Yokohama Rubber has been granted a patent for a pneumatic tire featuring center blocks in the tread section, arranged with inclined grooves. The design includes V-shaped notches and specific angles for wall surfaces, enhancing performance and tread contact efficiency. GlobalData’s report on Yokohama Rubber gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s company profile on Yokohama Rubber, Anti-skid tyre treads was a key innovation area identified from patents. Yokohama Rubber's grant share as of June 2024 was 50%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.
Pneumatic tire with unique tread design and grooves
The patent US12043065B2 describes a pneumatic tire featuring a unique tread design that enhances performance and functionality. The tire comprises a tread portion that forms an annular shape, flanked by sidewall portions and bead portions. A key aspect of the tread design is the arrangement of center blocks, which are paired with inclined grooves that extend at an angle relative to the tire's circumferential direction. Each center block is designed to extend beyond the tire equator, creating a distinctive configuration. The center blocks also feature notches with V-shaped wall surfaces, where the first wall is angled within ±20° to the circumferential direction and the second wall within ±10° to the lateral direction. The grooves include a see-through portion that occupies at least 30% of the tread contact surface width, allowing for improved visibility and performance.
Further details of the tire's design include expanded portions on the wall surfaces of the inclined grooves, which overlap to form a widened groove section. This section has a groove width that is 1.5 to 2.0 times that of the see-through portion. The area of each inclined groove is specified to be 150% to 250% of the see-through portion's area, enhancing the tire's grip and handling. Additionally, connecting grooves are formed between adjacent inclined grooves, extending at an angle within ±10° to the tire's axial direction. This innovative tread design aims to optimize the tire's performance characteristics, potentially improving traction and stability on various road surfaces.
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GlobalData Patent Analytics tracks bibliographic data, legal events data, point in time patent ownerships, and backward and forward citations from global patenting offices. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
