Self-Inflating Tire With Segmented Check Valves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tires naturally lose air pressure over time, requiring frequent driver intervention to maintain recommended pressure, which affects fuel economy, tire life, and vehicle handling performance.
Innovation Solution
An air maintenance tire system with an elongate tubular air passageway and multiple check valves that allow air to flow directionally from an inlet to an outlet as the tire rotates, using a flexible membrane gate to prevent backflow, and a method of assembling this system within the tire sidewall or as a flexible air tube.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If driver manually monitors and re-inflates tires, then tire pressure can be maintained at recommended levels, but driver intervention time and frequency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tire system performs self-inflation through an integrated air pump apparatus that automatically draws air from the environment and forces it into the tire cavity when pressure drops below recommended levels, eliminating the need for driver intervention. The system monitors its own pressure status and autonomously executes the inflation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors tire pressure and compares it against recommended thresholds, automatically activating the air pump apparatus when pressure falls below the threshold and deactivating it when the threshold is restored, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains pressure within the desired range.
2Reliability
If tire pressure is maintained at recommended levels, then fuel economy and tire life improve, but additional air maintenance systems increase device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The air pump apparatus serves multiple functions: it acts as a pressure monitoring trigger, an air intake device, a compression pump, and an inflation delivery system all in one integrated assembly, reducing the need for separate components and simplifying the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible air tube serves as an intermediary component that delivers pressurized air from the pump apparatus to the tire cavity, while the check valves act as intermediaries that control the direction of air flow and prevent backflow, simplifying the overall air delivery mechanism.
3Reliability
If check valves are installed within the air passageway to prevent backflow, then air flows directionally from inlet to outlet, but manufacturing and assembly precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The air passageway is divided into multiple segments by spacing several check valves along its length, with each check valve handling a specific section of air flow. This segmentation allows each individual check valve to be simpler in design and easier to position accurately within its designated segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The check valves are designed with uniform spacing and identical specifications along the air passageway, creating equivalent positioning conditions for each valve. This equipotential approach simplifies manufacturing and assembly by allowing standardized installation procedures rather than requiring unique positioning for each valve.
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
The system self-inflates the tire by forcing air through the check valves, maintaining pressure without driver intervention, improving fuel efficiency, tire longevity, and handling performance.
Implementation Method 1
A valve gate, such as a membrane, allows pressurized air to directionally pass through the check valve device from an upstream passageway segment to a downstream passageway segment. The valve gate in a closed position prohibits air from passing in an opposite direction through the check valve body.
Implementation Method 2
The air passageway operably closing segment by segment in reaction to induced forces from the tire flexing region as the flexing region of the tire wall rotates opposite to a rolling tire footprint.
Data Source
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AI summary
A tire having a tread region and first and second sidewalls extending from the tread region and an elongate tubular air passageway enclosed within a flexing region of a tire wall is disclosed. The air passageway comprises an air inlet portal and an outlet portal. The air passageway is configured to operably close segment by segment in reaction to induced forces from the tire flexing region as the flexing region of the tire wall rotates opposite a rolling tire footprint. The elongate air passageway comprises at least one check valve device seated within the axial air passageway dividing the elongate air passageway into a plurality of air passageway segments comprising an upstream air passageway segment and a downstream air passageway segment. The check valve device has an external dimension and configuration such that it is operable to substantially occupy the air passageway. The check valve device has a valve gate to allow pressurized air to directionally pass through the check valve body and to prohibit air from passing through the check valve body from the downstream air passageway segment to the upstream air passageway segment. A flow of pressurized air through the check valve device extends in one axial direction along the air passageway from an inlet portal of the elongate air passageway toward an outlet portal of the air passageway. Also, a method of assembling an air pump for a tire is disclosed.