Patents Examined by Katelyn W Smith
  • Patent number: 11628691
    Abstract: A tire includes a pattern portion on a surface of a sidewall portion. The pattern portion includes an outer pattern and an inner pattern. The outer pattern includes a plurality of outer ridges disposed concentrically around a first point on a tire circumferential line on an outer side in a tire radial direction and extending toward a second point, on the tire circumferential line, which is different from the first point. The inner pattern includes a plurality of inner ridges disposed concentrically around the second point on an inner side in the tire radial direction and extending toward the first point. Each of the outer ridges connects with one of the inner ridges on the tire circumferential line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Takafumi Noguchi, Yoshiaki Kanematsu
  • Patent number: 11597239
    Abstract: A tyre with a concave mark provided on a surface of a sidewall portion. A bottom surface of the concave mark is divided into a shadow area and a remaining main area. The shadow area is an area along a shadow wall portion that is in the shadow of a wall portion of the concave mark when light is shed to the concave mark from a direction. The shadow area has a plurality of minute protrusions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Koichi Nakajima
  • Patent number: 11590806
    Abstract: A motorcycle tyre for off-road includes a tread portion including a bottom surface and connected bodies. The block connected bodies each include blocks protruding from the bottom surface and tie-bars protruding from the bottom surface with a height smaller than that of the blocks to connect the blocks with one another. The block connected bodies include a first connected body whose blocks and tie-bars are arranged so as to surround the bottom surface at least partially. The first connected body includes a first end block located on a first end in a longitudinal direction of the first connected body and a second end block located on a second end in the longitudinal direction of the first connected body. The first end block and the second end block are adjacent with one another, and no tie-bar connecting the first end block and the second end block is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Shuji Kobori
  • Patent number: 11565553
    Abstract: The invention relates to a pneumatic vehicle tire having a tread with profile block rows (1, 2) with profile blocks (5) delimited by channels (3, 4), which channels (3, 4) form T-shaped intersections in plan view and are delimited by a channel base (6, 6?) and by block flanks (5a, 5?a), wherein, in channels (3), there are formed projections (7, 7?) which, in a radial direction, have at their highest point a height (h1, h1?), in relation to the lowest point of the channels (3), of 10% to 80% of the profile depth. The projections (7, 7?) are positioned in intersection regions of T-shaped intersections of the channels (3, 4) and are attached to that block flank (5a) which is situated opposite the opening-in point of the opening-in channel (4).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Andre Lutz, Florian Kristen
  • Patent number: 11548323
    Abstract: Steering stability performance on dry road surfaces and steering stability performance on wet road surfaces are improved. A land portion width Wcc of a center land portion (31) and a land portion width Wco of an outer side middle land portion (32) satisfy a relationship of Wcc<Wco. In addition, a ground contact surface (10) of each of the outer side middle land portion (32) and an outer side shoulder land portion (34) is formed to protrude toward an outer side in a tire radial direction with respect to a reference profile PRco, PRso, and a protruding amount Hco of the outer side middle land portion (32) and a protruding amount Hso of the outer side shoulder land portion (34) satisfy a relationship of Hco<Hso.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Ryouichi Tomomatsu
  • Patent number: 11548319
    Abstract: Method for controlling the symmetry of the footprint area of a tyre miming on a straight trajectory with camber angle different from zero, wherein the method comprises the steps: —reducing the contact pressure of the tyre (2) on the footprint area at an inner shoulder (in case of negative camber) or at an outer shoulder (in case of positive camber); —disposing any medium line (Im) of the tread band (9) placed in correspondence with the footprint area substantially parallel to the ground; the invention also defines a tyre and a wheel for motor-vehicles, wherein the medium line (Im) of the tread hand (9) and the rotation axis (X-X) of the tyre (2) form an angle (a) substantially equal in absolute value to the camber angle (?); the invention also encompasses a process for manufacturing such tyres, wherein a green tyre with symmetric outer profile is deformed during the vulcanising and moulding step until a predetermined angle (a) different from zero is formed between any medium line (Im) of the tread band (9) an
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: PIRELLI TYRE S.p.A.
    Inventor: Piero Losi
  • Patent number: 11548321
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a pair of circumferential main grooves, a plurality of center lug grooves, and center blocks. The pair of circumferential main grooves are disposed on both sides of a tire equatorial plane in a tire lateral direction. The tire equatorial plane is interposed between the pair of circumferential main grooves. The pair of circumferential main grooves extend in a tire circumferential direction and oscillate in the tire lateral direction. The plurality of center lug grooves have both ends connected to the pair of circumferential main grooves. The center blocks are defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential main grooves. The center lug grooves have bent portions at two or more positions. The center blocks include center narrow grooves having both ends connected to the pair of circumferential main grooves. The center narrow groove has bent portions at two or more positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Takayuki Suzuki, Takafumi Gohara
  • Patent number: 11548320
    Abstract: Tire (1) for a heavy-duty vehicle of civil engineering type, and more particularly to the tread (2) thereof, and seeks to improve the grip thereof, while at the same time ensuring a satisfactory compromise with wearing and thermal endurance. The tread (2) comprises cuts (3, 4, 5) distributed, in a circumferential direction (XX?) of the tire, among circumferential grooves (3) and, in an axial direction (YY?) of the tire, transverse sipes (4) and transverse grooves (5), the cuts (3, 4, 5) delimiting elements in relief (6), each cut (3, 4, 5) being delimited by two faces facing one another and each face intersecting the tread surface (21) along an edge corner (311, 321; 411, 421; 511, 521).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: François Barbarin, Guillaume Demaziere
  • Patent number: 11541692
    Abstract: A tyre includes a tread portion including a shoulder land portion which has a tread edge and an axial outer surface extending radially inwardly from the tread edge. The shoulder land portion is provided with shoulder lateral grooves extending inwardly in the tyre axial direction from the tread edge to define shoulder blocks therebetween, and protrusions protruding outwardly in the tyre axial direction from the outer surface. The protrusion includes first protrusions each provided on the respective shoulder blocks and extending in the tyre radial direction, and second protrusions connecting radially inner ends of adjacent two first protrusions such that first bent portions are formed between the second protrusions and the first protrusions. The first protrusions have widths smaller than maximum length in the tyre circumferential direction of the respective shoulder blocks, and the second protrusions have widths smaller than the width of the first protrusions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Yasunori Kawauchi
  • Patent number: 11534996
    Abstract: A turn-up device, comprising a building machine main shaft, an outer sleeve device, a ply down finger assembly, a bladder device, a bead setting device, and a bead locking device. The outer sleeve device, the ply down finger assembly and the bladder device are all sleeved on the building machine main shaft. The outer sleeve device is located on the outer sides of the ply down finger assembly and the bladder device along the radial direction of the building machine main shaft. The bead setting device is located on the outer sleeve device. A tire building method using the turn-up device can improve the building quality of tire beads, improve the service life of capsule, and provide promising precision of carcass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignees: Mesnac Co., Ltd., Eve Rubber Institute Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Deying Dai, Qingyong Bu, Zhao Sun, Suxia Tian, Dan Qin
  • Patent number: 11518195
    Abstract: An off-road tyre includes a tread portion being provided on a tread edge side with shoulder blocks arranged in a tyre circumferential direction. The shoulder blocks include at least one first shoulder block and at least one second shoulder block having a circumferential length greater than that of the at least one first shoulder block. The at least one first shoulder block includes a first ground contact surface, a second ground contact surface protruding outwardly from the first ground contact surface in a block height direction, and a first shallow groove extending between the first ground contact surface and the second ground contact surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Takuya Miwa
  • Patent number: 11511568
    Abstract: The tire has, in a tread surface, at least one circumferential groove continuously extending in a tire circumferential direction, and a shoulder land portion partitioned with the circumferential groove and a tread ground contact edge, the shoulder land portion has a first width direction groove that extends in a tire width direction and via which the circumferential groove communicates with the tread ground contact edge, the first width direction groove has, in the first width direction groove, a second width direction groove that communicates with the first width direction groove, and respective groove widths of the circumferential groove, the first width direction groove and the second width direction groove satisfy a relational expression of “the groove width of the circumferential groove>the groove width of the first width direction groove>the groove width of the second width direction groove”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Watanabe
  • Patent number: 11491822
    Abstract: A modulus at 300% elongation of a cap tread ranges from 3.0 Mpa to 7.0 Mpa, a modulus at 300% elongation of a undertread ranges from 10.0 Mpa to 20.0 Mpa, and a modulus at 300% elongation of an earthing tread ranges from 10.0 Mpa to 20.0 Mpa. Additionally, an earthing tread is made from a rubber material with a volume resistivity of 1×10{circumflex over (?)}7?·cm or less. The undertread includes a thickened portion in a region between the earthing tread and an edge portion of a block. The gauge of the undertread gradually increases from the earthing tread toward the edge portion of the block due to the thickened portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Isamu Kishizoe
  • Patent number: 11453187
    Abstract: Provided are a pneumatic tire and a method for manufacturing the pneumatic tire. A partial tie rubber layer is selectively disposed in each region between a carcass layer and an innerliner layer and on both sides in a tire lateral direction of a tread portion excluding a center region of the tread portion. End portions on both sides of the partial tie rubber layers in the tire lateral direction form inclined surfaces acutely angled with respect to a surface of the partial tie rubber layer on the carcass layer side. The inclined surfaces have an inclination angle from 20° to 60° with respect to the surface of the partial tie rubber layer on the carcass layer side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Hogyun Kang
  • Patent number: 11446963
    Abstract: A tyre includes a tread portion including a first middle land portion, a second middle land portion, a first shoulder land portion, and a second shoulder land portion. The first middle land portion is provided with first middle lateral grooves terminating within the first middle land portion, the second middle land portion is provided with second middle lateral grooves terminating within the second middle land portion, the first shoulder land portion is provided with first shoulder lateral grooves, and the second shoulder land portion is provided with second shoulder lateral grooves. The first middle lateral grooves and the second middle lateral grooves are inclined in a first direction with respect to the tyre axial direction, and the first shoulder lateral grooves and the second shoulder lateral grooves are inclined in a second direction opposite to the first direction with respect to the tyre axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Maiko Tanabe, Ryo Oba, Tetsuya Maekawa
  • Patent number: 11440352
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire tread pattern includes a center main groove extending in a circumferential direction, first and second inclined lug grooves located on respective first and second sides in a lateral direction and extending from the center main groove toward the respective first and second sides in the lateral direction with respect to the circumferential direction, and inner branched lug grooves each branched from a middle of a corresponding one of the first and second inclined lug grooves, inclined identically to an inclination direction of the first and second inclined lug grooves, and connected to the center main groove. The first and second inclined lug grooves include a center portion extending outward from the center main groove in the lateral direction, an outer portion extending inward from a shoulder side in the lateral direction, and a bent portion at which the center and outer portions are bent and connected together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Yuta Uchida
  • Patent number: 11420478
    Abstract: A tyre includes a tread portion including a groove bottom surface and a plurality of blocks protruding from the groove bottom surface. The plurality of blocks includes one or more multi-height blocks. Each multi-height block includes a first block portion having a first height from the groove bottom surface, a second block portion having a second height from the groove bottom surface, a third block portion having a third height from the groove bottom surface, and a block groove to define the first block portion, the second block portion and the third block portion. The second height is higher than the first height, and the third height is higher than the second height.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takuya Miwa
  • Patent number: 11376893
    Abstract: A tire tread having a tread surface (20) in the new state and at least one wavy groove (1) opening into the tread surface, the groove is the new state having external cavities (11) that open onto the tread surface in the new state along a length (Le) and internal cavities (12) that do not open onto the tread surface. The external cavities (11) have a bottom (110) of which the points that are innermost in the tread are at a distance (H1) from the tread surface (20) in the new state, the internal cavities (12) having a bottom (120) of which the innermost points are at a distance (H22) from the same tread surface (20). The external cavities (11) and the internal cavities (12) being connected together by linking cavities (13). The tread (2) being such that at least two sipes (31, 32) are formed from the bottom (110) of the external cavities (11) and along an entire length (Le) of these external cavities (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Tony Zivkovic, Philippe Gervais, Guillaume Bacher
  • Patent number: 11331953
    Abstract: The assembly (24) comprises: a woven first fabric (26) comprising filamentary warp elements (64) comprising first and second filamentary members, a woven second fabric (28), a bearing structure (30) comprising filamentary bearing elements (32) connecting the woven first and second fabrics together. For a length at rest L of the woven first fabric (26): for any elongation of the woven first fabric (26) less than or equal to (2?×H)/L, the first filamentary member has a non-zero elongation and is not broken; there is an elongation of the woven first fabric (26), less than or equal to (2?×H)/L, and beyond which the second filamentary member is broken, in which H0×K?H where H0 is the distance between the woven first and second fabrics (26, 28) when each filamentary bearing portion (74) is at rest, and K=0.50.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Sébastien Rigo, Richard Cornille, Gregor Hug, Bastien Limozin, Florian Vilcot
  • Patent number: 11331962
    Abstract: A tire including a bead core, a bead filler extending to an outer side in a tire-radial direction of the bead core, and a carcass play extending from the bead core to another bead core and folded back around the bead core, further including a steel chafer arranged so as to cover the carcass ply around the bead core, a first pad which covers outside in the tire-width direction of a folding end of the carcass ply at the outside in the tire-radial direction of an end part of the steel chafer, and a second pad which covers the outer side in the tire-width direction of the first pad, in which an electronic component is provided between the first pad and second pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Toyo Tire Corporation
    Inventor: Harunobu Suita