TREAD MARKER, TIRE WITH INTEGRAL TREAD MARKERS, AND METHODS FOR PRODUCING BOTH
First Claim
Patent Images
7. A marker adapted to be inserted into a tread of a tire, comprising:
- a rod-shaped body having an axis, a top surface and a bottom surface;
a first wear region within the marker having a first color and located axially from the outer surface to an interface; and
a second wear region within the marker having a second color and located below the interface;
where the second wear region provides a visual indication that a tire replacement time has been reached.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are several embodiments of a colorized tread marker for a tire, a method of manufacturing the tread markers, as well as a tire incorporating the colorized markers within the tire tread and a method for manufacturing the tire. The tread markers serve as both aesthetic complements to the tires'"'"' visual appearance, such as indicia of the source of manufacture, distribution, or point of consumer purchase of the tire, as well as tread wear indicators that notify consumers when a tire is in need of replacement to help ensure the safety of a vehicle'"'"'s occupants as well as the public at large.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
7. A marker adapted to be inserted into a tread of a tire, comprising:
-
a rod-shaped body having an axis, a top surface and a bottom surface; a first wear region within the marker having a first color and located axially from the outer surface to an interface; and a second wear region within the marker having a second color and located below the interface; where the second wear region provides a visual indication that a tire replacement time has been reached. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method for making a visual marker for tire tread, comprising:
-
extruding, along an axis, a rod of polymeric material having a lateral cross sectional area and a perimeter, where the cross sectional area comprises a first area of a first color and a second area of a second color, where the first color is different than the second color, and where the rod perimeter has an index feature for rotational alignment; cutting the extruded rod into lengths; rotationally aligning a length of rod with a base piece; and fixing the length of rod to the base piece. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
-
-
16. A method of inserting a rotationally indexed tread marker into a tread of a tire, comprising:
-
means for expanding a blind hole molded into the tread of the tire, where the blind hole has an opening located on an outer circumference of the tread surface of the tire; means for rotating the rotationally indexed tread marker about a rotationally indexed tread marker axis; means for aligning an indexing feature of the rotationally indexed tread marker with the tangent of the outer circumference of the tread surface of the tire at the blind hole opening; means for inserting the rotationally indexed tread marker into the tread of a tire, where the blind hole extends radially into the tire tread, and where the rotationally indexed tread marker is inserted to a predetermined depth in the blind hole. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A tire for a vehicle, comprising:
-
a tread portion of a first color located between an inner and an outer surface, where the inner surface is generally cylindrical, where the outer surface is generally cylindrical, where the inner surface and the outer surface are substantially concentric, and where the inner surface is located at a radius smaller than the outer surface; a plurality of cavities radially extending partially into the tread portion from the outer surface toward the inner surface to a predetermined depth, and where each said cavity has an axis extending in the radial direction; and a plurality of markers, where each said marker has an axis and resides within a corresponding cavity of the plurality of cavities, where the axis of each said marker coincides with the axis of the corresponding cavity, where the marker includes at least two longitudinal sections, and where the marker includes a second color. - View Dependent Claims (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 21, 22)
-
-
21-1. The method of claim 20, where the inserting comprises the insertion of the pre-molded marker with a tire stud insertion tool.
Specification