Patents by Inventor Kazutaka Yokokawa

Kazutaka Yokokawa 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: 11577552
    Abstract: The tread has a contact face which is provided with a plurality of grooves opening to the contact face and a plurality of contact elements being delimited by the plurality of grooves. Each contact element has a top face constituting a part of the contact face and at least two incisions opening to the top face and extending radially inward of the contact elements. The incisions include at least one thin incision that is delimited via two opposed thin incision faces having a width t1 and at least one thick incision being delimited via two opposed thick incision faces having a width t2. The width t2 is thicker than the width t1. The at least one thick incision comprises at least one protrusion protruding from one of the thick incision face toward another thick incision face. The width t2 of the at least one thick incision is at least equal to 1.0 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventors: Kazutaka Yokokawa, Masayoshi Nomura
  • Publication number: 20200391556
    Abstract: The tread has a contact face which is provided with a plurality of grooves opening to the contact face and a plurality of contact elements being delimited by the plurality of grooves. Each contact element has a top face constituting a part of the contact face and at least two incisions opening to the top face and extending radially inward of the contact elements. The incisions include at least one thin incision that is delimited via two opposed thin incision faces having a width t1 and at least one thick incision being delimited via two opposed thick incision faces having a width t2. The width t2 is thicker than the width t1. The at least one thick incision comprises at least one protrusion protruding from one of the thick incision face toward another thick incision face. The width t2 of the at least one thick incision is at least equal to 1.0 mm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2017
    Publication date: December 17, 2020
    Inventors: Kazutaka YOKOKAWA, Masayoshi NOMURA
  • Patent number: 10414212
    Abstract: The aspects disclosed herein relate to a tread for a tire including at least one block of rubbery material of width W and length L with L»W. This block extends in a circumferential direction (X) when the tread is mounted on the tire, the block including a contact surface intended to come into contact with the ground and a first lateral wall and a second lateral wall delimiting this contact surface. The block further includes a plurality of sipes opening onto the contact surface of the block, with each sipe extending over the contact surface in an oblique direction opening onto the first lateral wall and onto the second lateral wall, the sipes of the block being oriented in the same direction. The sipes are distributed over the contact surface of the block in such a way that when one sipe reaches the second lateral wall another sipe starts out from the first lateral wall at the same circumferential level (N) on the block, and each sipe includes at least two parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignees: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin, Michelin Recherche Et Technique, S.A.
    Inventors: Matthieu Bonnamour, Benoit Durand-Gasselin, Serge Lefebvre, Mathieu Vandaele, Kazutaka Yokokawa
  • Publication number: 20190009619
    Abstract: The tire has a carcass reinforcement. A crown reinforcement is disposed on the carcass reinforcement and is made up reinforcing elements. A tread is placed on the crown reinforcement and has two axial ends. At least one of the axial ends has a circumferential groove. The tread is connected by sidewalls to bead zones, each comprising a reinforcing element. At least one sidewall protuberances alternating with voids. Each protuberance has a height hp, a length lp and a width wp and a base part which has a height hb and is formed on the exterior surface of the sidewall and a top part which extends outwardly from the base part and has a top surface. The top surface has an inclined face and a remaining face connected to the inclined face by a connecting part. A height hp of the protuberance is maximal at the connecting part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2015
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Applicant: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Kazutaka YOKOKAWA, Tomohiro SEII, Masayoshi NOMURA
  • Patent number: 10155419
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a tread for a tire. The tread includes at least one elongate block of rubbery material of width W and length L with L>>W. This elongate block extends in a circumferential direction (X) when the tread is mounted on the tire. The elongate block includes a contact surface intended to come into contact with the ground and a first lateral wall and a second lateral wall delimiting this contact surface. The elongate block includes a plurality of sipes opening onto the contact surface of the elongate block, with each sine extending in an oblique direction opening onto the first lateral wall and onto the second lateral wall. The sipes are distributed over the contact surface of the block in such a way that when one sipe reaches the second lateral wall another sipe starts out from the first lateral wall, at a same circumferential level (N) on the elongate block. With the sipes delimiting sub-blocks in the elongate block, at least two of these sub-blocks are configured differently in the tread.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignees: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin, Michelin Recherche Et Technique, S.A.
    Inventors: Matthieu Bonnamour, Benoit Durand-Gasselin, Serge Lefebvre, Mathieu Vandaele, Kazutaka Yokokawa, Masayoshi Nomura
  • Publication number: 20180104992
    Abstract: Tire comprising a tread (3), with a tread surface contacting the road surface, a shoulder region (5) partially delimiting the tread (3), and a plurality of complex cutouts (6) extending through the tread (3) and through the shoulder region (5). Each complex cutout (6) comprises a sipe (7) that leads onto the tread surface and a channel (8) that extends the sipe (7) into the depth of the tread and leads onto a surface (9) of the shoulder region (5). Channel (8) of sipe (7) has a main part (11) extending through tread (3) and a widened part (12) extending through shoulder region (5) from the main part of the channel to surface (9) of shoulder region (5). As seen in cross section, the widened part (12) makes, with the surface (9) of the shoulder region (5), an outlet angle ? of less than 90 degrees.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2016
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Inventors: Marie-Hélène VANTAL, Héloïse DEBORDEAUX, Mathieu VANDAELE, Kazutaka YOKOKAWA, Vincent LEDIEU, Quentin BONNETON
  • Publication number: 20180072103
    Abstract: A tire comprising a tread. This tread comprises at least one elongate block delimited by at least one lateral wall (5) and a contact face (7). The lateral wall (5) makes a non-zero angle with a transverse direction and the contact face contacts a road surface. The tire comprises at least one channel (19) extending through the elongate block and leading onto the lateral wall (5) of this elongate block. The tire also comprises a sipe extending from the channel towards the contact face, this sipe leading onto the lateral wall of the elongate block in a lateral wall outlet region. The lateral wall of the elongate block is inclined with respect to a radial direction (Z), at least in the lateral wall outlet region of the sipe, at an angle ? of between 20 degrees and 60 degrees with respect to this radial direction (Z).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2016
    Publication date: March 15, 2018
    Inventors: Marie-Hélène VANTAL, Vincent LEDIEU, Kazutaka YOKOKAWA, Quentin BONNETON, Héloïse DEBORDEAUX, Mathieu VANDAELE
  • Publication number: 20160297253
    Abstract: The aspects disclosed herein relate to a tread for a tire including at least one block of rubbery material of width W and length L with L>>W. This block extends in a circumferential direction (X) when the tread is mounted on the tire, the block including a contact surface intended to come into contact with the ground and a first lateral wall and a second lateral wall delimiting this contact surface. The block further includes a plurality of sipes opening onto the contact surface of the block, with each sipe extending over the contact surface in an oblique direction opening onto the first lateral wall and onto the second lateral wall, the sipes of the block being oriented in the same direction. The sipes are distributed over the contact surface of the block in such a way that when one sipe reaches the second lateral wall another sipe starts out from the first lateral wall at the same circumferential level (N) on the block, and each sipe includes at least two parts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2014
    Publication date: October 13, 2016
    Applicants: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A.
    Inventors: Matthieu BONNAMOUR, Benoit DURAND-GASSELIN, Serge LEFEBVRE, Mathieu VANDAELE, Kazutaka YOKOKAWA
  • Publication number: 20160263946
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a tread for a tire. The tread includes at least one elongate block of rubbery material of width W and length L with L>>W. This elongate block extends in a circumferential direction (X) when the tread is mounted on the tire. The elongate block includes a contact surface intended to come into contact with the ground and a first lateral wall and a second lateral wall delimiting this contact surface. The elongate block includes a plurality of sipes opening onto the contact surface of the elongate block, with each sine extending in an oblique direction opening onto the first lateral wall and onto the second lateral wall. The sipes are distributed over the contact surface of the block in such a way that when one sipe reaches the second lateral wall another sipe starts out from the first lateral wall, at a same circumferential level (N) on the elongate block. With the sipes delimiting sub-blocks in the elongate block, at least two of these sub-blocks are configured differently in the tread.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2014
    Publication date: September 15, 2016
    Applicants: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE, S.A.
    Inventors: Matthieu BONNAMOUR, Benoit DURAND-GASSELIN, Serge LEFEBVRE, Mathieu VANDAELE, Kazutaka YOKOKAWA, Masayoshi NOMURA
  • Patent number: 9333718
    Abstract: A vulcanizing mold for molding and vulcanizing a tire, comprising a molding surface extending circumferentially in the mold, and comprising two end strips of patterns arranged respectively close to two edges of the molding surface and at least one intermediate strip of patterns positioned between the two end strips of patterns. At least one end strip comprises patterns belonging to a first pattern type and the patterns of the first pattern type have a width which is less than the width of the patterns belonging to the other pattern types of the end strip, and the patterns of the first pattern type are grouped at least in twos on first segments of the mold. The patterns of the end strip not belonging to the first pattern type belong to second segments, each second segment comprising just one pattern of the said end strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignees: COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN, MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A.
    Inventors: Gaël Roty, Kazutaka Yokokawa
  • Publication number: 20130292016
    Abstract: A vulcanizing mould for moulding and vulcanizing a tire, comprising a moulding surface extending circumferentially in the mould, and comprising two end strips of patterns arranged respectively close to two edges of the moulding surface and at least one intermediate strip of patterns positioned between the two end strips of patterns. At least one end strip comprises patterns belonging to a first pattern type and the patterns of the first pattern type have a width which is less than the width of the patterns belonging to the other pattern types of the end strip, and the patterns of the first pattern type are grouped at least in twos on first segments of the mould. The patterns of the end strip not belonging to the first pattern type belong to second segments, each second segment comprising just one pattern of the said end strip.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicants: MICHELIN RECHERCHE ET TECHNIQUE S.A., COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN
    Inventors: Gaël Roty, Kazutaka Yokokawa
  • Patent number: D722947
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignees: Compagnie Generale des Establissements Michelin, Michelin Recherche et Technique
    Inventors: Fumitaka Nemoto, Kohei Moribe, Kazutaka Yokokawa
  • Patent number: D722948
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignees: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements, Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A.
    Inventors: Fumitaka Nemoto, Kohei Moribe, Kazutaka Yokokawa
  • Patent number: D855010
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventors: Masayoshi Nomura, Kazutaka Yokokawa
  • Patent number: D855555
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventors: Masayoshi Nomura, Kazutaka Yokokawa