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US 12,673,522 B2Granted
Inflation system
AssigneeAperia Technologies, Inc.
InventorBrandon Richardson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The system can include: a wheel-mounted pump and a dehumidifying system arranged along the fluid path between the pump outlet and a tire inlet. In variants, the dehumidifying system includes a set of angled channels that aggregate water in radially-outward channel segments. The angled channels can be fluidly connected to a purge valve selectively fluidly connected to an ambient environment.
Claims22
A system for tire inflation, comprising:
- a housing configured to statically mount to a wheel supporting a tire, the tire comprising a tire inlet;
- a pump mounted to the housing and configured to pressurize air from a first pressure to a second pressure, wherein the pump comprises a pump outlet;
- a condensate drain fluidly connected to an ambient environment;
- and
- a manifold statically coupled to the housing, the manifold defining a set of fluid paths consisting of:
- a fluid path between the pump outlet and the tire inlet;
- and
- a condensate path fluidly connecting the fluid path and the condensate drain, wherein the condensate path is configured to preclude backflow of condensate into the fluid path,
- wherein a path of the set of fluid paths comprises:
- a first portion with a net radially outward component relative to a central axis of the wheel;
- and
- a second portion with a net radially inward component relative to the central axis of the wheel, wherein the first portion and second portion form an acute angle at a radially extreme point along the path.
9 more elements
An inflation system comprising:
- a pump configured to statically mount to a wheel defining a rotational axis, the pump comprising a pump outlet;
- and
- a fluid manifold configured to statically mount to the wheel, the fluid manifold defining a set of channels consisting of:
- a first flow channel between the pump outlet and a tire inlet;
- and
- a condensate channel fluidly connecting the first flow channel to a condensate drain arranged along a perimeter of the inflation system,
- wherein a channel of the set of channels comprises:
- a first portion which extends radially outward from the rotational axis;
- and
- a second portion which extends radially inward towards the rotational axis, wherein the first portion and second portion define an acute bend at a radially extreme point of the channel, wherein the acute bend directly couples the first portion and second portion.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.