The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company

Thomas Sherwood Fleischman

Robert Leon Benedict

Marc Borowczak

Didier Winkin

Jean-Marie Feller

Susan Marie Spaeth

Mingliang Du

Su Xu

Nagendra Prasad Venkata Akshantala

Laurent Licht

Christopher Vincent Neal, Sr

Jean-Bernard Bodeux

Felix Maximo Vilchez Macuri

Zhonghe Bo

A method and system monitor a plurality of operating parameters for a tire over time during usage of the tire as the tire is exposed to actual operating conditions. The system and method may also determine a tire health parameter for the tire that provides an indication of the condition of the tire based upon the data collected for the tire over time during usage of the tire. The plurality of operating parameters includes, in the least, a temperature associated with the tire during usage of the tire and a duration of usage of the tire.

Assessment of tire condition based on a tire health parameter

A pneumatic radial tire has at least one carcass reinforcing ply and a pair of opposing bead portions. Each bead portion has a bead core and a bead apex, while the carcass reinforcing ply has a main portion and two turnups, with one turnup extending from each end of the main portion and having a terminal end. In each bead portion, there is a minimum distance Dbetween the carcass main portion and the carcass turnup, as measured perpendicular to the tire equatorial plane EP. The distance Dis not less than 50% of the maximum bead core width Was measured perpendicular to the equatorial plane EP. In each bead portion, radially outward of the minimum distance D, a radially outermost portion of the carcass turnup extends at an angle so the radially outermost portion of the carcass turnup is divergent from the carcass main portion.

Pneumatic tire

A piezoelectric load cycle counter is provided for a multi-stationed strain-life tester. A plurality of test specimens are interposed between a fixed upper bracket and a lower reciprocating bracket and are cyclically flexed therebetween. Piezoelectric crystals maintained in association with the upper bracket with each of the test stations present an output signal on each flexure of the test specimen. These output signals enable a counter which counts the number of cycles of the lower bracket. When a specimen breaks, the output signal of the associated station terminates and the count for that station similarly terminates.

Multi-station piezoelectric load cycle counter

Apparatus for monitoring and measuring the growth of a crack in an elastic specimen. The specimen is repeatedly flexed by a piston at a set frequency and periodically slowed to a substantially lower frequency during which time a line scan camera monitors the length of the crack. The camera is positioned such that the specimen is drawn through the scan line thereof. The camera is calibrated such that the output signal from the camera correlates directly to the cracklength. This output signal is digitized, received, and stored by a digital processor for use in determining the crack growth rate.

Apparatus for automated crack growth rate measurement

Growing community of inventors

North Canton, OH, United States of America

Thomas Sherwood Fleischman