Patents by Inventor Akihiko Abe

Akihiko Abe has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10486462
    Abstract: A non-pneumatic tire (11), includes: a mount body (111) that is mounted on a shaft (S); an outer cylindrical body (113) encircling the mount body from outside thereof in a radial direction of the tire; connecting members (115) arranged in a circumferential direction of the tire therebetween and connecting the mount body and the outer cylindrical body such that the mount body and the outer cylindrical body are resiliently movable relative to each other; and a cylindrical tread portion (116) encircling the outer cylindrical body from outside thereof in the radial direction of the tire. In addition, the outline of a cross-section of an outer surface (116c) of a central area (129) of the tread portion taken in a width direction of the tire is a curved line bulging outward in the radial direction of the tire, and the central area includes at least a tire equator (E).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiko Abe, Masashi Nishida
  • Publication number: 20190351701
    Abstract: A non-pneumatic tire includes an inner cylinder (6) that is attachable to an axle (15a), an outer cylinder (4) that surrounds the inner cylinder from the outside in the radial direction of the tire, and an elastically deformable connection member (3) that connects the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder to each other. A light-emitting part or a reflecting part that reflects light is provided in at least one portion of the inner cylinder, the outer cylinder, and the connection member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2017
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Inventors: Akihiko ABE, Hiroshi SATOU, Takanori SHOJI, Masashi NISHIDA, Masao OTA, Mitsunobu KAWANO
  • Publication number: 20190351702
    Abstract: The present invention provides a non-pneumatic tire including an inner tube (6) attachable to an axle (15a), an outer tube (4) configured to surround the inner tube from an outer side in a tire radial direction, and an elastically deformable connecting member (3) configured to connect the inner tube and the outer tube to each other, the non-pneumatic tire including at least one of a detection section configured to detect occurrences of scratching, damage, or deterioration in the non-pneumatic tire; and a reporting section (33) configured to report occurrences of scratching, damage, or deterioration in the non-pneumatic tire.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2017
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Inventors: Akihiko ABE, Hiroshi SATOU, Takanori SHOJI, Masashi NISHIDA, Mitsunobu KAWANO, Takahiko KATO
  • Patent number: 10300743
    Abstract: A non-pneumatic tire (1) of the present invention includes an attachment body (11) attached to an axle, a ring-shaped body (13) which surrounds the attachment body (11) from the outside in a tire radial direction, and coupling members (15) which displaceably couple the attachment body (11) to the ring-shaped body (13), wherein a plurality of coupling members (15) are arranged in a tire circumferential direction and include elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) whose opposite ends are respectively coupled to the attachment body (11) and the ring-shaped body (13), and a bending rigidity EI1 of the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) represented by E1×W1×t13/12 when the average thickness in the tire circumferential direction is t1 (mm), the average width in a tire width direction H is W1 (mm), and the Young's modulus is E1 (MPa) is smaller than the bending rigidity EI2 of the ring-shaped body (13) represented by E2×W2×t23/12 when the average thickness in the tire radial direction is t2 (mm), the average width in t
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko Abe
  • Publication number: 20190009611
    Abstract: The present invention provides a non-pneumatic tire that includes an attachment body (11) that is attached to a vehicle axle, a ring member including an inner cylinder (12) that is externally mounted on the attachment body (11) and an outer cylinder that surrounds the inner cylinder (12) from the outside in a tire radial direction, and a plurality of connecting members (15) that are arranged between the inner cylinder (12) and the outer cylinder in a tire circumferential direction and connect the cylinders to each other in a freely displaceable manner, wherein, between an outer circumferential surface (21) of the attachment body (11) and an inner circumferential surface (22) of the inner cylinder (12), a pressing member (20) that presses the attachment body (11) and the inner cylinder (12) in a direction in which they are separated from each other in the tire radial direction is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Applicant: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiko ABE, Masashi NISHIDA
  • Patent number: 10118444
    Abstract: In a non-pneumatic tire, central portions in an extension direction of first elastic connecting plates (21) and central portions in an extension direction of second elastic connecting plates (22) are spaced from each other in a tire width direction (H) by a distance of 0.25 to 0.9 times an outer tube width (W1) serving as a size in the tire width direction (H) of an outer tubular body (13), edges of a first side in the tire width direction (H) of first end portions (21a) of the first elastic connecting plates (21) are disposed at the same positions in the tire width direction (H) as edges of the first side in the tire width direction (H) of the outer tubular body (13) or disposed inside in the tire width direction (H) of the edge of the first side in the tire width direction (H) of the outer tubular body (13) within a distance of 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko Abe
  • Publication number: 20180222254
    Abstract: According to the present invention, when a first point (P1) is set on an end edge on an outer end portion (15a) side of a coupling member (15) and a fifth point (P5) is set on an end edge on an inner end portion (15b) side of the coupling member (15), and when a distance (H1) from the fifth point (P5) to the second point (P2) along a reference straight line (RL) passing through the first point (P1) and a tire axis is set to 0.80 times a reference distance (H) from the fifth point (P5) to the first point (P1) along the reference straight line, a distance (H2) from the fifth point (P5) to the third point along the reference straight line is set to 0.65 times the reference distance (H), and a distance (H3) from the fifth point (P5) to the fourth point (P4) along the reference straight line is set to 0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 4, 2016
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Applicant: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko ABE
  • Patent number: 9931890
    Abstract: A non-pneumatic tire includes an attachment body (11) attached to an axle, an outer rim body (13) configured to surround the attachment body (11) from the outside in a tire radial direction, and a connecting member (15) configured to displaceably connect the attachment body (11) and the outer rim body (13), wherein the connecting member (15) includes elastic connecting plates (21, 22) each having both end sections (21a, 21b, 22a, 22b) connected to the attachment body (11) and the outer rim body (13), a plurality of curved end sections (21g, 21h, 22g, 22h) curved in a tire circumferential direction are formed at the inner end sections (21b, 22b) of the elastic connecting plates (21, 22) connected to the attachment body (11) in a direction in which the elastic connecting plates (21, 22) extend in a side view of the tire when the tire is seen from a tire width direction, and in the curved end sections (21g, 21h, 22g, 22h), the curve directions of the curved end sections (21g, 21h, 22g, 22h) adjacent to each othe
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiko Abe, Masashi Nishida
  • Publication number: 20180056720
    Abstract: A non-pneumatic tire (1) of the present invention includes an attachment body (11) attached to an axle, a ring-shaped body (13) which surrounds the attachment body (11) from the outside in a tire radial direction, and coupling members (15) which displaceably couple the attachment body (11) to the ring-shaped body (13), wherein a plurality of coupling members (15) are arranged in a tire circumferential direction and include elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) whose opposite ends are respectively coupled to the attachment body (11) and the ring-shaped body (13), and a bending rigidity EI1 of the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) represented by E1×W1×t13/12 when the average thickness in the tire circumferential direction is t1 (mm), the average width in a tire width direction H is W (mm), and the Young's modulus is E1 (MPa) is smaller than the bending rigidity EI2 of the ring-shaped body (13) represented by E2×W2×t23/12 when the average thickness in the tire radial direction is t2 (mm), the average width in th
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Publication date: March 1, 2018
    Applicant: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko ABE
  • Patent number: 9902202
    Abstract: A connecting member (15) includes a plurality of elastic connecting plates (21) and (22) having both end portions connected to an attachment body and an outer tubular body (13) in a tire width direction (H), outer end portions connected to outer tubular bodies (13) of at least one of the elastic connecting plates (21) and (22) among the plurality of elastic connecting plates disposed in the tire width direction (H) overhang the other portion at both sides in the tire width direction (H), the outer end portion has an overhanging quantity (W1) of an outside outer end portion (25) outward in the tire width direction (H) from an outer end portion main body (27) that is equal to or larger than an overhanging quantity (W2) of an inside outer end portion (26) overhanging the outer end portion main body (27) inward in the tire width direction (H), the length (L1) of the outside outer end portion (25) in the extension direction of the elastic connecting plates (21) and (22) is equal to or larger than a length (L2) of
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takanori Shoji, Akihiko Abe
  • Publication number: 20170305195
    Abstract: In a non-pneumatic tire according to the present invention, a plurality of curved portions (21d to 21f and 22d to 22f) curved in a tire circumferential direction are formed on elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) in an extending direction in which the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) extend in a tire side view when the non-pneumatic tire 1 is viewed from a tire width direction, curvature directions of the curved portions (21d to 21f and 22d to 22f) adjacent to each other in the extending direction are opposite to each other, the size or thickness in the tire width direction and a transverse section area of the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) are the minimum at one of a plurality of inflection portions (21g, 21h, 22g, and 22h) positioned between curved portions adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22), and the size or thickness in the tire width direction and the transverse section area of the elastic coupling plates (21 and 22) gradually decrease in th
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2015
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Applicant: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Narumi TAKAHASHI, Akihiko ABE
  • Publication number: 20170253084
    Abstract: The present invention is provided with: a mounting body mounted on an axle; a ring-shaped body (13) surrounding the mounting body from an outside in a tire radial direction; a connecting member (15) configured to connect the mounting body and the ring-shaped body (13) such that the mounting body and the ring-shaped body (13) are displaceable; and a cylindrical tread member (16) mounted over the ring-shaped body (13), wherein grooves (51, 52) are formed at an outer peripheral surface of a portion located above and corresponding to a portion of the tread member (16) at which the ring-shaped body (13) and the connecting member (15) are connected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2015
    Publication date: September 7, 2017
    Applicant: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Narumi TAKAHASHI, Akihiko ABE
  • Patent number: 9713940
    Abstract: Provided is a non-pneumatic tire including an attachment body attached to an axle, a ring-shaped body (13) configured to surround the attachment body from the outside in the tire radial direction, and a plurality of connecting members disposed between an exterior body (12) and the ring-shaped body (13) in a tire circumferential direction and configured to connect the exterior body (12) and the ring-shaped body (13) in a relatively displaceable manner, wherein, when the tire comes in contact with the ground, the connecting members are deformed by a compressive load in the tire radial direction, and the exterior body (12) and the ring-shaped body (13) are relatively displaced in the tire radial direction, among the plurality of connecting members, the connecting members disposed between the ground surface (G), with which the tire comes in contact, and the exterior body (12) abut other connecting members neighboring in the tire circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masashi Nishida, Akihiko Abe
  • Publication number: 20170136814
    Abstract: A non-pneumatic tire (11), includes: a mount body (111) that is mounted on a shaft (S); an outer cylindrical body (113) encircling the mount body from outside thereof in a radial direction of the tire; connecting members (115) arranged in a circumferential direction of the tire therebetween and connecting the mount body and the outer cylindrical body such that the mount body and the outer cylindrical body are resiliently movable relative to each other; and a cylindrical tread portion (116) encircling the outer cylindrical body from outside thereof in the radial direction of the tire. In addition, the outline of a cross-section of an outer surface (116c) of a central area (129) of the tread portion taken in a width direction of the tire is a curved line bulging outward in the radial direction of the tire, and the central area includes at least a tire equator (E).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Applicant: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Akihiko ABE, Masashi NISHIDA
  • Publication number: 20170120680
    Abstract: A non-pneumatic tire (1) includes an attachment body attached to an axle, a ring-shaped body (13) configured to surround the attachment body from the outside in a tire radial direction, a connecting member (15) configured to connect the attachment body and the ring-shaped body while allowing displacement therebetween, and a cylindrical tread member (16) installed outside the ring-shaped body, wherein an outer circumferential surface of the tread member has a plurality of curved surface sections (41) to (42) that are continuously formed in a tire width direction (H) with no step difference and formed in a shape protruding outward in the tire radial direction when seen in a cross-sectional view in the tire width direction, the plurality of curved surface sections have different radii of curvature in the tire width direction when seen in the cross-sectional view, and in the plurality of curved surface sections, and intermediate curved surface sections (42) disposed between a central curved surface section (41) d
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2015
    Publication date: May 4, 2017
    Applicant: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Narumi TAKAHASHI, Akihiko ABE
  • Patent number: D832770
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko Abe
  • Patent number: D833370
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko Abe
  • Patent number: D833959
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko Abe
  • Patent number: D844541
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko Abe
  • Patent number: D844542
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Akihiko Abe