Patents Examined by Thomas Bokan
  • Patent number: 4448627
    Abstract: This invention relates to an apparatus for applying mainly a thin rubber sheet, such as an inner liner or insulation, onto a tire making drum, which is used in a series of raw tire making processes. The apparatus can realize a proper applying of the sheet in such a manner that the rubber sheet, not previously cut to a specified length although it is longer than the circumference of the drum, is pressed at the foremost end onto the tire making drum, is applied thereto in a length corresponding to about one circumference of the drum through rotary control thereof, is thereafter cut automatically to the specified length, and is subsequently applied at the rear end of the cut sheet onto the drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1982
    Date of Patent: May 15, 1984
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuo Satoh, Tsutomu Nosaka
  • Patent number: 4446904
    Abstract: A pneumatic radial tire having highly durable bead structure is disclosed. A carcass ply layer of organic textile cords is turned up around a bead core from the inside to the outside. A reinforcing strip of steel cords is positioned outwardly adjacent to the turn-ups of carcass plies. An organic textile cord fabric is disposed outwardly adjacent to the reinforcing strip of steel cords. A bead filler of approximately triangular sectional shape is disposed at the region enclosed by the carcass plies, the turn-ups of the carcass plies and the reinforcing strip of steel cords. The bead filler comprises high hardness rubber stock and medium hardness rubber stock. A cap of organic textile cord fabric covers an upper end of the reinforcing strip of steel cords. A fin-shaped rubber buffer having a hardness lower than that of the medium hardness rubber stock by 3.degree. to 20.degree. is disposed radially outwardly of the capped end and axially outwardly adjacent to the medium hardness rubber stock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1982
    Date of Patent: May 8, 1984
    Assignee: The Toyo Rubber Industry Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsuji Kishida, Masakazu Oonishi, Keijiro Oda
  • Patent number: 4447093
    Abstract: A wheel is composed of a rigid plastic inner section forming the wheel hub and rim and a resilient plastic tire section encircling the rim. A key formed integrally with the rim extends radially outward therefrom and interlockingly projects into the tire so as to mechanically connect the tire to the rim all around the wheel. The key can be formed with axially extending portions spaced radially outboard of the rim and terminating flush with the outer surface of the tire section so as to provide colored side wall decorations at one or both sides of the wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1982
    Date of Patent: May 8, 1984
    Assignee: Brown Group Recreational Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Joel C. Cunard, William H. Ziegler, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4445561
    Abstract: A large size pneumatic rubber tire for bad or rough roads comprises a number of main grooves in a tread of the tire arranged on both sides of a center circumferential line of the tread and in parallel with one another substantially equally oblique to the center circumferential line and a number of auxiliary grooves in the tread substantially in parallel with one another oblique in a direction opposite to the direction of the main grooves to connect the two main grooves adjacent in a circumferential direction. The main and auxiliary grooves have comparatively wide groove widths, respectively, and divide the tread into a center zone and two size zones. These zones respectively consist of circumferentially arranged respectively substantially same shaped center blocks and side blocks defined by the main and auxiliary grooves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1982
    Date of Patent: May 1, 1984
    Assignee: Bridgestone Tire Company Limited
    Inventors: Mitsutsugu Kono, Osamu Inoue
  • Patent number: 4445560
    Abstract: When this airplane tire is mounted on its rim, its carcass reinforcement has a relative camber of convexity before inflation which is at most equal to 0.17 in the crown and at most equal to to 0.20 in the sidewalls. After inflation, the equilibrium curve of this carcass reinforcement is, at the level of the shoulders of the tire, located radially outwards of its equilibrium curve in the tire before inflation.The cables of the lateral plies of the tripartite crown reinforcement are very extensible and have a high coefficient of contraction under the heat at the temperature of vulcanization of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1982
    Date of Patent: May 1, 1984
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventor: Jacques Musy
  • Patent number: 4443287
    Abstract: With the aid of a traction element at which there are temporarily fixed or attached the printed products, such as newspapers, periodicals and the like, there is rendered possible maintaining a certain order of the printed products during their processing, while however affording the possibility of altering the product order or arrangement, and thereafter to again reestablish the same. The traction element possesses a latent adhesion or sticking capability which can be activated in order to fix the products at the traction element. It is conversely possible to annihilate the adhesion or sticking capability or property and thus to detach the traction element from the products without damage to the products or leaving any visible marks or traces thereat. It is preferred to use a traction element which is provided with a hot melt, and the fixation of the products at the traction element and the detachment of the traction element from the products is accomplished in the presence of heat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1981
    Date of Patent: April 17, 1984
    Assignee: Ferag AG
    Inventor: Guido Worni
  • Patent number: 4441539
    Abstract: A tire pressure control system includes means for restoring and maintaining specified tire pressure by applying intermittent regulated air pressure to the tire through a rotating seal near the wheel when the air pressure is too low. If the air pressure in the tire is at a predetermined safe operating level, the air pressure through the rotating seal is blocked.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1982
    Date of Patent: April 10, 1984
    Assignee: The Budd Company
    Inventor: David O. Hulse
  • Patent number: 4440590
    Abstract: A method of making a sign is described which comprises taking a transfer material and a temporary support sheet, the transfer material comprising a transparent or translucent carrier sheet bearing on one side a plurality of transferable indicia, which are either sufficiently adhesive as such to enable their transfer to the support sheet or which bear a layer of adhesive on their face remote from the carrier sheet, or which are non adhesive but transferable by virtue of a coating of adhesive on the temporary support sheet, the adhesive if present being adapted to adhere the indicia to the temporary support sheet more strongly than they adhere to the carrier sheet, and wherein the material of the indicia is adhesive under the application of heat and pressure, transferring indicia from the transfer material to the temporary support sheet in the desired order to build up the desired legend for the sign, and applying the transferred indicia under heat and pressure to the surface of a transparent or translucent she
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1982
    Date of Patent: April 3, 1984
    Assignee: Letraset Corp.
    Inventors: Ronald B. Collins, Martin E. Dowzall, Brian J. Smith, Geoffrey R. Taylor
  • Patent number: 4440208
    Abstract: A consolidated, rubber article such as a filler segment for composite solid rubber tires is made by reducing solid rubber articles to small pieces, placing the pieces in a mold having the configuration of the desired tire filler segment, and heating the pieces in the mold while applying pressure thereto.The mold assembly includes a filling chamber and a releasably attachable mold body. A press block fits slidably in the filling chamber and is operable to compress the rubber pieces into the mold. The press block then is locked to the mold body to close the mold, whereby the mold body and press block may be separated from the filling chamber while maintaining the closure. The pieces in the mold body are then heated, while compressed, sufficiently to consolidate the mold contents into a tire filler segment having a density of from 15 to 75 pounds per cubic foot. The consolidated product is then cooled and removed from the mold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1982
    Date of Patent: April 3, 1984
    Assignee: OMNI Rubber Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Lorn L. Trickel, William H. Stultz
  • Patent number: 4437504
    Abstract: A tire-pressure regulating system for motor vehicles is proposed, in which a tire-pressure control valve is provided on each vehicle wheel to be monitored.The control valve has a valve seat attached to the housing and a closing body arranged to cooperate with this valve seat. The closing body is disposed on a working surface in such a way that a seat valve controlled by working surfaces is created. The control valve is adjustable in accordance with differential pressure with the aid of a throttle valve means. In this way the differential pressure can be established by the tire pressure being directed at that time. Below a minimum permissible filling pressure, the control valve is closed.The tire-pressure regulating system is preferably applicable to trucks and trailer trucks such as semitrailers to which frequently is attached another wheeled cargo carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1984
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Werner Stumpe
  • Patent number: 4436128
    Abstract: A tubeless tire for a bicycle wheel has lips (5) integral with the side walls to form with the beads (3) recesses to house the wheel rim flanges (9). The tire interior is divided into equal sized compartments (12) by partitions (13). Each compartment has a vent (14) on one side only extending through a respective bead centrally between partitions, the vents of adjacent compartments being in opposite beads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1984
    Inventor: Simon P. Pointer
  • Patent number: 4436574
    Abstract: A radial mandrel is provided having a plurality of alternating and interfitting large and small segments mounted on a pair of cones, which cones are movable axially toward and away from one another to in turn move the segments radially inwardly and outwardly between a contracted and expanded position. The radial mandrel includes an improved mechanism for axially moving the cones comprising a quill adapter and scroll sleeve adapted for use with a drive shaft of standard configuration. The scroll sleeve is formed with spiral grooves which engage the cones and are operable to move the cones axially toward and away from one another as the scroll sleeve is rotated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1984
    Assignee: Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert C. Long, Richard K. Peters
  • Patent number: 4436129
    Abstract: A composite semirigid snow chain without rear hooking means, for motor vehicles, consisting of two parts to be independently applied onto a wheel and to be connected to one another at a sole side, that is at a sole side of the wheel, by means of an elastic device having a controllable clearance, each of said parts being provided with friction elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1984
    Inventor: Aldo Razza
  • Patent number: 4436131
    Abstract: A pneumatic radial tire is disclosed, which comprises as a reinforcement a belt consisting of a first belt body composed of a single ply containing metal twisted cords arranged at an inclination angle of 5.degree.-25.degree. with respect to the equatorial plane of the tire and embedded in a coating rubber, both end portions in widthwise direction of which being folded on the remaining central base portion thereof, and a second belt body composed of at least one rubberized ply containing inextensible cords crossed with the cords in the base portion of the first belt body. In the first belt body, the coating rubber has a dynamic modulus of 160-400 kg/cm.sup.2 and a gauge of rubber interposed between the cords in the base portion and the cords in the folded portion is within a range of 1.3-4.5 times an average diameter of the cords and is not less than 2 times a gauge of the coating rubber located outside the cords in the base portion opposite to the folded portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1984
    Assignee: Bridgestone Tire Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yutaka Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki Koizumi, Tamio Araki, Koichi Kojima, Nobumasa Ikeda
  • Patent number: 4434833
    Abstract: An axle wheel end assembly (10) is provided for vehicles having an onboard tire inflation system (12). The wheel end assembly includes a rotary seal assembly (68) defining an annular air chamber (70) which seal assembly is received in a relatively protected inboardly opening annular space (69) defined by an axle spindle surface (66) and an axially inboardly extending sleeve (62) of the hub (42). Open/close valve member (110) is located outboard of the hub flange (50) interposed the fluid connections between the annular air chamber (70) and the opening (120) to the tire rim (122) for isolating the interior of the tire rim from the inflation system for storage and/or steady state driving conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 6, 1984
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventors: Glen E. Swanson, Larry A. Garstick
  • Patent number: 4434830
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire having better aerodynamic characteristics than conventionally shaped tires is disclosed. A radial cross-section of the tire has an external contour on each side of its mid-circumferential plane, exclusive of indicia on the sidewalls or traction elements of the tread portion, that extends continuously axially outwardly and radially inwardly to the point where the external surface of each sidewall intersects a radially extending line, that is tangent to the axially outer edge of a retaining flange of a rim that the tire is mountable upon, with a portion of the external contour on each side of the mid-circumferential plane at least approximating an ellipse. The external surfaces of the sidewalls do not extend more than 2.54 millimeters (0.1 inch) axially outwardly of the axially outer edge of the retaining flange of the rim at any location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1983
    Date of Patent: March 6, 1984
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Samuel P. Landers, William E. Egan
  • Patent number: 4432405
    Abstract: This pressure cuff tire pump device, provides a unique way of inflating an automobile tire, without removing the tire or jacking up the automobile. Primarily, it consists of a flexible rubber casing containing a bladder, which is secured to the wheel having the tire that is to be inflated, by a pair of adjustable straps. The device also includes a hose attached to the bladder, so as to fill the tire with air from the bladder when the automobile is moving. The device further includes an intake valve for receiving air at atmospheric pressure, and an air output valve is included in the hose, to enable the air received in the bladder, to travel into the tire by its valve stem, and the pumping action is supplied by the tire rotating when the automobile is being driven. The device further includes a pressure relief valve, to prevent excessive build-up of air pressure within the bladder and casing of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1982
    Date of Patent: February 21, 1984
    Inventor: Harold Grushkin
  • Patent number: 4431043
    Abstract: An automatic tire inflation/deflation system for a vehicle (10) is disclosed. Air passageways for the pressurize air are provided internally through the wheel assemblies without cutting into load bearing members. A rotating seal is provided by way of a pair of sealing rings (52,54) located inboard of the hub bearings (32,33) to protect the seals from adverse environmental conditions. A kit for retrofitting vehicles to include an automatic tire inflation/deflation system is also disclosed. Ramp surfaces (90, 91, 92) formed in the hub (30') are provided to facilitate removal of the bearing assemblies (32, 33).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1981
    Date of Patent: February 14, 1984
    Assignee: AM General Corporation
    Inventors: Fred L. Goodell, Michael J. Ellison
  • Patent number: 4431042
    Abstract: An antiskid tire chain comprises a plurality of cross chains which are systematically arranged in groups of three along the tire chain, one end link of each cross chain in a group being joined in a junction member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1982
    Date of Patent: February 14, 1984
    Assignee: Norsk Kjettingindustri A-S Alf Nosted
    Inventor: Gordon W. E. Daniel
  • Patent number: 4424842
    Abstract: A vehicle wheel comprises two circular wheel halves, each having a portion of a rim, approximately one-half of the circumference of a safety tread and means for attaching the tread portion to the rim portion. The parts of the tread interface with each other on a bias so they can be brought together and separated by relative movement having a component transverse to the central axis of the wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1982
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1984
    Inventor: Francois P. Trebaol