A device for maintaining and changing the pressure in a is provided whereby the inner pressure space of the tire is connected through a pump to a pressure accumulator which, at its input and/or output into the inner pressure space of the tire, is fitted with at least one pressure control element. The pump can be a peristaltic pump in the shape of a deformable hose placed on the perimeter of the tire, fitted with an air inlet and an air outlet, while the air inlet and the air outlet are positioned on the perimeter of the tire distant from each other by a preset length, dependent on the deformation of the tire.

A wheel mounted control assembly receives therethrough the tire valve stem from an air maintenance tire. A control assembly regulator controls a flow of air to and from a tire-mounted air pumping tube. The control assembly includes a bi-directional air distribution flow control system having multiple parallel air pathways, each air pathway coupled to a respective conduit connected to an air pumping tube mounted within a tire sidewall. The pathways alternatively operate to deliver ambient non-pressurized air to the air pumping tube in response to directional tire rotation against a ground surface.

A rapid inflation system is provided for the tires of a machine such as an agricultural machine which must periodically move between field conditions and road conditions. The system can relatively rapidly inflate the tires from a lower field ready state to a higher pressure road ready state by the use of a high pressure reservoir chamber defined within the tire.

The present application relates to a tire (6) comprising: a tread portion (8) and side walls (10), said tread portion (8) and side walls (10) defining a main air chamber (12); at least two auxiliary chambers (14, 16, 18) formed in the tread portion (8); and an air transfer device (28) for transferring air between the main air chamber (12) and each of the auxiliary air chambers (14, 16, 18).

An information acquisition device is provided within a virtual plane including a coil axis of a coil-shaped antenna and having a perpendicular line orthogonal to an axis of rotation of a tire, such that the angle formed by the coil axis of the antenna relative to the tire rotational axis is within a range of 0° to 40°. The amount of attenuation of radio waves emitted from the antenna to the exterior of the tire is thereby reduced.

An information acquisition device is provided within a virtual plane including a coil axis of a coil-shaped antenna and having a perpendicular line orthogonal to an axis of rotation of a tire, such that the angle formed by the coil axis of the antenna relative to the tire rotational axis is within a range of 0° to 40°. The amount of attenuation of radio waves emitted from the antenna to the exterior of the tire is thereby reduced.

A tire cornering stiffness estimation system and method includes multiple tire-affixed sensors mounted to a supportive vehicle tire for operably measuring tire-specific parameters and generating tire-specific information relating tire pressure, temperature, wear state, tire identification and tire loading. One or more accelerometer(s) are mounted to the hub supporting the tire to generate a hub accelerometer signal. A model-based tire cornering stiffness estimator is included to generate a model-derived tire cornering stiffness estimation based upon the hub accelerometer signal adapted by the tire-specific information.

A method for adapting a tire inflation pressure of an agricultural vehicle includes ascertaining a current vehicle position by a navigation system, correlating the current vehicle position by a control unit with a cartographically captured field boundary, detecting a travel-induced entry into a cultivation region surrounded by a field boundary, and selecting a set tire inflation pressure designated for field cultivation from a database by the control unit. The method further includes applying the selected set tire inflation pressure to at least one tire of the agricultural vehicle by a tire-pressure regulating system.

A tire pressure control arrangement for a vehicle having at least two tires connected to an air supply. Each tire is connected to the air supply via a supply line having a first valve connected to a second valve. The arrangement further includes a pressure sensor between the two valves. The first valve is closed while the supply line is connected to a pressure supply and the pressure in the supply line is monitored for a pre-determined period of time by a control system on the vehicle to detect whether there are any leaks in the arrangement.

A method via which tire modules can be associated with tire positions on a vehicle includes: inputting vehicle data and tire information via a mobile detecting device; analyzing the input information via the detecting device; providing an instruction to the user of the detecting device indicating the first tire for performing a first tire module identification; positioning the detecting device near the first tire which is specified by the detecting device; activating an inquiry signal having a transmission frequency specified by the detecting device and a specified signal amplitude to a tire module arranged in the tire, wherein the tire module includes at least one sensor for tire-pressure monitoring; capturing a response signal from the tire module, wherein the response includes the identification data of the tire module; and, evaluating the response signal of the tire module and associating the identified tire module with a tire position.