Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC

Bridgestone Bandag, LLC

Bridgestone Corporation

Todd Alan Buxton

Bradley J Harris

Benjamin Robert Rethmel

Aleksandr Ian Shmagranoff

Stephen Thomas Miranda

David M Severyn

Christopher A Swartzwelder

Kevin E Scheifele

Nobuo Shimizu

Andrew D Cerny

Taro Iwamoto

Terry A Westaway

Michael A Berzins

Kota Kitahara

Wayne Birkenholz

Sam Givens

A precured tread assembly for mounting on a tire casing is provided. The precured tread assembly includes a tread portion having a mounting surface and an opposing ground-engaging surface with a plurality of grooves therein. A reinforcing fabric layer is attached to the mounting surface of the tread portion.

Precured tire tread with fabric reinforcing layer

A tire includes a pair of sidewalls and a circumferential tread having a zigzag circumferential groove. The zigzag circumferential groove is defined by a groove bottom, a pair of groove walls, and a pair of groove edges defining an intersection between each groove wall and a top surface of the circumferential tread, wherein each of the groove edges smoothly widens and narrows along the groove. The circumferential tread has a first circumferential pitch with first and second circumferential pitch lengths. The first circumferential pitch includes a first zigzag circumferential groove segment and a second zigzag circumferential groove segment that form a first intersection angle. The second circumferential pitch includes a third zigzag circumferential groove segment and a fourth zigzag circumferential groove segment that form a second intersection angle different from the first intersection angle.

Tire with variable width grooves

A pneumatic tire is disclosed having a tread portion including a tread groove having a groove bottom and groove sidewalls. The tread groove has a groove width defined as a shortest distance between the groove sidewalls. The groove has a groove length extending generally parallel to the groove sidewalls. A sequence of circumferentially spaced stone ejector ribs span between the opposed groove sidewalls.

Radial stone ejectors

A tire has at least one band of cooling fins located on a sidewall portion of the tire. The band of cooling fins has at least one protruding cooling fin and at least one recess located adjacent to the cooling fin. At least a portion of the recess is recessed axially inwards relative to the cooling fin. The cooling fin has a height equal to or greater than an airflow boundary layer thickness at a predetermined location and angular velocity of the tire.

Sidewall cooling fins

An agricultural tire has an equatorial plane separating first and second sides. First and second inner sixths of the treads extend between the equatorial plane and circumferential reference planes disposed axially one-sixth of a tread width on either side of the equatorial plane. First and second middle sixths of the tread extend between inner circumferential planes and middle circumferential reference planes one-sixth of the tread width from the inner circumferential reference planes. Outer sixths extend between the middle circumferential reference planes and outer circumferential reference planes disposed one-sixth of the tread width from the middle planes. Net tread volume ratio is approximately 40 percent, where between 36 and 39 percent of lug volume is in the inner sixths, between 32 to 35 percent in the middle sixths, and 27 to 30 percent in the outer sixths of the tread.

Agricultural tire tread

A pneumatic agricultural tire includes first and second rows of angled lugs. Each lug is provided with a leading wall rising up from a tread floor to a leading edge of the lug surface. The leading wall has a wedge shaped leading nose rising up from the tread floor and sloped in the trailing direction so that ground stubble is engaged by and pushed aside by the wedge shaped leading nose thereby reducing stubble damage at a root of the leading wall.

Agricultural bar nose to prevent stubble damage

A pneumatic tire for agricultural equipment or forestry equipment includes a circumferential tread, a pair of sidewalls, and a pair of bead portions. A steel reinforced radial carcass ply extends circumferentially about the tire. The carcass ply includes an axially inner portion and axially outer turn-up portions. First and second steel reinforced belts are disposed between the carcass ply and the circumferential tread. Axial ends of the belts are separated by belt wedges. The tire includes a pair of sidewall inserts. Each sidewall insert extends continuously from an upper end extending between the first belt and the carcass ply, through a sidewall region of the tire, to a lower end extending between the inner portion of the carcass ply and one of the turn-up portions of the carcass ply. A tie gum layer binds an inner liner to the carcass ply.

All steel fabric radial construction for agricultural tires

Tire tread

A tire is disclosed having a tread extending from a first tread edge to a second tread edge and having a plurality of blocks defining a plurality of lateral grooves. The lateral grooves have a groove bottom defining a radial groove depth. A first biting side extends outwardly from the groove bottom to a first biting edge, and a first non-biting side extending outwardly from the groove bottom to a first non-biting edge. At least one peak is disposed in at least one of the lateral grooves. The peak extends outwardly from the groove bottom and terminates radially at an outer end and axially at a distance from the equatorial plane less than or equal to one half of the tread width. The peak has a height between 25 percent and 75 percent of the depth of its lateral groove. Multiple peaks may be disposed within a groove.

Snow performance peaks

A tire having a circumferential tread, at least one belt, an inner liner, a pair of sidewalls, and at least three carcass plies. The tire includes a pair of bead portions, each including a bead core, a bead filler, a flipper, a chafer, and a gum strip. The at least three carcass plies extend radially downward, inward of the bead filler, extend around the bead core, and continue upward, outward of the bead filler and terminate in at least three turn-up ends. At least one of the turn-up ends does not contact at least one of the radially downward extending carcass plies, the flipper, or the bead filler in one of the sidewalls, and at least two of the turn-up ends contact at least one of the radially downward extending carcass plies, the flipper, or the bead filler in one of the sidewalls.

Growing community of inventors

Norton, OH, United States of America

Todd Alan Buxton