CONNECTOR SYSTEM AND AIR MAINTENANCE TIRE ASSEMBLY |
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申请号 | US13677411 | 申请日 | 2012-11-15 | 公开(公告)号 | US20140130895A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2014-05-15 |
申请人 | The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; | 发明人 | Daniel Paul Luc Marie Hinque; Gilles Bonnet; Olivier Di Prizio; André Cuny; Sebastien Lembert; Andreas Frantzen; | ||||
摘要 | A connector system and tire assembly includes a tire having a toroidal tire cavity for containing pressurized air, an elongate integral air passageway contained within a flexible tire component, the air passageway extending between an air inlet cavity and an air outlet cavity in the flexible tire component, the air passageway extending for at least a partial circumferential path around the tire, and a metallic connector assembly within the outlet cavity, the connector assembly including a through-channel for conducting air flow communication between the air passageway within the flexible tire component and a chamber of the connector assembly. | ||||||
权利要求 | What is claimed: |
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说明书全文 | The present invention relates generally to air maintenance tires and, more specifically, to a connector system for construction of an air maintenance pump assembly integrated into a tire. Normal air diffusion reduces tire pressure over time. The natural state of tires is under inflated. Accordingly, drivers must repeatedly act to maintain tire pressures or they will see reduced fuel economy, tire life and reduced vehicle braking and handling performance. Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems have been proposed to warn drivers when tire pressure is significantly low. Such systems, however, remain dependant upon the driver taking remedial action when warned to re-inflate a tire to recommended pressure. It is a desirable, therefore, to incorporate an air maintenance feature within a tire that will re-inflate the tire in order to compensate for normal air diffusion over time without the need for driver intervention. A connector system and tire assembly in accordance with the present invention includes a tire having a toroidal tire cavity for containing pressurized air, an elongate integral air passageway contained within a flexible tire component, the air passageway extending between an air inlet cavity and an air outlet cavity in the flexible tire component, the air passageway extending for at least a partial circumferential path around the tire, and a metallic connector assembly within outlet cavity, the connector assembly including a through-channel for conducting air flow communication between the air passageway within the flexible tire component and a chamber of the connector assembly. According to another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the flexible tire component comprises a chafer component of the tire. According to still another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the connector assembly includes a valve device for regulating a flow of air from the air inlet cavity to the tire cavity. According to yet another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, an elongate core strip is positioned within the air passageway of the tire flexible component. The through-channel of the connector assembly has a cross-sectional configuration to receive a free end of the core strip therethrough. According to still another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the through-channel comprises a through-slit. According to yet another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, a metallic inlet connector assembly within the air inlet cavity includes an air inlet device for conducting air external to the tire into the air inlet cavity and a metallic outlet connector assembly within the air outlet cavity includes a valve device for regulating a flow of air from the air outlet cavity to the tire cavity. According to still another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the flexible tire component comprises a chafer component of the tire. According to yet another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, a removable elongate core strip is positioned within the air passageway of the flexible tire component during a pre-cure build of the tire and withdrawn from the air passageway of a post-cure tire. A through-channel of both the inlet connector assembly and the outlet connector assembly each has a cross-sectional configuration to receive a respective free end of the core strip therethrough. According to still another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, each through-channel comprises a through-slit. According to yet another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the metallic connector assembly is constructed of steel. According to still another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the metallic connector assembly is constructed of titanium. According to yet another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the metallic connector assembly is constructed of aluminum. According to still another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the metallic connector assembly is constructed of stainless steel. According to yet another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the metallic connector assembly is constructed of stainless steel and aluminum. According to still another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the metallic connector assembly is constructed of stainless steel and titanium. According to yet another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the metallic connector assembly is constructed of aluminum and titanium. According to still another aspect of the connector system and tire assembly, the metallic connector assembly is constructed of stainless steel, titanium, and aluminum. “Aspect ratio” of the tire means the ratio of its section height (SH) to its section width (SW) multiplied by 100 percent for expression as a percentage. “Asymmetric tread” means a tread that has a tread pattern not symmetrical about the center plane or equatorial plane EP of the tire. “Axial” and “axially” means lines or directions that are parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire. “Chafer” is a narrow strip of material placed around the outside of a tire bead to protect the cord plies from wearing and cutting against the rim and distribute the flexing above the rim. “Circumferential” means lines or directions extending along the perimeter of the surface of the annular tread perpendicular to the axial direction. “Equatorial Centerplane (CP)” means the plane perpendicular to the tire's axis of rotation and passing through the center of the tread. “Footprint” means the contact patch or area of contact of the tire tread with a flat surface at zero speed and under normal load and pressure. “Groove” means an elongated void area in a tire wall that may extend circumferentially or laterally about the tire wall. The “groove width” is equal to its average width over its length. A groove is sized to accommodate an air tube as described. “Inboard side” means the side of the tire nearest the vehicle when the tire is mounted on a wheel and the wheel is mounted on the vehicle. “Lateral” means an axial direction. “Lateral edges” means a line tangent to the axially outermost tread contact patch or footprint as measured under normal load and tire inflation, the lines being parallel to the equatorial centerplane. “Net contact area” means the total area of ground contacting tread elements between the lateral edges around the entire circumference of the tread divided by the gross area of the entire tread between the lateral edges. “Non-directional tread” means a tread that has no preferred direction of forward travel and is not required to be positioned on a vehicle in a specific wheel position or positions to ensure that the tread pattern is aligned with the preferred direction of travel. Conversely, a directional tread pattern has a preferred direction of travel requiring specific wheel positioning. “Outboard side” means the side of the tire farthest away from the vehicle when the tire is mounted on a wheel and the wheel is mounted on the vehicle. “Peristaltic” means operating by means of wave-like contractions that propel contained matter, such as air, along tubular pathways. “Radial” and “radially” means directions radially toward or away from the axis of rotation of the tire. “Rib” means a circumferentially extending strip of rubber on the tread which is defined by at least one circumferential groove and either a second such groove or a lateral edge, the strip being laterally undivided by full-depth grooves. “Sipe” means small slots molded into the tread elements of the tire that subdivide the tread surface and improve traction, sipes are generally narrow in width and close in the tires footprint as opposed to grooves that remain open in the tire's footprint. “Tread element” or “traction element” means a rib or a block element defined by having a shape adjacent grooves. “Tread Arc Width” means the arc length of the tread as measured between the lateral edges of the tread. The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Referring initially to In accordance with the present invention, the air maintenance assembly 42 may incorporate a thin hollow tube within a flexible tire component, such as the chafer 28, during tire construction. The location selected for the hollow tube within the tire 12 may be within a tire component residing within a high flex region of the tire, sufficient to progressively collapse the peristaltic internal hollow tube as the tire rotates under load thereby conveying air along the hollow tube from the inlet cavity 44 to the outlet cavity 46 and the tire cavity 20. This AMT (Air Maintenance Tire) assembly 42 may thus function as an internal peristaltic air pump for the tire 12. With reference to As shown in A flexible tire component, as shown in As shown in The groove 80 may be opened to receive the strip assembly 104 by an elastic spreading apart of groove lips 82, 84. Thereafter, the assembly 104 may be inserted downward into the groove 80 until reaching a position adjacent to the bottom wall 86. A release of the lips 82, 84 may allow the lips to elastically resume their close opposed relationship. The lips 82, 84 may be then stitched together in a rolling operation wherein a roller (not shown) may press the lips 82, 84 into the closed relationship shown in With reference to The channel 80 may thus be closed and subsequently stitched in the closed position ( Referring to The opposite side of the build drum 116 may receive two 180 degree normal strips 122 in abutment to complete the chafer build on that side of the build drum. It will be noted that the chafer strip 70 may contain the silicone strip assembly 104 while the abutting strip 126 does not. However, if desired, both of the chafer strips 70, 126 as well as one or both of the strips 122 may be configured to contain a silicone strip assembly 104 to create a 360 degree peristaltic pump tube on one side or both sides of the green tire 12. The example of The end 106 of the silicone strip assembly 104 will hereafter be referred to as the “outlet end portion” extending through the outlet cavity 134 and the end 108 hereafter referred to as the “inlet end portion” of the silicone strip assembly extending through the inlet cavity 132. An upper/outer top half-housing 178 may be attached to the bottom half-housing 180, as seen in In accordance with the present invention, In As described above, the air maintenance assembly 42 may represent a peristaltic air pump system in which the compressible air passageway 238 progressively pumps air along the passageway from the inlet cavity 132 to the outlet cavity 134 and the tire cavity 20 for maintaining internal tire cavity pressure at a required level. The inlet assembly 170 and the metallic permanent outlet assembly 136 may be positioned generally 180 degrees apart, separated by the internal chafer air passageway 238 ( As the tire 12 continues to rotate, the air passageway 238 within the chafer component 28 may be sequentially flattened/squeezed adjacent the tire footprint in a segment by segment direction opposite to the direction of tire rotation. The sequential flattening of the air passageway 238 segment by segment may thus cause evacuated air from the flattened segments to be pumped to the permanent outlet assembly 136. When the air flow pressure is sufficient against the permanent outlet assembly 136, the outlet assembly may open to allow air to flow through the outlet assembly into the tire cavity 20. This air may thereby serve to re-inflate the tire 12 to a desired pressure level as needed. With the tire 12 continuing to rotate, flattened tube segments may be sequentially refilled by air flowing into the inlet assembly 170 along the passageway 238. The inflow of air from the inlet assembly 170 may continue until the outlet assembly 136 becomes adjacent the tire footprint. When the tire 12 rotates further, the inlet assembly 170 will eventually pass the tire footprint against ground surface, and airflow may resume to the outlet assembly 136 along the passageway 238. The above-described cycle may then be repeated for each tire revolution, half of each rotation resulting in pumped air going to the tire cavity 20 and half of the rotation resulting in pumped air being directed back out the inlet assembly 170. It will be appreciated that the subject tire assembly and its peristaltic pump assembly 42 may function in like manner in either direction of rotation. The peristaltic pump assembly 42 is accordingly bi-directional and equally functional with the assembly moving in a forward or an opposite, reverse direction of rotation. The location of the assembly 42 may be in the chafer component 28 with the air passageway 238 thereby being in a high flex region of the tire 12 causing the flattening pressure from the tire rolling against ground surface to be applied to the passageway. The air maintenance passageway 238 may be integrated into and enclosed by the chafer tire component 28 to prevent air leakage that would otherwise degradate the operational efficiency of the pump assembly 42. Other tire components may have high-flex regions and may alternatively be employed for location of the air maintenance assembly 42. For example, without intent to delimit such alternative components and locations, the assembly 42 may be incorporated at a more radially outward location in the tire sidewall 14. The passageway 238 could, in similar manner to that described previously, be deployed within a sidewall ply component during green tire build. Pursuant to the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a method of constructing a tire 12 having an associate air maintenance pumping assembly 42 results in the tire. The method may include: constructing an elongate strip core 58; encasing the strip core 58 into a containment within an uncured flexible tire component (preferably but not necessarily chafer strip 70), the strip core extending between an air inlet cavity 132 and an air outlet cavity 134 in the flexible tire component; building on a tire building drum 116 a green tire carcass from tire components including the flexible tire component and encased strip core 58; inserting an air inlet assembly 170 into the inlet cavity 132 and an air outlet assembly 136 into the outlet cavity 134; curing the green tire carcass into a cured finished tire 12 including the flexible tire component 70 containing the strip core 58; and removing the encased strip core 58 from the cured flexible tire component to leave within the flexible tire component an unobstructed air passageway 238 interconnecting the assemblies 136, 170. It may be further appreciated that the strip core 58 may be longitudinally removed by a free end from the cured flexible tire component, chafer strip 70, generally tangential to the tire carcass, by means of drawing on the free end 108 of the strip core and extending the outlet assembly 136 inward through a tire sidewall 14 by means of utilization of the punch 138 into communication with the tire cavity 20. The method may further include inserting an air inlet assembly 170 into the inlet cavity 132 prior to curing the green tire carcass; and inserting an air outlet assembly 136 into the outlet cavity 134 prior to curing the green tire carcass. The assemblies 136, 170 at the inlet and outlet positions may serve to further seat the assemblies within the tire 12 during the tire cure. The method may also include encasing the strip core 104 into a containment within the uncured flexible tire component by extruding a channel or tube into the uncured flexible tire component (chafer strip 70) defined by channel sidewalls 82, 84 and a channel bottom wall 86; inserting the strip core 104 into the channel; and collapsing a flexible channel sidewall or flap 114 to enclose the sidewall 82 over the strip core 104. The uncured flexible tire component may be a tire chafer component, but other alternative tire components may be substituted so long as the tire components exhibit sufficiently high flexure during tire rotation under load to progressively collapse the air passageway 238 in a rolling tire footprint. It may further be appreciated that the assemblies 136, 170 at the inlet and outlet cavities 132, 134 may provide a connector system that is flexible and multi-purpose. In the air maintenance tire and connector system 42 thus provided, the elongate integral air passageway 238 may be formed by the silicone strip assembly 104 at the pre-cure tire build stage and by the vacated air passageway post-cure removal of the assembly 104 in a post-cure procedure. The chafer component strip 70, as may be appreciated from The passageway-shaping, silicone strip assembly 104 may be removable from the air passageway 238 in a post-cure procedure. The free end portions 106. 108 may be accessible at the inlet and outlet cavities 132, 134, respectively, and inlet and outlet assemblies 170, 136, respectively, whereby the silicone strip assembly 104 may be removed by an axial withdrawal force application to one of the free end portions 106, 108 of the silicone strip assembly 104. In FIGS. 11 and 16A-16C, the passageway-shaping strip assembly 104 may have a generally elliptical cross-sectional configuration and may be configured with a silicone core 58 encased by a sheath 92 composed of a release material such as a rubber composition. The flexible chafer tire component 70 may increase side-to side (the axial direction of the tire 12) in sectional thickness from the radially outward region 72 to the radially inward region 88. The channel 90, which may become the air passageway 238, may reside within the radially inward, thicker region 88. The channel 90 may be formed to extend into the radially inward region 88, angling radially inward toward the radially outward region 72, as shown in With reference to Variations in the present invention are possible in light of the description of it provided herein. While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the subject invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the subject invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that changes can be made in the particular embodiments described which will be within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims. |