Patents by Inventor Masatoshi Kuwajima

Masatoshi Kuwajima has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6692089
    Abstract: The invention provides a brake control device for a vehicle, a brake control method and a recording medium having a program causing a computer to perform the brake control method. A tire friction characteristic with respect to a vehicle velocity or a wheel velocity is memorized in advance. When a brake is put on to the vehicle, a current slip ratio or a current slip velocity is found and an optimum slip ratio or an optimum slip velocity is calculated using the tire friction characteristic. Then, a difference between the optimum slip ratio and the found current slip ratio or a difference between the optimum slip velocity and the found current slip velocity is compared with a predetermined value. According to a result of the comparison, a braking force applied to the vehicle is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Kuwajima, Tomohiko Kogure
  • Publication number: 20040025995
    Abstract: Disclosed are a run-flat tire and a tire/wheel assembly in which the workability of the tire-to-rim fit has been improved while including a core-type run-flat support member. The tire/wheel assembly is formed by coupling a pneumatic tire and a rim of a wheel. In the tire/wheel assembly, the run-flat support member constituted of a circular shell and elastic rings is inserted into a cavity of the pneumatic tire, in which the circular shell has a support surface thereof extended toward the periphery of the tire and leg portions along each side of the support surface, and the elastic rings support the leg portions of the circular shell on the rim. At the same time, a seat portion and an engaging portion are provided for at least one of the elastic rings, in which the leg portion of the circular shell can be settled on the seat portion, and the engaging portion is extended in an outer tire axial direction from the seat portion and sandwiched between a tire bead base and a rim seat.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2003
    Publication date: February 12, 2004
    Inventors: Akira Kuramori, Atsushi Tanno, Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Publication number: 20040016494
    Abstract: The present inventions are a run-flat tire and a tire/wheel assembly in which the workability of the tire-to-rim fit has been improved while including a core-type run-flat support member. The tire/wheel assembly is formed by fitting a pneumatic tire into a wheel rim. In the tire/wheel assembly, the run-flat support member constituted of a circular shell and elastic rings is inserted into a cavity of the pneumatic tire, in which the circular shell has a support surface thereof extended toward the periphery of the tire and leg portions along each end of the support surface, and the elastic rings are attached to the leg portions of the circular shell. Meanwhile, stages extending in a tire circumferential direction are formed on the inner walls of a pair of right and left beads in the pneumatic tire, and the elastic rings are locked into the stages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2003
    Publication date: January 29, 2004
    Inventors: Akira Kuramori, Atsushi Tanno, Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Publication number: 20040011447
    Abstract: Disclosed is a tire/wheel assembly in which a run-flat support member is disposed in a cavity of a pneumatic tire fitted to a rim. The run-flat support member includes a circular shell, in which an outer circumferential side thereof is a support surface and an inner circumferential side thereof is opened to have two leg portions, and left and right elastic rings which support the two leg portions on the rim. The elastic rings have different rigidities from each other so that the elastic ring receiving a larger load during run-flat traveling has a higher rigidity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2003
    Publication date: January 22, 2004
    Inventors: Akira Kuramori, Atsushi Tanno, Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Publication number: 20040011448
    Abstract: A tire/wheel assembly in which a run-flat support member 3 is inserted into a cavity of a pneumatic tire 2, the run-flat support member 3 including a circular shell 4 in which the outer circumferential side thereof is used as a support surface and the inner circumferential side thereof is opened to have two leg portions, and elastic rings 5 supporting the ends of the two leg portions on a rim. The outer circumferential surface of the circular shell 4 in a cross-section cut in a tire width direction has a shape with a plurality of convex portions 4a, 4b, aligned in a tire width direction, and these convex portions have a plurality of different kinds of radius of curvatures and/or thickness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2003
    Publication date: January 22, 2004
    Inventors: Akira Kuramori, Atsushi Tanno, Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Publication number: 20040003880
    Abstract: A tire/wheel assembly in which a run-flat support member 3 is inserted into a cavity of a pneumatic tire 2, the run-flat support member 3 including a circular shell 4 in which the outer circumferential side thereof is used as a support surface and the inner circumferential side thereof is opened to have two leg portions, and elastic rings 5 supporting the ends of the two leg portions on a rim. Protruding portions 7 are provided, respectively projecting sideways on both sides of the circular shell 4, and the protruding portions 7 come to contact with an inner surface of a bead 2b of the pneumatic tire 2 during run-flat traveling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2003
    Publication date: January 8, 2004
    Inventors: Akira Kuramori, Atsushi Tanno, Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Publication number: 20030205305
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire is disclosed in which ABS braking performance on a wet road after being worn is improved. This pneumatic tire includes: a tread pattern whose rotational direction is specified; and a block plotted on a tread by main grooves extending in a tire circumferential direction and lateral grooves extending in a tire width direction, the block having a pair of opposing corners with acute angles and including at least one sipe therein.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2003
    Publication date: November 6, 2003
    Inventors: Masatoshi Kuwajima, Tetsuya Kuze
  • Publication number: 20030117015
    Abstract: The invention provides a brake control device for a vehicle, a brake control method and a recording medium having a program causing a computer to perform the brake control method. A tire friction characteristic with respect to a vehicle velocity or a wheel velocity is memorized in advance. When a brake is put on to the vehicle, a current slip ratio or a current slip velocity is found and an optimum slip ratio or an optimum slip velocity is calculated using the tire friction characteristic. Then, a difference between the optimum slip ratio and the found current slip ratio or a difference between the optimum slip velocity and the found current slip velocity is compared with a predetermined value. According to a result of the comparison, a braking force applied to the vehicle is controlled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2002
    Publication date: June 26, 2003
    Inventors: Masatoshi Kuwajima, Tomohiko Kogure
  • Patent number: 5358021
    Abstract: In a pneumatic tire having an asymmetric tread pattern in witch ribs continuing in a tire circumferential direction are disposed on a tread surface at a shoulder end portion on the outer side of a vehicle when the tire is fitted to the vehicle, and block lines each comprising a plurality of blocks are disposed at a shoulder end portion on the inner side of the vehicle, wherein sub-grooves extending in a tire width-wise direction while forming right and left pairs are disposed on the portion of the tire more inward than the ribs at a predetermined pitch in the tire circumferential direction and in a herringbone pattern widening in a direction opposite to a rotating direction of the tire, the apexes of the herringbone patterns are positioned on the outer side of the tire with respect to a tire equator line, and pairs of the right and left sub-grooves are made mutually discontinuous at the apexes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 25, 1994
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Motohide Takasugi, Kazuyoshi Saneto, Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Patent number: D471147
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Patent number: D486442
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Patent number: D376779
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1996
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Kuwajima, Sadakazu Takei, Toshihiko Suzuki