Patents by Inventor Shoei Kakuta

Shoei Kakuta 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: 10857841
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a carcass layer, a belt layer disposed outward of the carcass layer, a tread rubber disposed outward of the belt layer in a tire radial direction, sidewall rubbers disposed outward of the carcass layer in a tire width direction, and protectors disposed in regions from tire ground contact edges to maximum tire width positions and protruding from tire profiles. The protectors have a rubber hardness Hs_p in a range of 50?Hs_p?60, an elongation at break Eb_p in a range of 500%?Eb_p?700%, and an elastic modulus E_p in a range of 3.4 MPa?E_p?7.0 MPa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Inventor: Shoei Kakuta
  • Patent number: 10737533
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a plurality of center lug grooves disposed at intervals in a tire circumferential direction that extend crossing a tire equator line and include a first groove turning portion and a second groove turning portion; a plurality of shoulder lug grooves disposed in the intervals between the plurality of center lug grooves in the tire circumferential direction extending outward in the tire width direction, an inner end in the tire width direction being disposed outward of an end of the center lug groove in the tire width direction; a pair of circumferential main grooves to which the ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends of the plurality of shoulder lug grooves in the tire width direction alternately connect; and a circumferential secondary groove disposed around the entire circumference of the pneumatic tire with a wave-like shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukihito Yamaguchi, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 10322609
    Abstract: A tread pattern is provided with: shoulder lug grooves open at ground contact ends; center lug grooves each having opposite ends; circumferential primary grooves each formed in a wavy shape by connecting ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends of the shoulder lug grooves in the width direction of the tire; and center blocks defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential primary grooves. The width of the circumferential primary grooves is smaller than the width of the shoulder lug grooves. The center lug grooves are tilted relative to both the circumferential direction and the width direction of the tire and each have a third groove turning portion and a fourth groove turning portion which protrude in the different directions in the circumferential direction of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2019
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 10308079
    Abstract: A tread pattern of a pneumatic tire comprises shoulder lug grooves that open to ground contact edges; center lug grooves; a pair of circumferential primary grooves with a narrower groove width than the shoulder lug grooves, wherein a portion that bends outward in the tire width direction connects to the shoulder lug grooves and a portion that bends inward in the tire width direction connects to the center lug grooves; and center blocks defined by the center lug grooves and the circumferential primary grooves. The circumferential primary grooves are on opposite sides in the tire width direction in regions spaced from a center line by a distance of from 30% to 60% of half of a tread width T. The ratio of the groove width P3 of the center lug grooves to the maximum length LB in the tire circumferential direction of the center blocks is from 0.03 to 0.07.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukihito Yamaguchi, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 10300746
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes center lug grooves disposed at intervals in a tire circumferential direction that extend crossing a tire equator line and include a first groove turning portion and a second groove turning portion; shoulder lug grooves disposed in the intervals between the center lug grooves in the tire circumferential direction extending outward in the tire width direction, an inner end in the tire width direction being disposed outward of an end of the center lug groove in the tire width direction; a pair of circumferential main grooves to which the ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends of the shoulder lug grooves in the tire width direction alternately connect; and a circumferential secondary groove disposed around the entire circumference of the pneumatic tire that intersects the center lug grooves between the first groove turning portion and the second groove turning portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Sato, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi
  • Patent number: 10150338
    Abstract: Provided is a heavy duty pneumatic tire that includes a tread portion including, in a tread pattern: shoulder lug grooves extending outward in the tire width direction and opening at ground contact edges; a pair of circumferential primary grooves; center lug grooves; center blocks defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential primary grooves and aligned in the tire circumferential direction; and circumferential secondary grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction in the center block regions and opening to the center lug grooves adjoining the center blocks. The circumferential secondary grooves extend in the tire circumferential direction while changing positions in the tire width direction and each include third groove turning portions formed into a bent shape or a curved shape. The ratio P4/P1 of the width P4 of the circumferential secondary grooves to the width P1 of the circumferential primary grooves is from 0.70 to 1.10.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Sato, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi
  • Patent number: 10071602
    Abstract: A tread pattern is provided with: shoulder lug grooves open at ground contact edges; center lug grooves having two ends; circumferential primary grooves formed in a wave-like shape by alternately connecting ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends in the tire width direction of the shoulder lug grooves; and center blocks defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential primary grooves. The belt portion of the tire includes first cross belt layers and second cross belt layers. The ratio of the width WB of the center blocks in the tire width direction to the belt width W1 of the belt layer having the shortest width in the tire width direction among the first cross belt layers is in the range from 0.6 to 0.9.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Takamasa Motomitsu, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 10040320
    Abstract: The present technology provides a heavy duty pneumatic tire with a tread portion having a tread pattern including: a pair of circumferential primary grooves defined in a wave-like shape and extending in the tire circumferential direction; center lug grooves; center blocks; and circumferential secondary grooves extending in regions of the center blocks and open to the center lug grooves. The center lug grooves have two groove turning portions turned in a bend shape or a curved shape. The circumferential secondary grooves extend in an inclined manner relative to the tire circumferential direction. An inclination angle (?4) of the circumferential secondary grooves relative to the tire circumferential direction is different from an inclination angle (?1) of portions of the circumferential primary grooves relative to the tire circumferential direction, the portions extending toward the same side as a side in the tire width direction, toward which the circumferential secondary grooves are inclined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Hideki Hamanaka, Shoei Kakuta, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 10029517
    Abstract: A heavy-duty pneumatic tire includes a tread pattern including center lug grooves, shoulder lug grooves, a pair of circumferential primary grooves formed in wave-like shapes by alternately connecting ends of the center lug grooves and ends of the shoulder lug grooves and having a smaller width than the width of the shoulder lug grooves, center blocks defined by the center lug groove and the circumferential primary grooves, and a circumferential secondary groove extending in the tire circumferential direction so as to divide regions of the center blocks. The belt portion includes two or greater pairs of belts. The ratio of the width W8 of a belt having a smaller width in each of the belt pairs to the width W7 of a belt having a greater width is 0.75 or greater and 0.90 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Mitsuru Manabe, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 9987885
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire with improved heat build-up resistance in a land portion in a tread center region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Risa Tauchi, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Patent number: 9962997
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire having a tread pattern includes: shoulder lug grooves opening at ground contact edges; center lug grooves having both ends; circumferential primary grooves being formed to wave-like shape and alternately connecting the ends of the center lug grooves and inward ends of the shoulder lug grooves in the tire width direction; center blocks formed in a row defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential primary grooves; and circumferential secondary grooves being formed in regions of the center blocks and interconnecting center lug grooves adjacent in the tire circumferential direction. The circumferential secondary grooves have secondary groove turning portions, and the center lug grooves have lug groove turning portions and connect to the circumferential secondary grooves at the lug groove turning portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukihito Yamaguchi, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Publication number: 20180009274
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a carcass layer, a belt layer disposed outward of the carcass layer, a tread rubber disposed outward of the belt layer in a tire radial direction, sidewall rubbers disposed outward of the carcass layer in a tire width direction, and protectors disposed in regions from tire ground contact edges to maximum tire width positions and protruding from tire profiles. The protectors have a rubber hardness Hs_p in a range of 50?Hs_p?60, an elongation at break Eb_p in a range of 500%?Eb_p?700%, and an elastic modulus E_p in a range of 3.4 MPa?E_p?7.0 MPa.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2016
    Publication date: January 11, 2018
    Inventor: Shoei Kakuta
  • Publication number: 20180001714
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes center lug grooves disposed at intervals in a tire circumferential direction that extend crossing a tire equator line and include a first groove turning portion and a second groove turning portion; shoulder lug grooves disposed in the intervals between the center lug grooves in the tire circumferential direction extending outward in the tire width direction, an inner end in the tire width direction being disposed outward of an end of the center lug groove in the tire width direction; a pair of circumferential main grooves to which the ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends of the shoulder lug grooves in the tire width direction alternately connect; and a circumferential secondary groove disposed around the entire circumference of the pneumatic tire that intersects the center lug grooves between the first groove turning portion and the second groove turning portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2015
    Publication date: January 4, 2018
    Inventors: Toshiyuki SATO, Shoei KAKUTA, Hideki HAMANAKA, Yukihito YAMAGUCHI, Risa TAUCHI
  • Publication number: 20170240000
    Abstract: A heavy-duty pneumatic tire includes a tread pattern including center lug grooves, shoulder lug grooves, a pair of circumferential primary grooves formed in wave-like shapes by alternately connecting ends of the center lug grooves and ends of the shoulder lug grooves and having a smaller width than the width of the shoulder lug grooves, center blocks defined by the center lug groove and the circumferential primary grooves, and a circumferential secondary groove extending in the tire circumferential direction so as to divide regions of the center blocks. The belt portion includes two or greater pairs of belts. The ratio of the width W8 of a belt having a smaller width in each of the belt pairs to the width W7 of a belt having a greater width is 0.75 or greater and 0.90 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2015
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Inventors: Mitsuru Manabe, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Publication number: 20170239999
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a plurality of center lug grooves disposed at intervals in a tire circumferential direction that extend crossing a tire equator line and include a first groove turning portion and a second groove turning portion; a plurality of shoulder lug grooves disposed in the intervals between the plurality of center lug grooves in the tire circumferential direction extending outward in the tire width direction, an inner end in the tire width direction being disposed outward of an end of the center lug groove in the tire width direction; a pair of circumferential main grooves to which the ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends of the plurality of shoulder lug grooves in the tire width direction alternately connect; and a circumferential secondary groove disposed around the entire circumference of the pneumatic tire with a wave-like shape.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2015
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Inventors: Yukihito Yamaguchi, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Publication number: 20170225518
    Abstract: A tread pattern is provided with: shoulder lug grooves open at ground contact ends; center lug grooves each having opposite ends; circumferential primary grooves each formed in a wavy shape by connecting ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends of the shoulder lug grooves in the width direction of the tire; and center blocks defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential primary grooves. The width of the circumferential primary grooves is smaller than the width of the shoulder lug grooves. The center lug grooves are tilted relative to both the circumferential direction and the width direction of the tire and each have a third groove turning portion and a fourth groove turning portion which protrude in the different directions in the circumferential direction of the tire.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Publication date: August 10, 2017
    Inventors: Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Publication number: 20170217256
    Abstract: The present technology provides a heavy duty pneumatic tire with a tread portion having a tread pattern including: a pair of circumferential primary grooves defined in a wave-like shape and extending in the tire circumferential direction; center lug grooves; center blocks; and circumferential secondary grooves extending in regions of the center blocks and open to the center lug grooves. The center lug grooves have two groove turning portions turned in a bend shape or a curved shape. The circumferential secondary grooves extend in an inclined manner relative to the tire circumferential direction. An inclination angle (?4) of the circumferential secondary grooves relative to the tire circumferential direction is different from an inclination angle (?1) of portions of the circumferential primary grooves relative to the tire circumferential direction, the portions extending toward the same side as a side in the tire width direction, toward which the circumferential secondary grooves are inclined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Inventors: Hideki Hamanaka, Shoei Kakuta, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Publication number: 20170217255
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire with improved heat build-up resistance in a land portion in a tread center region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Inventors: Risa Tauchi, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Publication number: 20170210179
    Abstract: A tread pattern is provided with: shoulder lug grooves open at ground contact edges; center lug grooves having two ends; circumferential primary grooves formed in a wave-like shape by alternately connecting ends of the center lug grooves and the inner ends in the tire width direction of the shoulder lug grooves; and center blocks defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential primary grooves. The belt portion of the tire includes first cross belt layers and second cross belt layers. The ratio of the width WB of the center blocks in the tire width direction to the belt width W1 of the belt layer having the shortest width in the tire width direction among the first cross belt layers is in the range from 0.6 to 0.9.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Publication date: July 27, 2017
    Applicant: The Yokohama Rubber Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Takamasa Motomitsu, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Yukihito Yamaguchi, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato
  • Publication number: 20170210181
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire having a tread pattern includes: shoulder lug grooves opening at ground contact edges; center lug grooves having both ends; circumferential primary grooves being formed to wave-like shape and alternately connecting the ends of the center lug grooves and inward ends of the shoulder lug grooves in the tire width direction; center blocks formed in a row defined by the center lug grooves and the pair of circumferential primary grooves; and circumferential secondary grooves being formed in regions of the center blocks and interconnecting center lug grooves adjacent in the tire circumferential direction. The circumferential secondary grooves have secondary groove turning portions, and the center lug grooves have lug groove turning portions and connect to the circumferential secondary grooves at the lug groove turning portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Publication date: July 27, 2017
    Inventors: Yukihito Yamaguchi, Shoei Kakuta, Hideki Hamanaka, Risa Tauchi, Toshiyuki Sato