Variable-diameter wheel apparatus for motor vehicles

A wheel-and-tire apparatus comprising:

• (a) a wheel-and-tire assembly comprising an inboard rim, a central rim, and an outboard rim, plus an inboard tire, a central tire, and an outboard tire mounted on said inboard, central, and outboard rims respectively said rims being jointly rotatable about a common axis, and said assembly being mountable on a wheel hub of a motor vehicle;
• (b) tire diameter adjustment means, adapted to selectively introduce compressed air into, or to exhaust air out of, a primary designated tire selected from said inboard, central, and outboard tires, while the wheel assembly is rotating;
• (c) an actuator associated with the tire diameter adjustment means;
• (d) a computer having a memory;
• (e) one or more sensors, each sensor being adapted to be able to measure a selected operational parameter of the vehicle, and each sensor having a sensor communication link for conveying sensor signals, corresponding to measurements made by the sensor, from the sensor to the computer;
• and
• (f) an actuator communication link, for conveying actuation signals from the computer to the actuator;
• wherein:
• (g) a tire configuration protocol is stored in the computer memory, said protocol comprising selected optimum tire configurations corresponding to selected sensor signals or combinations of sensor signals, said protocol including the tire configurations wherein:
• A. only the central tire is in operatively-effective contact with the road surface;
• B. only the inboard tire and the outboard tire are in operatively-effective contact with the road surface;
• and
• C. all three tires are in operatively-effective contact with the road surface;
• (h) the computer is adapted and programmed:
• A. to receive a sensor signal or signals through the sensor communication link or links;
• B. having reference to the tire configuration protocol, to select a tire configuration corresponding to the received sensor signal or combination of sensor signals;
• and
• C. to transmit a corresponding actuation signal to the actuator, through the actuator communication link;
• and
• (i) the actuator is adapted to actuate the tire diameter adjustment means, in response to and in accordance with an actuation signal from the computer, so as to inflate or deflate the primary designated tire as necessary to deploy a selected one of the tires, or a selected plurality of the tires, in operatively-effective contact with the road surface, in accordance with the selected tire configuration.