ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,409,684, issued on Sept. 9, was assigned to Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC (Nashville, Tenn.).
"Bi-directional sipe and/or slot" was invented by David M. Severyn (North Canton, Ohio) and Paul J. Wischt Jr. (Barberton, Ohio).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "In one aspect, a tire is provided, comprising: a tread portion comprising a tread rib or a tread block, a sipe included in tread rib or the tread block, wherein the sipe includes a center section located axially between opposing outer sections, and wherein the center section and each outer section include a radially outer portion and a radially inner portion, wherein the radial...