Patents by Inventor Erik Knuth

Erik Knuth 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).

  • Engineered surfaces for laboratory tread wear testing of tires
    Patent number: 8555698
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a substantially rigid hardened wear surface for a tire tread wear testing apparatus is provided, the method comprising making a cast of a road surface on which tread wear of the tire is to be tested, providing a layer of adhesive mixed with at least one aggregate and configured for hardening to create the substantially rigid hardened wear surface, while the layer of adhesive is unhardened: (a) coating the layer of adhesive onto a road wheel of the tire tread wear testing apparatus, and (b) stamping an impression of the cast into the layer of epoxy adhesive for producing the wear surface adapted for emulating one or more surface roughness characteristics of the road surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignees: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Paul M. Neugebauer, Erik Knuth, David O. Stalnaker, Craig K. McClung, Alleva Lorenzo, Kurata Takayuki, Yukitake Kosuke, Hiroshi Egami, Alberto del Grosso
  • ENGINEERED SURFACES FOR LABORATORY TREAD WEAR TESTING OF TIRES
    Publication number: 20120186324
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a substantially rigid hardened wear surface for a tire tread wear testing apparatus is provided, the method comprising making a cast of a road surface on which tread wear of the tire is to be tested, providing a layer of adhesive mixed with at least one aggregate and configured for hardening to create the substantially rigid hardened wear surface, while the layer of adhesive is unhardened: (a) coating the layer of adhesive onto a road wheel of the tire tread wear testing apparatus, and (b) stamping an impression of the cast into the layer of epoxy adhesive for producing the wear surface adapted for emulating one or more surface roughness characteristics of the road surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Publication date: July 26, 2012
    Applicants: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, Bridgestone Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Neugebauer, Erik Knuth, David O. Stalnaker, Craig K. McClung, Alleva Lorenzo, Kurata Takyuki, Yukitake Kosuke, Hiroshi Egami, Alberto DelGrosso
  • Tire wear analysis method
    Publication number: 20050066719
    Abstract: A method of developing a set of input forces used to analyze tire wear includes the steps of characterizing a wear course by driving a vehicle over the wear course and measuring data related to a plurality of forces experienced by the vehicle. A vehicle characterization model for a target vehicle having at least one tire is developed. The vehicle characterization model is used to calculate force data that represents the forces that would be experienced by at least one tire of the characterized vehicle if the characterized vehicle were driven over the characterized wear test course in the first vehicle configuration. The force data is then used to analyze tire wear using a computer prediction technique or by running an indoor wear test on the tire.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2004
    Publication date: March 31, 2005
    Inventors: John Turner, David Stalnaker, James Ulmer, Erik Knuth