US 9,045,013 B2 · Ice adaptive tire system

Abstract

An adaptive tire system can include retractable and extendable bolts for enhancing traction, for example, on ice-covered roadways. The system can include pneumatically operated bolt assemblies mounted inside a tire having custom reinforced belts. The bolt assemblies can include locking devices configured to be biased towards a locked position so as to lock deployable bolts into extended and/or retracted positions without the need for persistently or continuously applied actuation force or energy. The system can include wheel-mounted, manually operated controls or remote and/or automated controls. The system can include rotary unions for transmitting actuation controls from a vehicle body into an associated wheel. The bolts can also be adjustable and can include removable and replaceable tips serviced from tire exterior while inflated, deflated, on wheel or off wheel.

Claims34

Dependent claims

A tire comprising:

a tire body having a tread surface and a sidewall;
at least a first bolt mounted to the tire body so as to be movable, along a radial direction relative to the tread surface between a retracted position and an extended position, the bolt being retracted within the tire when in the retracted position and extending through the tread surface when in the extended position;
at least a first lock mechanism movable between a locked position and an unlocked position in response to a first actuation force, the first lock mechanism being configured to mechanically lock the bolt in the retracted position and in the extended position, wherein the first lock mechanism is biased toward the locked position with a biasing device such that the first lock mechanism remains in the locked position without a need for a continuous application of the first actuation force.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Ice adaptive tire system

Life of this patent

Ice adaptive tire system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims34