Abstract
A self-healing pneumatic tire, which uses the sealant stored in the tire to fix a leak, is disclosed.
Claims
1. A self-healing tire for vehicles, comprising: a rim; a tire casing installed around the rim; an inflated inner tube disposed between the rim and the tire casing; a partition structure disposed between the tire casing and the inflated inner tube, wherein the partition structure withstands the high pressure of the inflated inner tube and separates the tire casing and the inflated inner tube to form a space for a sealant storing layer; and a liquid sealant injected into the sealant storing layer and stored therein, wherein an outer surface of the inflated inner tube contacts and presses an inner surface of the tire casing and the partition structure, and the inflated inner tube keeps the tire casing in shape to withstand the weight of the vehicle.
2. The self-healing tire according to claim 1, wherein the partition structure is integrated with the inflated inner tube and disposed on the outer surface of the inflated inner tube.
3. The self-healing tire according to claim 1, wherein the partition structure is integrated with the tire casing and disposed on the inner surface of the tire casing.
4. The self-healing tire according to claim 1, wherein when the tire casing is punctured and left with a puncture hole, the liquid sealant flows to the puncture hole due to a lower air pressure caused by the leakage of the puncture hole, the outflow liquid sealant therefore contacts the air and seals the puncture hole.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, which are given for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure, and wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a first embodiment of this disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of this disclosure;
[0020] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing a third embodiment of this disclosure;
[0021] FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram showing a fourth embodiment of this disclosure;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a two-in-one valve stem of this disclosure; and
[0023] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another two-in-one valve stem of this disclosure.
[0024] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the partition structure being integrated with the outer surface of the inner tube.
[0025] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the partition structure being integrated with the inner surface of the tire casing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0026] The present disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 1, a self-healing tire according to a first embodiment of this disclosure comprises a rim 1, a tire casing 2, a first valve stem (a first nozzle) 3, a tire casing channel 4, an inner tube 5, a second valve stem (a second nozzle) 6, an inner tube channel 7, and a sealant storing layer 8 disposed between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5. The rim 1 has a first nozzle hole and a second nozzle hole. The tire casing 2 is installed around the rim 1. The inner tube 5 is disposed between the rim 1 and the tire casing 2. The first valve stem 3 protrudes from the first nozzle hole, and second valve stem 6 protrudes from the second nozzle hole. The tire casing channel 4 is disposed inside the first valve stem 3 and connects to the space between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5. The inner tube channel 7 is disposed inside the second valve stem 6 and connects to the internal space of the inner tube 5. The first valve stem 3 (the first nozzle) further contains a tire casing valve (not shown) for controlling the tire casing channel 4, and the second valve stem 6 (the second nozzle) further contains an inner tube valve (not shown) for controlling the inner tube channel 7. The tire casing valve (not shown) is connected to the tire casing channel 4. The inner tube valve (not shown) is connected to the inner tube channel 7. The sealant storing layer 8 is configured for storing a sealant which is injected through the tire casing channel 4. After the inner tube 5 is inflated through the second valve stem 6 and the inner tube channel 7, the sealant can be injected to the sealant storing layer 8 between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5 through the first valve stem 3 and the tire casing channel 4. The sealant will be pressed by the air pressure of the inner tube 5 and uniformly distributed in the sealant storing layer 8 at the inner surface of the tire casing 2. The sealant can be a liquid sealant. The liquid pressure of the injected liquid sealant is equal to the air pressure inside the inflated inner tube 5. If the tire casing 2 is punctured, the liquid sealant can be pressed by the inner tube 5 and flow through the punctured hole. Then, the outflow liquid sealant contacts the air and will seal the hole and prevent the leaking. If the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5 are both punctured, the sealant will flow to the punctured holes due to the lower air pressure caused by the leakage. Accordingly, the liquid sealant can seal the punctured holes and stop the air leaking.
[0028] FIG. 2 shows a self-healing tire according to a second embodiment of this disclosure. The self-healing tire of FIG. 2 is similar to the self-healing tire of the first embodiment. Different from the self-healing tire of the first embodiment, the self-healing tire of FIG. 2 further comprises a partition structure 9 disposed between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5 for defining and allocating a space between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5, which is used as the sealant storing layer 8. The sealant can be stored and flow inside the sealant storing layer 8. Accordingly, the sealant can be controlled to distribute on the desired inner surface of the tire casing 2 that is to be protected or the outer surface of the inner tube 5 that is to be protected, and thus guarantees no excess sealant is required. The partition structure 9 has some protruding portions to separate the inflated inner tube and the tire casing and for controlling the distribution of the sealant inside the self-healing tire. The partition structure 9 can also be designed to divide the sealant layer into numerous sections, so when a leakage on the tire casing occurs the sealant will not be leaked out completely, only the sealant of the respective sections near the leakage is leaked. The partition structure 9 can be attached or integrated on the outer surface of the inner tube 5 (please refer to FIG. 6) or on the inner surface of the tire casing 2 (please refer to FIG. 7), or it can be an independent structure installed, separated from the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5 (please refer to FIG. 2). The partition structure 9 is pressed by the inflated inner tube 5 against the tire casing 2. Therefore, the shape of the tire casing 2 is held by the high-air-pressure-inflated inner tube 5 along with the partition structure 9.
[0029] FIG. 3A shows a self-healing tire according to a third embodiment of this disclosure. The self-healing tire of FIG. 3A is similar to the self-healing tire of the first embodiment. Different from the self-healing tire of the first embodiment, in the self-healing tire of FIG. 3A, the first valve stem 3 and the second valve stem 6 are combined into a two-in-one valve stem 10, which protrudes from a nozzle hole of the rim 1. As shown in FIG. 3A, the two-in-one valve stem 10 passes through a hole (nozzle hole) of the rim 1. Therefore, the rim 1 only needs one nozzle hole for installing the two-in-one valve stem 10. The tire casing channel 4 and the inner tube channel 7 are both located inside the two-in-one valve stem 10. Herein, the inner tube channel 7 is connected with the inner space of the inner tube 5, and the tire casing channel 4 is connected with the inner space of the tire casing 2 (e.g. the space between the inner tube 5 and the tire casing 2). This embodiment only needs one valve stem on the rim for inflating the inner tube 5 and injecting the sealant into the sealant storing layer 8 between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5. The two-in-one valve stem 10 of this embodiment is suitable for most commercial rims 1, which have only one nozzle hole, and a conventional pneumatic tire without inner tube can be retrofitted into a self-healing tire of this disclosure.
[0030] FIG. 3B shows a self-healing tire according to a fourth embodiment of this disclosure. The self-healing tire of FIG. 3B is similar to the self-healing tire of the third embodiment. Different from the self-healing tire of the third embodiment, the self-healing tire of FIG. 3B further comprises a partition structure 9 disposed between the tire casing 2 and the inflated inner tube 5 for defining and allocating a space between the tire casing 2 and the inflated inner tube 5, which is used as the sealant storing layer 8. The sealant can be stored and flow inside the sealant storing layer 8. Accordingly, the sealant can be controlled to distribute on the desired inner surface of the tire casing 2 that is to be protected or desired the outer surface of the inflated inner tube 5 that is to be protected. The partition structure 9 has some protruding portions for controlling the distribution of the sealant inside the self-healing tire. The partition structure 9 can be attached or integrated on the outer surface of the inner tube 5 (please refer to FIG. 6) or on the inner surface of the tire casing 2 (please refer to FIG. 7), or it can be an independent structure installed (please refer to FIG. 3B), separated from the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5. The partition structure 9 is pressed by the inflated inner tube 5 against the tire casing 2. Therefore, the shape of the tire casing 2 can be held by the air pressure of the inflated inner tube 5 along with the partition structure 9.
[0031] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the two-in-one valve stem of the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the two-in-one valve stem 11 includes two valves (a first valve 111 and a second valve 112) and two channels (a tire casing channel 4 and an inner tube channel 7). The inner tube channel 7 is connected to the inner space of the inner tube 5, and the tire casing channel 4 is connected to the sealant storing layer 8 between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5. In this embodiment, the second valve 112 and the inner tube channel 7 are used to inflate the inner tube 5, and the first valve 111 and the tire casing channel 4 are used to inject sealant into the sealant storing layer 8 between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5. The two-in-one valve stem 11 of this embodiment is suitable for most commercial rims 1, which have only one nozzle hole, and a conventional pneumatic tire without inner tube can be retrofitted into a self-healing tire of this disclosure.
[0032] FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the two-in-one valve stem of the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the two-in-one valve stem 12 includes a common valve 121, two channels (a tire casing channel 4 and an inner tube channel 7), and a channel selection switch 122, so that the channel of the two-in-one valve stem 12 becomes selectable. The inner tube channel 7 is connected to the inner space of the inner tube 5, and the tire casing channel 4 is connected to the sealant storing layer 8 between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5. Accordingly, the channel selection switch 122 can be switched to connect the common valve 121 to either one of the tire casing channel 4 and the inner tube channel 7, thereby selecting the desired operation such as to inflate the inner tube 5 or to inject the sealant into the sealant storing layer 8 between the tire casing 2 and the inner tube 5. The two-in-one valve stem 12 of this embodiment is suitable for most commercial rims 1, which have only one nozzle hole, and a conventional pneumatic tire without inner tube can be retrofitted into a self-healing tire of this disclosure.
[0033] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the partition structure being integrated with the outer surface of the inner tube. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the partition structure being integrated with the inner surface of the tire casing. The self-healing tires of FIGS. 6-7 are similar to the self-healing tire of the previous embodiment. Different from the self-healing tire of the previous embodiment, in the self-healing tire the partition structure is integrated with the outer surface of the inner tube or integrated with the inner surface of the tire casing. Although FIGS. 6-7 show the valve stems of the self-healing tire are similar to first embodiment of this disclosure, the two-in-one valve stem of the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment also could be applied in the self-healing tire of FIGS. 6-7.
[0034] As mentioned above, this disclosure is to add an inner tube inside the pneumatic tire, which originally does not contain any inner tube, and to inject the sealant into the space between the tire casing and the inner tube through the tire casing channel. Thus, the manufacturing cost of the self-healing tire of this disclosure is significantly reduced, the repair of the self-healing tire is much easier, and the self-healing tire of this disclosure can be acquired by retrofitting an existing conventional tire. The partition structure defines the sealant layer and controls the sealant to be at the places where a leakage hole is most likely to occur (for example, the tire tread), therefore the minimum amount of sealant is required for the self-healing tire to work, as the weight of the sealant is at its minimum, the weight of the self-healing tire is reduced, and the self-healing tire will be much easier to steer and most efficient (for driving). Also the liquid sealant will be kept in place and will not fluctuate in the tire when rotating on the road, the stability during rotation is improved. Moreover, the shape of the tire casing is held by the inflated inner tube and the partition structure, not by the sealant. Therefore, the self-healing tire of this disclosure can keep its shape and prevent itself from becoming a flat tire even when all the sealant is being leaked out.
[0035] Although the disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the disclosure.
