Patents Examined by Justin Fischer
  • Patent number: 9017500
    Abstract: A belt structure for a two-wheeled vehicle made by means of strip-like segments or elements, each including parallel cords embedded in an elastomeric layer, sequentially laid along the circumferential extension of a toroidal support so as to form a reinforcing layer having a continuous circumferential extension around a geometric rotation axis of the toroidal support, wherein each strip-like element is laid in a laying trajectory defining, at each point, a laying angle; at each point of the laying trajectory a laying gap is formed between adjacent strip-like elements; the laying trajectory is formed starting from preselected laying angles on the shoulder and on the crown of the tire; the laying gap between adjacent strip-like elements varies along at least one length of said laying trajectory between crown and shoulder so as to cause variation of the laying angle and obtain the preselected angles on the shoulder and on the crown.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Pirelli Tyre S.p.A.
    Inventors: Pierangelo Misani, Fiorenzo Mariani, Marco Cantu′
  • Patent number: 9016339
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire including a separatable pair of mechanical fasteners wherein a first fastener of the pair of mechanical fasteners is provided on a tire inner surface. In this pneumatic tire, the obtained engagement force of the pair of mechanical fasteners is great and is essentially free of variations (positional variation within the tire and variation from tire to tire); the engagement force deteriorates/declines minimally over time due to extreme usage conditions including repetitive deformation and compaction over an extended period of time caused by tire rotation at high speeds in a state of relatively elevated temperatures; and the desired engagement force can be maintained over an extended period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Tanno, Masatoshi Kuwajima
  • Patent number: 9016338
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire including at least four circumferential main grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction and a plurality of rib-like land portions partitioned by the circumferential main grooves in the tread portion. Additionally, an outer side second land portion includes a zigzag narrow groove having a zigzag shape, extending in the tire circumferential direction, and dividing the outer side second land portion in the tire width direction; and a plurality of first sipes disposed at a predetermined pitch in the tire circumferential direction, extending from an edge portion on the outer side in the tire width direction of the outer side second land portion toward the inner side in the tire width direction, and terminating prior to the zigzag narrow groove, leaving a gap for ventilation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masahiro Ishida
  • Patent number: 9016340
    Abstract: The present invention includes a run-flat tire 1 comprising a plurality of turbulence generation ridges 20 which extend on a surface of a tire side portion 3 in a tire-radial direction and which are arranged at a pitch in a tire-circumferential direction and relationship Si>So is satisfied. Si is the sum of sidewall areas of all the turbulence generation ridges located at the inner side, in the tire-radial direction, of a maximum width position of the pneumatic tire. So is the sum of sidewall areas of all the turbulence generation ridges located at the outer side, in the tire-radial direction, of the tire maximum width position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Tsuruta, Masashi Yamaguchi, Atsushi Miyasaka
  • Patent number: 9010389
    Abstract: A motorcycle tire comprises a tread portion grooved so that twenty narrow annular zones thereof each have a land ratio of 70 to 90%, wherein the twenty narrow annular zones are defined by equally dividing the developed tread width along the tread face by twenty. On each side of the tire equator, main oblique grooves and auxiliary oblique grooves are arranged alternately in the tire circumferential direction and inclined to one tire circumferential direction. The main oblique grooves on each side of the tire equator extend beyond the tire equator to have axially inner ends located on the other side of the tire equator. The auxiliary oblique grooves on each side of the tire equator do not extend beyond the tire equator to have axially inner ends located on the same side of the tire equator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Matsunami
  • Patent number: 9010391
    Abstract: In a pneumatic tire, center land portions include a circumferential narrow groove extending in the tire circumferential direction so as to partition the center land portions in a tire width direction; a plurality of lug grooves disposed in each region of each of the center land portions partitioned by the circumferential narrow groove, extending in the tire width direction, so as to partition each of the regions of the center land portions in the tire circumferential direction; and a plurality of blocks partitioned by the circumferential narrow groove and the plurality of lug grooves. Blocks of the center land portions include one open sipe extending in the tire width direction so as to partition the blocks in the tire circumferential direction, and three or more closed sipes disposed in each of the regions of each of the blocks partitioned by the open sipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideki Hamanaka
  • Patent number: 9004125
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire, wherein the central narrow groove includes an arc, the inner diameter side of the arc is facing towards the tire ground contact edge side, one end is open to another adjacent central narrow groove and the other end is open to the circumferential main groove on the inner side area side. A first central sipe is disposed between adjacent central narrow grooves, and connects the central narrow groove and the circumferential main groove on the inner side area side. One end of the notch portion is open to the circumferential main groove on the outer side area side, and the other end terminates within the central land portion. A second central sipe is disposed between adjacent notch portions. One end of the second central sipe is connected to the circumferential main groove on the outer side area side and another end terminates within the central land portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsumi Hirose, Naoto Kaba
  • Patent number: 9004129
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire in which an inner liner including a film mainly made of thermoplastic resin is attached to an inside of the tire via a tie rubber sheet, on an inner side of a carcass layer, and which has a lap-splice portion where end portions of the film in a tire circumferential direction overlap each other in a tire widthwise direction with tie rubber therebetween. A section of the film on a tire cavity side in the lap-splice portion has a portion where the film is thin over part or entirety of the width in the tire widthwise direction before the lap-splice portion, or a film thickness in the lap-splice portion is smaller than a film thickness in a portion other than the lap-splice portion. Thus, the pneumatic tire has no crack developing around the lap-splice portion of an inner liner layer after running, and has excellent durability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshifumi Koishikawa
  • Patent number: 9004124
    Abstract: Tire provided with a tread surface and lateral faces intersecting at two corner edges to determine a total width of tread between the said two corner edges, provided with grooves of depth H opening onto the tread surface and delimited by faces of material which are distant by at least a width equal to 2 mm, a plurality of grooves on at least one of the opposing faces that delimit them with at least one profiled protrusion delimited by a radially external surface and by a radially internal surface, the radially external surface being closer to the tread surface than the radially internal surface, meeting at those points of the protrusion that are furthest away in the direction of the groove, each of these radially internal and external surfaces of each protrusion has, in a plane of section parallel to the faces delimiting the groove, a profile of length greater than the length of the profile of the radially internal surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignees: Compagnie Generale des Etablissement Michelin, Michelin Recherche et Technique, S.A.
    Inventor: François Le-Hen
  • Patent number: 9004122
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire has a shoulder land portion including a tread edge and a plurality of lateral grooves which are open to an outer wall of the shoulder land portion in a tread surface. One end in a tire circumferential direction of the outer wall is positioned on an inner side in a tire width direction with respect to another end between the lateral grooves which are adjacent to each other. A vacancy communicating with the lateral groove from the one end of the outer wall is formed so as to face the outer wall. A pawl portion protruding in the tire circumferential direction is provided in a wall surface of the lateral groove which is close to the other end of the outer wall. A height of the pawl portion from a bottom of the lateral groove is gradually decreased toward a leading end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Toshihiko Takahashi
  • Patent number: 9004128
    Abstract: Without decreasing the strength in the axial direction of the cord, and without increasing the thickness in the radial direction, a steel cord for reinforcing a rubber article, which improves durability against cut, as well as a construction vehicle tire utilizing the steel cord for reinforcing a rubber article as a reinforcing material is provided. A steel cord for reinforcing a rubber article is formed by twisting a plurality of sheath strands 2 formed by twisting a plurality of wires around a core strand 1 formed by twisting a plurality of wires, wherein the core strand 1 is constituted of a 4-layer-twisted structure and the diameter of the steel cord is 5 mm or larger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Keisuke Nakamura
  • Patent number: 8997813
    Abstract: A tire comprising at least one carcass-type reinforcing structure anchored on each side of the tire to a bead, each bead extending radially outwards in the form of a sidewall, the sidewalls radially towards the outside meeting a tread, and comprising, under the tread, a crown reinforcing structure consisting of at least one layer of reinforcing elements making angles of between 10° and 60° with the circumferential direction and known as a working layer, radially on the outside of the carcass-type reinforcing structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignees: Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A., Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventors: Luc Bestgen, Alain Valle
  • Patent number: 8997806
    Abstract: Provided is a tire noise reduction device including an annular noise absorbing member which is made of a porous material, and which is arranged on the inner circumferential surface of a tire. A protective layer made of a thermoplastic elastomer composition obtained by dispersing an elastomer in a thermoplastic resin is arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the annular noise absorbing member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Atsushi Tanno
  • Patent number: 8991457
    Abstract: A steel cord for reinforcement of rubber articles, whose cord strength is enhanced by preventing occurrence of preceding break of the outermost layer filaments in the steel cord having a multi-twisted structure, and a pneumatic tire using it as a reinforcing material are provided. In a steel cord for reinforcement of rubber articles having a multi-twisted structure in which a plurality of strands are twisted together, which strands have a layered twisted structure in which a plurality of steel filaments are twisted together, dc/ds, which represents the ratio between dc, the diameter of outermost layer sheath filaments constituting the outermost layer sheath of a core strand, and ds, the diameter of outermost layer sheath filaments constituting the outermost layer sheath of sheath strands, is 1.05 to 1.25.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventor: Eiji Kudo
  • Patent number: 8991459
    Abstract: A tire includes a pair of bead portions, with each bead portion having a bead core and a bead filler portion. A belt is disposed below a circumferential tread, in the tread portion of the tire. A carcass ply has a main portion extending between the pair of beads and a pair of turn-up portions that wrap around the beads and terminate below the belt, in the tread portion of the tire. The tire further includes a pair of nylon reinforcements, wherein each nylon reinforcement is disposed axially between a respective bead filler portion and a main portion of the carcass ply. Additionally, each nylon reinforcement has a top end disposed above a top end of the respective bead filler portion. Each nylon reinforcement further has a bottom end disposed below the top end of the respective bead filler portion and above a respective bead core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
    Inventors: Matthew F. Krietemeyer, Mitchel S. Kritzell, Ryota Kawai
  • Patent number: 8991458
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire including: a cylindrical annular structure; a rubber layer, which will become a tread portion, provided along a circumferential direction of the annular structure on an outer side of the annular structure; a carcass portion provided on at least both sides in a width direction of the cylindrical structure including the annular structure and the rubber layer; and an extending portion that extends from both sides in the width direction of the annular structure farther outward in the width direction than a ground contact edge on the outer side in the width direction of the tread portion, and that is provided in plurality on both sides in the width direction along the circumferential direction of the annular structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsushi Tanno, Noboru Takada, Yuji Sato, Jun Matsuda, Yuji Kodama, Susumu Imamiya
  • Patent number: 8985170
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire is provided which includes a plurality of drainage grooves positioned on each side of a tire equator line that extend at an angle in a direction opposite a rotating direction while curving outward in a tire width direction in a tread portion, with an end of a leading edge closed and an end of a trailing edge open to a tire side. A plurality of sub grooves extending from the drainage grooves in the rotating direction is provided, where an end of the leading edge is closed. The drainage grooves and the sub grooves are arranged so that spacings W1, W2, and W3gradually increase outward in the tire width direction, groove area ratios RA to RE satisfy the relationships |RB?RA|?9%, RA>RC>RD, and RB>RE, and a groove depth of the drainage grooves in the center region is greater than that in the shoulder portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Naoto Kaba
  • Patent number: 8985171
    Abstract: A connector system and tire assembly includes an elongate integral air passageway contained within a flexible tire component of a tire carcass, the air passageway extending between an air inlet cavity and an air outlet cavity in the flexible tire component, and the air passageway extending at least a partial circumferential path around the tire carcass. A hollow dome-shaped inlet nut seats within the inlet cavity and a hollow dome-shaped outlet nut seats within the outlet cavity. The inlet nut couples to an air inlet device for conducting air external to the tire carcass into the inlet nut central chamber; and the outlet nut outward body side couples to a valve device positioned within the tire cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Daniel Paul Luc Marie Hinque, Gilles Bonnet, Olivier Di Prizio, Gauthier Piret, Andreas Frantzen, Raphael Beck
  • Patent number: 8978720
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire 1 including a cylindrical annular structure 10; a rubber layer 11 that will become a tread portion, provided along a circumferential direction of the annular structure 10, on an outer side 10so of the annular structure 10; and a carcass portion 12 including fibers covered with rubber, provided on both sides 2S in a direction parallel to a center axis (Y-axis) of a cylindrical structure 2 including the annular structure 10 and the rubber layer 11. In a meridian cross-sectional view of the structure 2, an outer side 11so of the rubber layer 11 and the outer side 10so of the annular structure 10 have the same form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Kodama, Susumu Imamiya
  • Patent number: 8973636
    Abstract: Tire (10) for a heavy goods vehicle comprising a radial carcass reinforcement (60) anchored in each of the beads (50) to an anchoring structure (700), comprising a circumferential reinforcement (70), the carcass reinforcement (60) being partially wrapped around the anchoring structure (700), the tire (10) also comprising a coupling reinforcement (150) comprising a first part (151) in contact with the carcass reinforcement (60) and being extended by a second part (152) in contact with the anchoring structure (700) as far as a point (157) radially on the outside of the anchoring structure (700), located axially between the axially inner-most point (702) and the axially outermost point (704) of the anchoring structure (700), the tire (10) also comprising a stiffening reinforcement (160) surrounding the coupling reinforcement (150) and running radially on the inside of the anchoring structure (700) and of the coupling reinforcement (150), in which the axially outside end point (166) of said stiffening reinforceme
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignees: Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A., Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventors: Philippe Johnson, Bopha Grisin, Olivier Lenepveu