The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Other

Gilles Bonnet

Daniel Paul Luc Marie Hinque

Jean Joseph Victor Collette

Sebastien Willy Fontaine

René Louis Bormann

Gauthier Piret

Percy Anthony Lemaire

Yacine Ouyahia

Andreas Sieber

Lois Levy

Anne Therese Peronnet-Paquin

Jean-Claude Patrice Philippe Griffoin

Yannick Raymond Georges Haegel

Jerome Marcel Germain Delu

Michael Stefan Skurich

Joseph Henry Laco

Hans-Peter Guevara Leocadio

David Ray Hubbell

Olivier Di Prizio

Massimo Di Giacomo Russo

Andreas Frantzen

Pierre Bernard Raoul Brochet

Joseph John Kulig

James Gregory Gillick

Raphael Beck

Michel Marguerite Walther Ghislain Constant

Brian Rene Bourel

Robert Edward Lionetti

André Cuny

Francesco Sportelli

Jung Wan Cho

William Alain Talbot

Nathan Andrew Hunt

Georges Koster

Phaniraj Muthigi

Kenneth William Smesko

Germain Dehez

Etienne Besnoin

Michel Jacques Albert Ghislain Meunier

Rebecca Lee Dando

Stefan Wilms

Samy Laroussi Mzabi

Clemens Manuel Sill

Gilles Reichling

Marcel Przibilla

Nicolas Charles Louis Bilger

Patrice Clausse

Anne Therese Perronet-Paquin

Jean Joseph Collette

Steven Kris Herman Laermans

Thierry Royer

David Ray Hubell

Frederic Marie Bernard Marechal

Vaidyanathan Sankar

Patrice Jacques Omont

Nicolas Soultis

A non-pneumatic tire is described that includes a ground contacting annular tread portion, a shear band, wherein the shear band is formed of a first and second inextensible layer, and a low modulus material positioned between the first and second inextensible layer. The non-pneumatic tire further includes a connecting web positioned between a hub and the shear band, wherein the connecting web is formed of one or more spokes extending from an inner ring to an outer ring, wherein the one or more spokes are formed from a material reinforced with a three dimensional spacer structure.

Non-pneumatic tire

An air maintenance system includes a rotating inner ring associated with a vehicle wheel, a stationary outer ring maintaining a constant angular position, the stationary outer ring including ring segments secured together by a plurality of connecting shafts, an occlusion roller rotationally fixed to the stationary outer ring by a first connecting shaft of the plurality of connecting shafts, the occlusion roller having a protruding portion centered axially at a radially outer surface of the occlusion roller with axially outer portions of the occlusion roller being radially recessed from the protruding portion and supported by bearing surfaces of the rotating inner ring, spacer rollers rotationally fixed to the stationary outer ring by second and third connecting shafts of the plurality of connecting shafts and rotationally supported by the bearing surfaces, and a flexible tube defining a pump cavity, the air maintenance system pumping a fluid from the ambient environment into a pneumatic tire by applying an occluding force against the flexible tube, periodically occluding portions of the pump cavity. The spacer rollers have axially outer surfaces for rotational support by bearing surfaces of the rotating inner ring and a recess centered axially at the outer surface of the spacer rollers for avoiding any contact between the spacer rollers and the flexible tube.

On-wheel air maintenance system

A self-inflating tire assembly includes an air tube connected to a tire and defining an air passageway, the air tube being composed of a flexible material operative to allow an air tube segment opposite a tire footprint to flatten, closing the passageway, and resiliently unflatten into an original configuration. The air tube is sequentially flattened by the tire footprint in a direction opposite to a tire direction of rotation to pump air along the passageway to a regulator device. The regulator device regulates the inlet air flow to the air tube and the outlet air flow to the tire cavity.

Self inflating tire with pressure regulator

A pneumatic tire assembly includes a pneumatic tire having an inner cavity and an inner surface at least partially defining the inner cavity, a rigid structure for facilitating operation of the tire assembly, and a docking base for securing the rigid structure to the inner surface of the inner cavity. The docking base has been integrally bonded to the inner surface during curing of the pneumatic tire. The docking base has a shape formed by a mold attached to the inner surface of the inner cavity during curing of the pneumatic tire. The mold subsequently is removed thereby resulting in the docking base integrally secured to the inner surface.

Securing to a pneumatic tire

The invention relates generally to air maintenance tires and, more specifically, to a pump mechanism for supplying air into such tires.

Peristaltic pump air maintenance tire

A connector system and tire assembly includes an elongate integral air passageway contained within a flexible tire component of a tire carcass, the air passageway extending between an air inlet cavity and an air outlet cavity in the flexible tire component, and the air passageway extending at least a partial circumferential path around the tire carcass. A hollow dome-shaped inlet nut seats within the inlet cavity and a hollow dome-shaped outlet nut seats within the outlet cavity. The inlet nut couples to an air inlet device for conducting air external to the tire carcass into the inlet nut central chamber; and the outlet nut outward body side couples to a valve device positioned within the tire cavity.

Connector system and air maintenance tire assembly

An air maintenance tire includes a tire carcass; a flexible tire component strip such as a chafer component forming a portion of the tire carcass, the tire component strip having a channel formed within an upper surface defined by opposed strip lip portions and a channel bottom wall; an air passageway within the flexible tire component extending between air inlet and air outlet cavities in the flexible tire component, the air passageway extending at least a partial circumferential path around the tire carcass; and an elongate passageway-shaping strip assembly occupying and enclosed within the air passageway of the flexible tire component, the passageway-shaping strip assembly operative forming and maintaining the air passageway to a cross-sectional configuration replicating a cross-sectional configuration of the passageway-shaping strip assembly. The passageway-shaping strip is removable from the air passageway in a post-cure procedure to make the air passageway unobstructed and in a preferred cross-sectional configuration.

Air maintenance tire and integral pump assembly

An air maintenance tire and connector system includes a tire carcass having an elongate integral air passageway contained within a flexible tire component of the tire carcass between an air inlet and an air outlet cavity and a connector assembly inserted within one or both of the cavities. A coupling post having an axial bore extends from the hollow body through a tire wall thickness to a tire central cavity. A remote end of the coupling post is operative for sequential alternative attachment to a punch device for penetrating in a pre-cure procedure through the tire wall thickness to the tire central cavity.

Air maintenance tire and connector system

An air maintenance tire and connector system includes a tire carcass having an elongate integral air passageway contained within a flexible tire component of the tire carcass between an air inlet and an air outlet cavity and a connector assembly inserted within an outlet one of the cavities. The connector assembly includes a hollow right angled elbow-shaped body fitting within the outlet cavity. The elbow-shaped body's second housing segment has an axial length sufficient to project axially inward from the first housing segment through a tire wall thickness to a tire central cavity. A valve device attaches to a remote end of the second housing segment within the tire cavity, the valve device operative to regulate air flow between the elbow-shaped body central chamber and the tire cavity.

Air maintenance tire and elbow connector system

A method of forming an air passageway in a an air maintenance tire carcass includes: embedding an elongate strip within a pre-cured flexible tire component of a pre-cured tire carcass, the elongate strip extending in a longitudinal direction between an air inlet cavity and an air outlet cavity in the flexible tire component; curing the pre-cured tire carcass including the flexible tire component; extracting the elongate strip longitudinally end-to-end from occupancy within the flexible tire component; and defining an air passageway in the flexible component by the space previously occupied by the withdrawn elongate strip. A free end portion of the strip is accessible at either the air inlet cavity or the air outlet cavity, and the elongate strip may be extracted from either the air inlet cavity or the air outlet cavity by a tensile withdrawal force applied to the elongate strip free end.

Method of forming an air passageway in an air maintenance tire

A self-inflating tire assembly includes an air tube connected to a tire and defining an air passageway, the air tube being composed of a flexible material operative to allow an air tube segment opposite a tire footprint to flatten, closing the passageway, and resiliently unflatten into an original configuration. The air tube is sequentially flattened by the tire footprint in a direction opposite to a tire direction of rotation to pump air along the passageway to an inlet device for exhaust from the passageway or to an outlet device for direction into the tire cavity. The inlet device is positioned within the annular passageway 180 degrees opposite the outlet device such that sequential flattening of the air tube by the tire footprint effects pumping of air along the air passageway with the tire rotating in either a forward or reverse direction of rotation. The invention further includes an outlet device for regulating the tire cavity pressure and flow into the cavity.

Self-inflating tire

A self-inflating tire system includes a compression actuator assembly mounted to a tire carcass for compressing air for delivery to a tire cavity. The compression actuator assembly includes a hollow containment body formed from a resilient deformable material composition and containing a quantity of a non-compressible medium. The containment body is affixed to a relatively high flex-deformation region of the tire carcass and reciprocally transforms between a deformed state and a non-deformed state responsive to deformation and recovery of the tire high flex-deformation region in a rolling tire. Accordingly, the containment body in the deformed state displaces a pressurized displaced quantity of the non-compressible medium which generates a compression force for application to a volume of air delivered to the tire cavity. A pump assembly affixes to the tire carcass and includes valves for reciprocally opening and closing the inlet opening and the outlet opening of a compressor body synchronously with the cyclic transformation of the containment body.

Pump and actuator assembly for a self-inflating tire

A method of constructing a self-inflating tire includes: forming a pre-cure green tire body; positioning an air passageway body within the green tire body to extend between an outward facing green tire body surface and the tire cavity, the air passageway body having an enclosed air passageway extending between a hollow body outlet end facing the tire cavity and a hollow inlet end facing outward from the outward facing green tire body surface; curing the green tire body into a finished cured tire body; affixing one or more tapping device(s) over one or both ends of the air passageway body; and establishing through a hollow protrusion member of the tapping device an air flow path extending between the air passageway within the air passageway body and a vent opening within the tapping device. The method includes a routing of the air passageway body through the green tire body along a non-linear path between an outward tire body surface and the inward tire body surface; wherein the non-linear path to at least partially surround a first tire body bead core; and wherein the air passageway body is positioned between overlapping green tire components such as first and second tire turn-up chafer components.

Method of constructing a self-inflating tire

A tire assembly includes a tire carcass body and an air tube body extending between an outward facing tire body surface and an inward tire body surface. The air tube body has an enclosed hollow enclosed outlet end at a first end and an enclosed hollow inlet end at an opposite second end. An air passageway extends through the air tube body from the inlet end to the outlet end. The outlet end is positioned to face exposed from the outward tire body surface and the inlet end is positioned to face exposed from the inward tire body surface. The air tube body is integrally formed of resilient flexible material composition and includes a hollow outer casing and one or more hollow air cables positioned within the casing for regulating the rate of air flow from the inlet end to the outlet end. The air tube body may follow a non-linear U-shaped path that surrounds a tire body bead core between the outward tire body surface and the inward tire body surface and be incorporated into the green tire build without disrupting the tire building and curing process or compromising the structural integrity or form of any of the green tire building components.

Self-inflating tire assembly

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Niederfeulen, Luxembourg

Gilles Bonnet