Patents for December
Patents from the December issue of Rubber World Magazine as compiled by our editors from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Polymer composition, crosslinked product and tire
U.S. patent: 12,305,025
Issued: May 20, 2025
Inventor: Rikimaru Kuwabara
Assigned: Eneos Materials
Key statement: This polymer composition includes: a modified conjugated diene based polymer having at least one nitrogen containing functional group selected from the group consisting of a primary amino group, a secondary amino group, a tertiary amino group, a primary amino group having been protected or converted into an onium group, a secondary amino group having been protected or converted into an onium group and a tertiary amino group having been converted into an onium group; and a functional-group-containing polymer having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of an epoxy group, an acid anhydride structure, an oxazoline group, a hydroxyl group, a carboxyl group and a sulfo group.
Chloroprene based block copolymer, latex, latex composition and rubber composition
U.S. patent: 12,312,433
Issued: May 27, 2025
Inventors: Yushi Kumagai, Wataru Nishino, Yutaka Saito and Naoki Kobayashi
Assigned: Denka
Key statement: A chloroprene based block copolymer, a latex, a latex composition and a rubber composition that can produce a product with excellent flexibility and tensile properties without the use of a vulcanizing agent or a vulcanizing accelerator. A chloroprene based block copolymer, includes 5% to 30% by mass of a polymer block (A) and 70% to 95% by mass of a chloroprene based polymer block (B), wherein: the polymer block (A) is derived from a monomer; when the monomer is polymerized alone, a polymer with a glass transition temperature of 80°C or higher can be obtained; the chloroprene based polymer block (B) includes a chloroprene monomer; and the chloroprene based block copolymer has a toluene insoluble content of 20% to 100% by mass with respect to 100% by mass of the chloroprene based block copolymer.
Tire comprising a polymeric composition comprising a thermoplastic elastomer comprising units derived from diphenylene ether monomer
U.S. patent: 12,312,434
Issued: May 27, 2025
Inventors: Jean Coue, Stephanie Laube, Romain Libert and Garry Vegi
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A tire comprises a polymeric composition comprising at least one block thermoplastic elastomer comprising at least one elastomer block and at least one thermoplastic block, in which each elastomer block comprises at least 70% by weight of units resulting from isoprene, with respect to the weight of said elastomer block, and at least one thermoplastic block comprises 40% to 80% by weight of units resulting from one or more styrenic monomers and 10% to 63% by weight of units resulting from diphenylethylene, with respect to the weight of said thermoplastic block.
Tire tread comprising a crosslinking system based on organic peroxide
U.S. patent: 12,311,701
Issued: May 27, 2025
Inventor: Philippe Labrunie
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A tire tread comprises a rubber composition based on at least from 50 to 100 phr of a first diene elastomer, the first diene elastomer being a polybutadiene based elastomer, modified with a functional group capable of interacting with silica as reinforcing filler; optionally from 0 to 50 phr of a second diene elastomer; at least 20 phr of carbon black; less than 40 phr of silica as reinforcing filler; a coupling agent; a plasticizing system comprising a plasticizing resin exhibiting a glass transition temperature of greater than 20°C; and a crosslinking system based on organic peroxide; the total content of the first diene elastomer and of the second diene elastomer in the composition being within a range extending from 80 to 100 phr.
Liquid crystal elastomer compositions and methods of making the same
U.S. patent: 12,319,861
Issued: June 3, 2025
Inventors: Timothy White, Tayler Hebner, Joselle McCracken, Brian Donovan, Christopher Bowman and Grant Bauman
Assigned: The Regents of the University of Colorado
Key statement: A liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) formed from liquid crystalline monomers having 4-(6-(acryloyloxy)n-oxy)phenyl-4-(6-(acryloyloxy)m-oxy)benzoate (CnBAPE) as the mesogenic core. The LCEs have improved thermotropic characteristics, including lower thermotropic activation temperatures. The LCEs may also incorporate azobenzene to thereby also enhance the phototropic properties of the LCE.
Plasticizer system and rubber composition for pneumatic tire
U.S. patent: 12,319,092
Issued: June 3, 2025
Inventors: Nihat Ali Isitman and Matthew Adam Goldberg
Assigned: Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Key statement: The invention relates to a plasticizer system for use in a tread rubber composition. The plasticizer system is partially derived from or devoid of petroleum based oils and resins. The pneumatic tire has a tread of a rubber composition comprising, based on 100 parts by weight of elastomer (phr): from about 10 to about 60 phr of a solution polymerized styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) extended with an oil not derived from petroleum; and a plasticizer system comprised of (1) from about 4 to about 8 phr of a plasticizing oil not derived from petroleum and (2) from about 10 to about 20 phr of a hydrocarbon plasticizing resin selected from styrene/α-methyl styrene resin and polyterpene plasticizing resin.
Olefin based rubber composition
U.S. patent: 12,319,762
Issued: June 3, 2025
Inventor: Kazuya Hashimoto
Assigned: Nok
Key statement: Provided is an olefin based rubber composition having low hardness, good thermal conductivity and good electrical insulation, and applying little load on a manufacturing facility. The olefin based rubber composition of the present disclosure contains an ethylene-α-olefin-nonconjugated polyene copolymer, at least two types of magnesium carbonate which are small-particle size magnesium carbonate with 0.3 to 5 μm of an average particle size and large-particle size magnesium carbonate with 7-60 μm of an average particle size and a crosslinking agent, wherein the composition contains 400 to 1,200 parts by mass of a total content of the two types of magnesium carbonate per 100 parts by mass of the ethylene-α-olefin-nonconjugated polyene copolymer, durometer A hardness conforming to JIS K 6253-3:2012 of the olefin based rubber composition after crosslinking is 80 and thermal conductivity conforming to ASTM D7984 of the olefin based rubber composition after crosslinking is 2.0 W/m∙K or more.
Tire fitting system and a method therein for sensor discrimination
U.S. patent: 12,319,099
Issued: June 3, 2025
Inventor: Roman Iustin
Assigned: Volvo Truck
Key statement: A tire fitting system and a method for discriminating between tire sensors of a wheel to be assembled on a vehicle is provided. The tire fitting system comprising a processing circuitry configured to receive an identity of an RFID tag mounted on a rim, or in a tire, of a wheel. The processing circuitry is also configured to receive, from the at least two tire sensors, tire sensor signals comprising status information indicating how their respective tire sensor was activated. The processing circuitry is further configured to determine which identity of the at least two tire sensors is to be associated with the identity of the RFID tag based on the status information.
Rubber compositions prepared with a polar polysulfide crosslinking agent
U.S. patent: 12,319,795
Issued: June 3, 2025
Inventors: Erin Sheepwash and Rita E. Cook
Assigned: Bridgestone
Key statement: A vulcanizate prepared by a method comprising introducing an elastomer, a filler and a polar polysulfide crosslinking agent to form a masterbatch and introducing a curative to the masterbatch to form a vulcanizable composition. Vulcanizing the composition to graft the polar group from the crosslinking agent onto an elastomer to increase the hydrophilicity of the composition.
Silicone rubber based curable composition, structure, wearable device and method for manufacturing structure
U.S. patent: 12,325,794
Issued: June 10, 2025
Inventors: Jun Okada, Yumiko Yamanoi and Motoki Sato
Assigned: Sumitomo Bakelite
Key statement: A silicone rubber based curable composition according to the present invention includes an organopolysiloxane including a vinyl group-containing organopolysiloxane (A), and an inorganic filler including silica particles (C), in which in a 1H-NMR spectrum of the silicone rubber based curable composition, a first peak derived from a vinyl group is present, a vinyl group index is equal to or less than 3.5×10−1% by mole and a content of the inorganic filler satisfies a range of equal to or more than 5 parts by weight and equal to or less than 60 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the organopolysiloxane.