Peristaltic tube air maintenance tire assembly and method

摘要

An elongate air tube is positioned within a tire sidewall cavity in contacting internal engagement with the tire sidewall to form an assembly. The air tube includes an internal elongate air passageway and wing projections projecting in opposite directions at an axially inward body portion. The wing projections seat within cavity pockets to retain the air tube within the cavity. The air tube body operatively compresses responsive to impinging stress forces from the tire sidewall against the air tube body, whereby the air tube body reconfiguring from an expanded unstressed configuration into a compressed configuration to constrict the air passageway. The air tube body decompresses into the expanded configuration upon reduction of the impinging stress forces against the air tube body.

主权项

1. A tire assembly comprising:
a tire having a tire cavity, a first and a second sidewall extending to a tire tread region; an elongate sidewall groove extending into the first tire sidewall from an outward first sidewall surface; the sidewall groove having a wedge-shaped transverse sectional profile extending from an axially outer groove entry region of a narrower width dimension at the outward first sidewall surface, to a wider width dimension at an inward groove end within the first tire sidewall; an elongate air tube positioned within the elongate sidewall groove in at least partial contacting engagement with groove sidewalls defining the sidewall groove, the air tube comprising a unitary air tube body having an internal air passageway substantially centrally positioned within the air tube body; the air tube body having a wedge-shaped transverse sectional profile complementarily positioned within the sidewall groove, the air tube body tapering in width dimension from a wider width at an inward tube end within the first tire sidewall to a narrower width dimension at an outward tube end at the outward first sidewall surface, and an air tube retention wing projection at the inward tube end seated within the inward groove end for operatively retaining the air tube within the elongate sidewall groove; and wherein the air tube body wing projection comprises extending folding wing projections projecting from at the air tube at the inward tube end, the wing projections seating within groove chambers at the inward groove end.