Bridgestone Corporation

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Hiroshi Kawabe

Toshiyuki Watanabe

Naotaka Tomita

Kenjiro Yamaya

Naoya Ochi

Keisuke Kubota

Kaori Hemmi

Masaharu Kimura

Makoto Kurokawa

Hiroto Yoshida

Hisao Makino

Shinichiro Kawakami

A back surface part () is arranged on an inner surface () facing an inner side of a rim flange part () in a tire width direction (H) or arranged closer to the inner side in the tire width direction (H) than the inner surface (), in a no-load reference state where a pneumatic tire () is mounted on an applied rim () and the internal pressure of the pneumatic tire () is set to atmospheric pressure, and a flat surface part () extending linearly along a tire radial direction (R) in the reference state is formed in a connecting portion of the back surface part () connected with a heel part (), thereby making it possible to prevent a large force from acting thereon from the applied rim () and to improve uniformity.

Pneumatic tire

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device that forms an image on a sheet, a fixing device including a fixing member that fixes the image formed on the sheet and a polishing device that polishes a surface of the fixing member, and circuitry that determines whether an interruption required operation is to be performed, at a time while image formation is being performed by the image forming device to execute an image forming job, or at a time after image formation is executed for one job and before image formation is to be executed for a subsequent job, controls the image forming device to stop image formation to perform the interruption required operation, based on a determination indicating that the interruption required operation is to be performed, and controls the polishing device to polish the surface of the fixing member concurrently with the interruption required operation.

Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and recording medium storing image forming program

Sipes extending from one end of a block to the central area of the block and sipes extending from the other end of the block to the central area of the block (sipes and ) are inclined in directions opposite to each other. The sipes extending from one end of the block and the sipes extending from the other end of the block intersect a common line extending along the circumferential direction of the tire. Due to this structure, the number of portions of the sipes, which portions are located in the central area of the block, is made greater than that in the peripheral area of the block. The density of sipes is thus increased in the central area of a block where water tends to form when driving on ice, for improving braking and traction properties on ice.

Pneumatic tire having tread including pairs of sipes

An apparatus for assisting the mounting of a tire-wheel assembly onto an axle in a high precision without eccentrically arranging the assembly from the axle comprises a pair of opposite clasping members sandwiching the tire-wheel assembly from its side surfaces therebetween, a vibration applying machine fixed to one of the clasping members, and a fastening means for temporarily fastening the clasping members at a given position.

Process for assisting the mounting of a tire-wheel assembly onto an axle

Apparatus and process for assisting the mounting of a tire-wheel

A device for installing a tire-wheel assembly onto a wheel balancer comprises a rotating shaft of the wheel balancer for rotating the tire-wheel assembly, a wheel receiving member comprised of a disc-contacting portion and a cup-shaped base portion, a taper cone of a frustoconical shape, a spring disposed between a bottom of the cup-shaped base portion and a bottom of the taper cone, a wheel pushing member, and a female screw member, in which the disc-contacting portion of the wheel receiving member is provided at a side facing the disc portion with an elastic member embedded in the disc-contacting portion in a peripheral direction thereof and a protruding member contacting with the elastic member and retractably moving from an outer surface of the disc-contacting portion in an axial direction thereof.

Device for installing a tire-wheel assembly onto a wheel balancer

The magnitude of an amount of correction of unbalance at each axially opposite end face of the rim-fitted tire and the position on a circumference of each of the rim end faces are measured by an unbalance measuring machine for simultaneously measuring an amount of correction of static unbalance and an amount of correction of dynamic unbalance. The magnitude of the amount of correction of static unbalance, the position of an amount of correction of static unbalance on a rim periphery for minimizing a magnitude of an amount of correction of residual dynamic unbalance, the magnitude of the amount of correction of residual dynamic unbalance, and the position of the amount of correction of residual dynamic unbalance on the circumference of each of the rim end faces are calculated on the basis of the magnitude of the amount of correction of unbalance and the position of the amount of correction of unbalance on the circumference of each of the rim end faces measured.

Method of correcting weight unbalance of rim-fitted tire

A method and an apparatus for fitting bead portions of the tire onto a wheel substantially uniformly and at the same time for filling inner pressure into the tire. A wheel cap-shaped jig in the form of a disc is arranged on the side surface of the wheel. The periphery of the wheel cap-shaped jig progressively reduces outwardly in the rotating axial direction of the wheel. The tire is then obliquely arranged on the wheel through the wheel cap-shaped jig, and the bead portions are radially outwardly expanded along their circumferences so as to assemble onto the rim. An outer cylindrical member having an inclined annular end surface and an inner cylindrical member telescopically arranged in the outer cylindrical member are brought into air-tight contact with the rim and a side surface of the tire, respectively. While inner pressure is filled into the tire through the clearance between the wheel and the bead portion of the tire, the outer cylindrical member is lowered relative to the inner cylindrical member to bring the bead portions into close contact with the rim.

Apparatus for assembling tire and rim and filling inner pressure

A method for assembling a tire on the rim of a wheel and filling inner pressure in the tire. The wheel is fixed on a wheel table in an airtight manner to the table. The tire is arranged on the wheel and a pawl is moved along the circumference of the wheel or the wheel on the table is rotated to arrange the bead portions of the tire around the rim of the wheel. An outer cylinder member is brought into abutment against one of the bead portions to urge it toward the other bead portion and pressurized air is filled into the tire through a clearance between the wheel and the one bead portion of the tire to bring the bead portions into close contact with the rim of the wheel. Thereafter, pressurized air is further filled in the tire through the inflation valve of the wheel to maintain the inner pressure higher than the normal inner pressure and then the inner pressure is lowered to the normal inner pressure.

Method and apparatus for assembling tire and wheel and filling inner

Method for assembling tire and rim and filling inner pressure

A method for assembling a tire on a wheel without causing any detrimental deformation of bead portions of the tire. The tire is obliquely arranged on a wheel cap-shaped jig provided on the upper side surface of the wheel located on a flat surface to arrange the lower part of the lower bead portion loosely around the wheel. The lower part of the tire is inwardly urged, while the other part of the lower bead portion is radially outwardly expanded to arrange it along its circumference around the wheel, progressively. Moreover, the part of the upper bead portion is radially outwardly expanded and is urged downward toward the support surface to arrange it loosely around the wheel. The part of the tire corresponding to the part of the upper bead portion is inwardly urged, while the remaining part of the upper bead portion is radially outwardly expanded and is urged downward toward the support surface along the circumference of the upper bead portion to arrange it around the wheel, progressively.

Method and apparatus for assembling tire and wheel

The magnitude of an amount of correction of unbalance at each axially opposite end face of the rim-fitted tire and the position on a circumference of each of the rim end faces are measured by means of an unbalance measuring machine for simultaneously measuring an amount of correction of static unbalance and an amount of correction of dynamic unbalance. The magnitude of the amount of correction of static unbalance, the position of an amount of correction of static unbalance on a rim periphery for minimizing a magnitude of an amount of correction of residual dynamic unbalance, the magnitude of the amount of correction of residual dynamic unbalance, and the position of the amount of correction of residual dynamic unbalance on the circumference of each of the rim end faces are calculated on the basis of the magnitude of the amount of correction of unbalance and the position of the amount of correction of unbalance on the circumference of each of the rim end faces measured. A balance weight of a magnitude corresponding to the magnitude of the amount of correction of static unbalance is fixed at the calculated position on the rim periphery, and a balance weight of a magnitude corresponding to the magnitude of the amount of correction of residual dynamic unbalance is fixed at the calculated position on the circumference of each of the rim end faces, thereby correcting weight unbalance of the rim-fitted tire.

An apparatus for filling pressurized air into a tire includes a table for supporting thereon a tire mounted on a rim, an inner cylinder member air-tightly engageable with a flange of the rim, and an outer cylinder member air-tightly engageable with a side rubber of the tire and forming an air-tight space in cooperation with the inner cylinder member. The end face of the outer cylinder member air-tightly engageable with the side rubber of the tire is inclined to the rotating axis of the tire. Therefore, the bead portion of the tire needs only to get over the part of the hump of the rim positioned oblique relative thereto along its circumference little by little during filling pressurized air into the tire. As a result, the bead portion of the tire is only subjected to a little deformation and comes into close contact with the rim, the bead portion of the tire substantially uniformly closely contacts the rim. Therefore, the tire filled with pressurized air in this manner is in a complete state fully exhibiting its performance.

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Kodaira, Japan

Hiroshi Kawabe