Patents Examined by Justin R Fischer
  • Patent number: 12043065
    Abstract: Provided is a pneumatic tire. Center blocks in a center region of a tread section are arrayed to form a pair between which are interposed inclined grooves inclined with respect to a circumferential direction. The center blocks straddle an equator from one side to the other. Notches composed of a first and second walls connected in a V shape are in treads in each center block. The first walls extend at an angle within ±20° with respect to the circumferential direction. The second walls extend at an angle of ±10° with respect to a width direction. Inclined grooves are each constituted by a see-through portion and an expanded portion having a larger groove width than the see-through portion. A width of a see-through region that can extend without intersecting an extension line of the see-through portion is made to be equal to or greater than 30% of a tread width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Yuhei Suzuki
  • Patent number: 12030344
    Abstract: A tire has a tread portion divided into a crown land region, shoulder land regions, and middle land regions. The crown land region comprises a crown axial central portion. The middle land region comprises a middle axial inner portion and a middle axial outer portion. The shoulder land region comprises a shoulder axial inner portion and a shoulder axial central portion. The radius Rmi of curvature of the middle axial inner portion is 0.80 to 1.20 times the radius Rcc of curvature of the crown axial central portion. The radius Rsc of curvature of shoulder axial central portion is 0.80 to 1.20 times the radius Rmo of curvature of middle axial outer portion. The radii Rsc and Rmo are less than the radii Rcc and Rmi. The radius Rsi of the shoulder axial inner portion is less than the radii Rsc and Rmo.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Takashi Sugiura
  • Patent number: 12030345
    Abstract: Provided is a pneumatic tire. In shoulder regions of a tread portion, as shoulder blocks, inner blocks and outer blocks, which have outer edges in a tire lateral direction at different positions on a tread contact surface, are alternately disposed in a tire circumferential direction. In shoulder grooves disposed between the inner blocks and outer blocks adjacent to each other in the tire circumferential direction, groove bottom protrusions, which extend from a laterally inner side to a laterally outer side in the tire lateral direction along the shoulder grooves over the positions of the outer edges of the inner blocks, are provided. Broad width portions having a relatively broad protrusion width of the groove bottom protrusions are disposed on a laterally outer side in the tire lateral direction with respect to the outer edges of the inner blocks in a front view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Takahisa Murata
  • Patent number: 12030346
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes circumferential main grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction and arranged side by side in the tire width direction and a land portion defined by the circumferential main grooves. The land portion includes notch portions extending in the tire width direction and connected to the circumferential main grooves and shallow groove portions connected to the notch portions, respectively, and terminating in the land portion. The height of the notch portions decreases continuously toward the circumferential main grooves connected thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Shun Sato
  • Patent number: 12023965
    Abstract: A pneumatic vehicle tire (1) having sidewalls (2) and a tread (3) and having at least one marking surface (4) on at least one of the sidewalls (2) and/or on the tread (3), wherein the marking surface (4) has two parallel sets (5, 5?) of elongate elevations (6, 6?), wherein the two parallel sets (5, 5?) intersect and form a parallelogram grid. The problem addressed is therefore that of influencing the contrast effect in even more targeted fashion, and further increasing the contrast effect. It is also the intention to realize easy producibility of the tire. This is achieved in that the parallelograms of the parallelogram grid have an interior angle (7) of 35° to 90°, and in that at least one parallelogram, preferably at least half of the parallelograms, particularly preferably all of the parallelograms, has or have an additional elevation (8) within its or their areal extent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2024
    Assignee: Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Stefan Rittweger, Juraj Jurco
  • Patent number: 12017479
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire having dry grip performance, wet grip performance, low rolling resistance, and performance on snow, formed by: molding a rubber composition for a tire, the rubber composition containing: from 70 to 150 parts by mass of silica per 100 parts by mass of a diene rubber formed from two types of modified styrene butadiene rubbers and a butadiene rubber, and oil, and from 5 to 15 mass % of 3-octanoylthio-1-propyltriethoxysilane with respect to a mass of the silica, the diene rubber containing 75 mass % or greater and less than 100 mass % total of the two types of modified styrene butadiene rubbers and greater than 0 mass % and 25 mass % or less of the butadiene rubber, a total amount of oil component containing the oil being from 25 to 45 mass % of a total mass of filler containing the silica, and a glass transition temperature being ?50° C. or lower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2024
    Assignee: he Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Keisuke Murase
  • Patent number: 12017482
    Abstract: A tire includes a tread portion provided with a first land region demarcated between a shoulder circumferential groove and a tread edge. The first land region is provided with first sipes extending in a tire circumferential direction, axial sipes, and first axial grooves extending from the tread edge. The first sipes are not connected with the first axial grooves. Each of the axial sipes has an axially inner end connected with the shoulder circumferential groove. Each of the axial sipes has an axially outer end connected with one of the first sipes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Takeru Iwashita, Hiroshi Yamaoka
  • Patent number: 12017485
    Abstract: A tire 2 includes a pair of heads 10, a carcass 12, a pair of sidewalls 6, a pair of chafers 8, and a tag member 26 including an RFID tag 56. Each of the beads 10 includes an inner apex 40 and an outer apex 42. A carcass ply 48 included in the carcass 12 includes a ply body 50 and a pair of turned-up portions 52. The tag member 26 is in contact with the outer apex 42 on a radially outer side of an end PF of the turned-up portion 52, the RFID tag 56 is located between an outer end PG2 of the outer apex 42 and an outer end PB of the chafer 8, and an outer end 26s of the tag member 26 is located radially outward of the outer end PB of the chafer 8.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2023
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Masayuki Yoshino
  • Patent number: 12011952
    Abstract: The pneumatic tire includes a shoulder main groove and a center main groove disposed in one region demarcated by a tire equatorial plane and a shoulder land portion and a middle land portion defined by the shoulder main groove. The shoulder land portion is a rib that is continuous in a tire circumferential direction, and the middle land portion includes a plurality of middle lug grooves and a plurality of middle blocks defined by the plurality of middle lug grooves. When defining a section in the tire circumferential direction along an edge portion of one middle block close to the shoulder main groove, a groove width of the shoulder main groove continuously increases or decreases in the section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Ryota Gunji
  • Patent number: 12005742
    Abstract: To provide a pneumatic tire that provides improved driving performance on unpaved roads and cut resistance. High blocks and low blocks with different raised heights are provided as side blocks provided in a side region. One of the high blocks and one of the low blocks adjacent to each other in a tire circumferential direction are defined as a block pair. The high block and the low block included in the block pair are partially in contact with each other. Thus, a side groove between these blocks is a closed groove. In each block pair, a pair of contour lines (a first linear portion, a second linear portion, and a third linear portion) define edges on both sides, in the tire circumferential direction, of a top surface of each of the high block and the low block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Yousuke Sakamoto, Noboru Kuwahara
  • Patent number: 12005743
    Abstract: A tire includes a tread surface portion with inclined grooves, 2ND longitudinal grooves, and shoulder longitudinal grooves; and an indicator portion that indicates a rotation direction of the tire in which a vehicle travels forward. The inclined groove gradually extends forward in the rotation direction toward a tire equator from the outside in the tire width direction. A front surface among inner surfaces defining the inclined groove includes a first side surface with an inner end portion to which the 2ND longitudinal groove is open, a second side surface positioned closer to an inside than the first side surface and of which an outer end portion is positioned closer to a rear side than the inner end portion of the first side surface, and a stepped surface that connects an inner edge of the first side surface to an outer edge of the second side surface and faces the outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2024
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiro Kawakita
  • Patent number: 11999196
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes, on a tread surface, circumferential main grooves extending in the tread circumferential direction, and land portions defined between circumferential main grooves adjacent in a tread width direction among the circumferential main grooves or by the circumferential main grooves and tread edges. The land portions include widthwise sipes (or grooves) extending in the tread width direction, and each widthwise sipe (or groove) includes a tread surface side sipe (or groove) portion extending from the tread surface inward in a tire radial direction, a first branched sipe (or groove) portion branching and extending from the tread surface side sipe (or groove) portion inward in the tire radial direction, and second branched sipe (or groove) portions branching and extending from respective tire radial inner ends of the first branched sipe (or groove) portion inward in the tire radial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akiyoshi Shimizu
  • Patent number: 11999202
    Abstract: In a pneumatic tire, a sound absorptive member is installed on an inner surface of a tread portion with a sheet material interposed therebetween. The sheet material is fixed relative to the tire inner surface or the sound absorptive member at first fixed regions. The sheet material is not fixed relative to the tire inner surface or the sound absorptive member at a non-fixed region between the first fixed regions. The sheet material is fixed at a second fixed region relative to the other of the tire inner surface or the sound absorptive member ina portion of the non-fixed region. A repair liquid introducing portion connects a closed space and a tire cavity with the sheet material, the closed space being separated from the tire cavity by the tire inner surface and the non-fixed region or the sound absorptive member and the non-fixed region in a meridian cross-section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Daichi Watabe, Atsushi Tanno
  • Patent number: 11999197
    Abstract: In a pneumatic tire, an intermediate land portion is provided with a plurality of lug grooves having acute bent portions and a plurality of sipes extending in a direction that intersects with the lug grooves. The lug grooves are disposed so as not to overlap one another in the tire circumferential direction, and each have one end that opens to an outer main groove and an other end that terminates in the intermediate land portion. When pitches, which serve as reference positions, are defined based on end points at which the lug grooves open to the outer main groove, the sipes each are disposed to be located inside one of the pitches, and the groove area ratio in the pitches in the intermediate land portion is in the range from 15% to 25%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Daisuke Watanabe
  • Patent number: 11993107
    Abstract: Proposed is a tire with self-generation and sound absorption and, more particularly, is a tire with self-generation and sound absorption that operates an electronic module through self-power generation and has improved sound absorption performance. The tire with self-generation and sound absorption includes: a wall structure formed on a surface of an inner liner of the tire; a sound absorber spaced apart upward from the inner liner with both ends coupled to the wall structure and blocking sound generated by surfaces of treads and a road surface; and an electronic unit disposed on the surface of the inner liner and positioned between the inner liner and the sound absorber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: HANKOOK TIRE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD
    Inventors: Soon Hong So, Chang Hyo Hong, Jung Hee Choi
  • Patent number: 11987077
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes first main grooves formed on outer sides, in the lateral direction, of a first land including an equatorial plane and extending in the circumferential direction; second main grooves outside, in the lateral direction, of the first main grooves and extending in the circumferential direction; auxiliary grooves formed on second lands between the first main grooves and the second main grooves, opening to the second main grooves, and terminating in the second lands; and first sipes inclined identically to the auxiliary grooves and crossing the second lands. The auxiliary grooves are formed into a shape bending at a bend point, and include a first portion extending from an opening end to the bend point, and a second portion extending from the bend point to a terminating end. A groove width of the first portion gradually reduces from the opening end to the bend point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Haruna Mizushima
  • Patent number: 11975569
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a tread portion having a first tread edge, and a first buttress portion extending inwardly in a tire radial direction from the first tread edge. The first buttress portion is provided with a plurality of protectors protruding outwardly in a tire axial direction. The plurality of protectors includes a set of protectors including a first protector and a second protector arranged adjacent to the first protector via a groove extending in the tire radial direction. The groove is provided with a tie-bar connecting the first protector and the second protector. The tie-bar is partially formed in a tire radial region of the groove, and the tie-bar has a protruding height that is smaller than a protruding height of the first protector and a protruding height of the second protector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Renya Okawara
  • Patent number: 11970027
    Abstract: A main object is to provide a tire that suppresses snow clogging of sipes. The tire includes a tread portion. The tread portion includes a first land portion demarcated by circumferential grooves continuously extending in a tire circumferential direction, and a plurality of first lateral grooves inclined in a first direction relative to a tire axial direction and traversing the first land portion. The first land portion includes a plurality of first blocks demarcated by the first lateral grooves. Each first block has at least one sipe inclined in a second direction opposite to the first direction, relative to the tire axial direction. The sipe includes a portion deeper than a maximum depth of the first lateral groove, and a portion shallower than the maximum depth of the first lateral groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Yuto Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 11958320
    Abstract: A tire having a tread portion provided with a first circumferential groove and a second circumferential groove each extending in the tire circumferential direction, and lateral grooves connecting between the first circumferential groove and the second circumferential groove. The first circumferential groove extends zigzag and comprises a radially outer first portion having the smallest width and a radially inner second portion having a width larger than that of the first portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Masayuki Yoshino
  • Patent number: 11958316
    Abstract: A tire includes a tread portion being provided with circumferential grooves extending continuously in a zigzag manner. One of the circumferential grooves includes first inclined elements inclined in a first direction with respect to the tire circumferential direction, second inclined elements inclined in a second direction opposite to the first direction with respect to the tire circumferential direction, and intersections where the first inclined elements and second inclined elements intersect. Each of the first inclined elements and the second inclined elements is provided with at least one first protrusion that projects outwardly in a tire radial direction from the groove bottom and connects the pair of groove walls. At least one of the intersections is provided with a second protrusion that projects outwardly in the tire radial direction from the groove bottom and is separated from the pair of groove walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Satoko Tsujibayashi