Wheel rotor for tyre pressure refill systems

Abstract

The present invention relates to a rotor that can be used in vehicle wheels (in particular trailers and semi-trailers) as part of a tyre pressure refill system (TPRS). Specifically, the wheel rotor (100) for a TPRS comprises a rotary seal (4), an inner body (1), closer to the wheel axle (103), and an outer body (2), further from the axle (103), wherein the two bodies (1, 2) comprise complementary screw threads (15, 16) for mutually connecting and disconnecting same, and the axis of travel of the screw threads (15, 16) coincides substantially with the axis of rotation of the corresponding wheel, wherein the inner body (1) includes an opening for inserting a tube for the inlet of air into the rotor from the wheel axle (103) through the wheel hubcaps.

Description

[0001]

[0002] WHEEL ROTOR FOR TPRS SYSTEMS

[0003] Technical sector

[0004] The present invention relates to the technical field of automatic vehicle tire inflation systems. More specifically, it relates to a rotor applicable to vehicle wheels (particularly trailers and semi-trailers) as part of a TPRS (Tire Pressure Filling System).

[0005] Background of the invention

[0006] TPRS (Tire Pressure Refill System) systems are used in certain vehicles—particularly trailers and semi-trailers—to measure the pressure in each tire and automatically inflate it when necessary. The system monitors the pressure in all tires and, if it drops, adds air, typically from the air reservoir or tank that also powers the vehicle's suspension.The system operates when the vehicle is either stationary or moving, so the air usually arrives through a coaxial conduit with the wheel axle in the form of a stator and, then, connected to the latter, a tube that, at its other end, leads to a rotor; this rotor constitutes the component that, by means of a rotary joint, provides a watertight connection between the fixed or static part of the system (the aforementioned tube together with the stator) and the rotating part (the rotor body itself and a hose together with the inflation valve) that rotates with the wheel.

[0007] The present invention provides improvements to the rotor assembly used for these systems such that, due to its construction and final assembly characteristics, it facilitates maintaining the integrity of its connecting elements or parts (e.g., the rotor's external threading) while constituting an easily removable component and, therefore, repairable and reusable with respect to some of its elements. These advantages will become evident in the following description, which sets forth the details of said technical characteristics.

[0008] Explanation of the invention

[0009] In order to achieve the aforementioned advantages and improvements, the following invention is provided.

[0010] The object of the present invention is a wheel rotor for a TPRS system. The type of rotor to which the present invention relates comprises a rotating joint. One of the characteristics of said rotor is that it is divided into two parts that are coupled / uncoupled by mutual threading, that is, the entire rotor assembly is divisible by said threading. This consists of a first body that we refer to here as the interior, which would be the closest to the vehicle and through which the inflation air enters, and a body called the exterior, normally visible in the area of ​​the hubcap of the corresponding wheel. The arrangement of said mutual threading is such that the axis of the threads substantially coincides with the axis of rotation of the wheel on which said rotor is mounted.

[0011] According to another feature of the invention, the mutual threading consists of a female thread on the inner body and a complementary male thread on the outer body. According to a further feature of the invention, related to the latter, the female thread is on the outer body and the complementary male thread is on the inner body.

[0012] According to another characteristic of the rotor of the invention, the part of the inner body through which the air inlet tube from the vehicle's tank is introduced comprises an orifice with a size and dimensions such that they fit those of the outer contour or section of the inlet tube.

[0013] Another characteristic of the rotor according to the invention relates to the fact that the aforementioned adjustment between the hole made in the inner body for the air inlet tube and the tube itself has a certain clearance such that it absorbs or allows misalignments that may occur between both elements (rotor and inlet tube).

[0014] According to an additional feature, the above-mentioned rotary joint is one of the so-called QR (Quad Ring) or X-hng.

[0015] Finally, according to a further feature of the invention, the material from which said rotary joint is obtained may be or include Viton GLT.

[0016] Brief description of the drawings

[0017] To complement the above description, some figures are attached that will serve as support for the following detailed exposition and in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

[0018] Figure 1 shows a side view, partially exploded and partially in section, of a rotor for a TPRS system, together with the wheel axle and the inflation valve.

[0019] Figure 2 is a sectional side view of an assembled rotor of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 is an exploded view of the rotor of Figure 2.

[0021] Detailed description of the invention A detailed description of the invention will now be given with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] For illustrative purposes, Figure 1 shows a rotor (100) of the invention for a TPRS (Tire Pressure Refill System). Said figure is a representation of the components at an external level and will serve to explain, in general terms, the operating principle of a rotor of the invention and also of conventional rotors and their interaction and operational relationship with the relevant components of the vehicle on which they are mounted. As is known and has been set out in general terms in the background section of this document, the mission of the rotor (100) is to conduct air from the inside of the wheel axle (103) (fixed part) to the outer side face of the wheel hubcap (101) (part in rotational movement). That is, in this case, the TPRS system uses the hollow interior of the axle (103) to conduct air to the wheels.

[0023] The stator (102), which is a fixed or static element, is mounted, by means of a sealed thread (more specifically, a conical gas thread), on the outer end of the wheel axle (103). Then, when the entire assembly is assembled and following in the direction of the wheel or, more specifically, the hubcap (101), there is the air inlet tube (3) to the rotor (100) itself. Said tube (3) is also fixed and, in the final operating position, it is installed in a sealed manner (with a blunt ring) inside the stator (102). For this purpose, the rotor (100) will have been fixed, by means of threading, to the outer face of the hubcap (101) and it can be seen, by the illustrative dimensions of the components in figure 1 , how the tube (3) will be located inside the stator (102).

[0024] The outer part of the rotor (100) has a threaded connection element or part for the hose (104). The other end of the hose (104) is connected to an inflation valve (105) of the corresponding wheel. It is evident that the hubcap (101) will rotate when the vehicle is moving, as will the inflation valve (105), which will, in turn, drag the hose (104) and the rotor (100) in a rotary motion, keeping the tube (3), the stator (102) and the axle (103) of the wheels fixed, as we have said previously.

[0025] Figure 2 shows a sectional view of a rotor (100) of the present invention with some characteristic and differentiating details thereof. All the components and technical characteristics of this rotor (100) can also be seen in Figure 3, which corresponds to an exploded view of the illustration in Figure 2.

[0026] The main characteristic of the rotor (100) is that it is composed of an inner body (1 ) and an outer body (2) and that both bodies (1 , 2) can be assembled / disassembled by means of a complementary thread (15, 16). In the embodiment shown here, the inner body (1 ) comprises a female thread

[0027] (16) and the outer body (2) includes a male thread (15) complementary to the first, although the arrangement of the female (16) and male (15) threads could be the reverse of that described in relation to the inner body (1 ) and the outer body (2) since one of the essential aspects of the invention lies in the easily assemble / disassemble type of connection and this can be materialized in the two ways mentioned. Furthermore, the end of the body (1 ) that is crossed by the tube (3) comprises, in the invention, an orifice (17) adjusted or adapted to the external shape of the tube (3) such that a cover that is usually placed on said end for the rotary joint (4), also shown in figures 2 and 3, is no longer necessary; that is, the flanges of the through hole

[0028] (17) act as a cover for the seal (4). This has the advantage that it is no longer necessary to press said cover against the body (1 ) of the rotor (100); this operation can sometimes cause damage to the mounting thread of the rotor (100) in the hubcap (101 ), with the consequent inconveniences of coupling with the complementary thread of the latter, which are thus eliminated. Furthermore, the rotor (100) is easily removable (complementary threading (15, 16)) so that its interior can be quickly accessed to repair, clean or replace, for example, the air inlet tube (3), the rotary joint (4) or the bearing (5). In relation to the latter, the function of the bearing (5) is to prevent or minimize wear and / or damage to the flared end of the tube (3) that could occur due to contact of said end with the internal space delimited by the inner body (1 ) and the outer body (2).On the other hand, the end of the tube (3) is flared or widened to prevent it from exiting that internal space through the through hole (17).

[0029] In relation to the dimensions of this through hole (17), misalignments may sometimes occur between the air inlet tube (3) and the rotation axis of the rotor (100) itself and which have no influence on the operation of the system, so it would be convenient for the size of the hole (17) to be suitable to absorb said misalignments, this being one of the technical characteristics of one of the embodiments of the rotor (100).

[0030] In figure 3, starting from the bottom, you can also see a sealing gasket (10) that helps to fix the rotor (100) to the hubcap (101 ). As mentioned before, between the body (2) and the body (1 ) of the rotor we then find the rotating gasket (4), the flared end of the tube (3) and the bearing (5), elements that can be seen better, assembled together, in figure 2. A washer (7) is fitted on a rim or step of the body (1 ) that acts as a retaining element for the rubber membrane (8).This membrane (8) closes, by its circumferential contour, against the outer face of the hubcap (101 ) and thus prevents the entry of external contaminants (water, dust, dirt, etc.) to the area where the tube (3) joins the rotor (100); at the same time, due to the material from which it is formed and its own configuration, it acts as an overpressure relief element since it can separate from the hubcap (101 ) when the air pressure increases too much in that area due to, for example, leaks in the system that could end up causing damage to the assembly. In addition to said membrane (8), above it there is another additional protection element in the form of the plastic casing (9). The membrane (8) and the casing (9), together with the washer (7) are therefore, as can be best seen in figure 2, trapped between the body (1 ) and the body (2) of the rotor (100) in a recess made in said body (1 ).In addition, a thick ring (6) is arranged on the contact circumference between the body (1) and the body (2) to ensure the tightness of this union.

[0031] Connected to the body (2), by an inlet end perpendicular to that of the connection with the body (1 ), there is a fitting body (11 ) that serves as a connection with the hose (104) shown in figure 1 . The union between the body (2) and the fitting body (11 ) is achieved through a conical gas thread in order to guarantee its tightness. The fitting body (11 ) contains a blocking valve mechanism for the passage of air; this mechanism is formed by the following elements: a flap (12), a spring (13) and a blunt ring (14). The air coming from the tube (3) does not pass through this mechanism, in the direction of the wheel, until the hose (104), when connected to the fitting body (11 ) by its end opposite to that corresponding to the body (2) of the rotor (100), pushes the flap (12) opening said blocking valve mechanism.

[0032] Returning to the rotary joint (4) at the flared end of the tube (3), it has the function of maintaining a level of tightness between the body (1) of the rotor (100) and said tube (3) without preventing or hindering the relative rotational movement between both elements (fixed part: tube (3); rotating element: body (1)). In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said joint (4) is of the Quad Ring (QR) type or also called X-ring (X-shaped joint), due to the shape of its cross section. That is, it is a ring-shaped joint but whose outer contour (of the ring) draws four lobes, like an "X" but with rounded ends and angles.The advantages of using this type of seal are that a higher level of lubrication is achieved by the grease stored in the recess between the lobes of the “X” that close against the tube (3) and that greater flexibility is achieved in the level of misalignment tolerated by the mechanism between the tube (3) and the longitudinal axis of the rotor (100). The preferred material for this seal may be the so-called Viton GLT, which can work with temperatures of up to 200 °C at the upper limit (which is very useful due to the proximity of the brakes and the heat that they can give off) and up to -40 °C at the lower limit with a view to movements in areas of extreme cold.In the present description, a preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth, although the scope thereof is protected by the claims and, therefore, by all those details and vahantes included therein and which are deduced from their interpretation.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Wheel rotor (100) for a TPRS system, of the type comprising a rotary joint (4), and further comprising an inner body (1 ), closer to the axis (103) of the wheels, and an outer body (2), further away from said axis (103), wherein both bodies (1 , 2) comprise complementary threads (15, 16) for mutual assembly and disassembly thereof, and the axis of advance of said threads (15, 16) is substantially coincident with the axis of rotation of the corresponding wheel; in which the inner body (1 ) incorporates an opening enabled for the introduction of an air inlet tube to the rotor from the axis (103) of the wheels through a hubcap of the wheels.

2. Rotor (100) according to claim 1, wherein the complementary thread (16) of the inner body (1) is female and the complementary thread (15) of the outer body (2) is male.

3. Rotor (100) according to claim 1, wherein the complementary thread (16) of the inner body (1) is male and the complementary thread (15) of the outer body (2) is female.

4. Rotor (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the opening of the inner body (1) intended for the introduction of an air inlet tube (3) into the rotor (100) is a through hole (17) adjusted to the outer contour of said inlet tube (3).

5. Rotor (100) according to the preceding claim, wherein the through hole (17) is adjusted to the outer contour of the inlet tube (3) with a clearance to allow misalignments between the axis of rotation of the rotor (100) and the longitudinal axis of the tube (3).

6. Rotor (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rotating joint (4) is of the QR or X-ring type.

7. Rotor (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the material of the rotary seal (4) comprises Viton GLT.

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