Vehicle wheel including self-inflating tire pump
US5558730A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 17, 1995 |
| Grant date | Sep 24, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 17, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF04B31/00
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A self-inflating tire pump is integrally fixed to a wheel of a vehicle for automatically pumping air into an inflation region of a tire which is mounted on the wheel. The pump includes a piston which is movable radially outward in a cylinder by centrifugal force to draw air from the atmosphere into a compression chamber and is movable radially inward by a biasing element to compress the air in the compression chamber and pump it into the inflation region. The biasing element includes a surface of the piston which is exposed to air pressure in the inflation region, and prevents the piston from moving outward until the wheel rotates above a certain speed, thereby preventing contaminants such as water and dirt from entering the compression chamber during low speed operation of the vehicle in adverse terrain. A stopper mechanism prevents the piston from moving when the tire pressure is above a normal value, thereby reducing frictional wear of the pump.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.