Wheel End Assembly With Annular Hub Chamber for Internal Tire Air Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tire inflation systems face challenges in efficiently routing pressurized gas through wheel hubs, leading to potential leaks and increased package space requirements, as well as longer tire inflation and deflation times due to reliance on external tubing and hoses.
Innovation Solution
A wheel end assembly with a spindle, hub, and rotary seal assembly that includes an annular hub chamber and hub air passages, allowing pressurized gas to be routed internally through the spindle and hub, reducing leak paths and enabling efficient connection to multiple tires.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If external tubing and hoses are used to route pressurized gas to tires, then the system can be simpler in design, but the package space increases and leak risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent routes pressurized gas through nested passages within existing wheel end assembly components. The spindle contains a longitudinal passage, the hub contains air passages, and these are nested within the overall wheel end assembly structure. This eliminates external tubing while utilizing the internal volume of existing components, thereby reducing package space without requiring additional external hoses.
2Ease of manufacture
If external tubing and hoses are used to route pressurized gas, then installation may be easier, but the risk of leaks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the gas routing function with the structural components of the wheel end assembly. The spindle, hub, and rotary seal assembly are combined into a single integrated system where pressurized gas flows through internal passages. This eliminates multiple external connection points (hoses and tubing) that could potentially leak, while maintaining ease of installation as a single integrated unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of external hoses (which can leak and require complex routing) into a benefit by using the internal structure of the wheel end assembly itself as the conduit. The existing structural components are utilized to guide the pressurized gas, turning what would be empty space within components into useful flow passages, thereby eliminating leak risks associated with external connections.
3Adaptability or versatility
If external tubing is used for tire inflation, then the system can accommodate single tire inflation, but the time to inflate multiple tires increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the wheel end assembly multi-functional by enabling a single hub to serve multiple tires simultaneously. The hub air passages can be configured to connect to multiple wheels, allowing one inflation system to service multiple tires at once. This eliminates the need for separate external tubing for each tire while dramatically increasing inflation productivity through parallel operation.
4Device complexity
If pressurized gas is routed through external components, then the routing path is simpler to design, but the number of leak paths increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the gas routing function from external tubing and relocates it entirely within the wheel end assembly. By taking out the external hoses and tubing from the system design and replacing them with internal passages in the spindle and hub, the routing path remains simple (direct flow through passages) while the number of potential leak paths is dramatically reduced by eliminating external connection points.
Data Source
AI summary
A wheel end assembly having a spindle, a hub, and a rotary seal assembly. The spindle may have a spindle air passage. The hub may have a hub air passage and an annular hub chamber that may extend around an axis. The rotary seal assembly may fluidly connect the spindle air passage to an inlet of the annular hub chamber.