Wheel mounting for tire pressure adjustment system

A mounting for a wheel that rotates about an axis of rotation and has a pneumatic tire, said mounting comprising:

• a nonrotating spindle having inboard and outboard ends, the spindle also having a shoulder at its inboard end and thread at its outboard end;
• a nut engaged with the threads and being spaced axially from the shoulder, the nut having a passageway extending through it;
• a fitting located at the inboard end of the spindle;
• a pair of inner bearing races located on the spindle between the nut and the shoulder, the inner races having raceways which are presented outwardly, the inner races also having axially directed channels which lie along the spindle and together with the outer surface of the spindle form portions of a first air passageway which extends between the fitting and the outboard end of the spindle and also includes the passage in the nut;
• connecting means located between the inner races and around the spindle for connecting the channels of the two inner races such that air will not escape in the region between the two inner races;
• a hub located around the spindle;
• a pair of outer bearing races fitted into the hub and having raceways which are presented inwardly toward the raceways of the inner races;
• rolling elements located between and contacting the raceways of the inner and outer races;
• a closure attached to the hub generally around the outboard and of the spindle and extending across the outboard end of the spindle to form a chamber that likewise extends across the end of the spindle and into which the first passageway opens at the outboard end of the spindle;
• a sealing surface carried by the spindle between the outboard end of the first passageway and the rolling elements of the bearings;
• a seal carried by the hub and contacting the sealing surface to form a fluid barrier which isolates the chamber from the rolling elements;
• and a second passageway extending between the chamber and the interior of the tire.

A mounting for a wheel having a pneumatic tire, said mounting comprising:

• a nonrotatable spindle having inboard and outboard ends, the spindle having a shoulder at its inboard end;
• a clamping device located at the outboard end of the spindle;
• a hub located around the spindle and having the wheel attached to it;
• two single row tapered roller bearings interposed between the spindle and the hub to enable the hub to rotate on the spindle about an axis of rotation, each bearing having a cup that is fitted into the hub and is provided with a tapered raceway that is presented inwardly, a cone that is located around the spindle and is provided with tapered raceway that is presented outwardly and also a thrust rib projected outwardly beyond the large end of the tapered raceway, and tapered rollers located between the cut and cone where they contact the raceways of the cup and cone and have their large ends against the thrust rib of the cone, the two cones being located between the shoulder of the spindle and the clamping device and having axially directed channels that are presented toward the surface of the spindle;
• a sealing surface located at the outboard end of the spindle axially beyond rollers of the two bearings, the sealing surface being fixed with respect to the cones of the bearings;
• a separator ring encircling the spindle between the cones of the two bearings and means for establishing fluid-tight barriers between the ring and the cones so as to isolate the channels of the cones from the region between the bearings while maintaining communication between the channels of the two cones;
• a seal carried by the hub and having an elastomeric sealing element which contacts the sealing surface to form a fluid barrier between the surface and the hub, the seal forming the end of an air chamber located at the outboard end of the spindle;
• means for closing the other end of the chamber;
• the channels in the cones of the two bearings forming part of a first air passageway that extends from the inboard to the outboard end of the spindle;
• passes through the separator ring and opens into the air chamber;
• and means for providing a second passageway between the chamber and the interior of the tire.