Patents for April
Patent as compiled by the editors of Rubber World for the April issue
Venting device and tire mold
U.S. patent: 11,260,614
Issued: March 1, 2022
Inventors: Wei Zhang, Wanli Wang, Ping Du, Riwen Sun, Jian Li, Lixin Feng and Yizhao Zang
Assigned: Himile Mechanical Science and Technology
Key statement: A venting device and a tire mold are disclosed for use in a tire vulcanization process. The venting device includes a core shaft and a sleeve sleeved over the core shaft, a venting passage is formed between the sleeve and the core shaft, the core shaft includes a shaft body, one end of the shaft body is connected to a shaft head, the other end of the shaft body is connected to a shaft end piece provided with a groove extending through the shaft end piece and an end of the groove facing away from the shaft head is closed. The shaft end piece is used for axially stopping the shaft body and the shaft end piece is further used for assembling the sleeve and the core shaft by contracting and springing back.
Rubber composition and method for producing same
U.S. patent: 11,261,311
Issued: March 1, 2022
Inventors: Souichiro Miura
Assigned: Toyo Tire
Key statement: This rubber composition comprises a rubber wet masterbatch which uses a rubber latex solution and a carbon black (A) containing slurry as raw materials, rubber and carbon black (B), wherein the amount of the carbon black (A) in the rubber wet masterbatch is 1 to 35 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the rubber component in the rubber wet masterbatch and the total amount of the carbon black (A) and (B) in the rubber composition is 50 parts by weight or more with respect to 100 parts by weight of the total rubber component in the rubber composition. Accordingly, the present invention can provide: a rubber composition from which vulcanized rubber having excellent low heat generating properties and wear resistance can be obtained; and a method for producing the rubber composition.
Tire with main kerfs and sub-kerfs
U.S. patent: 11,260,700
Issued: March 1, 2022
Inventors: Eun Sil Lee and Myeong Rak Choi
Assigned: Hankook Tire
Key statement: The present invention relates to a tire with main kerfs and subkerfs and more particularly, to a tire with main kerfs and sub-kerfs, which maintains drainage performance and running and braking performance by additionally including an auxiliary groove and improves a flow of air and drainage performance by including an auxiliary flow tube.
Rubber blend, sulfur-crosslinkable rubber mixture, and vehicle tire
U.S. patent: 11,261,312
Issued: March 1, 2022
Inventors: Carla Recker, Catarina Sa, Kathrin Wehming-Bomkamp, Viktoria Pavon Sierra, Norbert Mueller
and Michael Radke
Assigned: Continental Reifen
Key statement: The invention relates to a sulfur-crosslinkable rubber mixture comprising a rubber blend composed of at least one solution-polymerized diene polymer (A) of high molecular weight and at least one solution polymerized polymer (B) of low molecular weight, wherein at least one of polymers (A) and (B) has been functionalized at the chain end and/or along the polymer chain and/or at a coupling site with at least one group selected from epoxy groups, hydroxyl groups, carboxyl groups, silane sulfide groups, amino groups, siloxane groups, organosilicon groups, phthalocyanine groups and amino group containing alkoxysilyl groups, 30 to 300 phr of at least one silica and 1 to 20 phf of at least one substance of formula (I) as silane coupling agent (R1R2R3)Si–S4–Si(R3R2R1) (I) where R1, R2, R3 in the structure may be the same or different and may be selected from linear or branched alkoxy, cycloalkoxy, alkyl, cycloalkyl or aryl groups having 1 to 20 carbon atoms.
Tire with tread features having offset protrusions
U.S. patent: 11,260,697
Issued: March 1, 2022
Inventor: Martin A. Yurjevich
Assigned: Bridgestone Americas Tire
Key statement: A shear-controlled tire tread includes a plurality of narrow channels disposed generally perpendicular to a rolling direction. Each narrow channel includes a heel side, a toe side and a valley connecting the heel side and the toe side and a first plurality of ridges disposed on a heel side and a second plurality of ridges disposed on a toe side. The first plurality of ridges disposed on a heel side and the second plurality of ridges disposed on a toe side are offset and form interacting friction surfaces when a heel side collapses toward a toe side or a toe side collapses toward a heel side.
Thermoplastic elastomer compositions having micronized rubber powder
U.S. patent: 11,274,195
Issued: March 15, 2022
Inventor: C. Thomas Rosenmayer
Assigned: Lehigh Technologies
Key statement: Thermoplastic elastomers comprising micronized or pulverized rubber powders are disclosed having physical properties equivalent to those of virgin thermoplastic elastomers. For example, the use of finer mesh MRP (e.g., particles of size that would pass through 40 mesh or smaller) to manufacture thermoplastic elastomers results in thermoplastic elastomers that have physical properties equivalent to those of virgin thermoplastic elastomers. Similarly, the use of a glycidyl functional terpolymer (optionally in combination with trimellitic anhydride or “TMA”) to manufacture thermoplastic elastomers comprising MRP results in thermoplastic elastomers that have physical properties equivalent to those of virgin thermoplastic elastomers. Moreover, the use of styrene- ethylene/butylene-styrene thermoplastic (e.g., “SEBS”) in place of the base polypropylene thermoplastic elastomer to manufacture thermoplastic elastomers comprising MRP also results in thermoplastic elastomers that have physical properties equivalent to those of virgin thermoplastic elastomers.
Sealant tire
U.S. patent: 11,267,297
Issued: March 8, 2022
Inventor: Naoki Yukawa
Assigned: Sumitomo Rubber
Key statement: The present invention provides a sealant tire with excellent noise reducing properties and high productivity. The present invention relates to a sealant tire including a porous sound-absorbing material attached to the inner side of an innerliner through a sealant layer, the sealant layer containing 1 to 30 parts by weight of an inorganic filler per 100 parts by weight of butyl rubber.
Noise damper bonded to tire using adhesives
U.S. patent: 10,632,799
Issued: April 5, 2022
Inventors: Ramendra Nath Majumdar,
Wang Dapeng and Zhang Tao
Assigned: Triangle Tyre
Key statement: The invention relates to a tire comprising a circumferential tread having an outer tread surface and an inner innerliner surface; at least two spaced-apart beads; sidewall portions extending between the tread and the beads; and a belt-like foam noise damper having first and second terminal ends, wherein the noise damper lines the innerliner surface; wherein the noise damper is secured to the innerliner surface via an adhesive situated between the noise damper and the innerliner, wherein the terminal ends of the noise damper are cut at an angle of less than 90 degrees, overlap each other and the overlapped second terminal end of the foam is joined to the first terminal end by the adhesive present underneath the second terminal end, and wherein the adhesive has weight in the range of 30 to 800 grams per square meter of foam surface.