Patents Examined by Kendra Ly
  • Patent number: 9950572
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire has a tread portion provided with an asymmetrical tread pattern and comprising an inboard shoulder land portion, an inboard shoulder main groove, an inboard middle land portion, an inboard crown main groove, a center land portion, an outboard crown main groove, an outboard middle land portion, an outboard shoulder main groove, and an outboard shoulder land portion. The inboard middle land portion is provided with inboard middle axial grooves extending from the inboard shoulder main groove and each comprising a main portion and a turnback portion. The inboard shoulder land portion is provided with inboard shoulder sipes extending from the inboard shoulder main groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Takemoto
  • Patent number: 9950573
    Abstract: Blocks are formed on a tread surface of a pneumatic tire by main grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction and lateral grooves which intersect with the main grooves. A size of the block in the tire width direction of the tread surface is set larger than a size of the block in the tire circumferential direction of the tread surface. The blocks include: center blocks which are positioned in a center region in the tire width direction; shoulder blocks which are positioned on both side regions in the tire width direction; and mediate blocks which are positioned in an intermediate region between the center blocks and the shoulder blocks. A recessed portion is formed on an approximately center portions of the shoulder blocks and the mediate blocks excluding the center blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE & RUBBER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Fujioka
  • Patent number: 9937754
    Abstract: A tire for a motorized two-wheeled vehicle comprising a reinforcing structure of the carcass type, made up of reinforcing elements, anchored on each side of the tire to a bead the base of which is intended to be mounted on a rim seat, each bead being extended radially outward by a sidewall, the sidewalls radially toward the outside joining to a tread. At least the central part of the tread comprises at least one circumferentially continuous cut, the cut being made up, for at least 80% of its length of at least one incision and at most 20% of at least one part having a width greater than that of an incision and the apparent area of the at least one incision is greater than the apparent area of the at least one part having a width greater than that of an incision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventor: Luc Bestgen
  • Patent number: 9925833
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to increase the room for elongation of a tread protection layer, while securing durability. An aircraft pneumatic tire 10 includes: a tread protection layer (12) that is provided at a lower layer of a tread section (22), and that includes plural cords (24) that arrayed in a tire width direction and are each disposed along a wave shaped imaginary line extending along a tire circumferential direction with the tire width direction as the amplitude direction; and cord discontinuity portions (14) where locations of close proximity of the cords (24) to each other are partially omitted in the tread protection layer (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomotaka Sakiyama
  • Patent number: 9902213
    Abstract: Disclosed is a tire (1) which comprises: a bead core (10); a first bead filler (20); a first carcass (30); a second bead filler (40); and a rubber chafer (50) disposed at the outer side of the second bead filler (40) in the tread width direction. The second bead filler (40) covers a first bead filler outer end part (23) in the tread width direction, and a second bead filler inner end part (48) is disposed outside the bead core (10) in the tire radius direction. The rubber chafer (50) covers the second bead filler (40) in the tread width direction, and the loss tangent of the second bead filler (40) is smaller than the loss tangent of the rubber chafer (50).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masakazu Amano, Masahiro Yabashi
  • Patent number: 9895936
    Abstract: A steel-cleated, all terrain tire has cleats that dynamically engage with changing road conditions, across slick ice and bridges, and while turning, breaking and accelerating on steep terrain. The tire design can provide stability and an enormous safety benefit in dangerous conditions, on demand, without the driver's intervention. The tire design can be used for military vehicles and aircraft, commercial jets, turboprop aircraft, heavy equipment, commercial diesel trucks, helicopters, law enforcement vehicles, fire and rescue vehicles, school buses, government vehicles, sport cars, and the like. The tire design include spring loaded cleats that can are spaced about and extend outward from the tire's surface. The spring load may be strong enough to permit the cleat to penetrate ice and the like, while not damaging asphalt or concrete roadways.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Inventor: Henry J. Reedy
  • Patent number: 9868324
    Abstract: A motorcycle tire comprises a tread portion provided on each side of the tire equator with primary oblique grooves extending from a tread center region to the vicinity of the tread edge, and secondary oblique grooves each having an axially outer end positioned axially inside the axially outer ends of the primary oblique grooves. The secondary oblique grooves comprises a pair of gradually widening parts respectively extending from two extreme ends of the secondary oblique groove in its longitudinal direction toward an intermediate position between the two extreme ends, while gradually increasing the groove width measured perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction, and a pair of gradually narrowing parts which are disposed between the gradually widening parts, and of which groove widths gradually decrease from the gradually widening parts toward the intermediate position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Matsunami, Yumiko Yosida
  • Patent number: 9821609
    Abstract: An object is to, in an aircraft tire, promote heat dissipation from circumferential direction grooves of a tread and improve durability of the tire. Plural circumferential direction grooves (central side circumferential direction grooves (14), edge portion side circumferential direction grooves (16)) that extend in a tire circumferential direction are formed in a tread (12). In a tire circumferential direction cross-section, a groove bottom (18) of at least one of the circumferential direction grooves has a wave shape having amplitude in a tire radial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takeshi Yano
  • Patent number: 9783003
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes an inner-side cross belt and an outer-side cross belt forming belt angles of mutually different signs with the tire circumferential direction with absolute values from 46° to 80°, inclusive; a circumferential reinforcing layer arranged between the inner-side cross belt and the outer-side cross belt and forming a belt angle of ±5° with the tire circumferential direction; and a supplemental belt arranged outside the outer-side cross belt in the radial direction of the tire and forming a belt angle with the tire circumferential direction with an absolute value between 10° and 45° inclusive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Koichi Kotoku, Koshi Iga, Hideki Hamanaka
  • Patent number: 9776459
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic tire capable of significantly increasing the possibility that the tire can be recycled as a base tire for a retreaded tire without so much sacrificing a product life of the tire prior to retreading.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takayoshi Hironaka, Masayuki Kurebayashi
  • Patent number: 9770950
    Abstract: Shoulder drop wear and triangular wear are prevented. A heavy duty tire which includes a shoulder block includes a first arc portion having a radius of curvature, in which a tread contour includes an arc center at a tire equatorial surface at a 5% internal pressure state; and a second arc portion having a radius of curvature of which intersects with the first arc portion at an intersection. An arc center of the second arc portion is located on a radial line passing through the intersection. A ratio of the radii of curvature is between 0.2 and 0.5. A ratio between a tire radial direction distance from an equatorial point to a tread edge and a radial direction distance from the equatorial point to a virtual tread edge on a line extending from the first arc portion is equal to or higher than 0.5 or lower than 1.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: Ikuo Atake
  • Patent number: 9764595
    Abstract: A tread 4 of a tire 2 includes a center region Ta, in an axial direction, including an equator plane, and a pair of shoulder regions Tb located outward of the center region Ta in the axial direction. Each shoulder region Tb includes a base layer 20, a middle layer 22 layered outward of the base layer 20 in a radial direction, and a top layer 24 layered outward of the middle layer 22 in the radial direction. A loss compliance LCt of the top layer 24 is set to be higher than a loss compliance LCm of the middle layer 22. The loss compliance LCm of the middle layer 22 is set to be higher than a loss compliance LCb of the base layer. A breaking energy Et of the top layer 24 is set to be less than a breaking energy Em of the middle layer 22.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Izumi Saiwaki
  • Patent number: 9744814
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire has a rubber member constructed by a rubber ribbon winding body formed by spirally winding a rubber ribbon. The rubber ribbon includes a composite rubber ribbon which is formed by a non-conductive rubber, and a conductive rubber partly covering the non-conductive rubber. The composite rubber ribbon has a flat cross sectional shape and is gradually reduced in its thickness toward both ends. The conductive rubber has a cross sectional area which is equal to or less than 3% of a cross sectional area of the composite rubber ribbon, and forms a surface in one side and a surface in the other side in both ends of the composite rubber ribbon. The composite rubber ribbons that are adjacent in the width direction are partly overlapped, and a conductive route is provided by the conductive rubber connected between the composite rubber ribbons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE & RUBBER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kazuo Shimomura
  • Patent number: 9744813
    Abstract: A tire for a heavy vehicle with a radial carcass reinforcement anchored in two beads by wrapping around bead wires. In a radial plane, radially on the inside of the radially innermost point of the at least one layer of carcass reinforcement and axially on the outside of the geometric center of the bead wire, the radius of curvature at a point on the exterior surface of the bead is greater than the radius of curvature at the point of orthogonal projection of the point of the exterior surface of the bead onto the at least one layer of carcass reinforcement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A.
    Inventor: Daniel Potier
  • Patent number: 9738122
    Abstract: An information acquisition device is provided within a virtual plane including a coil axis of a coil-shaped antenna and having a perpendicular line orthogonal to an axis of rotation of a tire, such that the angle formed by the coil axis of the antenna relative to the tire rotational axis is within a range of 0° to 40°. The amount of attenuation of radio waves emitted from the antenna to the exterior of the tire is thereby reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: THE YOKOHAMA RUBBER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Koji Nakatani, Yoshihide Yamada, Naobumi Michishita
  • Patent number: 9713943
    Abstract: A middle land portion includes middle sipes and middle lateral grooves. A shoulder land portion includes shoulder lateral grooves and shoulder sipes. A ratio Ems/Ema is smaller than a ratio Ess/Esa. Ems denotes a total of elements of edge lengths of the middle sipes in an axial direction of the tire. Ema denotes a total of elements of edge lengths of the middle sipes and the middle lateral grooves in the axial direction. Ess denotes a total of elements of edge lengths of the shoulder sipes in the axial direction. Esa denotes a total of elements of edge lengths of the shoulder sipes and the shoulder lateral grooves in the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Kujime
  • Patent number: 9707805
    Abstract: To provide a pneumatic tire that can prevent reflective material from falling off and can maintain visibility and fashionability based on the reflective material over a long period of time when providing a decorative portion decorated with a reflective material in a tire side wall and a method for manufacturing the same. The pneumatic tire of the present technology is a pneumatic tire including a decorative portion in a tire side wall decorated with a reflective material, wherein at least one recess is formed in the decorative portion and the reflective material is adhered within the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Ayako Joza
  • Patent number: 9688102
    Abstract: A motorcycle tire improved in transient characteristics when leaned is disclosed, wherein the tread portion has a unidirectional tread pattern comprising: inside oblique main grooves disposed on each side of the tire equator staggeredly, inclined to the axially outside toward the intended rotational direction (R) at an angle of 5 to 30 degrees with respect to the circumferential direction, and each having an inner end (Ai) at a distance of 0 to 30% of the half tread width (W) from the tire equator; and outside oblique main grooves 11 disposed on each side of the tire equator staggeredly, inclined to the axially outside toward the counter-rotational direction at an angle of 10 to 60 degrees with respect to the circumferential direction, and each having an inner end (Bi) axially inside the outer end (Ao).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Kouji Takenaka
  • Patent number: 9688103
    Abstract: A motorcycle tire has a unidirectional tread pattern formed by a circumferentially extending center main groove, and main oblique grooves each with a branch groove. The main oblique groove has an axially inner end inside a zero-camber ground contacting width and an axially outer end outside the zero-camber ground contacting width. The axially outer end is positioned in a range between 0% and 20% of the developed half tread width from the tread edge. The branch groove is composed of a first inclined part extending from the main oblique groove at an angle ? with respect to the tire circumferential direction, and a second inclined part extending at an angle ? less than the angle ?. When the developed half tread width is axially equally divided into five portions, the land ratio of each of the five portions is 75% to 85%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Tomoki Kato
  • Patent number: 9676236
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire according to the invention includes: a pair of left and right beads 3 each including a bead cores 3a and bead fillers 3b; a carcass ply 5 extended around the bead cores 3a; and an inner liner 4 arranged on an inner peripheral side of the carcass ply 5, and is characterized in that the carcass ply 5 is wound up around the bead cores 3a from the outside in the direction of width of tire to the inside in the direction of width of tire, and a distortion restraining layer 7 configured to restrain distortion of the winding ends 5a of the carcass ply 5 is provided between the bead fillers 3b and the carcass ply 5 so as to overlap with a wind-up ends 5a of the carcass ply 5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE & RUBBER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yu Tomitaka