Patents for September
Patents as compile for the September issue of Rubber World Magazine
Rubber composition and pneumatic tire
U.S. patent: 11,077,711
Issued: August 3, 2021
Inventors: Wataru Sakai, Takuma Arikawa, Ryosuke Sakai, Yu Shinke, Yuko Sekine and Fumito
Yatsuyanagi
Assigned: Yokohama Rubber
Key statement: A rubber composition of the present technology is a rubber composition including a diene rubber and a filler; the diene rubber containing at least a styrene-butadiene copolymer; a radical generation index of the styrene-butadiene copolymer being not greater than 1.0 and being smaller than a value Y calculated by equation (1): Y = -0.0186 x (SV mass % + vinyl unit mol. %) + 1.5.
Tire vulcanizing method
U.S. patent: 11,077,634
Issued: August 3, 2021
Inventors: Hajime Satou and Noboru Takita
Assigned: Yokohama Rubber
Key statement: Provided is a tire vulcanizing method enabling an optimum vulcanization operation for each tire by measuring the temperatures of the inner surface and the outer surface of a tire until the demolding timing without damaging the tire and by determining the vulcanized state of the tire accurately based on the measured temperature data to efficiently produce uniformly vulcanized tires especially under conditions where the temperature of a mold fluctuates. During vulcanization of a tire G, the temperatures of the inner surface and the outer surface at a plurality of principal portions representing the tire G are measured, and the demolding timing is determined according to the equivalent degree of vulcanization indicating the degree of progress in crosslinking reaction calculated based on the temperature data measured.
Nitrile group-containing copolymer rubber and nitrile group-containing copolymer rubber crosslinked
product
U.S. patent: 11,072,696
Issued: July 27, 2021
Inventor: Tomonori Nakashima
Assigned: Zeon
Key statement: A rubber composition including a nitrile group-containing copolymer rubber with an iodine value smaller than or equal to 120; short fibers with an average fiber length smaller than or equal to 12 mm; and an organophosphorus compound, wherein a glass transition temperature difference ΔTg of the nitrile group-containing copolymer rubber is lower than or equal to 10°C.
Rubber composition for studless tire and studless tire
U.S. patent: 11,072,695
Issued: July 27, 2021
Inventor: Keisuke Iwakuni
Assigned: Toyo Tire
Key statement: A rubber composition for a studless tire according to an embodiment includes a rubber component containing a natural rubber and a polybutadiene rubber; oil-absorbent polymer particles having a glass transition temperature of -70 to -20°C, formed from a polymer whose molecular weight distribution is less than 3.0, and having an oil absorption of 100 to 1,500 ml/100 g; and an oil. The content of the oil-absorbent polymer particles is 0.5 to 25 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the rubber component. As a result, on-ice performance and rolling resistance performance can be
improved.
Tire protection system
U.S. patent: 11,066,109
Issued: July 20, 2021
Inventor: Anthony David
Key statement: A tire protection system includes a magnet assembly disposed in front of or behind a tire of a vehicle. The magnet assembly attracts and collects metallic debris on the roadway in front of the tire as the vehicle travels along the roadway, thereby preventing the debris from damaging the tire. The magnet assembly may be integrated into a wire-type housing and/or frame that is coupled to a mud flap, lower windscreen and/or bodyside molding located near the undercarriage of the vehicle.
Rubber-covered textile cords, tires containing same and related methods
U.S. patent: 11,065,914
Issued: July 20, 2021
Inventor: Seth M. Miller
Assigned: Bridgestone
Key statement: The present disclosure is directed to textile cords covered with a rubber composition of specified composition, tires having at least one component comprising the rubber-covered textile cords, and related methods for increasing aged cord coverage of rubber-covered textile cords and for preparing the rubber-covered textile cords. The rubber composition of specified composition includes silica filler in an amount of up to 20 phr and silane coupling agent in an amount of up to 5 phr.
Tire sensor mounting assembly, vehicle wheel balancer, combination tire sensor mounting assembly and wheel balancer, method for mounting a tire sensor to a vehicle part, and method for balancing a vehicle wheel
U.S. patent: 11,072,213
Issued: July 27, 2021
Inventors: Alan C. Lesesky and Samuel Duke Drinkard
Assigned: Itire
Key statement: A combination vehicle tire sensor assembly and in-tire wheel balancer is adapted for residing inside a pneumatic tire mounted on a wheel rim of a motor vehicle. The combination includes a flexible mounting cable secured to the sensor assembly, and adapted for extending circumferentially within an annular space formed between the tire and wheel rim. A counterweight is secured to the mounting cable inside the pneumatic tire a spaced distance from the sensor assembly. A substantially hollow balancer belt resides inside the pneumatic tire adjacent the sensor assembly and counterweight, and defines a circumferentially- extending exterior groove designed for receiving and locating the mounting cable, and a circumferentially- extending interior cavity adapted for loosely containing a wheel-balancing medium.
Sealing device for tubeless tires
U.S. patent: 11,065,919
Issued: July 20, 2021
Inventor: Abdulhameed Fouad A. Alkhateeb
Assigned: King Abdulaziz University
Key statement: A sealing device comprising a flexible holding strip having an adhesive layer on a first surface, wherein the strip is configured for attachment to an inner surface of a tubeless tire via the adhesive layer, and a plurality of flexible flags attached to a second surface of the flexible holding strip opposite the first surface, wherein the plurality of flags is attached to the second surface at a fixed width wise edge of each of the plurality of flags and wherein the plurality of flags is configured to seal a hole in the tubeless tire when the strip is attached to the inner surface of the tubeless tire is provided. Methods of protecting tires by attaching a sealing device are also described.
Rubber mixtures
U.S. patent: 11,059,961
Issued: July 13, 2021
Inventors: Caren Roeben, Sascha Erhardt and Frank Forster
Assigned: Evonik
Key statement: The invention relates to rubber mixtures, said rubber mixtures comprising (a) at least one rubber, excluding silicone rubber, chloroprene rubber, bromobutyl rubber, fluoro rubber and nitrile rubber, (b) at least one silane of general formula (I): G-Si(–OR)3 (I), (c) at least one amine compound selected from the list triethanolamine, triisopropanolamine and [HO-CH(phenyl)CH2]3N and (d) at least one bifunctional silane. The rubber mixture is produced by mixing the rubber, silane of general formula (I), amine compound and bifunctional silane.
Tire including RFID system
U.S. patent: 11,059,959
Issued: July 13, 2021
Inventors: Im Jun Cho and Kyung Shin Min
Assigned: Hankook Tire
Key statement: A tire includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) system and a rubber patch including a topping rubber topping the RFID system, wherein the topping rubber includes a raw material rubber and a reinforcing filler including a boron nitride. In the tire including an RFID system, since the RFID system is covered with a rubber similar to a nearby rubber, generation of a boundary therebetween is suppressed to lower a possibility of the occurrence of initial cracking at a portion where the RFID system is applied, thus increasing durability and safety, and since insulating properties of the rubber covering the RFID system are enhanced, a recognition distance of the RFID system is increased to further facilitate management of distribution and history.
Rubber composition for protecting sidewall of tire from ozone and tire manufactured using the same
U.S. patent: 11,059,958
Issued: July 13, 2021
Inventor: Han Ki Park
Assigned: Hankook Tire
Key statement: Disclosed is a rubber composition for protecting a sidewall of a tire from ozone and a tire manufactured using the same. More specifically, disclosed is a tire including a rubber sheet for reventing aging between a sidewall and a carcass, wherein the rubber sheet for preventing aging includes a rubber composition including 100 parts by weight of a base rubber, 20 to 60 parts by weight of carbon black and 2 to 5 parts by weight of an amine-based anti-aging agent. The tire produced from the rubber composition has an effect of exhibiting significantly improved ozone resistance without changing a degree of blackness in terms of appearance.
Method of obtaining carbon containing material from recyclable tires and rubber products
U.S. patent: 11,084,937
Issued: August 10, 2021
Inventors: Alexander Teplitsky and Evgeniy Dzyura
Key statement: A method for obtaining carbon-containing material from recyclable tires and rubber products by mechanically crushing a raw material from recycled tires in a shredder, supplying a charge to a reactor at temperature, removing gaseous pyrolysis products from the reactor, followed by condensing liquid products, unloading solid residue from the reactor and cooling it, feeding the cooled residue into a crusher, coarsely crushing the solid residue, removing metal from the crushed solid residue in a magnetic separator.