Multi-piece pneumatic tire

Abstract

A type of pneumatic tire (or tyre) that shares similar characteristics is that each of the tires is made up of many separate pieces capable of assembling (with) and disassembling from each other, able to be designed to have many circular cushion tiers which are successive from the center outward (the circular cushion tier is the residence of most of the compressed air and is where primarily provides a flexible cushion that absorbs shock or vibration), and able to be designed to be mounted onto a wheel of any of types of wheeled vehicles (including aircraft and train maybe). Correspondingly, the structure assembled from many separate pieces requires a manufacturing method that involves multiple producing processes, but generally enables repairs able to be carried out for each individual piece instead of the entire tire as it is in actuality.

Description

Multi-piece pneumatic tireTechnical Field

[0001] The present disclosure pertains to a type of pneumatic tire (or tyre) used on wheeled vehicles.Background Art

[0002] In actuality, every one of the pneumatic tires (or tyres) is often manufactured as a single piece (monopiece), in which the material part that comes in direct contact with the ground (commonly known as tread region, which is inherently soft and fragile) always has the potential risk of being punctured by sharp objects, which may result in flat tire or more dangerous blowout and possibly causing vehicle stoppages or loss of safety. Additionally, in almost cases of localized damage such as tread region being worn out, each tire is often discarded as whole although the rest (such as bead or sidewall regions) may still be in good working and it's such a waste. Furthermore, repairing or replacing a tire is inconvenient because it is always necessary to ask for the help of skilled workers or facilities with specialized equipment.

[0003] Accordingly, there is a need for improvements in the problems associating with actual pneumatic tires as just mentioned, including types of tubed and tubeless or tubular, and where possible to expand the applicability of pneumatictype tires that have inherently many advantages but are still not used on some types of wheeled vehicles in actuality.Summary of Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a type of tire (or tyre) that shares similar characteristics: each of tires is made up of many separate pieces capable of assembling with and disassembling from each other, inflated with compressed air or gas, and mounted onto a wheel of one of types of wheeled vehicles.

[0005] Basically, a pneumatic tire according to the present invention is a combination of a number of separate pieces, which are all in a circular arrangement surrounding a partner wheel rim and together enclose themselves a space sufficient to accommodate a quantity of compressed air, in which there must beat least one piece containing the material part that directly contacts the rim on the wheel and at least one piece containing the material part that comes in direct contact with the ground and all of them are mechanically connected with each other by at least one separable joint (hereinafter collectively referred to as “wheel-contacting piece” and “ground-contacting piece” in mentioned order). In other words, the said wheel-contacting piece is designed to connect the present pneumatic tire to the wheel and therefore directly mounted onto the wheel rim, while the said ground-contacting piece is designed to interact with the ground and therefore completely separate (without any direct contact) from the wheel rim, whereas the said separable joint is any design that allows the separating of the connected pieces without damaging or rupturing them, which means that the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting pieces are completely able to be separated from each other.

[0006] In terms of positional correlation, the two sides of the said wheel-contacting piece(s) correspond roughly to the specific regions which are commonly called the bead regions along with sidewall regions, while the said ground-contacting piece(s) corresponds roughly to the tread region (and also the contact patch, the portion that is in contact with the ground at a given instant in time), in comparison with the design of an available pneumatic tire in actuality.

[0007] In one aspect, a pneumatic tire according to the present invention may basically be divided into two circular tiers with distinct functions, as looking from wheel’s center towards outside. The inner tier, which is mainly served by the said wheel-contacting piece(s) and is the residence of most of the compressed air, is where primarily provides a flexible cushion that absorbs shock or vibration (hereinafter collectively referred to as “air-cushion tier”). And the outer tier, which is further from the wheel’s center and mainly served by the said groundcontacting piece(s), is where primarily provides a traction or friction (hereinafter collectively referred to as “traction tier”).

[0008] The possibility that the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting pieces, or the said air-cushion and traction tiers, may be separated from each other is the typical characteristic of a pneumatic tire according to the present invention, which provides many opportunities to broaden the scope of the present invention.

[0009] A pneumatic tire according to the present invention may be arranged extra one or more intermediate pieces (hereinafter referred to by this name) in between the said air-cushion and traction tiers, or in between the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting pieces, in the forms of either the piece(s) which may be separated from the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting pieces without affecting each other, or the piece(s) which may not be separated from the said wheel-contacting piece(s) or the said ground-contacting piece(s), i.e. they are built-in to each other and separation is likely to damage or rupture any of them. The intermediate piece(s), which is the piece that does not contain any of the material part in direct contact with both the wheel rim and ground, may be for many overall different purposes, such as for strengthening the protection of the air-cushion tier in order to prevent from being punctured by sharp objects, or for assigning a certain particular shape to the said traction tier or ground-contacting piece(s) in order to control proactively the contact patch (area in contact with the ground), the rolling or frictional resistance, etc. during working despite the air pressure in the tire is high or low, or for being the component(s) of the said separable joint, such as the inner or outer surfaces of each piece are shaped to provide seating surfaces for the said wheel-contacting or ground-contacting pieces, etc.

[0010] A pneumatic tire according to the present invention may be designed to run on a rail, which belongs to any rail transport system, on which a rail vehicle travels and is directly guided. This will help reduce vibration along with noise and may be implemented in many embodiments, such as in a simple case: a said ground-contacting piece of the tire may be designed so that its outer surface (the portion in direct contact with the rail) is similar in both of shape and material to one of metal tires of the actual rail vehicles, whereas its inner surface is connected to said wheel-contacting piece(s) in the ways as mentioned above, including indirect connection through the intermediate piece(s) just mentioned above.

[0011] A pneumatic tire according to the present invention may be designed to have more than one air-cushion tier and all are tiered or nested together in order from the wheel’s center to outside. And it may be implemented in many embodiments, such as in a simple case: a said ground-contacting piece of the tire may bedesigned to contain extra the material parts corresponding roughly to the sidewall regions (and also the bead regions maybe) of an actual pneumatic tire for creating one additional air-cushion tier which is inseparable from the said traction tier, which may be connected to the inner air-cushion tier by being nested directly to each other. In another embodiment, it is possible to configure extra one or more additional air-cushion tiers in between the said air-cushion and traction tiers (as mentioned above) by arranging at least one ring-shaped intermediate piece, whose inside surface shaped (as an inverted wheel rim, upside down towards the center) to provide seating surfaces for the said wheel-contacting piece(s) while its outside surface shaped (as a wheel rim) to provide seating surfaces for at least one intermediate piece else, which is designed to have the similar features to the sidewall regions (maybe also bead regions) on either side of an actual pneumatic tire, so that together all envelope a space enough to accommodate the compressed air in order to form one additional air-cushion tier. If the design continues like that from the center outward to the outermost tier, it will create the desired number of alternating tiers. Broadly speaking, all the tiers or pieces will be held together by compressed-air pressure, which is similar to that of an actual pneumatic tire held in place laterally on the wheel rim, wherein the outermost air- cushion tier may belong to either an actual pneumatic tire (as simple case just mentioned) or a pneumatic tire according to the present invention (maybe including what is being mentioned), as if a pneumatic tire according to the present invention may include many tirelets nested each other in order from wheel’s center towards outside. Regarding air pressure, one air-cushion tier and another may or may not be communicated, i.e. dependent or not, which depends on each specific design for the valve stem through which air is introduced, which may be carried out in one of the ways already available in actuality.

[0012] Generally, the foregoing shows that a pneumatic tire according to the present invention is made up of many separate constituent pieces, at least two, of which there are at least one wheel-contacting piece and at least one ground-contacting piece and possibly at least one intermediate piece, and all the said pieces are partly held together with compressed-air pressure. Besides, a multi-piece pneumatic tire may be configurated to have many circular tiers which are successive from the center outward, wherein there must be to have one tractiontier and one or more air-cushion tier which may be designed to have dependent or independent pressure for different purposes. Additionally, there may also be the appearance of various elements of the separable joint(s) such as wire, cable, retaining-ring (Gibson-ring), bolts-nuts, etc. which enable the said constituent pieces to be capable of assembling with and disassembling from each other. The combination of these components, which have virtually no restrictions on shape or quantity, may create a wide variety of types of the present tire, i.e. there may be many different configurations for many different uses. However, no matter how diverse, the differences between them essentially include the following possibilities:

[0013] a pneumatic tire according to the present invention comprises at least one wheel-contacting piece and at least one ground-contacting piece which are directly interconnected, that is, on their own (by themselves) without the support of anything else (this case is collectively referred to as “the direct-type separable joint”);

[0014] a pneumatic tire according to the present invention comprises at least one wheel-contacting piece and at least one ground-contacting piece which are indirectly interconnected through at least one intermediate piece or another ground-contacting piece, that is, they may not be connected to each other without the support of any of the pieces just mentioned (this case is collectively referred to as “the indirect-type separable joint”); and

[0015] a pneumatic tire according to the present invention has both the direct-type separable joint and the indirect-type separable joint, i.e. having both cases above at the same time.

[0016] The foregoing also shows that the structure assembled from many separate pieces enables the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting and intermediate pieces to be able to differ in shape and material and therefore produced by a variety of methods, even improving the way of using the pneumatic tires for the wheeled vehicles. Accordingly, each of the said constituent pieces may be in any shape and made of any material(s), including both aspects of the composition and construction, as long as once combined, all of the said constituent pieces together form a complete pneumatic tire with fullfeatures such as withstanding air pressure, supporting weight of vehicle, transmiting torque, creating traction, absorbing shock, etc. and virtually the same way of mounting onto or dismounting out of a wheel rim, which are similar to those of an actual pneumatic tire.

[0017] Accordingly, if each constituent piece must go through a process to produce it, a method for manufacturing a multi-piece pneumatic tire according to the present invention must have many producing processes required correspondingly. The manufacturing method may be a traditional and non-traditional method, may be based on available technology, techniques and machinery, or may also be a method converted from an method existing in actuality. However, whatever the method, it always has at least one process of producing a said wheel-contacting piece or a said ground-contacting piece or a said intermediate piece during the whole processes of producing the tire. And then, the finished products are either exported directly from the factory to serve as spare parts, or assembled together to form group(s) of pieces or a complete pneumatic tire according to the present invention, i.e. the manufacturing method may have extra at least one process of assembling any of the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting and intermediate pieces.

[0018] The multi-piece pneumatic tires according to the present invention may be applied to many types of wheeled vehicles, including bicycles, motorcycles, cars, buses, trucks, heavy equipment, aircraft, train, etc. They may be classified according to the type of vehicle they serve, distinguished by the load they carry and by whether they are designed to be airtight or not that may be called either tubed or tubeless or tubular tires, i.e. whether or not requiring a separate inner tube, in order to be inflated with compressed air (or gas) and to provide the contact pressure between the said constituent pieces with each other and between bead and wheel rim, which is similar to pneumatic tires existing in reality. However, no matter what the difference, all of the said tiers have the same characteristics: each of them either may be treated as a whole similarly to a tire available in actuality, or any of the constituent pieces may be actively separated from the rest of its for some purpose such as for maintenance or repair or replacement, etc. at least once during the whole process of using the tire (from the beginning to the end). In other words, a method for using a multi-piecepneumatic tire according to the present invention is characterized by having at least one process of separating any of the said wheel-contacting and groundcontacting and intermediate pieces over the life of the tire.

[0019] There are the following terms should be clarified within the scope of the disclosure; the term “intermediate piece” is a general representative of pieces which are neither the said wheel-contacting piece nor the said ground-contacting piece, arranged in between the said air-cushion and traction tiers in the adjacent vicinity of both the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting pieces (i.e. within the space occupied by the tire), and have some contributions to the configuration of a multi-piece pneumatic tires according to the present invention; and the term “ground” is a general representative of all surfaces on which an actual tire or a wheeled vehicle can run or travel such as ground, land, grounds, road, airstrip, rail, etc.Technical Problem

[0020] It is preferable to design the total mass of the said traction tier as small as possible, the smaller the better, because the greater its mass the greater the torque acting on the said air-cushion tier (the greater the wheel-contacting pieces to be under pressure).

[0021] The idea of the present invention will be implemented more effectively if the shape and / or size of the said components are standardized to be similar to or in the same standards with the actual pneumatic tires.

[0022] It should be noted that maintenance, repair, replacement, etc. is easier and safer in conditions where the air pressure inside the tire is low or zero.Advantageous Effects of Invention

[0023] The multi-piece structure may allow for more design options, i.e. there may be a wide diversity not only in configuration but also in material composition and construction for all constituent pieces.

[0024] By using one or more intermediate pieces, the design may assign and retain a certain particular shape (i.e. giving forced shape) for the said traction tier or ground-contacting piece during work, which may proactively control the area in contact with the ground (contact patch), the rolling or frictional resistance, etc.(these are inherently advantages of metal tires of rail vehicles) regardless of the air pressure in the tire is high or low, and contributes to better isolation of the air- cushion tier from the ground (protected better than that of the actual pneumatic tires).

[0025] It is possible to design a pneumatic tire that runs on a rail to reduce vibration along with noise, at least for use on vehicles operating at moderate speeds, thanks to the shock-absorbing function of the air-cushion tier.

[0026] A tire with multiple air-cushion tiers will not only improve overall shockabsorbing ability but also provide a backup in case any of them fail.

[0027] It is possible to maintain or repair or replace each component separately, especially for the component containing the material part in direct contact with the ground which is more easily damaged, and in some certain configurations these works may be done universally by ordinary users without requiring the aid of skilled workers or facilities with specialized equipments.Brief Description of Drawings

[0028] Since the invention may have a diverse range of applications so the shapes in the drawings are mainly symbolic for illustrating to the text only and should not be considered as instances of design. Each of the figures from 1 to 12 illustrates an embodiment, that consists of two integral perspective views with fig. (a) is an exploded view and fig.(b) is a fully assembled and cutaway view. Particularly, figure 13 displays simultaneously the cross-sectional views (top half) of twelve figures just mentioned, respectively from fig . (1 c) to fig . (12c), and drawn to a larger scale for better visibility. In which:Fig.1

[0029] [Fig. 1] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having one wheel-contacting piece joined directly to one ground-contacting piece, configured two air-cushion tiers;Fig.2

[0030] [Fig. 2] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having one wheel-contacting piece which is joined directly to one ground-contacting piece and indirectly to one ground-contacting piece else;Fig.3

[0031] [Fig. 3] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having two wheel-contacting pieces joined to two ground-contacting pieces by hinge type joints, along with one intermediate piece reinforced;Fig.4

[0032] [Fig. 4] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having two wheel-contacting pieces joined to three ground-contacting pieces by zipper type joints, along with one intermediate piece reinforced;Fig.5

[0033] [Fig. 5] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having one wheel-contacting piece joined directly to one ground-contacting piece by interlocking slots and teeth type joints;Fig.6

[0034] [Fig. 6] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having two wheel-contacting pieces joined directly to one ground-contacting piece by inverted wheel rim type joints;Fig.7

[0035] [Fig. 7] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having two wheel-contacting pieces and one ground-contacting piece interconnected indirectly through a group of intermediate pieces;Fig.8

[0036] [Fig. 8] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having two wheel-contacting pieces and five ground-contacting pieces interconnected indirectly through a group of intermediate pieces;Fig.9

[0037] [Fig. 9] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire designed to work on a rail;Fig.10

[0038] [Fig. 10] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having two air-cushion tiers;Fig.11

[0039] [Fig. 11] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having two air-cushion tiers, wherein including an actual pneumatic tire;Fig.12

[0040] [Fig. 12] shows a multi-piece pneumatic tire having three air-cushion tiers; andFig.13

[0041] [Fig. 13] presents in cross-sectional views of all twelve cases just mentioned above.Description of Embodiments

[0042] Each embodiment described below has reference to an accompanying drawing, wherein the like reference numerals denote the like elements.

[0043] In one embodiment shown in Fig. 1 , a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises one single wheel-contacting piece 1, whose cross-section is in the shape of a non-closed curve, and one single ground-contacting piece 2, whose cross-section is in the shape of a closed curve (tubular), which are directly nested into each other and prevent themselves from slipping against each other in any direction by having the alternate concave and convex parts on their common contact surfaces along the circumference. The pieces are both designed so that each piece envelops itself an individual space enough to accommodate the compressed air, in order to configure two air-cushion tiers (the valve stem through which air is introduced to the outermost tier may be mounted through the wheel-contacting piece).

[0044] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 2, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises one wheel-contacting piece 1 , which is designed to have a tubularshaped cross-section (closed curve) for accommodating the compressed air in order to form one air-cushion tier (with integral the valve stem), one groundcontacting piece 2 which is directly nested into the said piece 1 , and one groundcontacting piece 3 which is directly nested into the said piece 2 (i.e. the said pieces 1 and 3 are indirectly interconnected). Herein, the ground-contacting piece 2 is designed with the beads to keep it close to the wheel-contacting piece 1 at all times, while the ground-contacting piece 3 is intentionally designed to have the similar properties to those of a belt (of belt drives).

[0045] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 3, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises two separate wheel-contacting pieces 1 which are symmetrically arranged on the sides, two separate ground-contacting pieces 2 which arearranged in a circle, and two non-closed rings 4 (or pieces of string such as wire, cable, etc.) whose ends can be connected together to make each of them a closed ring (using bolts - nuts, or hooking each other, etc.). By threading two nonclosed rings 4 (or pieces of string), one for each side, sequentially passing through all of the alternate pieces of the pipe which are built-in to all of the pieces 1 and 2, and then connecting their ends, which are done in the similar ways as in the hinge type joints, all of the said components joined together enveloping a space enough to accommodate the compressed air. In addition there is also an arrangement of one separate intermediate piece 3 in the form of a ring between the air-cushion and traction tiers for strengthening the traction tier as well as better protect the single air-cushion tier inside (the intermediate piece may be simply designed as a non-closed ring or some segments of a ring of rubber just to cause extra thickness or metal to increase stiffness, etc. that acts as a strong covering armour for the air-cushion tier).

[0046] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 4, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises three separate ground-contacting pieces 2 arranged in a circle and joined to two separate wheel-contacting pieces 1 by interlocking strings of teeth 4 alternately with strings of slots 5, which are symmetrically built-in to that of the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting pieces (which are similar to a zipper type joint, two on the sides), and then together enveloping a space enough to accommodate the compressed air. In addition there is also an arrangement of one separate intermediate piece 3 in the form of a ring between the air-cushion and traction tiers for protecting the air-cushion tier inside and also assigning and retaining a certain particular shape to the said traction tier or ground-contacting piece during work in order to control proactively what concerning the interactions of the tire with the ground despite the air pressure in the tire is high or low.

[0047] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 5, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises one single wheel-contacting piece 1 , which is capable of selfenveloping a complete space to accommodate the compressed air in order to form one air-cushion tier, along with one ring-shaped intermediate piece 3 nested inside one single ground-contacting piece 2 which is also ring in shape. For preventing the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting pieces from slipping against each other, the contact surfaces of both are designed to have interlockingslots and teeth to ensure they are not shifted circumferentially, and the intermediate piece 3 fixed to the ground-contacting piece 2 by a series of bolts 4 to ensure they are not shifted along the axis.

[0048] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 6, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises one ring-shaped ground-contacting piece 2, whose inside surface shaped to provide seating surfaces (as an inverted wheel rim) directly for two separate wheel-contacting pieces 1, which are symmetrically arranged on the sides and designed to have extra beads on their outermost edges for seating tightly against the shaped inside of the said ground-contacting piece 2, and all together enveloping a space enough to accommodate the compressed air in order to form one air-cushion tier. In addition, one ring-shaped intermediate piece 3 is centrally arranged for preventing the said two wheel-contacting pieces 1 from shifting out of their original places.

[0049] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 7, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises two separate wheel-contacting pieces 1, which are symmetrically arranged on the sides and designed to have extra beads on their outermost edges, connected with one single ground-contacting piece 2 indirectly through a group of intermediate pieces, which are designed so that its two innermost components 4 have an shape of an inverted-rim to join to the said wheelcontacting pieces 1 and together enveloping a space enough to accommodate the compressed air in order to form one air-cushion tier, whereas its one outermost central component 3 meshes with the said ground-contacting piece 2 by interlocking the string of slots - teeth pairs that spaced alternately and evenly over their common contact surfaces, and then all of them are all fixed together by a series of bolts 5 and nuts 6 arranged evenly in a circle. In addition, one ringshaped intermediate piece 7 is centrally arranged for preventing the said two wheel-contacting pieces from shifting out of their original places.

[0050] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 8, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises two separate wheel-contacting pieces 1, which are symmetrically arranged on the sides and designed to have extra beads on their outermost edges, connected with five separate ground-contacting pieces 2, which are arranged in a circle, indirectly through a group of intermediate pieces. Specifically, two innermost intermediate pieces 4 have an shape of the inverted-rim to join tothe said wheel-contacting pieces 1 and together enveloping a space enough to accommodate the compressed air in order to form one air-cushion tier, whereas, two outermost intermediate pieces 5 simultaneously block the said innermost intermediate pieces 4 and hold tightly the said ground-contacting pieces 2 after (once) all of the components just mentioned are fixed to one central intermediate piece 3 by a series of bolts 6 and nuts 7 arranged evenly in a circle. In addition, there is also an arrangement of two extra intermediate pieces 8 between the air- cushion and traction tiers, each of which is half of a circle, for being as a backup in the event of a puncture or run-flat damage; and where possible, each of the said ground-contacting piece 2 should be designed to have a rigid core embedded within its carcass for shaping as well as reinforcing stiffness.

[0051] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 9, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises two separate wheel-contacting pieces 1, which are symmetrically arranged on the sides, connected with one single ground-contacting piece 2, whose outside is specially designed for use on railway (or railroad), indirectly through a group of intermediate pieces. Accordingly, the inside of the groundcontacting piece 2 is fitted tightly on one intermediate piece 3 and blocked by one intermediate piece 4 (flange) and a series of bolts 5 and nuts 6 arranged evenly in a circle, whereas the inside surfaces of both of the intermediate pieces 3 and 4 are shaped to provide seating surfaces for the wheel-contacting pieces 1 , which are designed to have extra beads on their outermost edges, and together enveloping a space enough to accommodate the compressed air in order to form one air-cushion tier. In addition, one o-ring 7 is designed to remain airtight and one ring-shaped intermediate piece 8 is centrally arranged for preventing the wheel-contacting pieces 1 from shifting out of their original places.

[0052] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 10, a multi-piece pneumatic tire comprises two separate wheel-contacting pieces 1 having built-in one intermediate pieces 3 on which has built-in a series of symmetrically equidistant bolts 5, to be ready for one single ground-contacting piece 2 attached and secured by two intermediate pieces 4 and a series of partner nuts 6 of the said bolts 5 so that all together form a assembly with two separate spaces enough to accommodate the compressed air, i.e. two air-cushion tiers. As designed to be airtight for maintaining the pressure, the present pneumatic tire has two air-cushion tiers that follow each other in the direction from the wheel’s center outwards (the valve stem through which air is introduced to the outermost tier may be radially mounted through the intermediate piece 3).

[0053] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 11 , a multi-piece pneumatic tire has two air-cushion tiers which are interconnected through a group of intermediate pieces. Accordingly, there is one intermediate piece 3 that acts as a central part, along with one intermediate piece 4 that is fixed to the inner surface of the piece 3 by one retaining ring 5, and along with one intermediate piece 6 that is fixed to the outer surface of the piece 3 by one retaining ring 7 (broadly speaking, the assembly consisting of pieces 3-7 acts as a secondary wheel rim), together shaped to provide seating surfaces for two separate wheel-contacting pieces 1 (which are designed to have extra beads on their outermost ends) to form the first air-cushion tier, and for two sidewall regions being integral to one groundcontacting piece 2 to form the second air-cushion tier (in essence, along with two bead regions, all of these may be considered as belonging to an actual single pneumatic tire). In addition, there is also an arrangement of one extra intermediate pieces 8 between the intermediate piece 3 and the groundcontacting piece 2 for being as a backup in the event of a puncture or run-flat damage, that is usually possible on the outermost air-cushion tier. The valve stem through which air is introduced to the outermost tier may be radially mounted through the said pieces.

[0054] In another embodiment shown in Fig. 12, a multi-piece pneumatic tire is a complex having three consecutive air-cushion tiers interconnected through two centrally intermediate pieces 3 and 5, whose inside and outer surfaces are shaped to provide seating surfaces for separate sidewall and ground-contacting pieces (broadly speaking, they act as secondary wheel rims). In order from the wheel’s center outwards, the first air-cushion tier is formed from one single wheel-contacting piece 1 , which is centrally located and designed to envelop itself a space enough to accommodate the compressed air in order to form the first air-cushion tier, nested to the inner surface of one intermediate piece 3 wherein the teeth and slots of both interlock for preventing them from slipping against each other, whereas the second and third air-cushion tiers are together formed from connecting two separate intermediate pieces 4, which aresymmetrically arranged on the sides and designed to have extra beads on their outermost ends for fitting to the outer surface of the intermediate piece 3 in a similar method for an actual pneumatic tire held in place laterally on the wheel rim (able to be collectively refered to as secondary wheel-contacting pieces) and to one single ground-contacting piece 2 through common joints consisting of two intermediate pieces 6 on either side along with an equidistant series of bolts 7 and nuts 8 which are already built-in on the outer surface of the said intermediate piece 5 (in essence, the second and third air-cushion tiers may be considered as belonging to an two air-cushion tier pneumatic tire according to the present invention, which is similar to that of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10). The valve stems through which air are introduced to the outer tiers may be radially mounted through the said pieces.

[0055] All the tires mentioned above can be assembled from many separate pieces and then disassembled into the original pieces (it's easier to practice while the air pressure is low or zero). Each of them is designed to either be airtight (sealing directly to each other) or may require an accompanying inner tube for maintaining air pressure. Once the tire is inflated with the air (or gas), all the constituent pieces will hold themselves with each other tight to be not dislocated or slip against each other in any direction, which is similar to how an actual pneumatic tire held firmly to a wheel rim.

[0056] In general, the invention may be implemented in a wide range of various configurations. The above particular models are intended to be merely exemplary to assist in a better understanding of this disclosure and none of them are intended to be a limitation of the scope of the present invention in any way.Industrial Applicability

[0057] The multi-piece pneumatic tires according to the present invention not only have all the same features as the actual pneumatic tires, but may also be strong enough to resist the risk of puncture, may be easily repaired or replaced one or more of the constituent pieces while still being able to reuse the remaining pieces, save raw materials and contribute to reducing the negative environmental impact of the pneumatic tire manufacturing industry in general. The multi-piece pneumatic tires according to the present invention may be applied to most wheeled vehicles moving on the ground, including aircraft and vehicles operatingon rails, and may be manufactured in any form, including industrial production scale.

Claims

Claims

1. A pneumatic tire for using on a wheeled vehicle, comprising at least one wheel-contacting piece and at least one ground-contacting piece, which are configured to form one air-cushion tier and one traction tier, which are connected with each other by at least one separable joint.

2. The tire of claim 1 , further comprising at least one intermediate piece which is placed in between at least one said wheel-contacting piece and at least one said ground-contacting piece and able to be separated from the said two pieces.

3. The tire of claim 1 , further comprising at least one intermediate piece which is built-in to at least one said wheel-contacting piece.

4. The tire of claim 1 , further comprising at least one intermediate piece which is built-in to at least one said ground-contacting piece.

5. A pneumatic tire as in any one of claims 1 -4 inclusive, wherein at least one said separable joint is the direct-type separable joint.

6. A pneumatic tire as in any one of claims 1 -4 inclusive, wherein at least one said separable joint is the indirect-type separable joint.

7. A pneumatic tire as in any one of claims 1 -6 inclusive, wherein at least one said ground-contacting piece is designed to run on a rail.

8. A pneumatic tire as in any one of claims 1 -7 inclusive, further comprising at least one extra air-cushion tier which is configured to be added between the said air-cushion tier and the said traction tier.

9. A method for manufacturing a tire in accordance with any of claims 1 -8 inclusive, characterized by comprising at least one process of producing any of the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting and intermediate pieces of the tire during the whole processes of producing the tire.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising at least one process of assembling any of the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting and intermediate pieces.

11. A method for using a tire in accordance with any of claims 1 -8 inclusive, characterized by comprising at least one process of separating any of the said wheel-contacting and ground-contacting and intermediate pieces of the tire during the whole process of using the tire

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