Reducing tire rolling resistance through pre-heating
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- US · United States
- Patent Type
- Applications(United States)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- GM GLOBAL TECH OPERATIONS LLC
- Publication Date
- 2009-12-24
- Estimated Expiration
- Not applicable · inactive patent
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Abstract
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application claims priority to, and benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 075,018, entitled “METHODS OF ENHANCING TIRE PERFORMANCE UTILIZING ACTIVE MATERIALS,” and filed on Jun. 24, 2008, the disclosure of which being incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to tires, such as automobile tires, and to methods of improving tire performance. More particularly, the invention concerns a system for and method of reducing rolling resistance through pre-heating and to tires adapted to perform the same.
[0004] 2. Discussion of Prior Art
[0005] Properly functioning tires are important in maintaining optimal fuel efficiency. Perhaps the most important performance characteristic to that end is “rolling resistance,” which is the tendency for a tire to stop rolling under load due in large to the hysteretic losses in the tire material. Many varia...