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US 12,011,956 B2Granted
Inflation system
AssigneeAperia Technologies, Inc.
InventorBrandon Richardson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The inflation system includes a pump and a dehumidifier fluidly connected between the pump and a reservoir, such as a tire.
Claims20
An inflation system for a tire mounted to a wheel, the wheel mounted to a rotatable portion of a wheel hub assembly, the inflation system comprising:
- a drive mechanism configured to mount to the rotatable portion of the wheel hub assembly;
- a pump driven by the drive mechanism and configured to statically mount to the wheel and fluidly connect to the tire;
- a liquid removal system fluidly connected to the pump, wherein the liquid removal system comprises a dehumidifier and is configured to selectively purge a liquid fraction of working fluid to the ambient environment, wherein the liquid removal system further comprises a heating element thermally connected to the dehumidifier and configured to selectively heat the dehumidifier prior to purging of the liquid fraction of working fluid;
- a working fluid inlet fluidly arranged between the ambient environment and the pump;
- and
- a filter arranged between the working fluid inlet and the pump;
- wherein the inflation system is configured to operate between a set of modes, comprising:
- an inflation mode, wherein the heating element does not heat the dehumidifier and wherein the pump forces pressurized working fluid into the tire;
- and
- a regeneration mode, wherein the heating element heats the dehumidifier and wherein the pump does not force pressurized working fluid into the tire.
7 more elements
A method for a tire mounted to a wheel, the wheel mounted to a rotatable portion of a wheel hub assembly, the method comprising:
- pressurizing a fluid using a pump driven by relative rotation between the rotatable portion of the wheel hub assembly and a hanging mass rotatably mounted to the rotatable portion, wherein the pump is statically mounted to the rotatable portion;
- collecting water from the pressurized fluid using a desiccant while a heating element thermally connected to the desiccant is off;
- providing the pressurized fluid to the tire;
- and
- heating the desiccant while the heating element is on;
- monitoring a humidity of the pressurized fluid, wherein the collected water is purged using working fluid from the tire based on the humidity of the pressurized fluid.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.