Rapid tire inflation system with air compressor
AssigneeBridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
InventorsAnthony B. Duncan, Jon I. Stuckey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An onboard inflation system for a vehicle such as an agricultural vehicle is disclosed, including a tire mounted on a wheel to form a wheel and tire assembly. The tire includes a tread portion and a tire cavity including an inflation chamber adjacent the tread portion of the tire. A storage chamber is carried by at least one of the wheel and the tire. A compressor arrangement is communicated with both the storage chamber and the inflation chamber. The compressor arrangement is configured to transfer air between the storage chamber and the inflation chamber.
Claims33
An inflation system, comprising:
- a wheel;
- a tire mounted on the wheel to form a wheel and tire assembly, the tire including a tread portion and a tire cavity including an inflation chamber adjacent the tread portion of the tire;
- a storage chamber carried by at least one of the wheel and the tire;
- and
- a compressor arrangement communicated with both the storage chamber and the inflation chamber, the compressor arrangement configured to transfer air between the storage chamber and the inflation chamber.
An onboard inflation system for a vehicle having a plurality of wheels and tires, each of the tires being mounted on one of the wheels to define a plurality of wheel and tire assemblies, the inflation system comprising:
- each of the tires including a tread portion and a tire cavity including an inflation chamber adjacent the tread portion of the tire;
- a plurality of storage chambers, each storage chamber being carried by either the wheel or the tire of a respective one of the wheel and tire assemblies;
- and
- a plurality of compressors, each of the compressors communicating the storage chamber of a respective one of the wheel and tire assemblies with the inflation chamber of the respective one of the wheel and tire assemblies, each compressor configured to pump air between its respective storage chamber and its respective inflation chamber so that operating pressure in the inflation chamber can be changed by operation of the compressor.
A method of controlling inflation pressures of a plurality of tires mounted on a plurality of wheels of a vehicle, each of the tires being mounted on one of the wheels to define a plurality of wheel and tire assemblies, the method comprising:
- (a) providing each of the wheel and tire assemblies with a separate inflation system including an inflation chamber operatively located adjacent a tread portion of the tire, a storage chamber, and a compressor communicating the storage chamber with the inflation chamber;
- (b) providing each of the inflation chambers with an initial inflation pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, and providing each of the storage chambers with an initial stored air pressure greater than atmospheric pressure;
- and
- (c) selectively operating at least one of the compressors to increase pressure in one of its associated chambers by pumping air from the other of its associated chambers, thereby more rapidly providing the increased pressure than the same compressor could do if pumping additional air to said one of its associated chambers from an atmospheric pressure source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.