Abstract: A device that enables a rubber strip to be applied to a tire blank. The device comprises a rubber extruder provided with an extrusion orifice for shaping the rubber strip and delivering said strip from the extruder. The orifice is defined by a roller mounted to rotate on the extruder. The device further comprises thrust means for thrusting the roller against the blank so that the roller constitutes an applicator for applying the rubber strip against the blank. The extruder is mounted to pivot about an axis so as to form a lever on which the thrust means act to thrust the roller against the strip.

Abstract: The invention relates to a tire for heavy vehicle of the agricultural or construction type, comprising a carcass reinforcement radially surmounted by a crown reinforcement, itself topped radially by a tread, said tread being joined to two beads by means of two sidewalls. According to the invention, the tire is such that the form ratio H/S is less than 0.75 and the ratio of the width of the tread A to the height of deflection B of the crown is greater than 17.

Abstract: The pressure of a vehicle tire fitted on a vehicle wheel is measured and regulated, utilizing a source of compressed air, a check valve leading to an interior of the tire, and an air feed circuit connecting the air source to the check valve. Compressed air is fed from the air source into the circuit and against the check valve to tend to open the check valve. A pressure drop is imposed at a point in the circuit, wherein a resulting pressure drop in the circuit downstream of such point and upstream of the check valve is less than 10% of the pressure drop at the point. A measurement is made of the pressure in the circuit at a location downstream of the point, or in the tire itself. The evolution of the pressure measured in step D is analyzed as a function of time, to determine whether the check valve has been opened.

Abstract: In a method of detecting an occurrence of hydroplaning of a tire of a vehicle travelling on wet ground, a tread of the tire of the vehicle is equipped with one or more sensors each capable of measuring a compression experienced locally by the tread when the tire is rolling on the ground and of producing a signal corresponding to these measurements. According to the method, measurements are obtained of a compression when the tire is rolling on the ground; a signal corresponding to these measurements is produced; a portion of the signal relating to a passing of one or more sensors into an apparent area of contact between the tire and the ground is extracted; an instantaneous value (?E, Rz), corresponding to a presence of an indirect contact region of the apparent area of contact between the tread and the ground, is determined from the extracted portion of the signal; and an alarm is triggered when the instantaneous value satisfies a given relationship.

Abstract: A method of estimating the height of water (hw) that is present on a wet ground of a road and that is in contact with a tread of a tire of a vehicle travelling on this wet road utilizes one or more sensors in the tread of the tire. Each of the one or more sensors is capable of measuring a characteristic quantity of stresses that the tread experiences locally when the tire is rolling on the ground. A signal corresponding to these measurements is produced, and a portion of this signal relating to a passing of the one or more sensors into an apparent area of contact between the tire and the ground is extracted. An instantaneous value (?L), relating to a length of an indirect contact region of the apparent area of contact between the tread of the tire and the ground, is determined from this information, and a water height (hw) is estimated from a calculation that takes into account the determined instantaneous value.

Abstract: In a method of detecting hydroplaning and estimating an intensity of hydroplaning of a tire of a vehicle travelling over a wet ground of a road, measurements are made of stresses in the tread of the tire, a water height present on the road is estimated, and, based on the measured stresses and the estimated water height, hydroplaning is detected and its intensity is estimated.

Abstract: A cross-linkable or cross-linked rubber composition which is usable to constitute a tire tread having improved wear resistance, to such a tread and to a tire incorporating this tread. The rubber composition is particularly applicable to tires of passenger-vehicle type. The rubber composition includes a plasticizing resin of number-average molecular weight of from 400 to 2000 g/mol, the resin containing units resulting from the polymerization of vinylcyclohexene.

Abstract: Device (D) for winding a cylindrical sleeve (C) of axis XX? around a toric ring (R) so that the end (E) of the said cylindrical sleeve is engaged between the toric ring (R) and the cylindrical sleeve (C) itself in order to make at least one complete turn around the substantially circular radial section of the said toric ring (R). The device comprises a winding fabric (T) also formed by a sleeve sliding freely in the axial direction on the external surface of a concentric set of winding heads (10, 10?) having an external profile comprising a back (104) constituting a substantially cylindrical surface, a convex front annular surface (102) connected to the previous surface and a concave annular surface (103) connected to the latter so that the winding fabric (2) produces S-shaped loops when the said winding fabric (T) substantially follows the radial profile of the convex annular surface (102) and of the concave annular surface (103) of the winding heads (10, 10?).

Abstract: A tire assembly with integrated power generation features includes one or more piezoelectric devices configured to generate electric charge therein upon being subjected to mechanical strains associated with flexure of tire or wheel components. The piezoelectric device may be incorporated in a variety of tire structures and in many different locations. In pneumatic tire structures, the piezoelectric device and related electronics may be embedded in crown or sidewall locations among such selected components as the exterior tread portion, first and second steel belts of a belt package, carcass, cap ply portion, inner liner, zone base, etc. The piezoelectric device with optional rubber casing may also be attached to such locations as the inner liner and tire exterior. Piezoelectric devices may also be integrated with a tire and safety support combination that is configured to operate in an extended mobility mode when the tire structure loses air pressure.

Abstract: Vehicle stability control system, the system including means for imparting a longitudinal force on the tire and means for calculating the slip parameter GOpt at each activation of the means for imparting a longitudinal force on the tire in the following manner: as the values of Gi are acquired, calculating the variation in G with respect to time, as long as the variation is above a low threshold, calculating coefficients A[wet, p] by direct calculation or by an appropriate regression so as to model variation in G with respect to time by a variation curve which is a function of (Gi, A[wet, p]), as soon as the variation is greater than a high threshold, determining a target slip GCwet using at least the last values of A[wet, p].

Abstract: The invention relates to a belayer/descender safety device (1), cooperating with a rope (2), comprising means (5) to hold said rope (2) and rotationally fixed to a chassis (6) on which enclosure means (10) for said rope (2) are mounted with pivoting and cooperating with said holding means (5). The enclosure means (10) and the chassis (6) comprise a housing (12) in opposition in the locking position which cooperates with a hook means, in particular, a spring hook, wherein said holding means (5) has the form of a pulley housing means for regulation of the speed of rotation thereof.

Abstract: A structurally supported tire includes an outer annular band, and a plurality of web spokes extending transversely across and radially inward from the annular band and anchored in a wheel or hub. The annular band may further comprise a shear layer, at least a first membrane adhered to the radially inward extent of the shear layer, and at least a second membrane adhered to the radially outward extent of the shear layer. A preferred web spoke has a cutaway section transverse to the annular band. The cutaway section has a profile formed by straight line segments joined by a blending radius. The profile of the cutaway comprises a height and a maximum depth greater than five percent of the height and less than thirty percent of the maximum width. The profile has an angle alpha formed by a line tangent to the profile relative to the horizontal at least equal to ten degrees at the radially outermost and radially innermost extent of said profile.

Abstract: To recap a tire, hot rubber mix is applied under pressure to a receiving surface of the tire from a collecting b block disposed thereagainst while relative rotation occurs between the block and the tire. The block is configured to cause the hot mix to be pressurized as it approaches an exit orifice of the block which forms the hot mix into strip form, whereby the strip has a width less than one-tenth of the width of the receiving surface that is to be covered by hot mix.

Abstract: A tire has a radial carcass reinforcement surmounted radially on the outside by a crown reinforcement which includes at least two working plies and two meridian reinforcement plies. The axially innermost ends of the meridian reinforcement plies are spaced axially apart. Each meridian reinforcement ply has a plurality of reinforcing elements making an angle larger than 60° with the tire's circumferential direction. The crown reinforcement also includes a circumferential reinforcement whose reinforcing elements make an angle no greater than 10° with the tire's equatorial plane. The tensile rigidity of the circumferential reinforcement in the circumferential direction in areas thereof that are radially coincident with the meridian reinforcement plies is lower than the tensile rigidity of the circumferential reinforcement in areas thereof that are not so radially coincident.

Abstract: A tire, the tread comprising rubber compounds and including a wear limit surface. At least one wireless temperature measurement system based on surface acoustic wave or bulk acoustic wave technology is embedded in a region of a rubber compound, said region being radially to the outside of a surface radially to the inside of the wear limit surface and the surface radially to the inside of the wear limit surface being, in the unworn state, at a distance from the outer surface of the tread of at most 95% of the thickness of the tread.

Abstract: A vehicle (1) equipped with a tank (2) for storage of a fluid under pressure on the vehicle, the tank being connected to at least one vent channel (3 and 33), the vent channel leading to a discharge orifice (34), the vent channel being connected to the tank by means of at least one safety valve, wherein in that the safety valve is a thermal release valve (5), normally closed and capable of opening spontaneously under the effect of a rise in temperature, the safety valve being installed in a predefined zone of the vehicle and the discharge orifice being remote from the predefined zone.

Abstract: A method of the type in which a strip of rubber is moved continuously from a rubber-supplier device to a consumer device. During the continuous movement and prior to reaching the consumer device, a portion, referred to as the residue, is taken continuously from the strip of rubber. The residue is taken by continuously cutting the strip of rubber. For example, the supplier device includes upstream storage means for storing the strip of rubber from which the strip is moved toward the extruder, and downstream storage means in which the residue is stored. After the strip of rubber on the upstream storage means has been used up, the upstream and downstream storage means are swapped with each other.

Abstract: Presented is a heavy vehicle, such as a transport vehicle or a civil engineering vehicle, of a mass greater than 500 metric tons. The vehicle is fitted with tires of radial structure having a diameter greater than 3.5 meters and an axial width greater than 37 inches. The vehicle has a front steering axle provided with at least two tires and at least one rear axle provided with at least four tires for transmitting at least part of motive power. The rear axle has at least two trailing arms each associated with two tires.