Pneumatic Sealing Ring for Tube-Type Tire
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tube-type tires are prone to pinch flats due to the large and heavy inner tube, which can lead to damage and are not suitable for high-performance vehicles, as they contribute to reduced speed and increased energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic sealing ring system that includes a thin inner tube and an expandable outer liner, with the inner tube inflated to twice the pressure of the main tire section, creating a seal without a conventional inner tube, and featuring a self-centering design with flexible casing cords and a protective shield to prevent damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional inner tube is used in a tube-type tire, then the tire can be inflated and function, but the inner tube is subject to pinching and damage resulting in pinch flats
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the problematic conventional inner tube from the tire system and replaces it with a thin inner tube combined with an expandable liner that lines the entire interior of the main tire section. This expandable liner eliminates the pinching issue by providing a smooth, continuous surface that prevents tools and equipment from damaging the inner tube during installation and use.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite structure combining a thin inner tube made of flexible material with an expandable liner made of resilient material. This composite system provides both the flexibility needed for inflation and the protective qualities that prevent pinching damage, resolving the contradiction between reliability and susceptibility to harmful factors.
2Reliability
If a conventional inner tube is used in a tube-type tire, then the tire can be inflated, but the inner tube is large, bulky and heavy reducing speed and increasing energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the bulky conventional inner tube and replaces it with a thin inner tube that has minimal volume. The inflation capability is maintained through the expandable liner that lines the entire interior of the main tire section, allowing the tire to hold air while dramatically reducing the weight and volume of the inner tube component.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a thin inner tube and an expandable liner made of flexible, thin-walled resilient material. This thin-film approach provides the necessary containment for inflation while minimizing weight and volume, directly addressing the contradiction between maintaining inflation capability and reducing the weight of the inner tube.
3Weight of moving object
If a thin inner tube with expandable liner is used, then weight and size are reduced and pinch flats are prevented, but the system requires high inflation pressure (twice the tire pressure) to ensure proper sealing
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the sealing function into two distinct components: a thin inner tube that provides the primary seal at high pressure, and an expandable liner that provides secondary sealing and structural support. This segmentation allows the thin inner tube to operate at high pressure without compromising the overall sealing effectiveness, as the expandable liner compensates and ensures proper sealing against the tire interior.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite system of thin inner tube and expandable liner where the high-pressure thin inner tube works in conjunction with the resilient expandable liner. This composite approach allows the system to tolerate the high inflation pressure required for the thin tube while maintaining reliable sealing, as the expandable liner provides additional sealing capability that compensates for the high-stress environment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables a tube-type tire to operate like a tubeless tire, reducing the risk of pinch flats, minimizing weight and size, and enhancing performance by eliminating the need for a conventional inner tube, thus reducing the likelihood of damage and improving speed and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The air chamber of the inner tube of the sealing ring is inflated to a pressure that is at least twice the pressure to which the air chamber of the main tire section is inflated to ensure a proper sealing effect
Implementation Method 2
The liner is manufactured from a resilient material that is adapted to expand in response to the air chamber of the inner tube being inflated
Implementation Method 3
The liner is manufactured from a resilient material that is adapted to expand in response to the air chamber of the inner tube being inflated
Implementation Method 4
one or more sealing rings project outwardly from the side walls of the outer liner to form an efficient seal with the main tire section and force the main tire section against the vertical lip of the rim
Data Source
AI summary
A tube-type tire to be mounted on the rim of a (e.g., spoke-type) wheel such as that commonly used by a bicycle or a motorcycle, whereby the tube-type tire will operate without a conventional inner tube and as if it were tubeless. The tire includes a main tire section that is seated upon the generally flat shelf of the rim and a pneumatic sealing ring having an inner tube that is seated upon the beadwell of the rim. An air chamber of the inner tube of the sealing ring is inflated to a greater pressure than an air chamber of the main tire section so as to isolate the air chamber of the main tire section from the rim and force the main tire section against the vertical lip of the rim. The sealing ring also has an outer inflatable liner that is located in surrounding engagement with the inner tube to separate the inner tube from the air chamber of the main tire section. The outer liner has one or more O-ring seals projecting outwardly from the side walls thereof and a centering lip projecting downwardly from the side walls. The O-ring seals are moved into sealing engagement with the inside of the main tire section when the air chamber of the inner tube is inflated and the liner is expanded. The centering lips of the liner are seated upon the beadwell of the rim to cause the liner to be automatically centered over the inner tube.