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US 10,479,146 B2Granted
Rapid tire inflation system
AssigneeBridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
InventorJon I. Stuckey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rapid inflation system is provided for the tires of a machine such as an agricultural machine which must periodically move between field conditions and road conditions. The system can relatively rapidly inflate the tires from a lower field ready state to a higher pressure road ready state by the use of a high pressure reservoir chamber defined within the tire.
Claims21
An inflation system for use with a wheel and a tire, the inflation system comprising:
- a divider wall configured to divide an inner cavity of the tire into an upper chamber between a tread portion of the tire and the divider wall, and a lower chamber between the divider wall and the wheel;
- a first pressure sensor arranged to be communicated with the upper chamber;
- a second pressure sensor arranged to be communicated with the lower chamber;
- a first valve having an open position for communicating the upper and lower chambers, and a closed position for isolating the upper chamber from the lower chamber;
- a second valve configured to selectively communicate the lower chamber with a source of pressurized gas;
- and
- a controller operably associated with the first and second pressure sensors and the first and second valves, the controller being configured to define a field ready pre-charged mode wherein the upper chamber is inflated to a field ready pressure in a range of from 4 psi to 16 psi, the first valve is closed and the lower chamber is pre-charged to a pre-charged pressure, the pre-charged pressure being such that upon opening of the first valve a transition from the field ready pre-charged mode to a road ready mode wherein the upper chamber is inflated to a road ready pressure in a range of from 20 psi to 40 psi occurs in a transition time of no more than ten minutes, wherein the field ready pressure is in a range of from 20% to 50% of the road ready pressure.
4 more elements
A method of inflating a tire mounted on a wheel, the method comprising:
- (a) inflating the tire to a field ready pressure in a range of from 4 psi to 16 psi;
- (b) providing a high pressure gas reservoir within a cavity between the tire and the wheel, and pressurizing the reservoir to a pre-charged pressure;
- and
- (c) opening a valve communicating the reservoir with the cavity and inflating the tire from the field ready pressure to a road ready pressure in a range of from 20 psi to 40 psi with the high pressure gas from the reservoir in a transition time of no more than ten minutes, wherein the field ready pressure is in a range of from 20% to 50% of the road ready pressure.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.