An assembly supplies compressed air to a wheel of a vehicle. The assembly includes a wheel with a tire, a drive shaft for transmitting torque to the wheel, a wheel bearing on which the wheel in mounted in a rotationally fixed manner, and a toothing between the drive shaft and the wheel bearing. The wheel bearing is tensioned with the drive shaft by a bolt, wherein the bolt is arranged coaxially in relation to the drive shaft. An annular chamber of the wheel bearing is defined inside the wheel bearing and radially outside of the bolt. A compressed air through-opening is provided from the annular chamber of the wheel bearing in the direction of the wheel. A compressed air guide, leads from a compressed air source on the vehicle side into the annular chamber of the wheel bearing, from the annular chamber of the wheel bearing via the at least one compressed air through-opening to the wheel, and from the wheel into the tire.

The air transmission structure includes a statorhaving an annular outer wall with at least one aperture, an air inlet, and an air passage between the air inlet and the at least one aperture on the annular outer wallbiased against the non-rotating spindle. A housing includes interior annular walls mounted in radially spaced relation with the annular outer wall of the stator to form an annular cavity therebetween, and at least one aperture formed through the interior annular wall, and air outlet, and an air passage between the at least one aperture and air outlet. A seal is inserted within the annular cavity and defines a radial air passage between the apertures defined within the stator annular outer wall and the housing interior annular wall. An annular bearing between the stator and housing is configured to allow the housing to rotate with respect to the stator.

An on-board centralized system for regulating pressure of tyres of a vehicle includes a pressurized air source, two pneumatic rotary joints each associated to a driving wheel of the vehicle, and a circuit that sets in communication the pressurized air source with each rotary joint. An output member of a constant-velocity joint and a wheel spindle have an internal duct for air passage, connected to the respective rotary joint and to a plenum of the respective driving wheel. Each non-driving wheel has its wheel spindle traversed by an axial bore for air passage, connected to the circuit via a pneumatic rotary joint and a plenum of the non-driving wheel, which is connected to the inner chamber of the tyre. Each driving or non-driving wheel has its plenum connected to the inner chamber via two parallel lines, for deflating and inflating, respectively, the tyre interposed in which are respective one-way valves.

A hub assembly for a tire inflation system includes a hub configured to hold a wheel assembly. The hub has a hub conduit formed therethrough. The hub conduit has an inlet formed in an inner surface of the hub and an outlet formed adjacent an outboard end of the hub. A vent is formed in the hub. The vent includes one or more vent conduits which extend from the inner surface to an outer surface of the hub.

An agricultural vehicle and method of controlling the same are provided, the vehicle having a motive power unit providing a driving torque to at least one driven wheel and having at least one tire or track frictionally coupled with the periphery of the driven wheel. A vehicle operating parameter is controlled in dependence on the driving torque and a slippage characteristic relating the respective driving torque at which the frictional coupling between driven wheel and tire or track begins to slip for a range of vehicle operating parameter values. The operating parameter is suitably a tire pressure or track tension, and the control may involve reducing driving torque or increasing pressure/tension to prevent slipping.

An apparatus for delivering air through a powered axle assembly for use in automatic tire inflation systems. The apparatus comprises a base attachable to a non-rotating structure within the axle assembly and having the drive axle extend therethrough. A rotor is mountable in the axle assembly for rotation with the drive axle and for forming an air chamber between the rotor and the base and extending about the drive axle. An annular sealing member in sealing engagement with the rotor and the base is disposed within the air chamber and is rotatable with the rotor and with respect to the base. The base includes at least one air inlet for delivering air in a radial direction into the air chamber and the rotor includes at least one air outlet for air flow out of the chamber.

The air transmission structure includes a statorhaving an annular outer wall with at least one aperture, an air inlet, and an air passage between the air inlet and the at least one aperture on the annular outer wallbiased against the non-rotating spindle. A housing includes interior annular walls mounted in radially spaced relation with the annular outer wall of the stator to form an annular cavity therebetween, and at least one aperture formed through the interior annular wall, and air outlet, and an air passage between the at least one aperture and air outlet. A seal is inserted within the annular cavity and defines a radial air passage between the apertures defined within the stator annular outer wall and the housing interior annular wall. An annular bearing between the stator and housing is configured to allow the housing to rotate with respect to the stator.

An assembly supplies compressed air to a wheel of a vehicle. The assembly includes a wheel with a tire, a drive shaft for transmitting torque to the wheel, a wheel bearing on which the wheel in mounted in a rotationally fixed manner, and a toothing between the drive shaft and the wheel bearing. The wheel bearing is tensioned with the drive shaft by a bolt, wherein the bolt is arranged coaxially in relation to the drive shaft. An annular chamber of the wheel bearing is defined inside the wheel bearing and radially outside of the bolt. A compressed air through-opening is provided from the annular chamber of the wheel bearing in the direction of the wheel. A compressed air guide, leads from a compressed air source on the vehicle side into the annular chamber of the wheel bearing, from the annular chamber of the wheel bearing via the at least one compressed air through-opening to the wheel, and from the wheel into the tire.

A tire pressurization arrangement on a vehicle in which the pressurization of the tire is controlled by a vehicle control unit and the vehicle control unit is notified of a desired tire pressure or desired tire volume. An air flow rate in a supply line to the tire is established so that the time to pressurize the tire to the desired tire pressure/volume is calculable, or the time taken to pressurize the tire to an interval pressure/volume is calculable, said interval pressure/volume being between a current tire pressure/volume and the desired pressure/volume.

A wheel hub drive with a planetary transmission includes a wheel hub rotatably mounted on a fixed component and at least one fluid-carrying passage. The fixed component is configured to receive a tire with a gaseous filling. The at least one fluid-carrying passage extends indirectly as far as the tire through the fixed component in order to regulate the gas pressure in the tire. An annular rotary union defines at least a portion of the at least one fluid-carrying passage and is configured to connect the fixed component fluidically to the tire. The annular rotary union is arranged axially between the fixed component and the rotatably mounted wheel hub.