Opinion ID: 1687228
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the wheel design

Text: In the late 1950's, Firestone designed and patented a new single-piece wheel known as the 15 degree bead seat taper. For the first time, the design permitted installation of a tubeless tire on a wheel. Firestone's initial 15 degree bead seat taper wheel was a 22.5-inch wheel for heavy trucks. The design made it possible to use tubeless tires, instead of tube-type tires, on trucks. Firestone allowed the entire industry to use the design without charging a license fee under its patent. Firestone's original design was for larger size tires and rims used for 18-wheel semi-tractor trailer rigs. In the mid-1960's, Firestone developed a 15 degree bead seat taper wheel with a 16.5-inch nominal diameter. Truck owners could use this wheel on lighter trucks such as ¾- or 1-ton pick-ups. Firestone's innovation was not a single wheel design, but a dual wheel with two tires side by side. This wheel is used only with 8- or 9-inch tires, and only for dual-wheel applications. Firestone patented its design. However, it granted royalty-free licenses of its design for domestic manufacture of tires and wheels. Firestone sought to profit, not from licensure of its patent, but from industry use of products that would help build customer demand for Firestone's own products. Kelsey-Hayes Company modified Firestone's original 15 degree bead seat taper wheel design to design its own wheel. Kelsey-Hayes' design changed Firestone's original patented wheel design by making it 16.5 inches in diameter, by making it narrower to fit only 6- or 6.75 inch tires, and by making it with a hump bead. Kelsey-Hayes' design was only for a single wheel by itself, not a dual wheel. Kelsey-Hayes manufactured its own 16.5 hump bead wheel. Firestone did not participate in the manufacture or marketing of Kelsey-Hayes' tires in any way, and did not collect a royalty from Kelsey-Hayes for use of Firestone's patented design.