Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Mckechnie Vehicle Components (usa), Inc.

Wesley Grant Morris

Adam Wirth

Janice Lisa Tardiff

Cindy Sofia Barrera-Martinez

Robert J DiMarco

Naijiang Xu

Zhenhong Ge

James Brian McGovern

Jihong Zhang

Jonathan William Vaillancourt

A molding tool for forming a non-pneumatic tire includes a wheel portion cavity, a tread ring portion cavity, and a plurality of spoke cavities extending between the wheel portion cavity and the tread ring portion cavity. At least a subset spoke cavities within the plurality of spoke cavities include at least one of a non-uniform thickness, a non-uniform width, and a non-uniform surface. Also, the molding tool can include a conformal thermal control channel, e.g., a conformal cooling channel and/or a conformal heating channel, proximate to at least one mold cavity.

Tools for manufacturing non-pneumatic tires

A tire and wheel assembly includes a non-pneumatic tire and a wheel. The non-pneumatic tire incudes a tread, an inner liner, and a plurality of spokes extending between and coupling the tread to the inner liner. The plurality of spokes have a first width and the inner liner has a second width greater than the first width such that a pair of inner liner flanges extend beyond the plurality of spokes in an axial direction. The wheel includes a rim and the inner liner is configured to be mounted on the rim with the pair of inner liner flanges fastened to the rim such that the non-pneumatic tire is serviceably mounted on the wheel.

Serviceable non-pneumatic tire and wheel assemblies

A non-pneumatic tire includes a wheel portion, a tread ring portion, a plurality of flexible spokes extending between and attached to the wheel portion and the tread ring portion, and plurality of bump stops positioned between the wheel portion and the tread ring portion. The bumps stops are configured to limit deformation and/or compressive strain of the plurality of flexible spokes. The plurality of bump stops includes a plurality of tower bump stops, a plurality of triangular-shaped bump stops, and/or a plurality of roof-top shaped bump stops.

Non-pneumatic tires with strain limiting features

A vehicle includes a spare wheel, a jack and a jack wrench. The jack and a jack wrench are provided to raise the vehicle to allow a user to remove a damaged wheel and replace it with the spare wheel. The jack and jack wrench are secured to the vehicle via a first connector. The spare wheel is then secured to the first connector via a second connector. The second connector extends through the spare wheel and into the first connector to secure the spare wheel to the first connector and thus to the vehicle.

Securing a jack and a spare wheel to a vehicle

A shield for wheel assemblies formed of a metal band that is inserted into wheels so as to cover and protect the inner surface of the wheels. The shields can be made from stainless steel and used to protect the inner surfaces of aluminum from damage caused by debris that contact a vehicle braking assembly. The shields are secured in the wheels by a mechanical locking arrangement in which the outer ends of the shields snap-fit along outboard rim flanges of the wheels. Adhesives or sealants can be used to secure the shields to the wheels and to prevent moisture and debris from becoming trapped between the shields and inner surfaces of the wheels.

Growing community of inventors

Dearborn, MI, United States of America

Wesley Grant Morris