Patents Examined by Justin Fischer
  • Patent number: 9511630
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to adequately control relationship between a cross sectional width SW and an outer diameter OD of a pneumatic radial tire for a passenger vehicle. Specifically, a ground contact surface 1 of the tread of the pneumatic radial tire for a passenger car of the present invention is provided with either, as a groove, only at least one main groove 2a extending in the tread circumferential direction or, as grooves, only the main groove 2a and at least one auxiliary groove 2b other than the main groove, wherein the auxiliary groove has a groove width?2 mm in a tread widthwise region and a negative ratio of the main groove 2a is in the range of 12% to 20% (inclusive of 12% and 20%).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shintaro Hatanaka, Hiroyuki Matsumoto, Isao Kuwayama
  • Patent number: 9505274
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire comprises a sidewall portion is provided in the outer surface with a circumferentially continuous or discontinuous serrated zone in which radially extending serration ridges are arranged circumferentially of the tire. The serration ridges are grouped into circumferentially successively arranged groups each consisting of serration ridges whose angles ? with respect to the respective tire radial directions are different from each other, and gradually increased toward one circumferential direction. Each group has an equally-spaced position at which the serration ridges are equally spaced in the tire circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Daisuke Kudo
  • Patent number: 9505275
    Abstract: A tire/wheel structure includes a body, such as an automobile tire, and guide blocks mounted to two sidewalls of the body in a circumferentially arranged cascade series. Each guide block has a side facing a forward rotation direction of the body and forming at least one inclined guide face in such a way that the inclined guide face and an adjacent one of the guide blocks define therebetween a wind-assisting groove, whereby when the body is in a forward rotating condition, the inclined guide faces of the guide blocks and the wind-assisting grooves help enhance airflow guiding, reduce wind resistance, and generating an assistive driving force and when the inclined guide faces of the guide blocks and the wind-assisting grooves are moved to a position in a lower half of the circumference of the body, a follow-the-trend driving assisting force and a moving stabilizing effect are achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Inventor: Cheng-Tung Chen
  • Patent number: 9505268
    Abstract: The pneumatic tire 1 includes the belt layer 14 having the pair of cross belts 142, 143, and a circumferential reinforcing layer 145 disposed between the cross belts 142, 143 or disposed inward in the tire radial direction of the cross belts 142, 143. Moreover, the circumferential reinforcing layer 145 is configured by one wire 1451 that is wound spirally at a slant within a range of ±5 deg with respect to the tire circumferential direction. Moreover, the crossing angle ? in the tire circumferential direction of the wire end portion at the first edge and the wire end portion at the second edge of the circumferential reinforcing layer 145 is within a range of 5 deg???355 deg.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 9499014
    Abstract: Tire having two beads each comprising an annular reinforcing structure and a carcass reinforcement which is anchored in the two beads by being wrapped around the annular reinforcing structure so as to form, in each bead, a main portion and a wrapped-around portion, wherein each bead comprises an apex situated between the main portion and the wrapped-around portion of the carcass reinforcement, and an outer strip positioned axially on the outside of the carcass reinforcement and of the apex, the apex and the outer strip being made of a rubber compound that has an elastic modulus G? less than or equal to 15 MPa and a viscous modulus G? such that: G?[MPa]?0.2·G?[MPa]?0.2 MPa, the elastic and viscous moduli being measured at 23° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A.
    Inventors: Frédéric Bourgeois, François-Xavier Bruneau
  • Patent number: 9493040
    Abstract: [Object] To provide a pneumatic tire 2 which is lightweight and is excellent in durability. [Solution] A tire 2 has a large number of dimples 62 on sidewalls 8 thereof. These dimples 62 are arranged along a circumferential direction. The contour of each dimple 62 is, for example, a rectangle. In each dimple 62, the length in a circumferential direction is larger than the length in a radial direction. The area occupation ratio of each dimple 62 is equal to or greater than 75% but equal to or less than 93%. The contour of each dimple is symmetrical about a straight line extending in the radial direction. Preferably, the depth of each dimple 62 is equal to or greater than 0.5 mm but equal to or less than 4.0 mm. The width of a land between each dimple 62 and another dimple 62 adjacent to this dimple 62 is preferably equal to or greater than 0.3 mm but equal to or less than 3.0 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Naoki Yukawa
  • Patent number: 9492982
    Abstract: A puncture sealant laminate for prevention of a flat tire may include three layers of sealant material separated by two layers of non-sealant material. The two layers of non-sealant material may prevent the three layers of sealant material from contacting each other and they may have first and second ends that attach to rubber in the tire that is not part of the puncture sealant laminate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventor: Michael Charles Ruegg, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9493037
    Abstract: The present invention provides a pneumatic tire having a carcass as a skeleton extending in a toroidal shape over a pair of bead portions, a belt including at least one slant layer, and a tread, the belt and the tread being disposed on the outer side in the tire radial direction of a crown portion of the carcass in this order, characterized in that: a ratio BD/BW of radius difference BD between radius at the center portion and radius at an end portion in the tire widthwise direction of the outermost layer of the slant belt layer(s), to a width BW of the outermost layer, is in the range of 0.01 to 0.04 in a section of the tire in the widthwise direction in a state where the tire is assembled with an application rim. A pneumatic tire being excellent in wear resistance performance and having relatively low rolling resistance can be obtained accordingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Fumio Takahashi, Souto Nakayama
  • Patent number: 9487888
    Abstract: A cord for reinforcing rubber articles according to the present invention is formed by a thread with ply-twisted cellulose fiber twisted with a thread of ply-twisted nylon fiber. The ply twist number of the nylon fiber is less than the ply twist number of the cellulose fiber. A pneumatic tire according to the present invention uses the cord for reinforcing rubber articles according to the present invention in a ply cord of the carcass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keisuke Kawashima
  • Patent number: 9481209
    Abstract: A pneumatic vehicle tire includes a carcass, a tire belt configured radially outside of the carcass and a profiled tread. The tire belt is formed of a plurality of tire belt plies, of which at least two tire belt plies are configured as working plies having parallel reinforcements made of steel and embedded in rubber, and having an angle of 10° to 24° with respect to the circumferential direction (U). The reinforcements of the one working ply have an axial direction of inclination opposite with respect to the reinforcements of the other working ply. The reinforcements of the first of the two working plies have an extendability D of D<0.2% at 10% of the breaking force, and the reinforcements of the second of the two working plies have an extendability D of D>0.2% at 10% of the breaking force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Theresia Becker, Thomas Glasewald
  • Patent number: 9475347
    Abstract: [Object] To provide a pneumatic tire which is excellent in durability. [Solution] A tire has a large number of dimples 62 on sidewalls thereof. The contour of each dimple 62 is composed of a first circular arc 66, a second circular arc 68, a first connection line 70, and a second connection line 72. The curvature radius R2 of the second circular arc 68 is larger than the curvature radius R1 of the first circular arc 66. The first connection line 70 is a straight line. The first connection line 70 connects one end 78 of the first circular arc 66 to one end 80 of the second circular arc 68. The second connection line 72 is a straight line. The second connection line 72 connects the other end 74 of the first circular arc 66 to the other end 76 of the second circular arc 68.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Ao Imamura
  • Patent number: 9469162
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire construction is provided using one or more folded body ply sheets constructed such that upon formation of the tire, the turn-ups in the sidewalls are looped turn-ups such that there are no free turn-up ends in the sidewalls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
    Inventors: Samuel O. Givens, Hans R. Dorfi, Dennis W. Snyder, Anoop G. Varghese, Benjamin R. Rethmel, Brian D. Steenwyk
  • Patent number: 9469163
    Abstract: Provided is a pneumatic tire including an inner liner disposed inwardly in the tire relative to a carcass ply bridged between a pair of bead portions. The inner liner is formed of a first layer disposed inwardly in the tire and a second layer disposed to be in contact with a rubber layer of the carcass ply. The first layer is a thermoplastic elastomer composition containing a thermoplastic elastomer containing at least one of a styrene-isobutylene-styrene block copolymer and an SIBS modified copolymer having a styrene block moiety modified with acid chloride or acid anhydride having an unsaturated bond. The thermoplastic elastomer composition also contains at least one of an ultraviolet absorber and an antioxidant. The second layer is a thermoplastic elastomer composition containing at least one of a styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer and a styrene-isobutylene block copolymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Mutsuki Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 9463669
    Abstract: Provided is a tire whose durability is improved by using, as a reinforcing member, a polyester cord having an improved heat resistant adhesive property to rubber. Provided is a tire in which a rubber-cord complex composed of a polyester cord and a rubber is used as a reinforcing member. The polyester cord is formed by twisting polyester filaments, and then subjecting the twisted filaments to an adhesive agent treatment. The polyester filament is made of a polyester fiber which is composed of a polyester having ethylene terephthalate as a main repeating unit and having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.85 or higher, wherein the amount of terminal carboxy group in the fiber is 20 equivalent/ton or larger, the long period according to small-angle X-ray diffraction is 9 to 12 nm, and a surface treatment agent having an epoxy group is attached to the surface of the fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Yokokura, Daisuke Ozaki, Shintaro Shimada, Fuyuki Terasaka
  • Patent number: 9464183
    Abstract: This invention provides a rubber composition comprising 1-10 parts by mass of sulfur and 0.1-10 parts by mass of a compound represented by the following general formula (1) or a composition containing the compound as a main component based on 100 parts by mass of a rubber component as well as a pneumatic tire in which at least one of a carcass (4) and a belt (6) includes a layer composed of steel cords covered with a coating rubber, characterized in that the above rubber composition is used as the coating rubber covering the steel cords in at least one of the carcass (4) and the belt (6): (wherein R represents a divalent aliphatic group having a carbon number of 1-16 or a divalent aromatic group).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazunori Kaneda, Yoshinori Kuriya, Kazuya Tsukamoto, Nobumasa Arashiba, Akinori Nagatomo, Kouki Oogaki, Takeshi Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 9457628
    Abstract: An electronic device, which is intended to be incorporated into a tire, includes an electronic comprises, a conductor, and a support for the electronic component. The support and the conductor are joined together by a first part for attachment of the support and a second part for attachment of the conductor. A rigidifying casing of the device is overmoulded over at least the first part for attachment of the support and the second part for attachment of the conductor. At least one intermediate transition layer is at least partially overmoulded over the rigidifying casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A.
    Inventor: Michel Robert
  • Patent number: 9446633
    Abstract: The invention relates to an elastic vehicle tire (1) comprising a tire cavity. Said cavity is enclosed by a running strip (2) supporting the tread surface (3) and a side wall (4, 4.1) formed on each side of the running strip (2). A noise dampening insert (9) or a noise dampening insert arrangement disposed therein is provided in the tire cavity. A ventilation layer (13) having a structure permeable to air at least in the transverse and/or longitudinal direction of the running strip (3) is disposed between the noise dampening insert (9) or noise dampening insert arrangement and connected to the inner side (10) of the running strip (2) supporting the running surface (3). Said layer is suitable for passing an air flow at least partially in contact with the inner wall (10) of the running strip (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: RECTICEL N.V.
    Inventor: Kristof Benoit
  • Patent number: 9446632
    Abstract: Provided is a core (10A), in which split pieces (10P) adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction are coupled by a coupling pin (11), an axial direction of which is disposed in a width direction of the split pieces (10P), at a radial inner circumferential side thereof, and split surfaces (10a, 10b) formed by both of the split pieces (10P, 10P) include a first load receiving surface (10c) and a second load receiving surface (10d) having a predetermined angle with respect to a radial direction at a radial outer circumferential side from the coupling pin (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Maeyama, Hiromichi Yamamoto, Kousuke Katahira
  • Patent number: 9440500
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire in which a cavity resonance sound is reduced while punctures are easily repaired with a puncture sealant. The pneumatic tire has a fibrous region where short fibers are bonded onto an inner surface of the tire. A circumferential fiberless region where short fibers are not bonded onto the inner surface of the tire extends circumferentially between both ends of a tread ground contact area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Watanabe, Yoshiyuki Waki, Taiga Ishihara, Hidetoshi Yokota, Seiji Ishikawa, Kento Hirohata, Akio Kusano
  • Patent number: 9440499
    Abstract: A tire includes a circumferential tread, at least one belt, and a pair of sidewalls, with each sidewall forming an outermost point of a side of the tire. The tire further includes a pair of bead portions and at least one carcass ply extending circumferentially about the tire from one bead portion to the other. The tire also has a chafer having a first portion radially below the bead portion and the carcass ply, and a second portion axially outward from the bead portion and the carcass ply, wherein the sidewall is located radially below the first portion of the chafer and axially outward from the second portion of the chafer. A sidewall gum strip extends radially upward from the second portion of the chafer. The sidewall gum strip is located axially between the carcass ply turn-up end and at least a portion of the chafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
    Inventors: Bradley J. Harris, Christopher A. Swartzwelder