ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,623,495, issued on May 12, was assigned to Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC (Nashville, Tenn.).
"Directional interlocking sipe and/or slot" was invented by Paul J. Wischt Jr. (Barberton, Ohio) and David M. Severyn (Uniontown, Ohio).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "In one aspect, a tire is provided, the tire comprising: a tread portion comprising at least one of a tread rib or a tread block, a sipe included in the tread rib or the tread block, wherein the sipe includes a central s-shaped portion located axially between opposing laterally extending straight portions, wherein the sipe includes a plurality of key portions angled in a fir...