Techniques to Reduce Tire Rolling Resistance

Strand with improved slidability for use in applications like driving parts. The strand has a core made of reinforcing fibers impregnated with an elastomer, covered by a thermoplastic resin layer. The elastomer in the core provides flexibility and the thermoplastic layer enhances slidability. This allows the strand to slide smoothly without damage compared to bare fiber strands.

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Polydiene rubbers with improved properties for tire applications, made by polymerizing diene monomers with functionalized comonomers containing alkoxy silyl groups. The functionalized comonomers have repeating units derived from the functionalizing comonomer. The functionalized rubber polymers have better interactions with fillers and improved tire properties compared to non-functionalized diene polymers.

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Rubber composition for tire treads that provides improved wet grip and rolling resistance compared to conventional rubber compositions. The composition contains specific ratios of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), silica, and zinc oxide. The composition also has a specific styrene content in the SBR, vinyl content in the SBR, and glass transition temperature (Tg) of the SBR. Cross-linking the composition improves wet grip and maintains rolling resistance compared to cross-linking conventional rubber compositions.

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Fully bio-based, highly filled lignin-rubber masterbatch for replacing carbon black in rubber. The masterbatch is prepared by mixing modified lignin with rubber. The lignin is modified by esterification with acetic acid and oleic acid to improve compatibility with non-polar rubbers. The modified lignin has reduced hydroxyl group content compared to unmodified lignin. The esterification reaction provides hydrophobic groups to decrease lignin polarity. This improves lignin dispersibility in the rubber matrix.

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A system for optimizing tire inflation by calculating personalized target pressures based on factors beyond just the default value. The system involves vehicles calculating profile-based target pressures for tires using data like tire make, history, vehicle use, and environment. The target pressures are then wirelessly transmitted to devices like tire fillers or user devices to inflate the tires to the calculated optimal pressures. This customized tire pressure management goes beyond just default values to provide better tire performance and longevity.

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Additive composition for improving properties of silica-filled rubber compounds in tires, such as fuel economy, traction, and wear resistance. The composition comprises a reaction product of fatty acid and polyamine. It is added to silica-filled rubber compounds, like tire treads, at low parts per hundred (phr) levels. The additive enhances silica dispersion and reduces payne effect, without affecting key rubber properties like viscosity, scorch, hardness, tensile strength, elongation, abrasion, and modulus. This enables improved tire performance, including lower rolling resistance, enhanced winter/dry traction, and better dry handling, without compromising other properties.

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Polysaccharide-elastomer masterbatch for making reinforced rubber compositions with reduced water content. The masterbatch is made by mixing a polysaccharide dispersion with an elastomer latex and then coagulating and drying the mixture. This avoids adding water during masterbatch production, allowing lower water content in the final rubber compound. The polysaccharide provides reinforcement and reduces rolling resistance compared to carbon black. The masterbatch can be used in applications like tires, belts, footwear, coatings, etc.

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Silica-filled rubber compound for tires with high stiffness and reduced rolling resistance. The compound contains a specific additive with a dipole moment over 2 Debye, polar groups at one end of a hydrophobic carbon chain, and crosslinks only at the other end. This additive enhances silica dispersion and stiffness without increasing hysteresis compared to traditional plasticizers. The compound has a balance of stiffness and rolling resistance exceeding 1.15 in E'/TanD ratio.

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Tire tread design that improves rolling resistance while maintaining wet grip and reducing maximum lateral force for vehicles like SUVs and vans. The tread has a center section with a different rubber composition compared to the shoulder sections. The center rubber has lower storage modulus at 1% strain and higher glass transition temperature compared to the shoulder rubber. This allows lower rolling resistance and improved wet grip without sacrificing maximum lateral force. The center rubber composition can contain a styrene/alpha-methylstyrene copolymer resin.

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Rubber composition for truck tires with improved rolling resistance and wet grip while maintaining wear resistance. The composition contains 70-95 phr of polyisoprene and 5-30 phr of a low Tg SBR functionalized for silica coupling. It also has 40-80 phr of predominantly silica filler. This combination provides a balance of wear, wet, and rolling resistance properties for reduced environmental impact and safety in truck tires.

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Functionalizing polydiene polymers like styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) by modifying the backbone using silylating grafting agents. The grafting agents are synthesized by reacting siloxanes, compounds with a vinyl group and substituent, and a catalyst. The grafting agents are then used to hydrosilylate the polymer post-polymerization, incorporating multiple functional groups on the backbone. This improves properties like rolling resistance, wet traction, and filler interaction.

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Cured rubber compositions for tires with improved properties like filler dispersion, lower rolling resistance, and better snow traction. The compositions contain silylated polydiene polymers derived from diene monomers like styrene and butadiene. The silylation involves grafting a silylating agent with a functional group onto the diene polymer. The silylated polydiene polymer improves tire compound performance when cured.

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Silane coupling agents for rubber compounds that improve properties like wear, rolling resistance, and handling without viscosity instability. The silane compounds have a specific structure with alkyl, alkenyl, and alkoxy groups. They can be prepared by reacting a silane amine with an alkene and an alcohol. The silane-functionalized rubbers made with these compounds have lower viscosity changes over time compared to traditional silane-functionalized rubbers. This reduces issues like gelation and handling difficulties in processing.

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Tire design to reduce rolling resistance while maintaining electrical conductivity. The tire has an inner strip with low electrical resistance extending from the tread through the tread base layer and along the sidewall to the bead. This provides an electrical path from the bead to the road contact. The tread and base layer also have low resistance. This allows electrical charges to flow from the rim to the road without needing high carbon black levels in the tread. The tire can have a separate conductive strip in the sidewall.

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Tire design with reduced rolling resistance while maintaining electrical conductivity. The tire has specific sidewall and chafer rubber compositions with lower electrical resistance compared to the rest of the tire. This creates a voltage path from the rim to the ground through the sidewalls and chafers. The lower resistance sidewall/chafer rubber allows the tire to dissipate static charge to the environment. The rest of the tire components like tread, belt, and carcass have higher electrical resistance. This provides a balance between reduced rolling resistance from less carbon black in those areas and sufficient conductivity from the sidewalls/chafers.

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Small diameter tire design that provides both low rolling resistance and noise reduction in a compatible manner. The tire uses specific tread rubber compounds with optimized properties to achieve the desired balance. The rubber has a moderate hardness (Shore A) for low rolling resistance, a high breaking strength (Bruck modulus) for load capacity, and a low loss factor (tan delta) at high temperature for reduced rolling noise.

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A summer SUV tire with improved wet grip, low rolling resistance, noise reduction, and durability. The tire has a specialized tread design with optimized groove geometry, pitch arrangements, and rubber compound selection. The tread is divided into first, second, and third pattern blocks. The main tread layer has high grip rubber, the secondary layer has lower grip rubber, and the bottom layer prevents separation. The upper and lower shoulder grooves are misaligned angles for noise reduction. Multi-level variable pitch arrangements in the tread improve traction and reduce noise. The main tread compound has high grip, the secondary compound has lower grip, and the bottom compound is very viscous.

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A low rolling resistance tire with improved braking performance. The tire has a tread with specific patterns and grooves arranged in a specific configuration. The tread has four longitudinal grooves and fixed patterns including a first pattern, a second pattern, a third pattern, a fourth pattern, and a fifth pattern. The tread has three crown rubbers, first, second, and third. This unique pattern and groove arrangement on the tread along with the three crown rubbers helps balance dry braking distance and rolling resistance.

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All-steel radial tire with low rolling resistance, high wet grip, and reduced shoulder wear. The tire has a tread with five circumferential grooves: a central open groove and two closed grooves near the center, plus two open shoulder grooves. The closed center grooves self-close under load. This design balances low rolling resistance from thin tread and reduced ground contact, high grip from open shoulder grooves, and minimized shoulder wear from evenly distributed contact pressure.

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A rolling resistance reducing tire design with patterned tread grooves to improve fuel efficiency. The tread has main circumferential grooves with upper open sections and narrow lower sections. This reduces contact area between the tire and road compared to traditional closed grooves, lowering rolling resistance. The open upper sections allow drainage and prevent stone punctures. The narrow lower sections prevent rigidity loss. The tire has a tread, shoulder, sidewall, carcass, belt, lining, and bead structure.

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