions and correlates objective analysis data obtained via the laboratory test methodology with subjective field analysis data of rain groove wander tire performance of other tires, thereby providing a substantially accurate technique for identifying the subjective performance of the tire without having to conduct the field testing to obtain such subjective field analysis data.

Abstract: An air spring having a flexible sleeve is mounted between a pair of movable support components to maintain the components in a spaced relationship. The flexible sleeve has a hollow interior which forms an internal fluid chamber. A connector is mounted in one end of the sleeve and receives a tube for controlling the flow of fluid into and out of the chamber. The connector has a main body molded into the sleeve end and a collet member telescopically rotatably mounted in a hollow interior of the main body. The collet member has a plurality of flexible fingers which grip the end of a tube when inserted therein and have one-way barbs which grip to tube to prevent it from being pulled out once it is inserted within the connector. An elastomeric seal is mounted within the body to provide a fluid seal between the tube and body interior.

Abstract: A supportive tire rack for green tire transfer and storage includes a base assembly that carries at least four support pins that are horizontally cantilevered from the base. A pair of upper support plates and a pair of lower support plates are carried by the pins. The upper support plates engage the bead rings of the tire while the lower support plates cradle the lower surface of the tire. Each support plate is pivotally carried on an arm that is pivotally carried on a pin. Each arm is also in the form of a damper that dampens oscillatory forces in the tire. The arms and plates are biased toward resting positions by springs.

Abstract: An elastomeric member for a tire-building machine, such as an inflatable bead turn-up bladder, center sleeve or bead lock sleeve, includes at least one base layer or sleeve of elastomeric material which terminates in a pair of end members for mounting the sleeve on the tire-building machine. A plurality of reinforcing cords may be embedded within the sleeve to provide internal reinforcement. A strip of an abrasion-resistantmaterial is bonded to all or a portion of the inner or outer surfaces of the sleeve to protect those areas of the sleeve that are subject to abrasion when contacting various portions of the tire or tire-building machine during assembly of a green tire carcass. A coating of an adhesion-release material may be applied to portions of the strip of abrasion-resistant material to reduce adhesion of the sleeve to the tacky elastomeric portions of the green tire carcass when contacted by expansion or movement of the sleeve during assembly of the green tire.