Patents for March

Patents for the Rubber Industry as compiled by the editors of Rubber World in March

Non-pneumatic tire
U.S. patent: 11,235,619
Issued: February 1, 2022
Inventor: Noriyuki Tsuji
Assigned: Toyo Tire
Key statement: A non-pneumatic tire includes: an inner annular portion; an outer annular portion; and a
plurality of connecting portions connecting the inner and outer annular portions to each other. The first
and second connecting portions are arrayed along a tire circumferential direction. The first and second
connecting portions have a plate thickness smaller than a plate width and have a plate thickness
direction oriented to the tire circumferential direction. When S is a length in the tire width direction and H
is a height in a tire radial direction in the first and second connecting portions, an inclination angle (K) of
a centerline of each plate width (w) of the first and second connecting portions to the tire width direction
in intersecting portions of the first and second connecting portions when viewed from the tire
circumferential direction satisfies a relationship of 30 x (H/S)0.7 ≤ K ≤ 75 x (H/S)0.7.

Novolac resins and use in rubber compositions
U.S. patent: 11,236,190
Issued: February 1, 2022
Inventors: Tamon Itahashi, David P. McNaughton, Koichiro Tajima and Michael C. Walkup
Assigned: Sumitomo Chemical
Key statement: A resorcinolic novolac resin composition comprising the reaction product of (i) an
aldehyde or ketone and (ii) aralkyl-substituted resorcinol and resorcinol, where the moles of the aralkylsubstituted resorcinol to the total moles of the resorcinol and aralkyl-substituted resorcinol is 0.01:1 to 0.4:1.

Pneumatic tire
U.S. patent: 11,235,620
Issued: February 1, 2022
Inventor: Isao Kuwayama
Assigned: Bridgestone
Key statement: A pneumatic tire comprising a carcass (11), at least one inclined belt layer (13) having a
cord extending inclined at an angle of 30° or more relative to the tire circumferential direction and a
tread (15) arranged outward in the tire radial direction of the inclined belt layer (13), wherein a
circumferential cord layer (14) arranged inward in the tire radial direction of the tread (15) has a highrigidity region and a low-rigidity region and the high-rigidity region has a lower negative ratio in a ground
contact width of the tread (15) than the low-rigidity region
contact width of the tread (15) than the low rigidity region.

Rubber composition for inner liner and pneumatic tire
U.S. patent: 11,236,223
Issued: February 1, 2022
Inventors: Hiroshi Ito, Sakae Okubo and Kei Kohara
Assigned: Sumitomo Rubber
Key statement: The present invention provides an innerliner rubber composition having an excellent
balance of sheet processability and air retention properties and a pneumatic tire including the rubber
composition. The present invention relates to an innerliner rubber composition, containing a rubber
component; a mixture of a fatty acid metal salt and a fatty acid amide; an oil; and a C5 petroleum resin,
the rubber component including, based on 100% by mass thereof, at least 70% by mass of a butyl-based
rubber, the mixture being present in an amount of 0.8 to 3.2 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the
rubber component, the mixture, the oil and the C5 petroleum resin being present in a combined amount
of 6.0 to 16.0 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the rubber component.

Method for producing polyisoprenoid, transformed plant, method for producing pneumatic tire and
method for producing rubber product Tire comprising a tread
U.S. patent: 11,241,912
Issued: February 8, 2022
Inventors: Makiko Watanabe and Hiroko Fukasawa
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A tire having a tread comprising at least two radially superposed portions which comprise
a radially external portion intended to come into contact with ground during rolling, the radially external
portion being made of a first rubber composition and a radially internal portion made of a second rubber
composition; wherein the first rubber composition is based on at least an elastomer matrix; and a
reinforcing filler comprising between 40 and 200 phr of a reinforcing inorganic filler; wherein the second
rubber composition is based on at least: an elastomer matrix comprising 20 to 70 phr of a first diene
elastomer bearing at least one SiOR function, R being a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon radical, 20 to 70
phr of a second diene elastomer which is polyisoprene and comprising no third diene elastomer or at
most 20 phr; a reinforcing filler comprising a reinforcing inorganic filler.

Ground tire rubber density modification using elastomeric polymers
U.S. patent: 11,242,459
Issued: February 8, 2022
Inventors: Eric W. Cochran, Nacu
Hernandez and Ronald Christopher Williams
Assigned: Iowa State University Research Foundation
Key statement: The present invention relates to an asphalt product that comprises an asphalt component
and a plurality of pellets comprising a mixture of a ground tire rubber and an elastomeric polymer,
where the density difference between the asphalt component and the plurality of pellets is less than
10%. The present invention further relates to a pellet comprising a ground tire rubber (GTR) and an
elastomeric polymer mixed with the GTR, where the GTR has a density of less than 1.12 g/cm3. Also
disclosed are methods of producing improved asphalt and paving a surface.

Conjugated diene polymer, conjugated diene polymer composition and tire
U.S. patent: 11,248,064
Issued: February 15, 2022
Inventors: Atsushi Yasumoto and Hideki Yamasaki
Assigned: Japan Elastomer
Key statement: A conjugated diene polymer satisfying following conditions (1) to (4): (1) the conjugated
diene polymer has two or more peaks in a molecular weight distribution curve obtained by measurement
with gel permeation chromatography (GPC); (2) the molecular weight distribution curve contains a peak
(A) having a peak molecular weight of 500,000 to 2,500,000 and a peak (B) having a peak molecular
weight of 150,000 to 600,000; (3) a total value of an area of the peak (A) and an area of the peak (B) is 70%
or more of a total area of the molecular weight distribution curve; and (4) an absolute value of the
difference between a glass transition temperature of a conjugated diene polymer in the peak (A) (Tg [A])
and a glass transition temperature of a conjugated diene polymer in the peak (B) (Tg [B]) is 2°C to 30°C.

Tire comprising a tread
U.S. patent: 11,254,164
Issued: February 22, 2022
Inventor: Tomoya Sakurada
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A tire has a tread comprising a rubber composition based on at least an elastomer matrix
comprising more than 50 phr and up to 100 phr of a first diene elastomer bearing at least one SiOR
function, R being a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon radical and optionally, 0 to less than 50 phr of a
second diene elastomer which is different from the first diene elastomer; a reinforcing filler
predominantly comprising a reinforcing inorganic filler, wherein the content of the reinforcing inorganic
filler is 20 to 200 phr; and a plasticizing agent comprising 5 to 100 phr of a liquid phosphate plasticizer
having a glass transition temperature of less than -80°C.

Tire having a composition comprising an ethylene-rich elastomer, a peroxide and a zinc acrylate
U.S. patent: 11,254,804
Issued: February 22, 2022
Inventors: Benjamin Gornard and Didier Vasseur
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A tire with improved wear resistance, rolling resistance and cohesion, comprises a rubber
composition based on at least one elastomeric matrix comprising predominantly a random copolymer
comprising ethylene units and conjugated diene units, the mole fraction of ethylene units in the
copolymer being within a range extending from 50% to 95%; a peroxide; and a zinc diacrylate derivative
in the form of a specific zinc salt; in which composition the contents of zinc diacrylate derivative and of
peroxide being such that the ratio of the peroxide content to the zinc diacrylate derivative content is
greater than or equal to 0.08; said composition comprising from 5 to less than 65 phr of reinforcing filler;
the ratio of the filler content to the zinc diacrylate derivative content being greater than or equal to 1.25.

Precured tire tread with fabric reinforcing layer
U.S. patent: 11,254,165
Issued: February 22, 2022
Inventors: Kota Kitahara, Todd A. Buxton and Terry A. Westaway
Assigned: Bridgestone
Key statement: A precured tread assembly for mounting on a tire casing is provided. The precured tread
assembly includes a tread portion having a mounting surface and an opposing ground-engaging surface
with a plurality of grooves therein. A reinforcing fabric layer is attached to the mounting surface of the
tread portion.