Patents Examined by Sedef E Paquette
  • Patent number: 12220888
    Abstract: A vulcanization mold is a mold including blades having a distal end side thick portion and pullout is performed smoothly by the mold without causing any failure, and a pneumatic tire. A vulcanization mold in which a blade or has a blade proximal end portion, a blade distal end side thick portion expanded in a thicknesswise direction on the distal end side, and a blade connection portion that connects the blade proximal end portion and the blade distal end side thick portion to each other is a vulcanization mold in which a blade density that is a number of blades implanted on a sector mold per unit length in a circumferential direction is lower at the blades in circumferential end portion side regions than at the blades in a circumferential central portion side region of the sector mold. Further, a pneumatic tire is manufactured using the vulcanization mold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tatsuhiko Hatano, Yasuo Shibata, Tatsuya Nakai
  • Patent number: 12214565
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire that is vulcanized using a bladder provided with a coating layer formed by a release agent, a noise absorber 6 being fixed on an inner surface of a tread portion 1 along a tire circumferential direction via an adhesive layer 7, and a thickness of the release agent detected by an electron microscope is 0.1 ?m to 100 ?m at least in a fixation region for the noise absorber 6.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Hoshiba, Masahiro Naruse
  • Patent number: 12202221
    Abstract: A method for forming a composite tread, the method comprising the steps of: forming a coextruded strip of a first compound and a second compound, wherein the first compound is a tread compound, and the second compound is formed from a second compound, wherein the tread is formed from winding the coextruded strip onto the tire building drum while varying the ratio of the first compound to the second compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY
    Inventors: Hongbing Chen, Christopher David Dyrlund, Adam Mark Baldan, Elizabeth Amelia Rogenski
  • Patent number: 12194703
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing pneumatic tire of the present disclosure, the method comprising: a first step of pressure-bonding a bead filler to an outer peripheral portion of an annular bead core, the bead filler being thinned outward of the bead core in a radial direction, and fabricating an annular bead member; a second step of causing a separator to support the bead filler, and mounting the bead member so that the radial direction of the bead core goes along a horizontal direction; and a third step of cooling the bead member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: TOYO TIRE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Haseda
  • Patent number: 12194786
    Abstract: A flat tire airbag system has an inner tube having an inner portion adapted to be mounted upon the wheel of the pneumatic tire, and an outer portion adapted to support the tire when inflated. A tire pressure monitoring system is operably mounted to monitor pressure within the pneumatic tire, and an airbag inflation mechanism is provided for automatically inflating the inner tube responsive to the tire pressure monitoring system detecting a loss of pressure within the pneumatic tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Inventor: Adam Awad
  • Patent number: 12187001
    Abstract: A method of molding a tire that has a container (12) that includes the steps of placing an uncured tire into a mold, and providing a bladder (16) that has a flexible portion (18) and an insert (20) that has a cavity configured for molding the container into the tire. The bladder has a fluid therein and is inflated within the mold, and material of the uncured tire flows into the cavity of the insert (20). Sufficient heat and pressure is applied to the uncured tire to at least partially cure the tire when the uncured tire is in the mold. The material in the insert (20) forms the container (12) such that the container is integrally formed with other portions of the tire. The mold is opened to retrieve the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventor: Daniel Rey
  • Patent number: 12179449
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a transfer system is configured to move a portion of a strip within a belt forming system. The transfer system may comprise a first segment comprising a main body adapted to engage a strip. A plurality of slots may be disposed in a surface of the main body. Fluid communication may be provided from a fluid supply to the plurality of slots, such that the fluid communication with the plurality of slots enables holding the strip against the main body or blowing the strip off the main body. The plurality of slots may be arranged in a series of rows, wherein a first slot in a first row is positioned directly adjacent to a second slot in the first row. First and second strips of different dimensions may be transferred without any mechanical adjustments being made to the main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: The Steelastic Company, LLC
    Inventor: Eric William Gorham
  • Patent number: 12172473
    Abstract: In a tire, first and second ridge parts extending in a tire radial direction each have a central portion in the tire radial direction located on an inner side in the tire radial direction with respect to a central portion of the first ridge part in the tire radial direction are provided on an outer surface of a side wall part. A decorative area provided in an outer surface of the side wall part includes a dense area in which the first ridge part and the second ridge part face each other in the tire circumferential direction, and a sparse area in which either the first ridge parts or the second ridge parts face each other in the tire circumferential direction without interposing the other therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shiho Kamada
  • Patent number: 12162234
    Abstract: A transfer ring for use in the manufacture of tires comprises a radially expandable and collapsible segmented gripping surface defined by a plurality of shoes, each shoe having an inwardly-facing surface mounted for movement toward and away from a central axis of the cylindrical gripping surface. Each inwardly-facing surface has first and second side edges. Each side edge has a central portion configured to be substantially parallel to a central portion of the other side edge and forms a mid-portion therebetween. Each side edge has first and second tapered portions on opposite respective ends of the central portion. Each tapered portion extends toward a tapered portion of the other side edge. The tapered portions cooperate to form a end portions that decrease in width away from the mid-portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Davian Enterprises, LLC
    Inventor: Kenneth McCleery
  • Patent number: 12151513
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes, on a tread surface, a plurality of circumferential main grooves extending in the tread circumferential direction, and a plurality of land portions defined by circumferential main grooves adjacent in the tread width direction among the plurality of circumferential main grooves, or by the circumferential main grooves and tread edges. A widthwise groove (widthwise sipe) (circumferential sipe) includes a widened portion, on the groove bottom side (sipe bottom side), at which the groove width (sipe width) is larger than on the tread surface side. In a tire radial direction region including at least a reference depth position, the storage modulus of first tread rubber, which is a groove wall surface layer defined by the widened portion and covering at least part of the widened portion, is larger than the storage modulus of second tread rubber located in a region around the first tread rubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tatsuya Tomida
  • Patent number: 12145406
    Abstract: A tire for an agricultural vehicle, having a tread made of rubbery material and two axially outer zones delimiting the tread, each having a shoulder and a sidewall and designed to mechanically connect the tread to a rim. The tire has a plurality of blocks distributed in a circumferential direction (X), each block having a length L, measured in the circumferential direction (X) from a lateral face of the block, and a height H, where L is greater than H. Each block has a cavity that opens onto the lateral face, forming an opening in the lateral face. The cavity has a depth p and an opening width l. The blocks are present in at least one of the two axially outer zones, but not in the tread. The blocks are present at the shoulder in the continuation of the tread.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Frédéric Perrin, David Dean, Johan Ferri
  • Patent number: 12145339
    Abstract: A drum (1) for manufacturing a pneumatic tire (2) is provided with a plurality of clamping jaws (12) mounted so as to be movable between a retracted configuration and a deployed configuration which allows the clamping jaws (12) to engage with a bead wire (3) of the tire (2), the clamping jaws (12) being placed, to this end, under the control of a deployment system (13) which comprises an articulated parallelogram (20) having a first, fixed base (25) secured to a shaft (11) and a second, mobile base (26) secured to a clamping jaw (12), and a drive mechanism (30) designed to cooperate with the articulated parallelogram (20) so that it is possible to select and modify the radial position (d26) of the mobile base (26) with respect to the fixed base (25) in order to pass from the retracted configuration to the deployed configuration and vice versa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventor: Miguel Torres-Castellano
  • Patent number: 12145340
    Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a pneumatic tire, a placement unit is moved relative to a forming drum in a drum circumferential direction to repeatedly perform a one-side step of delivering a reinforcing wire in a folded back state in a length from a central portion toward one side in the width direction of the forming drum and compression bonding the reinforcing wire to an innerliner of an outer surface of the forming drum, and after delivering the reinforcing wire in the length toward the one side in the width direction as described above, perform an other-side step of delivering the reinforcing wire in a folded back state in a length from the central portion toward an other side in the width direction of the forming drum and compression bonding the reinforcing wire to an outer surface of the innerliner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Yuta Takanashi
  • Patent number: 12122193
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a pair of bead portions, a pair of bead cores each disposed in a respective one of the pair of bead portions, a carcass extending between the pair of bead cores, the carcass including a carcass ply that includes a main portion extending between the pair of bead cores and a pair of turn-up portions each turned up around a respective one of the pair of bead cores from axially inside to outside of the tire and extending outwardly in a tire radial direction, and a reinforcing rubber layer disposed in each bead portion and being adjacent to an axially outside of the turn-up portion, wherein the reinforcing rubber layer has a laminated body in which a plurality of sheet-shaped rubber members having different radial lengths are laminated in the tire axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuichi Ishigaki, Masahiro Yao, Mami Monji
  • Patent number: 12122192
    Abstract: A tire mold having a sidewall molding surface with a negative irregular rough surface texture pattern extending circumferentially along the sidewall molding surface so as to mold at least one annular exterior surface of a tire sidewall of a tire with an irregular rough surface texture, the negative irregular rough surface texture pattern defining recessed portions disposed non-uniformly between raised portions, the recessed portions having a depth of at least 0.1 millimeters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
    Inventors: Stephen J. Pierre, Jared D. Lofland, Andrew J. Minor
  • Patent number: 12103258
    Abstract: A tire building method, in particular for strip-winding, includes the step of: providing a choice between a production mode for building a tire component and a test mode for obtaining test measurements, wherein the choice is provided prior to executing the test mode; wherein at least one or more building parameters is set prior to the building of the tire component based on test measurements performed on a test strip during the test mode. Also disclosed is a tyre building system and a measurement tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: VMI HOLLAND B.V.
    Inventors: Maarten Reinoud Van Der Made, Cees Johan Van Voskuilen, Gerrit Mulder
  • Patent number: 12083837
    Abstract: A nonpneumatic tire includes an annular outer surface, an annular inner surface, and a webbing extending from the annular outer surface to the annular inner surface. The nonpneumatic, tire also includes a plurality of shear elements extending circumferentially around the annular outer surface and spaced laterally apart from each other. Each shear element includes a substantially inelastic lower region, a substantially inelastic upper region, and an elastic region disposed between the substantially inelastic lower region and the substantially inelastic upper region. The nonpneumatic tire further includes a tread layer extending circumferentially around the plurality of shear elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
    Inventor: Robert W. Asper
  • Patent number: 12070919
    Abstract: A method and a system for applying a sealing agent to the surface of an internal cavity of a pneumatic tyre provided with an optoelectronic device provided with at least one sensor element able to acquire images of the entire surface and to provide signals indicative of the plurality of captured images; an electronic processing system connected to the optoelectronic device to acquire the signals that are indicative of the plurality of captured images and to process them in order to determine the surface profile of the entire internal cavity as a function of the respective images; and an applicator device to apply a strip of sealing agent to the surface; wherein the applicator device is connected to the electronic processing system, which is configured to drive the applicator device as a function of the surface profile of the entire internal cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Assignee: Bridgestone Europe NV/SA
    Inventors: Roberto Pontone, Alfonso Di Egidio
  • Patent number: 12054018
    Abstract: A luminescent non-pneumatic tire device for supporting a wheel rim on a rough road surface without needing to be filled with air includes a cylindrical inner wall, a tread concentrically positioned around the inner wall, and a pair of sidewalls coupling the inner wall to the tread. A cable is concentrically coupled around the inner wall, and a plurality of flat springs extend from the cable to the tread. Each flat spring is deformable and contributes to smoothing bumps in a road surface traversed by the device. The device also comprises a photoluminescent material which serves to increase the visibility of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Inventor: Johnnie Hogue
  • Patent number: 12049053
    Abstract: A method for building tyres for vehicle wheels is described. Second stage forming drums are moved in a crown structure building line for building respective crown structures. Movement occurs along a first path for building a first part of components of the crown structure and a second path for building a second part of components of the crown structure. Additionally, first stage forming drums are moved in a carcass structure building line for building respective carcass structures. The flow of the second stage forming drums is managed through a first manipulator, while the flow of the first stage forming drums is managed through a second manipulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignee: PIRELLI TYRE S.P.A.
    Inventors: Albert Berenguer, Christian De Col, Gianni Enrico Portinari, Stefano Testi