Centralized Tire Pressure Control via Brake System Merging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing centralized tire inflation systems for vehicles lack reliability and safety, particularly in maintaining minimum tire pressure during air-supply circuit breakdowns and require complex installations that modify wheel configurations.
Innovation Solution
An on-board centralized system with wired sensors and one-way valves integrated into the wheel design, ensuring minimum tire pressure maintenance and isolation during system failures, while allowing for simple installation and removal of wheels without altering conventional configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If centralized tire inflation systems are implemented to maintain optimal tire pressure, then fuel consumption and vehicle safety are improved, but system complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the tire pressure regulation system with the vehicle's existing pneumatic brake system by using the brake compressor as the pressure source and integrating control valves into the brake circuit. This merging eliminates the need for separate compression and control components, significantly reducing system complexity while maintaining reliable tire pressure control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the brake compressor serve dual functions: providing pneumatic pressure for braking operations and supplying inflation pressure for the tire pressure control system. This multi-functionality eliminates redundant components and simplifies the overall system architecture while ensuring reliable operation.
2Measurement precision
If direct pressure sensors are installed in the tire inner chamber for accurate pressure monitoring, then measurement precision is improved, but installation complexity and communication difficulties increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the existing pneumatic circuit as an intermediary to transmit pressure information from the tire to the control unit. Pressure sensors are installed in the stationary part of the pneumatic circuit where they can accurately measure tire pressure through the connected air line, avoiding the need for complex wireless sensors in the rotating tire while maintaining measurement precision.
3Speed
If the tire inner chamber is continuously connected to the central system for pressure regulation, then pressure control responsiveness is improved, but system reliability decreases due to potential failures in ducts and fittings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pneumatic circuit into independent zones controlled by isolation valves at each wheel. This allows the system to maintain pressure control in individual tires even when other parts of the system fail, improving overall reliability while maintaining responsive pressure regulation through the connected architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates isolation valves that can automatically or manually disconnect individual tire circuits from the central system in case of failures. This beforehand cushioning protects the overall system from complete failure due to duct or fitting problems in any single location, maintaining reliability while preserving responsive control capability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If pneumatic rotary joints are used to connect rotating wheels to the stationary air supply circuit, then system functionality is improved, but friction and wear increase during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic actuation of the pneumatic rotary joints, opening them only during brief inflation or deflation operations and keeping them closed during normal operation. This periodic action minimizes the time the joints are open, reducing friction and wear while maintaining the necessary rotating connection functionality when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
An on-board centralized system for regulating pressure of tyres of a vehicle includes a pressurized air source, a circuit communicating the source with a plenum of each wheel, and an arrangement for connecting the plenum of each wheel to the inner chamber of the respective tyre that includes first and second connection lines for deflation and inflation, respectively, of the tyre, and first and second one-way valves interposed, respectively, in the first and second connection lines to allow only a flow of air respectively from and to the inner chamber. The first valve includes a spring having a pre-set load so as to isolate the inner chamber from a part of the circuit upstream of the first valve when said upstream part is at atmospheric pressure, and to guarantee a pre-set minimum value of pressure in the inner chamber when the upstream part is at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure.