Patents Examined by Katelyn W Smith
  • Patent number: 11155050
    Abstract: A method of making a tire includes placing substantially circular sheets of polymeric material on top of each other until a tire is built to a predetermined width. A predetermined tread shape is formed along a circumference of the substantially circular sheets of polymeric material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE AMERICAS TIRE OPERATIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew V. Haidet, Douglas B. Costlow, Robert W. Asper
  • Patent number: 11155121
    Abstract: A tire comprises a tread portion 2. The tread portion 2 comprises a plurality of first oblique grooves 10A extending obliquely from a first tread edge Te1 positioned on one side in a tire axial direction toward a tire equator C. Each of the first oblique grooves 10A comprises a main body portion 12 extending from the first tread edge Te1 without reaching the tire equator C and a branch portion 13 branching off from the main body portion 12 and extending to cross the tire equator. The branch portion 13 terminates without being connected with other grooves than the first oblique grooves 10A.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuki Fujimoto, Yuki Kigami
  • Patent number: 11148472
    Abstract: A tyre includes a tread portion including a tread surface which is provided with grooves. At least one of the grooves includes a widening-width portion at least partially. The widening-width portion includes a first groove portion extending inwardly in a tyre radial direction from the tread surface, and a second groove portion located inwardly in the tyre radial direction of the first groove portion and having a groove width greater than that of the first groove portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichi Nakajima, Naoki Ishida, Masayuki Fujita
  • Patent number: 11142024
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a shoulder block in which first shoulder blocks and second shoulder blocks are alternately aligned. Each first shoulder block has a first edge that is on the outer side in a tire axial direction of a tread surface of the first shoulder block. Each second shoulder block has a second edge that is positioned on the outer side in the tire axial direction of a tread surface of the second shoulder block and more toward the inner side in the tire axial direction than the first edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Naoki Kageyama, Mitsuru Sueyoshi
  • Patent number: 11141943
    Abstract: In a winding method of a sheet member for winding a sheet member having an inclined side portion 7a inclined with respect to a longitudinal direction at least on one side in the longitudinal direction around a winding cylinder 50 in more than one turn from a tip end of the inclined side portion 7a as a winding start tip, winding of the sheet member is started in a small-diameter portion 51a of the winding cylinder 50 to which a radial difference is given by providing a step 54 to make a diameter smaller on one side in an axial direction and larger on the other side in the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Junji Itakura
  • Patent number: 11141909
    Abstract: Additive manufacturing device for manufacturing a three dimensional object, having a foil substrate (2) and a resin depositor (4) for depositing a layer of curable resin (6) on a first side (2a) of the foil substrate (2), wherein the resin depositor (4) comprises an input side resin storage unit (5). A radiation source (10) is present for radiation curing the resin layer (6) on the first side (2a) of the foil substrate (2), wherein a cured resin layer (6) represents a cross sectional slice of a three dimensional object (12). A stage (9) is configured to hold a stacked arrangement of one or more cured resin layers representing at least in part the three dimensional object (12), and a positioning system is provided for relative positioning the foil substrate (2) and the stage (9). A resin conditioning unit (16) is provided upstream from the input resin storage unit (5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Admatec Europe B.V.
    Inventors: Petrus Adrianus Johannes Maria Kuijpers, Marijn Adrianus Johannes van Antwerpen
  • Patent number: 11142026
    Abstract: A tyre has a tread portion. The tread portion has a land region divided by a first edge and a second edge extending in a tyre circumferential direction. The land region is provided with a plurality of sipes each extending between the first edge and the second edge. The plurality of the sipes includes inclined sipes and bent sipes. Each of the bent sipes includes first inclined elements inclined in the first direction with respect to the tyre axial direction and a second inclined element inclined in a direction opposite to the first inclined elements with respect to the tyre axial direction. Each of the inclined sipes is configured to have a depth larger at a center portion thereof than at both end portions thereof. Each of the bent sipes is configured to have a depth smaller at a center portion thereof than at both end portions thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Mari Mishima
  • Patent number: 11141944
    Abstract: A manufacturing method includes cutting out a sheet-like belt for one full circle of tire by cutting a master roll diagonally with respect to a longitudinal direction between a master roll table 10 and a belt table 14, moving the belt table 14 carrying the cut-out sheet-like belt to a winding position of the sheet-like belt, winding the sheet-like belt around a winding cylinder 50 at the winding position, and unwinding the sheet-like belt from the winding cylinder 50 in a place facing a molding drum 64 and forming a cylindrical belt by winding the sheet-like belt around the molding drum 64.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Junji Itakura
  • Patent number: 11135736
    Abstract: A belt forming system may include an upstream conveyor, a downstream conveyor located downstream of the upstream conveyor, and a belt assembly system in communication with the upstream conveyor and the downstream conveyor. The belt assembly system may also include an arm, an actuator for moving the arm, and/or a holding component coupled to the arm and adapted to move a strip section from the upstream conveyor to a desired position on the downstream conveyor such that the strip section is oriented at a predetermined angle on the downstream conveyor. In one embodiment, the belt forming system comprises a belt cutter. The present disclosure also relates to a method for manufacturing at least a portion of a tire belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: THE STEELASTIC COMPANY, LLC
    Inventor: Mark Marabito
  • Patent number: 11135794
    Abstract: A method for managing a carcass structure building line, a plant and a process for building tyre carcass structures, wherein the plant includes a carcass structure building line provided with a plurality of stations including an unloading station and n building stations. A group of forming drums being processed includes m forming drums being processed defining a first size of carcass structure being processed. Three groups of entering forming drums include respective entering forming drums, defining a second size of carcass structure being processed. A pair of support elements being processed includes a first and a second support element being processed and three pairs of entering support elements respectively include a first and a second entering support element. The invention also relates to a method for managing a carcass structure building line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: PIRELLI TYRE S.p.A.
    Inventor: Davide Conti
  • Patent number: 11130372
    Abstract: A heavy truck tire tread (2) having a longitudinal direction (LgD), a lateral direction (LtD), a tread depth direction (TdD), a ground contact surface (CS) and a pair of opposing tread shoulders (3, 4) spaced apart along the lateral direction is provided. The tread has a shoulder zone (SZ, SZ?) adjacent each tread shoulder of the pair of opposing tread shoulders, the shoulder zones consisting of blocks (5, 6) adjacent to each other along the longitudinal direction and separated by lateral grooves (7, 8). A center zone (CZ) is defined between the shoulder zones. The center zone is decoupled from both shoulder zones by at least one longitudinal sipe (11) or groove, and each lateral groove (7) in a shoulder zone (SZ) is directly connected to an opposite lateral groove (8) in the opposite shoulder zone (SZ?) by a lateral sipe (10) of the center rib.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventor: Stefan Voss
  • Patent number: 11110675
    Abstract: Provided is a tire building drum and a method for shaping tire components on the tire building drum, wherein the tire building drum has an annular sleeve that extends over turn-up arms in the longitudinal direction of the turn-up arms. The sleeve is elastic in the circumferential direction and fits elastically around the turn-up arms. The sleeve is provided with inelastic reinforcement elements extending in at least a part of the sleeve in a reinforcement direction transverse to the circumferential direction of the tire building drum, and has a fixed end that is retained in the axial direction and a movable end that is movable over the turn-up arms in their respective longitudinal directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Inventors: Evert Doppenberg, Gerrit Rodijk, Martin De Graaf
  • Patent number: 11104090
    Abstract: A method of controlling operation of a tire filling mixing machine, by: (a) mixing a rubber/polyurethane and a catalyst in a first mixer to form a virgin polyurethane; (b) grinding cured polyurethane core bits in a grinder; (c) mixing the virgin material and the ground material in a second mixer thereby forming a mixed flatproofing material; (d) injecting the mixed flatproofing material into a tire; (e) measuring the ratio of ground material to virgin material in the mixed flatproofing material; (f) comparing the measured ratio of ground material to virgin material to a pre-stored preferred ratio of ground material to virgin material; and (g) increasing or decreasing the relative percentages of virgin material and ground material entering the second mixer by an amount that is a fraction of the difference between the measured ratio and the pre-stored preferred ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: CARLISLE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, LLC
    Inventors: Jeff Little, John Bishop
  • Patent number: 11090982
    Abstract: Tread of a tire (1) for a heavy-duty vehicle of civil engineering type. The tread (2), having an axial width WT and having a radial thickness HT at least equal to 70 mm, comprises at least two circumferential grooves (3) positioned axially on each side of an equatorial plane (XZ). Each circumferential groove (3) has an axial width W and a radial depth H, such that the ratio W/H is at least equal to 0.06, the axial distance C between two consecutive circumferential grooves (3) is at least equal to 12% and at most equal to 21% of the axial width WT of the tread and each of the axially outermost circumferential grooves (3) is positioned axially, with respect to the equatorial plane XZ, at an axial distance LE at least equal to 35% of the axial width WT of the tread.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: François Barbarin, Guillaume Demaziere
  • Patent number: 11072210
    Abstract: A pneumatic vehicle tire (1) having a profiled tread (2) that merges at either side into sidewalls (3), the end of which is formed by a tire bead (5, 6) insertable in an airtight manner into a wheel rim (7) of a vehicle wheel (8), wherein an absorber (10) has been integrated into the pneumatic vehicle tire (1) for sound absorption and the cohesive bond consists of an adhesion promoter (11) applied between the absorber (10) and the inner surface (9) of the pneumatic vehicle tire (1), has been further developed in accordance with the invention in that the inner surface (9) of the pneumatic vehicle tire (1) has mutually alternating adhesion promoter sections (12) and adhesion promoter-free sections (13), the adhesion promoter-free sections (13) having been coated with a separating agent (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Oliver Schürmann