The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Frank George Licari

Arun Kumar Byatarayanapura Gopala

Cheng-Hsiung Lin

Junling Zhao

Robin Lamgaday

Peter Jung-min Suh

James Earl Koerner

Michael William Kestner

Jeffrey McKay West

Jin-Shy Steve Gau

Andrew Peter Killmeyer

Jeffrey Mckay West

Jin Shy Steve Gau

A tire includes a pair of sidewalls extending from a respective bead area to a tread. The tread is formed with a plurality of tread elements and a radially outer surface. A sensor unit is mounted to the tire and includes a pair of electrical contacts. The tread wear sensor plug includes a cylindrical projection extending through an opening formed in one of the tread elements, a flange, and a wire including proximal ends disposed in the flange and a distal end near a radially outer surface of the projection. An electrical circuit is formed by each proximal end of the wire electrically contacting a respective one of the sensor unit electrical contacts. When the tread element and the cylindrical projection wear down to the distal end of the wire, the wire and the circuit break. A notice is transmitted by the sensor unit when the circuit breaks.

Tire with tread wear sensor plug

An air maintenance tire pump simulator that simulates the environment of an air maintenance tire system is provided. The simulator includes at least one pneumatic cylinder, a structure that forms a closed cavity, and a pneumatic conduit extending between and fluidly connecting the pneumatic cylinder and the closed cavity. A cam is operably connected to a motor, and is also operably connected to the pneumatic cylinder. Engagement of the motor actuates rotation of the cam, which in turn actuates operation of the pneumatic cylinder to increase a pressure in the closed cavity. A method of simulating an air maintenance tire system is also provided.

Air maintenance tire pump simulator

Growing community of inventors

Solon, OH, United States of America

Frank George Licari