Patents Examined by Robert C Dye
  • Patent number: 11364744
    Abstract: A tire has a lug, a plurality of first recessed regions that extend from a first major groove, and a plurality of second recessed regions that extend from a second major groove. A central region of the lug protrudes relative to either end of the lug. The plurality of first and second recessed regions are arranged in alternating fashion along a tire circumferential direction. The respective recessed regions each has a planar base that extends in a width direction of the each recessed region. The planar base is horizontal, or is inclined in such fashion that a height thereof increases so as to extend further toward an exterior in a tire radial direction as one proceeds toward a center of the each recessed region. Width of the planar base increases as one proceeds from the center in the width direction of the lug to an end of the lug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tetsuji Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 11364748
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes lug grooves in a tread surface of a shoulder land, the lug grooves crossing a circumferential direction and terminating at a first side within the shoulder land and passing through a contact edge at a second side; and a notch formed on an opening edge of the lug grooves, the notch being cutout from the tread surface cut radially inward. The lug grooves have a width decreasing from the first to the second side, an end position of the lug grooves is disposed from a main groove from 5% to 35% of a lateral dimension from the main groove to the ground contact edge, and a maximum groove width position is disposed from the main groove 40% or less of the lateral dimension from the main groove to the ground contact edge; and the notch has a width that increases from the first to the second side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Furusawa
  • Patent number: 11364746
    Abstract: A rib of a pneumatic tire includes a first sipe extending from one of main grooves positioned on both sides of the rib and a second sipe extending from another one of the main grooves, one end portion of the first and second sipes terminating within the rib. The first and second sipes form a pair of sipes including edges on leading and trailing sides. Chamfered portions shorter than a total sipe length of the pair of sipes are formed on respective edges and non-chamfered regions exist on portions opposing respective chamfered portions in the pair of sipes. A maximum depth x (mm) of the sipes and a maximum depth y (mm) of the chamfered portion satisfy x×0.1?y?x×0.3+1.0. A sipe width is constant in a range from a portion positioned inside in a tire radial direction of the chamfered portion to a bottom of the sipes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Takanori Uemura, Hiraku Kouda, Tatsuro Shinzawa
  • Patent number: 11358356
    Abstract: A transfer ring for use in the manufacture of vehicle tires, the transfer ring including a radially expandable and collapsible segmented cylindrical gripping surface defined by a plurality of inwardly facing arcuate surfaces mounted for radial movement toward and away from a central axis of the cylindrical gripping surface, wherein each arcuate surface is mounted to a corresponding set of driven linkages comprising first, second, and third members, each set of driven linkages further including a block-and-rail cam follower secured to at least one of the first, second, and third members and configured to cooperate with the first, second, and third members to limit movement of the arcuate surface to linear movement radially toward and away from the central axis of the cylindrical gripping surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Inventors: Stuart J. Hassell, William A. Jones, Robert L. Marcus, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11351819
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire comprises a recessed portion or a projecting portion formed on a side portion so as to constitute a mark, and a colored portion formed in at least a part of a periphery along an outer edge of the mark.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuki Kawakami, Makoto Yoshikawa
  • Patent number: 11351746
    Abstract: An apparatus (10) for producing green tyres (13) consisting of a carcass or inner section (13?) coupled with a belt package or outer section (13?), comprising a first tyre processing assembly (12) for manufacturing the carcass or inner section (13?), a second tyre processing assembly (14) for finishing said carcass (13?), a third tyre processing assembly (16) for manufacturing a belt package or outer section (13?) and for coupling said carcass or inner section with said belt package or outer section (13?, 13?) to form a tyre (13), and an unloading station (60) for unloading said tyre (13), said tyre processing assemblies comprising interface means for transferring the product being manufactured from one tyre processing assembly to another one and for moving said product being processed internally to said individual tyre processing assemblies in a fully automatic manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: INTEREUROPEAN S.R.L.
    Inventors: Vladislav Tsoupikov, Marco Donzelli
  • Patent number: 11345106
    Abstract: A single sheet-like belt 8b, from which a single tire component can be formed, is held on an outer circumferential surface of a winding cylinder 12. The sheet-like rubber member 8b, which is held by the winding cylinder 12, is removed from the winding cylinder 12 by rotation of a drum 22 and adhered to an outer circumferential surface of the drum 22, so as to manufacture a tire component 8c. At the time, the sheet-like belt 8b is moved from the winding cylinder 12 to the drum 22 via a removing roller 14 that is arranged above a common tangent Q between the drum 22 and the winding cylinder 12.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Junji Itakura
  • Patent number: 11345105
    Abstract: A tire building method comprises the following steps: step 1, manufacturing a first carcass assembly on a carcass drum, and transferring the first carcass assembly to a building drum through a first carcass transfer device; step 2, manufacturing a second carcass assembly on a belt drum, and transferring the second carcass assembly to the building drum through a second carcass transfer device; step 3, respectively driving a first chuck seat and a second chuck seat to move oppositely by a first nut and a second nut; step 4, sleeving the second carcass assembly on the supported first carcass assembly, and fitting the two carcass assemblies together and rolling the same to form a third carcass assembly; step 5, winding a tread to the outer surface of the third carcass assembly to form a fourth carcass assembly; and step 6, dismounting the fourth carcass assembly from the building drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Inventors: Deying Dai, Qingyong Bu, Zhao Sun, Suxia Tian, Dan Qin
  • Patent number: 11345192
    Abstract: It is a tyre 1 provided in a tread portion 2 with blocks 3 having ground contacting surfaces (3a). At least one of the blocks 3 is provided with a chamfered portion 7 formed in such a manner that a corner portion (3k), where a vertical wall surface (3b), a lateral wall surface (3c), and the ground contacting surface (3a) intersect with each other, is cut out obliquely, and a chamfer edge 8 where the chamfered portion 7 and the ground contacting surface (3a) intersect. The chamfered portion 7 is provided with a plurality of first concave portions 9 extending inwardly in a tyre radial direction from the ground contacting surface (3a). The first concave portions 9 have wavy shapes having amplitudes in a longitudinal direction of the chamfer edge 8.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Koichi Nakajima
  • Patent number: 11345191
    Abstract: A pneumatic vehicle tire, in particular commercial vehicle tire, having a tread having in each case one shoulder-side profile rib (1) which is separated in each case from a central tread portion (3) by a wide circumferential groove (2) which is made to profile depth (T) and which runs around rectilinearly in the circumferential direction, wherein the circumferential groove (2) has a rounded groove base (8) and is delimited at the profile rib (1) by a rib flank (6).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Paul Naglatzki, Florian Kristen, Christian Meiners, Frank Lippert
  • Patent number: 11338619
    Abstract: Provided is pneumatic tire in which a land portion includes a width direction sipe extending in a tread width direction, the width direction sipe includes, in a cross section along a depth direction, a linear portion extending from an opening of the width direction sipe toward a bottom of the width direction sipe, and a bent portion connected to the linear portion, bending and extending from a connecting portion with the linear portion to the bottom of the width direction sipe, and the linear portion of the width direction sipe has a length in the depth direction increasing as the linear portion extends from a center portion of the width direction sipe in the tread width direction toward an end portion in the tread width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yoshiki Nakata
  • Patent number: 11338620
    Abstract: A tire having a tread portion provided with a circumferential groove. Of the opposite groove side walls of the circumferential groove, at least one groove side wall to be positioned on the inside of a vehicle is provided with a lower side wall portion extending from a groove bottom, and a protruding portion extending from the lower side wall portion to have a radially outer edge. The protruding portion protrudes toward the groove widthwise center from a reference line X defined by a radially outwardly extended line from the lower side wall portion. The protruding portion comprises a sloped portion extending obliquely from the radially outer edge to the tread surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Koichi Nakajima
  • Patent number: 11325332
    Abstract: Provided is an attaching device and a method for attaching a band-like member to a tire inner surface. A holder that holds the band-like member in a wound state and a paddle are disposed in an inner portion of a tire, and a dispensed portion is pressure-bonded to the inner surface by repeatedly performing: a bonding operation in which a predetermined length dispensed from the band-like member in a wound state toward the inner surface is pressed, by moving the paddle close to the inner surface with no relative rotation of the tire in the circumferential direction with respect to the holder, and is pressure-bonded to the inner surface and a dispensing operation in which, after the bonding operation, the paddle is moved away from the inner surface, and together with relatively rotating the tire in the circumferential direction, a new dispensed portion is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Yukihisa Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11325428
    Abstract: A tire has a visible outer surface comprising a decorative region provided with a plurality of micro-protrusions each comprising a recess and a wall portion. The wall portion surrounds the recess to form a protrusion's apex having an upper surface, and the upper surface of the wall portion comprises at least two peak points in the protruding-height direction of the micro-protrusion, at which the protruding height of the wall portion becomes local maximum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Sakaguchi, Yuichi Ishigaki, Hiroshi Fujita
  • Patent number: 11325333
    Abstract: Disclosed is a tire building drum and a method for building a tire, wherein the tire building drum includes a crown section and a bead-lock section, wherein the bead-lock section defines a bead-lock position, wherein the crown section includes crown segments movable with respect to the base from a crown-down position into a crown-up position in a crown-up direction, wherein the crown segments together form a crown surface, a leading edge and a shoulder, wherein the tire building drum further includes a sleeve that extends around the crown segments in the circumferential direction, wherein the sleeve includes a first circumferential edge that is fixed to the crown segments at a side of the shoulder facing away from the bead-lock section, a second circumferential edge that is located between the shoulder and the bead-lock position, wherein the second circumferential edge is unfixed at least when the crown segments are in the crown-down position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Inventors: Martin De Graaf, Dave Papot
  • Patent number: 11325421
    Abstract: A tire has an intended tire rotational direction and comprises a tread portion having a tread surface defined between tread edges and a pair of buttress surfaces defined as extending radially inwardly from the respective tread edges. One or each of the buttress surfaces is provided with a plurality of protrusions protruding axially outwardly and arranged in the tire circumferential direction. The protrusions include a curved protrusion which extends radially inwardly from the tread surface while curving toward the intended tire rotational direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuki Fujimoto, Kotaro Tahara
  • Patent number: 11318694
    Abstract: During manufacturing of a tire component that includes a process of adhering a sheet-like rubber member 8b that is held by a supply section 30 to a drum 22, positions of ends 7d1, 7d2 n a width direction of the sheet-like rubber member 8b are detected by using sensors 52, 54 provided between the supply section 30 and the drum 22, and the supply section 30 is moved in a width direction X of the sheet-like rubber member 8b in accordance with the detected positions, so as to adhere the sheet-like rubber member 8b to a specified position on the drum 22.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shuhei Ito
  • Patent number: 11312182
    Abstract: A first land region is defined between a first main groove and a second main groove extending in a tyre circumferential direction. The first land region is provided with a first oblique groove and a second oblique groove. The first oblique groove extends obliquely with respect to a tyre axial direction from the first main groove to have an end portion terminating within the first land region. The second oblique groove extends obliquely with respect to the tyre axial direction from the second main groove to intersect with a middle groove portion of the first oblique groove and terminate there.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Hiroki Nagase
  • Patent number: 11312184
    Abstract: A center block of a construction vehicle tire is formed in a range of ?-?, inclusive, of a tread width. A width direction narrow groove is terminated in the center block. A notch groove includes outer grooves formed at each end side of the narrow groove, and inner grooves formed between the outer grooves. A slope portion of the outer groove is inclined to be close to an inner side in the tire radial direction toward one side in the tire circumferential direction. A slope portion of the outer groove is inclined to be close to the inner side in the tire radial direction toward another side in the tire circumferential direction. A slope portion of each inner groove is inclined to be close to the inner side in the tire radial direction toward one side or another in the tire circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kota Takagi
  • Patent number: 11312190
    Abstract: This pneumatic tire includes bead cores formed by winding a bead wire. In a cross-sectional view of the bead core, the bead core has a wire array structure of a hexagon formed by winding the bead wires in a close-packed manner. The hexagon is a projecting hexagon with an obtuse internal angle at every vertex. A layer number M of wire cross sections in a Y-axis direction and a maximum value N_max of an array number N of the wire cross sections in an X-axis direction satisfy 0.75?M/N_max?1.30. A distance A in a lateral direction from a vertex of the hexagon on the innermost side in the lateral direction to the centroid of the hexagon, and a distance B in the lateral direction from a vertex of the hexagon on the outermost side in the lateral direction to the centroid of the hexagon, satisfy 1.05?B/A.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Inventor: Koji Nishio