Patents Examined by Steven D. Maki
  • Patent number: 11827061
    Abstract: A stud pin includes a tip including an end surface configured to come into contact with a road surface, a body portion configured to support the tip, and a lower flange. The flange profile shape of the lower flange is an anisotropic shape. The flange profile shape includes four or more first flange protrusion portions that project in the longitudinal direction and two second flange protrusion portions that project in the lateral direction. A tip profile shape of the tip is a shape including tip linear portions extending in a linear manner. At least one of the tip linear portions extends along a portion of the flange profile shape between two adjacent protrusion portions of the first flange protrusion portion and the second flange protrusion portion along the outer circumference of the flange profile shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Masakazu Mori
  • Patent number: 11801716
    Abstract: Each sipe wall surface of a sipe in a tread portion of a pneumatic tire includes, along a sipe depth direction, multiple ridge portions and at least one valley portion bending like waves. Where viewed along the sipe depth direction, a recess depth of the valley portion with respect to the ridge portion on one wall surface varies depending on a position in the extension direction, the valley portion extends from a position at which the recess depth is maximized toward a position at which the recess depth is minimized, and the recess depth decreases as the valley portion extends from the side of the maximum-depth valley portion toward the maximum ridge portion. The sipe is provided in at least one of a first half-tread region on a first side or a second half-tread region on a second side in a tire width direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventor: Yuta Uchida
  • Patent number: 11794527
    Abstract: A tire with a resonator for noise reduction includes: a main groove unit which has a plurality of main grooves formed to extend along a circumferential direction of the tire; a resonance unit which is formed between a pair of the main grooves; a neck unit which is provided to communicate the resonance unit with one of the pair of main grooves; and a cuff unit which is provided to connect the resonance unit and the other of the pair of main grooves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Inventors: Il Sik Kim, Jeong Eun Cho, Su Jin Son, Kang Il Jung, Chang Hyo Hong, Jae Wook Ihm
  • Patent number: 11794524
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire comprises a carcass layer, a belt layer disposed on the outer side in the tire radial direction of the carcass layer, and tread rubber disposed on the outer side in the tire radial direction of the belt layer. The belt layer is formed by laminating a pair of cross belts having belt angles with an absolute value from 10° to 45° both inclusive and mutually opposite signs, and a circumferential reinforcing layer having a belt angle within a range of ±5° relative to the tire circumferential direction. The distance (Gcc) from the tread profile to the tire inner circumferential surface along the tire equatorial plane and the distance (Gsh) from the tread edge to the tire inner circumferential surface have a relationship satisfying 1.10?Gsh/Gcc. The groove depth (Dsh) and under-groove gauge (UDsh) of the outermost circumferential main groove have a relationship satisfying 0.20?UDsh/Dsh.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yukihito Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 11766900
    Abstract: A tire includes at least one annular structure configured to interface with a wheel. The tire also includes a circumferential tread disposed in a crown region of the tire and an intermediate elastomeric layer having a conductive bleeder cord. The conductive bleeder cord extends from the annular structure to at least a middle third of a tread width and includes a metallic component that conducts electric charge and a textile component that permits gas evacuation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher R. Baker, Ruben L. Madrid, Justin M. Gehres, Kathleen A. Clemmer
  • Patent number: 11752802
    Abstract: A tire having an axis of rotation and a median plane (CP) perpendicular to the axis of rotation, and comprising: a crown reinforcement, a tread positioned radially on the outside of the crown reinforcement and axially between two shoulders, comprising a contact face intended to come into contact with the roadway while the tire is being driven on, wherein the tread is primarily made up of at least one rubber compound of given dynamic shear modulus M and comprises a plurality of furrows oriented substantially circumferentially, each furrow having a furrow bottom, and a sub-layer disposed radially on the outside of the crown reinforcement and radially on the inside of the tread, wherein the sub-layer is made up of at least one rubber compound of given dynamic shear modulus A is flush with each furrow bottom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Christopher Careme, Pascal Prost
  • Patent number: 11738601
    Abstract: A tire having a tread with a plurality of blocks 12 provided with at least one sipe 22 extending from the contact face of said block, and having a width that can vary in the direction of its depth, and known as a complex sipe. The tread has a first layer of material 38 and at least one second layer of material 40 radially on the inside of the first layer, the first layer being formed in a first rubber composition and the second layer being formed in a second rubber composition different from the first composition. The complex sipe 22 and the grooves separating the blocks are formed entirely in the first layer of material 38. Laterally on each side of the complex sipe, the second layer of material 40 extends, when viewed in transverse section in the block, beyond the bottom 30 of the complex sipe in the direction of the contact face of the block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Damien Blouin, Quentin Bonneton
  • Patent number: 11731464
    Abstract: It is provided a pneumatic tyre, the tyre having a circumferential direction, an axial direction and an equatorial plane, and the tyre comprising: a tread extending in a tyre circumferential direction, said tread comprising at least one circumferential groove running continuously in the circumferential direction, and a plurality of axial grooves or transverse grooves running at an angle to the axial direction, and a plurality of blocks defined by the circumferential groove and the axial grooves or transverse grooves, said blocks extending radially between an inner surface of the tread and a tread surface to come into contact with the ground, wherein at least some of the blocks comprise at least one wavy groove that extends from a circumferential groove inwardly into the block, and wherein the wavy groove has a depth extending radially from the tread surface to come into contact with the ground towards the inner surface that ends above the inner surface (26) of the tread.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Apollo Tyres Global R&D B.V.
    Inventors: Mihar Ved, Sanjay Patel, Jelin Fatima, Marko Veselinovic
  • Patent number: 11724547
    Abstract: A heavy duty pneumatic tire 1 has provided in a buttress region 10 thereof a protrusion 11 extending in the tire circumferential direction. In a tire meridian cross-section, the maximum protrusion height hmax of the protrusion 11 from an imaginary buttress surface J is 3.0 mm or greater and is in the range of 0.025-0.050 times a half tread width Wt. The cross-sectional area Sa of the protrusion 11 protruding from the imaginary buttress surface J is 20 mm2 or greater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kenichiro Tanada
  • Patent number: 11724546
    Abstract: In a pneumatic tire, a tread portion is provided with center blocks and shoulder blocks, and sidewall portions are each provided with side blocks. Surfaces of the blocks are provided with groove elements each including a narrow groove and/or a sipe. The first groove elements provided in the side blocks, the second groove elements provided in the shoulder blocks, and the third groove elements provided in the center blocks form a set of lateral groove group extending continuously from the side block on a first side to the side block on a second side in the tire lateral direction along the blocks across a main groove or an auxiliary groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yousuke Sakamoto
  • Patent number: 11724549
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes two circumferential main grooves disposed in an inner half of a tread developed width in a tire lateral direction; shoulder lug grooves that divide shoulder land portions into shoulder block portions and that each include a see-through portion in the tire lateral direction; center lug grooves dividing a center land portion into a plurality of center block portions; and center sipes having both ends terminated in the center block portions. The center sipe includes at least two sipe portions having different angles via at least one bent portion. An angle ?1 of at least one sipe portion with respect to a tire equator line satisfies 0°??1?15°, and an angle ?2 of at least the other sipe portion with respect to the tire equator line satisfies 35°??2?60°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideki Hamanaka
  • Patent number: 11718129
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a tread surface, a plurality of circumferential main grooves formed on the tread surface and extending in a tire circumference direction, a plurality of lug grooves formed on the tread surface and extending in a tire lateral direction, a plurality of blocks defined by the lug grooves on both sides in the tire circumferential direction and by the circumferential main grooves on at least one end in the tire lateral direction, and narrow grooves formed in the blocks. The narrow grooves include a plurality of bent portions as well as a circumferential narrow groove extending in the tire circumference direction and a lateral narrow groove extending in the tire lateral direction. The lateral narrow groove and the circumferential narrow groove are configured so that at least one thereof is provided in a plurality and includes a plurality of intersection points where the one intersects the other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takayuki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11718130
    Abstract: Provided is a pneumatic tire. Center land portions between main grooves extending in a zigzag shape along a circumferential direction on both sides of an equator of a tread portion are defined into repeating units by first shallow grooves that extend along a lateral direction, have both ends communicating with portions other than bent portions of the main grooves, and are disposed at intervals in the circumferential direction. The repeating units are aggregates of four blocks defined by second shallow grooves extending from the main grooves in the lateral direction and converging toward one point on the equator, a third shallow groove extending from one of the first shallow grooves adjacent to the repeating unit to one of the second shallow grooves, and a fourth shallow groove extending from an other of the first shallow grooves adjacent to the repeating units to an other of the second shallow grooves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yousuke Sakamoto
  • Patent number: 11701924
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire is provided. A tread portion includes shallow grooves formed in a road contact surface of each of shoulder blocks, intermediate blocks, and center blocks, defined by a plurality of longitudinal grooves extending in a tire circumferential direction and a plurality of lateral grooves extending in a tire lateral direction, the shallow groove having a smaller groove depth than the longitudinal groove and the lateral groove. The shallow groove extends along the tire lateral direction, and at least one end thereof communicates with the longitudinal groove or the lateral groove. A contour line of the shallow groove is provided with at least one bend point. A sipe is provided in a flat bottom surface of the shallow groove extending along the shallow groove. Among the shallow grooves, center shallow grooves formed in the center block are each provided with a terminating end portion terminating in the center block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kenji Horiuchi
  • Patent number: 11702555
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire that rotates about a center axis includes a tread rubber that comprises a contact patch; a groove provided in the tread rubber, the groove having an inner surface that includes a bottom surface and side surfaces that connect the bottom surface to the contact patch; and a coating film disposed covering at least a portion of the inner surface, the coating film reducing exposure of ultraviolet light to the inner surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Atsushi Tanno
  • Patent number: 11701926
    Abstract: In a pneumatic tire, a sipe includes an edge on a leading side and an edge on a trailing side; the edge and the edge each include a chamfered portion shorter than a sipe length of the sipe; a non-chamfered region in which other chamfered portions are not present is provided at portions facing the chamfered portions of the sipe; and for all chamfered portions, including at least the chamfered portions of the sipe, formed on grooves other than main grooves, with a ground contact width being equally divided into three in the tire lateral direction, a total projected area ACE of chamfered portions provided in a center region centrally located in the tire lateral direction and each of total projected areas ASH of chamfered portions provided in shoulder regions located on either side of the center region satisfy a relationship ACE<ASH.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takanori Uemura, Takayuki Shiraishi, Hiraku Kouda, Tatsuro Shinzawa
  • Patent number: 11691458
    Abstract: A tire has a tread 5 which includes grooves 7, the side faces 72 of which are undercut, and includes at least one circumferential reinforcing element 8-1 arranged axially relative to said undercut side face 72 at a distance “d” of between 0 and 15% of the axial width L51 of the tread block 51, at least extending radially from the inside towards the outside from a radial level situated above the wear limit level and to a radial height equal to 5% of the thickness “p” of the tread.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Sylvain Morival, Frédéric Perrin, Patrick Pallot
  • Patent number: 11685132
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a tread (5) based on uncured rubber material comprises the steps of forming a green form (9) of tread based on uncured rubber material having at least one tread pattern (2) block (3), each tread pattern (2) block (3) having a central portion (11) and at least one lateral portion (12) extending along the central portion (11), of mounting at least one reinforcing ply (7) on at least a part of the central portion (11), and of covering the central part (11) with the aid of the lateral portion (12) in order that the tread pattern (2) block (3) envelops the reinforcing ply (7).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Mickael Rouby, Patrice Monnereau, Christophe Bessac
  • Patent number: 11685193
    Abstract: Tire tread (1) is divided into central part (20) and edge parts (30), central part (20) having width Lc between 40% and 90% of total width W of the tread. Edge parts (30) do not have any transverse cuts. Central part (20) has a tread pattern with circumferentially oriented sipe (21) and transversely oriented sipes (22, 22?, 22?) distributed around the periphery of the tread, such sipes having a depth at least equal to 60% of thickness E of material to be worn away and being interconnected to form a network. Such sipes are continued by hidden channels (210, 220). Central part (20) is delimited axially by transverse sipes (22?, 22?), each of which ends in end channel (221?, 221?) that opens onto tread surface (10) and extends into the thickness of the tread, and each end channel (221?, 221?) is connected to the network formed by the hidden channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Patrick Dayet, Benoit Buffetaud, Jacques Babaud
  • Patent number: 11685194
    Abstract: A tire includes a tread portion provided with a plurality of blocks. At least one of the plurality of blocks is provided with a sipe. The sipe extends in a sipe longitudinal direction to form a zigzag opening configuration on a ground contact surface of the at least one of the plurality of blocks. The sipe extends inwardly in a tire radial direction such that the zigzag opening configuration oscillates in the sipe longitudinal direction repeatedly with a total amplitude and a wavelength while maintaining the zigzag opening configuration. A half of the wavelength of the sipe is in a range of from 0.10 to 0.24 times a maximum depth of the sipe, and a slope of the half of the wavelength with respect to the total amplitude has an angle in a range of from 45 to 65 degrees.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: SUMITOMO RUBBER INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Atsushi Maehara