Patents for July

Patents as compiled for the rubber industry in July

Silica-containing rubber compositions containing specified coupling agents and related methods
U.S. patent: 11,028,256 Issued: June 8, 2021
Inventor: Seth M. Miller
Assigned: Bridgestone
Key statement: Disclosed herein are rubber compositions comprising a conjugated diene-containing
polymer, a reinforcing filler including silica, a bifunctional silane coupling agent and an unsaturated, nonsulfur silane coupling agent, where the ratio of the bi-functional silane coupling agent to the unsaturated,
non-sulfur silane coupling agent is from about 5:1 to about 20:1. Also disclosed are related methods
which include both in situ reaction of the silica filler and the unsaturated, non-sulfur silane coupling
agent and pre-reacting of at least a portion of the silica filler and at least a portion of the unsaturated,
non-sulfur silane coupling agent.

Composition for tire tread comprising resin alternative to process oil
U.S. patent: 11,028,255 Issued: June 8, 2021
Inventor: Young-Deuck Lee
Assigned: Kolon Industries
Key statement: The present invention relates to a composition for a tire tread, comprising a resin
alternative to a process oil. The composition for a tire tread, according to the present invention, can
satisfy basic physical properties required of a tire, such as tensile strength, wear resistance, durability
and hardness, and improve the gripping force without a big increase in rolling resistance. A tire
manufactured from the composition has the improved gripping force, particularly on wet road surfaces,
and thus may be used for manufacturing a high-performance tire with excellent breakability, thereby
being capable of increasing product competitiveness.

Rubber composition comprising a specific crumb rubber
U.S. patent: 11,028,254 Issued: June 8, 2021
Inventors: Damien Thomasson and Olivia Cuscito
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A rubber composition is based on at least an elastomer, a reinforcing filler and a
crosslinking system and a crumb rubber said crumb having an isoprene elastomer content of greater
crosslinking system and a crumb rubber, said crumb having an isoprene elastomer content of greater
than 50 phr in the composition of the crumb and a chloroform extract with a weight-average molecular
weight of less than 10 000 g/mol.

Multicomponent copolymer, rubber composition, crosslinked rubber composition, rubber product and
tire
U.S. patent: 11,021,595 Issued: June 1, 2021
Inventors: Yasuo Horikawa, Olivier Tardif and Yamato Ono
Assigned: Bridgestone
Key statement: An object of the present invention is to provide a multicomponent copolymer for use in
producing a crosslinked rubber composition and a rubber product excellent in fracture performance
(strength and elongation) at high temperatures while maintaining high weather resistance. Further, the
invention provides a rubber composition containing the multicomponent copolymer, a crosslinked
rubber composition obtained by crosslinking the rubber composition and a rubber product and a tire
using the rubber composition or the crosslinked rubber composition. The multicomponent copolymer of
the invention contains a conjugated diene unit, a non-conjugated olefin unit and an aromatic vinyl unit,
wherein the main chain is formed of an acyclic structure alone, the content of the aromatic vinyl unit is 3
mol % or more of the whole multicomponent copolymer and the content of the non-conjugated olefin
unit is more than 44 mol % and less than 97 mol % of the whole multicomponent copolymer.

Method for manufacturing wet rubber masterbatch
U.S. patent: 11,021,594 Issued: June 1, 2021
Inventor: Kenji Nomura
Assigned: Toyo Tire
Key statement: A method for manufacturing wet rubber masterbatch obtained from raw materials in the
form of at least filler, dispersion solvent and rubber latex solution, includes an operation in which the
rubber latex solution is mixed and coagulated with a slurry solution containing the filler and the
dispersion solvent to manufacture a filler- containing rubber coagulum; and a heating operation in which
a single-screw extruder is used to carry out dewatering, drying and plasticization of the filler-containing
rubber coagulum in a single operation. The method satisfies conditions: 0.02 ???????? C/(A x B) ????????
0.15, where A indicates, for a portion of the screw which is located at the dewatering portion, the pitch
volume (mm3), B indicates rotational speed (rpm) of the screw and C indicates feed volume per minute
(mm3/minute) of the filler-containing rubber coagulum which is fed into the single-screw extruder.

Durable elastomeric compositions employing cyclododecasulfur as a vulcanizing agent
U.S. patent: 11,021,581 Issued: June 1, 2021
Inventors: Scott Donald Barnicki, Frederick Ignatz-Hoover, Robert Thomas Hembre, Andrew Neil Smith,
Henk Kreulen, Aruna M. Velamakanni, Chenchy Lin and Ronald H. Arthur
Assigned: Eastman Chemical Key statement: Vulcanizable elastomeric formulations are disclosed. The
formulations comprise at least one elastomer; a vulcanizing agent comprising cyclododecasulfur; and a
prevulcanization inhibitor, present in an amount, for example, from about 0.01 phr to about 10 phr. The
formulations, when vulcanized, provide articles that exhibit improved durability.

Tire vulcanization mold, tire vulcanization device and tire production method
U.S. patent: 11,020,919 Issued: June 1, 2021
Inventor: Masaaki Ohara
Assigned: Toyo Tire
Key statement: A tire vulcanization mold disclosed herein includes sectors (13) divided in a tire
circumferential direction and molding a tread portion (1) and a pair of upper and lower side plates (11)
and (12) molding a sidewall portion (2) of a tire. Mold parting lines (16a) and (17a) formed by the sectors
and the side plates are located in the tread portion (1). A lateral groove molding rib (18) molding a lateral
groove (5) in the tread portion is provided to bridge from the sectors (13) to the side plates (11) and (12)
and a protrusion molding recess (18a) used to mold a protrusion (5a) at a groove bottom of the lateral
groove (5) is provided to the lateral groove molding rib (18). Mold parting planes (16) and (17) are
provided to divide the lateral groove molding rib (18) at a position where the protrusion molding recess
(18a) is provided.

Braided tire material
U.S. patent: 11,021,016 Issued: June 1, 2021
Inventor: Albert H. Robinson
Assigned: Bridgestone
Key statement: The various embodiments relate to pneumatic tires including a cap ply of braided strands
of yarn. Various embodiments relate to strands of yarn that are fiberglass filaments or steel. The braided
strands may include a tight braid or a loose braid. Various embodiments include braids having 1 to 5
stitches per cm.