Patents by Inventor Bruce Thomas Choate

Bruce Thomas Choate 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).

  • Heated cutting wheel
    Patent number: 6565700
    Abstract: A rotatable cutting wheel is used to heat a polymer substrate as it is being cut. The cutting wheel has a heater and a thermocouple associated therewith, which are used to heat and control the temperature of the cutting wheel. The heat softens the substrate, making it easier to cut and reducing distortion caused by cutting. A cleaner cut also makes it more likely that polymer will be retained on reinforcement when the substrate is a reinforced polymer. A method of the invention comprises the steps of heating the cutting wheel and traversing the substrate with the heated cutting wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventor: Bruce Thomas Choate
  • Heated cutting wheel
    Publication number: 20020157779
    Abstract: A rotatable cutting wheel is used to heat a polymer substrate as it is being cut. The cutting wheel has a heater and a thermocouple associated therewith, which are used to heat and control the temperature of the cutting wheel. The heat softens the substrate, making it easier to cut and reducing distortion caused by cutting. A cleaner cut also makes it more likely that polymer will be retained on reinforcement when the substrate is a reinforced polymer. A method of the invention comprises the steps of heating the cutting wheel and traversing the substrate with the heated cutting wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2001
    Publication date: October 31, 2002
    Inventor: Bruce Thomas Choate
  • Forming and application of tire ply
    Patent number: 6364981
    Abstract: Forming a tubular tire ply from a flat sheet of wire reinforced material, cutting the ply to length and applying the ply to a drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2002
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: Michael Wallace Smith, Donald Chester Kubinski, Bruce Thomas Choate