Patents Examined by Steven D. Maki
  • Patent number: 11511570
    Abstract: A tire includes a tread portion provided with at least one circumferentially extending zigzag main groove having a groove bottom, the at least one main groove including first inclined portions, second inclined portions each inclined in an opposite direction to the first direction, and first intersections where the first inclined portions and the second inclined portions are communicated with each other. The first inclined portions and the second inclined portions are arranged alternately in the tire circumferential direction. The first inclined portions are longer than the second inclined portions. The groove bottom of the at least one main groove is provided with at least one protruding part extending in a width direction of the at least one main groove, and a distance between the at least one protruding part and one adjacent first intersection is equal to or less than 2 times groove widths of the first intersections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Shoichi Wada
  • Patent number: 11511504
    Abstract: The molding element has a plurality of contacting elements delimited by a plurality of grooves and has a molding surface for forming a contact face and a groove forming rib portion for forming the groove. The groove forming rib portion provides a space opening to one of the rib side faces and/or to the rib top face and an insert that is received in the space for forming a portion of the groove and a closing device in the groove. The insert is composed of thin plates stacked with one another. The forming plate assembly also comprises at notched plates of thickness t1, and each notched plate includes a notch for forming a flexible fence, and the notched plate has no area overlapping to the notch in the other notched plated adjacent thereto in sectional view in a direction along which the groove forming rib portion extends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventors: Anthony Gueugneau, Khotchakorn Pengsaloong, Gael Roty
  • Patent number: 11505005
    Abstract: A first and a second tread pattern portions P1 and P2 on each side of a tire equator (Co) are line symmetry except being circumferentially misaligned, and are each provided with oblique lateral grooves 3, inner and outer joint grooves 4 and 5 connecting between the circumferentially adjacent oblique lateral grooves 3, inner terminating grooves 7 disposed between the inner and outer joint grooves 4 and 5, outer terminating grooves 8 disposed between the outer joint grooves and a ground contact edge (TE), and center joint grooves 6 alternately connecting the oblique lateral grooves of the first and second tread pattern portions. The inner and outer joint grooves 4 and 5 and the inner and outer terminating grooves 7 and 8 are inclined to different directions from the oblique lateral grooves 3. The outer terminating grooves 8 extend on extended lines of the outer joint grooves 5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Ishino
  • Patent number: 11505006
    Abstract: A tyre includes a tread portion provided with an outer main groove, an inner main groove, and a middle main groove. Each of the main grooves has a pair of groove edges arranged on both sides in a tyre axial direction and extending in a tyre circumferential direction. At least one of the groove edges includes circumferential portions extending in the tyre circumferential direction and axial portions inclined at larger angles than the circumferential portions with respect to the tyre circumferential direction. When an axial portion total length is a sum of axial lengths of the axial portions included in the main grooves, an axial portion total lengths L1, L2, and L3 of the outer main groove, the middle main groove, and the inner main groove, respectively, satisfy Expressions (1) and (2) shown below; L1>L3??Ex. (1) L1?L2?L3??Ex. (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Akiko Miura
  • Patent number: 11498366
    Abstract: In a tire having composite grooves provided on a shoulder land portion, dry performance and wet performance are improved. The tire includes a tread portion 2. The tread portion 2 includes a first shoulder land portion 13. The first shoulder land portion 13 has shoulder lateral grooves 15 and shoulder composite grooves 20. The shoulder lateral grooves 15 and the shoulder composite grooves 20 are each curved so as to be convex in a tire circumferential direction. Each shoulder composite groove 20 includes, in a cross section thereof, a sipe element 21 having a width not greater than 1.5 mm and extending from a tread surface of the first shoulder land portion 13 in a tire radial direction, and a groove element 22 connected to an inner side in the tire radial direction of the sipe element 21 and having a width greater than 1.5 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mari Mishima, Hiroshi Yamaoka
  • Patent number: 11498368
    Abstract: A tire includes medial knobs and lateral knobs in right and left zones extending around the circumference. The tire includes a central zone in between two arrays of medial knobs. The central zone may include no knobs or knobs with a height less than 50% of the height of the lateral knobs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Inventor: Shinji Marui
  • Patent number: 11491821
    Abstract: In the tread of the tire, the average modulus value in a center region including the equatorial plane of the tire is higher than the average modulus value in shoulder regions adjacent to edges of the tread, and in the shoulder regions, the modulus value is higher in a surface layer of the tread than in a portion other than the surface layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Daisuke Kurashina
  • Patent number: 11491751
    Abstract: A tire mold comprises sector molds for forming a tread portion of a tire and mold pins provided on the sector molds for forming insertion holes in the tread portion. The insertion holes each comprise a first hole portion with a first inner diameter where a body portion of a stud pin is disposed and a second hole portion with a second inner diameter greater than the first inner diameter where a bottom flange portion of the stud pin is disposed. The mold pins each comprise a trunk portion with a first outer diameter for forming the first hole portion and a tip portion with a second outer diameter greater than the first outer diameter for forming the second hole portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Kenichi Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 11479061
    Abstract: A tire that can suppress an unused tire from giving an impression like a worn tire as compared with a case where the brightness of a tread surface and the brightness of a bottom surface of a groove are the same is obtained. The tread portion includes a tread portion including a tread surface and a groove that partitions the tread surface; and a plurality of protrusions that protrude from a bottom surface of the groove at a height of from 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm and are arranged at an interval of from more than 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. A ratio of a height of the protrusions to a depth of the groove (protrusion height/groove depth) is from 0.02 to 0.2 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Sotaro Iwabuchi
  • Patent number: 11458775
    Abstract: A pneumatic tyre includes a tread portion being provided with a land portion divided by a main groove extending continuously in a tyre circumferential direction. The land portion is provided with two or more sipes having a width less than 1.5 mm on a ground contacting surface of the land portion and two or more groove elements having a width equal to or more than 1.5 mm on the ground contacting surface. Lengths in a tyre axial direction of the groove elements are equal to or less than 15% of a maximum width in the tyre axial direction of the ground contacting surface of the land portion, and at least one of the sipes is in communication with one of the groove elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Tatsuya Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11446961
    Abstract: A tire pattern structure including a tread pattern and a sidewall pattern is formed by uniformly distributed patterns in the circumferential direction of a tire. The tread pattern is formed by two long spoon-shaped pattern blocks symmetrical with respect to the center of the tire tread and the axial direction of the tire. A spoon-shaped pattern block group is across the center of the tire tread and each interlaced and mapped sideway along the center of the tire tread formed by upper and lower long spoon-shaped pattern block groups. The two spoon-shaped patterns are coupled from a head block to a handle block and bent at the tire shoulder to couple the sidewall pattern formed by the upper and lower sidewall pattern blocks which are formed by a quadrilateral block of two protrusions and three recessed blocks to overcome rough terrains and provide excellent mud and water removing performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: Cheng Shin Rubber Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsai Jen Lo
  • Patent number: 11433712
    Abstract: Provided is a pneumatic tire. A sipe is formed, on each of a leading side edge and a trailing side edge, with a chamfered portion shorter than a sipe length of a sipe, a non-chamfered region in which no other chamfered portion is present is provided in a part facing each of the chamfered portions, at least one end of the sipe communicates with the auxiliary groove, one end of the chamfered portion adjacent to the auxiliary groove in the rib communicates with the auxiliary groove, a maximum depth×(mm) of the sipe and a maximum depth y (mm) of the chamfered portion satisfy a relationship x×0.1?y?x×0.3+1.0, and a sipe width W of the sipe is constant in a range from an end positioned in the radial direction inside the chamfered portion to a groove bottom of the sipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Takanori Uemura, Takayuki Shiraishi, Hiraku Kouda, Tatsuro Shinzawa
  • Patent number: 11433713
    Abstract: In a pneumatic tire, a sipe includes an edge on a leading side and an edge on a trailing side; the edge and the edge each include a chamfered portion shorter than a sipe length of the sipe; a non-chamfered region in which other chamfered portions are not present is provided at portions facing the chamfered portions of the sipe; and for all chamfered portions, including at least the chamfered portions of the sipe, formed on grooves other than main grooves, with a ground contact width being equally divided into three in the tire lateral direction, a total volume SCE of chamfered portions provided in a center region centrally located in the tire lateral direction and each of total volumes SSH of chamfered portions provided in shoulder regions located on either side of the center region satisfy a relationship SCE<SSH.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiraku Kouda, Takayuki Shiraishi, Tatsuro Shinzawa, Takanori Uemura
  • Patent number: 11413907
    Abstract: A tire including a tread wear indicator is provided. The tire includes a pair of sidewalls, in which each sidewall extends from a respective bead area to a tread. The tread includes a plurality of main circumferential grooves, in which the main circumferential grooves are disposed in and proximate an axial center area of the tread. At least one shallow groove is formed in the tread, and each shallow groove includes a depth relative to the surface of the tread that is less than a depth of each of the main circumferential grooves. A primary tread wear indicator is disposed in at least one of the main circumferential grooves, and a secondary tread wear indicator is disposed in the shallow groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Thomas Michael Hirsch, Philipp Weber, Florian Roth, Suphaphan Atsawasuwan
  • Patent number: 11396211
    Abstract: A stud pin includes a tip, a body portion that supports the tip, and a lower flange connected to the body portion at an end on an opposite side to the end surface. A profile shape of the lower flange and a body profile shape of the body portion are anisotropic shape. The flange profile shape includes four or more first flange protrusion portions projecting toward the longitudinal direction and two second flange protrusion portions projecting toward the lateral direction. The body profile shape includes four or more first body protrusion portions projecting toward the lateral direction and two second body protrusion portions projecting toward the longitudinal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Masakazu Mori
  • Patent number: 11364743
    Abstract: A motorcycle tyre has a tread band including a central portion and two shoulder portions arranged at axially opposite sides of the central portion. The central portion includes a first plurality of grooves extended according to a substantially longitudinal direction and alternatively arranged at opposite sides of the equatorial plane of the tyre. Each groove of the first plurality of grooves has a substantially curvilinear course such as to form a concavity. The central portion further includes a sub-portion substantially free of grooves placed astride the equatorial plane of the tyre. Each of the shoulder portions includes a second plurality of grooves arranged obliquely relative to the equatorial plane of the tyre.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: PIRELLI TYRE S.p.A.
    Inventors: Mario Mariani, Sandro Gallo, Andrea Schiavolin, Pierangelo Misani
  • Patent number: 11358417
    Abstract: A tire includes knob sets having leading edge bevels connected by a ramp. The leading edge bevels may be offset in their positions or angles. Each knob set includes a first knob attached to a second knob. The knobs in each set may differ in lengths or in the angles of the leading edge bevels. Each knob set shares a common base and includes a pair of elongate outermost surfaces divided by an optional axial channel. Each knob set includes a lateral edge, medial edge and a trailing edge. Transverse rows of two or more knob sets may vary in lateral spacing between knob sets to provide narrow and wide rows in an alternating pattern. Knob sets may also be included on sidewalls of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Inventor: Shinji Marui
  • Patent number: 11358415
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes the plurality of sipes, when, with regard to each sipe in which the shoulder-side end portion is located closest to a center side among the plurality of sipes, a position of the shoulder-side end portion of the sipe in the tire width direction is taken as a first reference position, and with regard to each sipe in which the center-side end portion is located closest to a shoulder side among the plurality of sipes, a position of the center-side end portion of the sipe in the tire width direction is taken as a second reference position, the plurality of sipes are arranged at regular intervals in the tire circumferential direction, and at other of the first reference position and the second reference position, the plurality of sipes are arranged at irregular intervals in the tire circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tetsuji Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 11345107
    Abstract: A tread for bonding to a tire carcass to form a retreaded tire having a length, a width, a top side and a bottom side. The tread also includes a central portion and a pair of wing portions extending laterally from the central portions. The top sides of each wing portion include one or more discontinuities having a longitudinal component and configured to resist deflection when subjected to a force from the bottom side and to deflect downwardly when subjected to a force from the top side. In particular embodiments, the one or more discontinuities are arranged within each wing portion are arranged within a thickened portion of each wing portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventors: Dimitri Tsihlas, E. Bruce Colby, Cesar E. Zarak, Michael Widmyer
  • Patent number: 11338618
    Abstract: The present invention includes tire treads having a plurality of sipes (14) where at least one of the opposing sides of the sipe thickness includes a plurality of projections (18, 36) and recesses (20, 38) and a method for forming the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventors: Sadi Kose, Robert Cecil Lawson