Run-flat tire insert
OwnerRichard W. Roberts, John E. Nemaziinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A run-flat tire insert for installation in a pneumatic tire mounted on a rim. The insert is a one-piece toroidal member formed from expanded polymer foam beads molded into a structural foam part. The insert has an inner diameter surface sized to fit snuggly about a periphery of a tire rim and an outer diameter sized to fit within a tire cavity. The insert is spaced from the tire inner casing surface during normal operation and supports the tire inner casing surface away from the rim in the event of a flat tire. A molding apparatus and a method of forming a run-flat tire insert is also disclosed.
Claims21
A run-flat tire insert for installation in a pneumatic tire mounted on a rim, the insert comprising:
- a toroidal member formed from expanded polymer foam beads molded into a structural foam part having an inner diameter surface sized to fit about a periphery of a tire rim and an outer diameter sized to fit within a tire cavity and spaced from an outer casing surface of the tire,
- wherein the toroidal member has formed therein a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart elongate passageways extending substantially into the toroidal member and are oriented parallel to an axial centerline of the toroidal member to provide passageways for steam to heat the expanded polymer foam beads molding them into a structural foam part, the toroidal member having an inner diameter surface which is sized to fit about a tire rim,
- wherein a circumferentially extending groove is formed on the inner diameter surface providing an annular channel connectable to an air inlet-outlet formed in the tire rim,
- wherein the toroidal member inner diameter surface is further provided with a series of radially extending grooves formed in a side surface of the toroidal member forming an air passageway extending between the annular channel and an internal cavity within a pneumatic tire.
A run-flat tire insert for installation in a pneumatic tire mounted on a rim, the insert comprising:
- a toroidal member formed from expanded polymer foam beads molded into a structural foam part having an inner diameter surface sized to fit about a periphery of a tire rim and an outer diameter sized to fit within a tire cavity and spaced from an outer casing surface of the tire,
- wherein the toroidal member has formed therein a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart elongate tubular passageways extending radially into the toroidal member to provide passageways for steam to heat the expanded polymer foam beads molding them into a structural foam part, the toroidal member having an inner diameter surface which is sized to fit about a tire rim,
- wherein a pair of axially spaced apart circumferentially extending grooves are formed on the inner diameter surface providing channels connectable to an air inlet-outlet formed in the tire rim, and
- wherein the toroidal member has an inner diameter surface that is further provided with a plurality of axially extending groves which connect with the circumferentially extending groves to the radially extending elongate tubular passageways.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.