6677results about "Wheels" patented technology

A robot that includes a plurality of roller assemblies. Each roller assembly may include a transmission roller that is spun by a drive mechanism to rotate a drive ball. Rotation of the drive ball propels the robot across a surface. The transmission roller is in continuous contact with the drive ball. Continuous contact between the roller and ball eliminates roller induced wobble in the robot movement, reduces impact forces and resultant stress within the roller assembly and allows for the use of a drive ball that is more complaint than balls in the prior art.

A self-inflating tire assembly includes an air tube mounted within a tire sidewall groove. The air tube is in contacting engagement with opposite angled groove surfaces surrounding the air tube. A segment of the air tube is flattened from an expanded diameter to a flat diameter by bending and compression of the groove in a rolling tire footprint to force air evacuated from the flattened segment along a tube air passageway. The sidewall groove extends into an annular, axially extending, sidewall surface such as an axially oriented surface of a tire chafer protrusion located in non-contacting relationship with the rim.

Diene rubber compositions are described containing a diene elastomer, a reinforcing inorganic filler, and a coupling agent wherein the inorganic filler includes a silica having the following characteristics:(a) a BET specific surface area between 45 and 400 m2 / g;(b) a CTAB specific surface area between 40 and 380 m2 / g;(c) an average particle size (by mass), dw, of 20 to 300 nm;and at least one of the following characteristics, preferably two and more preferably all three:(d) a particle size distribution such that dw≧ / CTAB)−30;(e) a porosity which meets the criterion L / FI≧−0.0025 CTAB+0.85;(f) an amount of silanols per unit of surface area, NSiOH / nm2; NSiOH / nm2≦−0.027 CTAB+10.5.These diene rubber compositions can be used for the manufacture of tires or of semi-finished products intended for tires.

The invention relates to a tire of a structural combination of tire tread and sidewall components with compositional limitations containing minimal, if any, of in situ formed alcohol and methyl isobutyl ketone byproducts. The tread component rubber composition contains pre-hydrophobated silica reinforcement. The sidewall component contains low unsaturation EPDM or brominated copolymer of isobutylene and p-methylstyrene and may contain pre-hydrophobated silica reinforcement. The silica reinforcement for said tread and sidewall components is a pre-hydrophobated precipitated silica. The pre-hydrophobated silica is prepared, prior to mixing with the elastomer(s), by reacting hydroxyl groups (e.g. silanol groups) contained on the surface of a precipitated silica with an alkoxyorganomercaptosilane or a combination of an alkoxyorganomercaptosilane and a substituted alkylsilane or with a bis-3(trialkoxysilylalkyl) polysulfide which contains an average of from 2 to 4 connecting sulfur atoms in its polysulfidic bridge to form a composite thereof. The alcohol byproduct therefrom is removed from the composite prior to its introduction into the rubber composition(s). In another aspect of the invention, the connecting sidewall rubber composition, and optionally the tread composition is free of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine antidegradant (referred herein to as 6PPD) in order to prevent in situ formation of methyl isobutyl ketone byproduct from the reaction of 6PPD with atmospheric oxygen and / or ozone.

A rubberized reinforcing fabric for articles made from elastomeric material includes a plurality of textile cords having at least tensile strength, parallel and adjacent to each other in a same direction, and incorporated in an elastomeric material The cords have a count between 420 / 2 dTex and 840 / 2 dTex, a diameter between 0.33 mm and 0.47 mm, and are embedded in the fabric. The fabric has a thickness of not more than 0.8 mm and a density between 125 cords / dm and 280 cords / dm. The cords constitute a maximum of 40% of a volume of the fabric. An article made from elastomeric material, including at least one rubberized reinforcing fabric made from elastomeric material, is also disclosed.

This invention relates to a pneumatic tire with puncture sealing property and a method for preparing such tire. Such tire is prepared by building an uncured butyl rubber-based layer, which contains a peroxide and a dispersion therein of a particulate precured rubber selected from pre resin-cured butyl rubber and / or pre sulfur-cured diene-based elastomer, into an uncured tire and between an innerliner layer and the tire carcass. Upon curing the prepared tire under conditions of elevated temperature, a major portion of the uncured butyl rubber composition is depolymerized to form a tacky material, which contains said dispersion therein of said particulate precured rubber, which has puncture sealant properties. Such layer of depolymerized butyl rubber and dispersed precured rubber particles may be collectively referred to as the sealant layer.

A thermoplastic elastomer composition dynamically vulcanized to a gelation rate of 50 to 95% which is superior in heat resistance and durability while maintaining flexibility and superior in air permeation preventive property which can be efficiently used as, for example, a pneumatic tire as an air permeation preventive layer. In particular, a thermoplastic elastomer composition having a reduced particle size of the domain rubber is produced by a material having a high rubber ratio by mixing a composition (C) mixed under conditions of a ratio of melt viscosities of the rubber composition (A) / resin (B) of 0.8 to 1.2 and the formula (phiA / phiB)x(etaB / etaA)<1.0 under conditions of a ratio of melt viscosities of the rubber composition (D) / composition (C) of 0.8 to 1.2 and the formula (phiD / phiC)x(etaC / etaD)<1.0, wherein phiA: volume fraction of rubber composition (A), phiB: volume fraction of resin (B), etaA: melt viscosity of rubber composition (A), etaB: melt viscosity of resin (B), phiC: volume fraction of composition (C), phiD: volume fraction of rubber composition (D), etaC: melt viscosity of composition (C), etaD: melt viscosity of rubber composition (D).

This invention relates to a method for producing functionalized cis-1,4-polydienes having a combination of a high cis-1,4-linkage content and a high functionality, the resulting polymers and the vulcanized products containing the polymers. The functionalized cis-1,4-polydienes of the present invention are produced by a method comprising the steps of: (1) preparing a reactive polymer by polymerizing conjugated diene monomer with a lanthanide-based catalyst in the presence of less than 20% by weight of organic solvent based on the total weight of monomer, organic solvent, and resulting polymer, where the lanthanide-based catalyst is the combination of or reaction product of (a) a lanthanide compound, (b) an aluminoxane, (c) an organoaluminum compound other than an aluminoxane, and (d) a halogen-containing compound; and (2) contacting the reactive polymer with a functionalizing agent.

This invention relates to a tread rubber composition for tires with the addition of crosslinked resinous nanoparticles having a high glass transition temperature (Tg) into elastomeric base polymers. The invention demonstrates greatly improved handling performance without deteriorating controllability and stability during high-speed running. The present invention more specifically discloses a tire which is comprised of a generally toroidal-shaped carcass with an outer circumferential tread, two spaced beads, at least one ply extending from bead to bead and sidewalls extending radially from and connecting said tread to said beads; wherein said tread is adapted to be ground-contacting; and wherein the tread is comprised of a rubber composition comprising: (1) a rubbery polymer; (2) from 1 to 30 parts per hundred parts of rubber by weight of pre-crosslinked polymer particles, wherein the pre-crosslinked polymer particles have a mean number average particle size as determined by light scattering which is within the range of 30 nm to 500 nm, wherein the pre-crosslinked polymer is comprised of repeat units that are derived from at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of acrylate monomers, acrylonitrile monomer, and vinyl halide monomers, wherein the pre-croslinked polymer is in the form of core-shell particles having a core and a shell, and wherein the pre-crosslinked polymer has a glass transition temperature which is within the range of 30° C. to 200° C.; and (3) 10 to 150 parts per hundred parts of rubber by weight of at least one filler selected from the group consisting of carbon black and silica.