Patents Examined by Kendra Ly
  • Patent number: 10792956
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a light-weight tire inner tube comprising a film tube with a wall thickness of 100 to 400 microns, pneumatic tires containing the light-weight tire inner tube, and related methods for manufacturing the light-weight tire inner tube. The film tube is comprised of a film material comprising at least one thermoplastic engineering resin and optionally at least one saturated elastomer, and the film material of the film tube has an oxygen permeability of 8-15 cm3 O2/m2·per day at 25° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
    Inventor: David G. Abdallah, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10787042
    Abstract: The tire comprises a carcass reinforcement which extends into sidewalls. The tire is also provided with a protection device that protects against external attack. The protection device comprises a plurality of raised elements of height H that are arranged in the circumferential direction. The tire is also constructed such that each raised element is formed of at least two parts which are at least partially disjointed from one another along a separation zone. The separation zone is oriented substantially in the circumferential direction. Each part is able to come into contact with another part of the same raised element when one of the parts comes into contact with an external obstacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE, S.A.
    Inventors: Benoit Buffetaud, Gilles Godeau, Laurence Lapra, Mathieu Vandaele
  • Patent number: 10787040
    Abstract: Tire with radial carcass reinforcement having a tread of thickness E, this tread having a tread surface and at least one cut opening onto the tread surface to form edge corners. The cut extends into the tread over a total depth H. The cut is in the form of a sipe having a width D. There is also formed, in the vicinity, i.e. at a minimum distance from the said edge corner that is at most equal to five times the width D of the cut, of at least one edge corner of this cut and on the tread surface, at least one cavity having a depth h that is small in comparison with the depth of the cut, i.e. that is at most equal to 30% of the depth H. The at least one cavity reduces the compression rigidity of the tread in the vicinity of the the at least one edge corner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A.
    Inventors: Christophe Gayton, Stephane Oraison, Benjamin Quantinet, Matthieu Vandaele
  • Patent number: 10773553
    Abstract: To provide a pneumatic tire with which a magnitude of a lateral force can be adjusted without changing the structure of a tread portion. In a pneumatic tire, an outer profile shape of the pneumatic tire is formed in left and right symmetry with respect to a tire equator, and a thickness of the pneumatic tire from an outer surface to an inner surface is set in left and right asymmetry with respect to the tire equator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masaaki Ohara
  • Patent number: 10759232
    Abstract: A tire includes: a pattern portion, in which plural ridges having ridgelines are arranged adjacent to each other, on a tire surface, the ridgelines including a main body portion and a first extending portion and a second extending portion that extend in different directions from the main body portion in plan view, in which the first extending portion of a ridge and the second extending portion of an adjacent ridge at least partially overlap each other when viewed from a direction orthogonal to an adjacent direction of the ridges, a height of the ridge is from 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm, and ridges adjacent to each other are arranged at a constant pitch of from 0.15 mm to 0.35 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sotaro Iwabuchi, Shiho Kamada
  • Patent number: 10752058
    Abstract: A tire including a decorative patterned portion that is formed on a tire surface, and that is configured including plural first projections extending in a first direction in plan view and arranged spaced apart from each other in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and plural second projections arranged between neighboring first projections and arranged spaced apart from each other in the first direction. In plan view, each of the second projections includes a bend portion and plural extension portions extending from the bend portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Sotaro Iwabuchi
  • Patent number: 10737538
    Abstract: The disclosed technology generally relates to an installation structure for installing a sensor module, and more particularly relates to an installation structure for installing a sensor module on a tire, and to a method of manufacturing the installation structure. In one aspect, the installation structure includes a sensor module housing configured to accommodate a sensor module and at least one sensor patch each comprising a bonding portion configured to attach to an inner side of a tire and a pressing portion configured to place and maintain the sensor module housing in contact with an installation position on the inner side of the tire. The pressing portion is configured to apply a downward pressure on a top portion of the sensor module housing by elastically extending and contracting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Hankook Tire Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Soon Hong So, Jeong Heon Kim
  • Patent number: 10730351
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a center land portion, intermediate land portions, and shoulder land portions, the land portions being partitioned and formed by four main grooves, and a plurality of lug grooves and sipes disposed in the land portions. The lug grooves disposed in the shoulder land portions do not communicate with the second main grooves. The groove area ratio is greater in the center region than in the shoulder regions. The distance (L1) from the tire equator to the center in the tire width direction of the first main groove is 15 to 25% of the distance (L) from the tire equator to the ground contact edge. The distance (L2) from the tire equator to the center in the tire width direction of the second main groove is 50 to 65% of the distance (L) from the tire equator to the ground contact edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Fujii
  • Patent number: 10723179
    Abstract: A tire has a tread portion including a groove extending in the tire-circumferential direction, a first land portion positioned to the inner-side in the tire-width direction and having a first groove wall of the groove, and a second land portion having a second groove wall. Protrusions extend from the first groove wall to the second groove wall on bottom of the groove. In a tread-surface view, the protrusion has a linear portion and a curved portion that is contiguous with the linear shaped portion. A slit crossing the protrusion is formed in at least one of the end parts of the protrusions. The first land portion includes shallow grooves having shallower depth than the groove and extending at an angle with respect to the tire-width direction. The linear portion of the protrusion extends at an angle in the same direction, with respect to the tire-circumferential direction, as the shallow grooves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Midori Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 10696102
    Abstract: A tire includes a tread portion being provided with a pair of circumferentially and continuously extending shoulder main grooves and at least one crown main groove between the shoulder main grooves to form a pair of middle portions each of which is between adjacent one crown main groove and one shoulder main groove. Each of the middle portions is provided with a circumferentially and continuously extending longitudinal sipe, a plurality of inner middle sipes extending axially outwardly from the crown main groove and terminating without reaching the longitudinal sipe and a plurality of outer middle sipe extending axially inwardly from the shoulder main groove and terminating without reaching the longitudinal sipe. The number of the outer middle sipes is greater than the number of the inner middle sipes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 10688835
    Abstract: A run-flat tire comprises a tread portion, sidewall portions, bead portions, and a carcass ply extending between the bead portions. The sidewall portions are each provided therein with a sidewall reinforcing rubber layer having a crescent-shaped cross sectional shape and disposed on the axially inside of the carcass ply. The sidewall portions are each provided in the axially outer surface thereof with a rim protector which projects radially outward most on the radially outside of the radially inner edge of the sidewall reinforcing rubber layer. The bead portions are each provided therein with an axially inside core and an axially outside core between which each radially inner edge portion of the carcass ply is secured. When measured along a normal line drawn normally to the carcass ply from an apex of the rim protector, the thickness of the sidewall reinforcing rubber layer is in a range of from 29% to 35% of the thickness of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Okagawa, Kosuke Nakano, Tomoyuki Kujime, Naoki Sugiyama
  • Patent number: 10675919
    Abstract: A circumferential direction protrusion is provided extending longitudinally mainly along a tire circumferential direction on a side outward in a tire radial direction from a maximum tire width position on at least a first tire side portion of a tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuji Kodama, Masataka Koishi, Kenichiro Endo
  • Patent number: 10675920
    Abstract: A circumferential direction protrusion is provided extending longitudinally mainly along a tire circumferential direction on a side outward in a tire radial direction from a maximum tire width position on at least a first tire side portion of a tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuji Kodama, Masataka Koishi, Kenichiro Endo
  • Patent number: 10661609
    Abstract: A recessed portion is formed in each tire side portion of an agricultural machinery pneumatic tire. Rigidity at the part of each tire side portion where the recessed portion is formed is reduced. This enables each tire radial direction outside portion to be made to tilt over toward tire width direction outside with the recessed portion as a point of origin without reducing the internal pressure, enabling the ground contact width of a tread portion to be enlarged. Since there is no need to intentionally reduce the internal pressure in order to reduce the ground contact pressure, bead portions do not tilt over more than necessary, and there is no reduction in the durability of the bead portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takashi Kodama
  • Patent number: 10647163
    Abstract: A stud pin and a pneumatic tire are provided. A tip portion of the stud pin includes an end surface with a concave polygonal profile shape including one recessed portion and one protrusion portion on a side opposite the recessed portion. The stud pin is mounted in a stud pin installation hole with the protrusion portion facing a leading side in a tire circumferential direction and the recessed portion face a trailing side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Kenichi Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 10647161
    Abstract: Provided is a pneumatic tire including a tread portion, sidewall portions, and bead portions. The tread portion comprises a center main groove extending in the tire circumferential direction and a shoulder main groove located outward of the center main groove and extending in the tire circumferential direction. A land portion is defined between the center main groove and the shoulder main groove. The center main groove has a zigzag shape in the tire circumferential direction. Lug grooves extending inward from the shoulder main groove in the tire lateral direction and terminating without communicating with the center main groove are provided in the land portion. A bent portion bent toward a first side in the tire circumferential direction is formed at a terminating end of each of the lug grooves. Narrow grooves extending discontinuously in the tire circumferential direction without communicating with the bent portions are formed in the land portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Takashi Shibai
  • Patent number: 10647164
    Abstract: A radar-based-sensing system for a tire includes a plurality of sensors disposed circumferentially around a tire annulus. Each sensor in the plurality of sensors is permanently disposed within the tire annulus. Each sensor in the plurality of sensors is further disposed radially above any metal structures within the tire annulus. Each sensor in the plurality of sensors emits waves and senses reflected waves when rotating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
    Inventors: Terence E. Wei, Paul B. Wilson
  • Patent number: 10618357
    Abstract: A stud pin includes a tip including a tip end surface configured to come into contact with a road surface and a trunk portion that supports the tip and extends in one direction. The trunk portion includes an upper flange disposed at a first end of the trunk portion, the tip being fixed to the upper flange, and a lower flange disposed at a position to a side opposite the upper flange of the trunk portion. An upper end surface of the upper flange from which the tip protrudes includes a recessed surface, the recessed surface including a smooth inclined surface recessing in a curved manner or a linear manner toward the lower flange with advancement toward a protruding base portion of the tip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Kenichi Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 10596853
    Abstract: A tire containing at least a circular tire frame body that is formed from a resin material and has a layered structure, wherein the tire frame body includes at least one gas retaining layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuhiko Tsunoda, Yoshihide Kouno, Seiji Kon, Keiichi Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 10589573
    Abstract: Crown reinforcement of an aircraft tire comprises a working reinforcement (2) radially inside of tread (3) and radially outside of carcass reinforcement (4). Working reinforcement (2) comprises two working bi-plies (21, 22) radially superposed with respective axial widths (L1, L2), from first axial end (I1, I2) to second axial end (I?1, I?2). Each working bi-ply (21, 22) comprises two working layers (211, 212; 221, 222) radially superposed and respectively made up of axially juxtaposed portions of strip (5) of axial width W extending circumferentially in periodic curve (6) that forms, in the equatorial plane (XZ) of the tire and with the circumferential direction (XX?) of the tire, a non-zero angle A and has a radius of curvature R at its extrema (7). The difference DL between the respective axial widths (L1, L2) of the radially superposed working bi-plies (21, 22) is at least equal to 2×(W+(R?W/2)?(1?cos A)).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Marc Romero De La Osa, Serge Delacroix