Patents Examined by Justin Fischer
  • Patent number: 9738118
    Abstract: A tire includes a carcass structure including at least one carcass ply, a belt structure applied in a radially outer position with respect to the carcass structure and a tread band applied in a radially outer position with respect to the belt structure. The belt structure includes at least one reinforcing strip incorporating a plurality of reinforcing elements arranged substantially in the circumferential direction. The reinforcing elements include at least one high-elongation metal cord. The metal cord includes a plurality of intertwined strands and each strand includes a plurality of filaments. Advantageously all the filaments of each strand have a diameter not greater than 0.175 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: PIRELLI TYRE S.P.A
    Inventors: Alessandro Ascanelli, Alexandre Bregantim, Giuseppe Cereda, Guido Luigi Daghini
  • Patent number: 9731817
    Abstract: An aircraft tire capable of suppressing rubber tire wear during landing and shocks which accelerate or decelerate an aircraft at touchdown includes, on a side of a tire body constituting an outer peripheral part of an aircraft wheel, a protrusion for receiving flight wind pressure. The wheel is rotated ahead of the touchdown by the action of the wind pressure received by the protrusion in a direction in which the wheel rotates during a landing roll. Weight is inserted into a hollow part of the protrusion. Through use of centrifugal force on the weight in association with a rotational motion of the wheel, the protrusion is deformed to change its wind pressure receiving area for bringing rotational speed of the wheel ahead of the touchdown close to a rotating speed of the wheel that is consistent with a flying speed of the aircraft making the touchdown.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: DAITO PRESS MFG. CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Takashi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 9724971
    Abstract: A balancer for a wheel and tire assembly includes one or more tubes 101 containing a movable mass 104. The tube or tubes is/are mounted to a resiliently deformable support 102 with an outer dimension that substantially matches an inner dimension of the tire. the support being arranged to position and support the or each tube within the tire. The/or each tube may be annular. The support may be formed from a plastics mesh 102.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: BENTLEY MOTORS LIMITED
    Inventor: Andrew James McKinlay
  • Patent number: 9724968
    Abstract: To provide a multilayer structure that may adhere to rubber material without the necessity of providing an adhesive layer, an inner liner and a pneumatic tire using the multilayer structure. According to the present invention, a multilayer structure 1 is formed by alternately laminating elastomer layers 3 containing thermoplastic elastomer and barrier layers 2 containing a gas barrier resin, wherein an outermost layer 4 laminated uppermost among layers constituting the multilayer structure 1 contains an elastomer component that may heat-adhere to diene rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignees: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION, Kuraray Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideki Kitano, Tetsuo Amamoto, Takatsugu Tanaka, Yuwa Takahashi, Nahoto Hayashi, Masao Hikasa, Yusuke Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9724970
    Abstract: There is provided an pneumatic tire including a pair of left and right beads each including a bead core and a bead filler, and a carcass ply extending between the pair of beads, wherein the carcass ply is wound up around the bead core from the outside to the inside in the widthwise direction of the tire, and an end portion of the wind-up portion of the carcass ply is provided with notches at a plurality of positions in the circumference direction of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE & RUBBER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yu Tomitaka
  • Patent number: 9718310
    Abstract: A wheel for vehicles includes: a rim and a tire mounted on the rim and inflated to an operating pressure; axial end portions of a tread band of the tire radially spaced apart the same distance from a rotation axis of the wheel and a median circumferential line of the tread band axially shifted by a predetermined distance relative to a mid-line plane of the wheel; the wheel mounted on a car with a camber angle substantially zero and with the median circumferential line shifted toward the outside of the car relative to the mid-line plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: PIRELLI TYRE S.P.A.
    Inventor: Piero Losi
  • Patent number: 9718311
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes: an inner liner having a thermoplastic resin film, a carcass, and an adhesive layer disposed between the inner liner and the carcass, in which the dynamic storage modulus E's at ?20° C. of the thermoplastic resin film, the adhesive layer, and the carcass are defined as E1?, E2?, and E3?, respectively, and the relationship among E1?, E2?, and E3? satisfies E1?>E2?>E3?. This pneumatic tire has excellent anti-crack property in a low-temperature environment of the inner liner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takuya Ogasawara, Hideyuki Chiashi, Hideki Kitano
  • Patent number: 9688106
    Abstract: Noise-reducing device intended to be added to a groove of the tread of a tire comprising an elastic sole preferably extending in a given longitudinal direction, wherein the said sole on one of its faces comprises one or several flexible walls the planes of which run substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A.
    Inventor: Frédéric Pialot
  • Patent number: 9676237
    Abstract: The collapse of conductive terminal rubber strips is prevented while a conductive terminal portion is formed stably to have an exposure width of 5 mm or less. The conductive terminal portion is formed by continuously winding the terminal strips formed of a conductive rubber toward an outward radial direction from a tread conductive layer to a tread ground contacting surface. The terminal strip is sequentially wound while shifting a position at a pitch D of a distance in a tire axial direction while the terminal strip goes around such that the conductive terminal portion constitutes a trapezoidal cross section in which a width (Wa) of an upper base is smaller than a width (Ws) of the terminal strip and a width (Wb) of a lower base is larger than the width (Ws) of the terminal strip. The width (Wa) of the upper base is within a range of between 2 mm and 5 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Mafune
  • Patent number: 9669666
    Abstract: A runflat tire includes a tire body, a carcass extending from a tread portion through sidewall portions of the tire body to bead cores in bead portions of the tire body, and sidewall-reinforcing rubber layers having cross-sectional crescent shapes and positioned on inner sides of the carcass along the sidewall portions, respectively. The tire body has height Ha in range of 8˜17 mm where the height Ha is measured from a rim line of the tire body to inner edge of an innermost dimple/fin row of the tire body in radial direction of the tire body, the innermost row is formed in dimple/fin forming region including one or more dimple/fin rows having dimple/fin portions arrayed in circumferential direction of the tire body, and the dimple/fin forming region is formed on external surface of a sidewall portion on outer side of the rim line in the radial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Naoki Yukawa
  • Patent number: 9669661
    Abstract: Tire assembly for a bicycle rim, including a wheel tire with a tread surface and two tire beads, an inner tire disposed within the wheel tire, a tube disposed within the inner tire, and a valve arrangement for filling the tube and an intermediate space between the rim and the wheel tire with different air pressures. The inner tire in the filled and mounted condition bears on the tire beads of the wheel tire and presses the beads against the rim. The inner tire has a first through opening which in the mounted condition communicates with the intermediate space, and an insert part disposed between the rim and the tube and between the tube and the inner tire. The insert part forms an air duct between the rim and the tube and between the tube and the inner tire up to the through opening in the inner tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: RALF BOHLE GMBH
    Inventors: Markus Hachmeyer, Oliver Zuther
  • Patent number: 9669665
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire has carcass layers mounted between a pair of bead parts, the carcass layers being wound from the inner side of the tire to the outer side thereof about a bead core of each bead part. Protective layers including organic fiber cords are positioned in sidewall parts on the outer side of the carcass layers. The upper end parts of the protective layers are positioned along the carcass layers from outer end locations of the belt layers, between a location 20 mm toward the inner side in the tire width direction and a location 15 mm toward the outer side in the tire width direction. The lower end parts of the protective layers are positioned between main body portions of the carcass layers and the bead filler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Masakazu Niwa
  • Patent number: 9662942
    Abstract: Tire comprising two beads comprising a bead wire and a carcass anchored around the two bead wires by turning back, a squat filler of small height, a sidewall stiffening reinforcement which is metallic, an outer strip of soft rubber compound, placed axially on the outside of the carcass and of the filler, and a protective layer of rubber compound, wherein the assembly formed by the stiffening reinforcement and the outer strip has a thickness EB(R) and the protective layer has a thickness EE(R), R being the distance with respect to the radially innermost point of the bead wire, and wherein the thicknesses EB(R) and EE(R) satisfy a set of geometric conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE, S.A.
    Inventor: Frederic Bourgeois
  • Patent number: 9656518
    Abstract: Tire having a load index LI, as defined in the ETRTO Standards Manual 2010, lying in the range between 65 and 105. The tire comprises a tread and an under layer (48) extending over the whole width of the tread and having an average radial height greater than 20% of the average radial height of the tread and a maximum value of tan ? at 23° C. and 10 Hz less than the corresponding value of the tread. Radial carcass reinforcement (60) extends from the beads across the sidewalls as far as the crown. The tire has an outside diameter OD and a nominal section width SW, as defined in the ETRTO Standards Manual 2010, that satisfy the following inequality: OD/SW>?0.00082641 LI2+0.11266 LI?0.185.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A.
    Inventors: Pascal Pirotte, Jean-Claude Faure
  • Patent number: 9656521
    Abstract: A run-flat tire includes a carcass including at least one carcass ply, a belt layer, a pair of side reinforcing rubber layers, a pair of bead apex rubber components. A height of the one bead apex rubber component is greater than a height of the other bead apex rubber component. An inner end height of the one side reinforcing rubber layer is greater than an inner end height of the other side reinforcing rubber layer. In a radial region of the tire where at least the bead apex rubber components and the side reinforcing rubber layers are provided, the tire has a same thickness in the respective sides of the bead portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Susumu Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9649889
    Abstract: An autonomous, plug-in and sacrificial wear sensing system including at least one wearable sensor, autonomous energy supply and means for remote radio-frequency communication. The system includes a tubular tread wear indicator body embedded within a tire tread element. The indicator body is centered within the tread element and is shaped in the form of a tube. The sensor element operably changes in at least one electromagnetically measurable physical parameter as the tread element wears radially inward. The system provides a full tread wear system including the algorithm for signal and data processing, buffering and decision making routines to remotely provide vehicle driver or owner with current tire wear status, tire type—vehicle—season match and with real-time estimation of remaining tire life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Marc Engel, Dusan Lednik, Piotr Orlewski, Bart Wakefield Kimble, Krzysztof Florian Jakubiak
  • Patent number: 9636950
    Abstract: A tire having a crown reinforcement formed of at least two working crown layers having unequal axial widths, a layer C of rubber mixture being positioned between at least the ends of the said at least two working crown layers, and the crown reinforcement having at least one layer of circumferential reinforcing elements positioned radially between two working crown layers. The distance d between the end of the axially narrowest working layer and the working layer separated from the axially narrowest working layer by the layer C of rubber mixture is such that 1.1ø<d<2.2ø, ø being the diameter of the reinforcing elements of the said at least one layer of circumferential reinforcing elements, and, in a meridian plane, the thickness of the layer C of rubber mixture is substantially uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A.
    Inventors: Alain Domingo, Jacques Besson, Francois Barbarin, Gilles Sallaz, Robert Ciprian Radulescu
  • Patent number: 9630456
    Abstract: The invention relates to improving the endurance of the beads of a radial tire for a heavy vehicle of construction plant type, by reducing the cracking that starts at the surface of contact between a first polymer filling material that is radially furthest towards the inside and in contact with the bead wire and a second polymer filling material that is radially on the outside of the first polymer filling material. According to the invention, a transition element, made of a polymer transition material, is in contact, via its radially inner face, with the first polymer filling material and is in contact, via its radially outer face, with the second polymer filling material, and the elastic modulus at 10% elongation of the polymer transition material is somewhere between the respective elastic moduluses at 10% elongation of the first and second polymer filling materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A.
    Inventor: Lucien Bondu
  • Patent number: 9623636
    Abstract: A laminated body of rubber layers includes: a resin layer formed from a polyester resin or a polyamide resin; a rubber layer formed from a rubber composition containing a diene rubber; and an adhesive layer disposed between the resin layer and the rubber layer. The adhesive rubber composition contains a modified rubber composition (A) or a modified rubber composition (B) both having a number average molecular weight of 70,000 to 110,000. The modified rubber composition (A) is formed from a modified butyl rubber (1) formed by reacting, with a butyl rubber, a compound having in a molecule a nitroxide free radical that is stable at ambient temperature in the presence of oxygen, a radical initiator, and a co-crosslinking agent. The modified rubber composition (B) is formed by compounding the co-crosslinking agent with a modified butyl rubber (2) formed by reacting the compound and the radical initiator with the butyl rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: The Tokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ayako Joza, Takahiro Okamatsu
  • Patent number: 9610806
    Abstract: Disclosed is a tire-reinforcing steel cord for a radial tire. The tire-reinforcing steel cord has a double layer structure including a first-layer core and a second-layer core provided on the surface of the first-layer core. The first-layer core has an elliptical or rectangular cross section. The tire-reinforcing steel cord can improve processability, fatigue characteristics, and rolling resistance performance of a tire, resulting in improved fuel efficiency. A radial tire using the tire-reinforcing steel cord is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Hankook Tire Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kwan Woo Jung, Il Yong Park, Kum Kang Hwang, Ill Soon Jang, Ji Wan Lee, Mi Jung Lee