Abstract:
A vehicle safety support system including a rim having an annular drop center portion straddled by a pair of radially outwardly projecting flange portions each having an annular outer edge of greater diameter than a minimum diameter of the drop center portion; a pneumatic tire mounted on the rim and comprising a pair of annular bead portions, each of the bead portions being sealably seated on a different one of the flange portions, and with the drop center portion of the rim and an inner surface of the tire defining an annular cavity. Also included are a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart elements each comprising an inner portion supported by the drop center portion and an outer portion adapted for movement between an inactive position in which the outer portion does not project into the cavity radially outside the annular edges and an active position in which the outer portion projects into the cavity radially outside the annular edges. In their inactive positions, the elements permit mounting of the tire on the rim and in their active positions, provide support in the event of inadvertent tire deflation.
Abstract:
A tire for two-wheel vehicle comprising a casing formed of a crown with a tread and two sidewalls each terminating in a bead intended to rest on a tire rim and an inner tube glued in manually removable manner to the inner wall of the casing in the region of the crown is improved due to the fact that the inner tube is glued under circumferential tension to the casing so that its inside equatorial radius is greater than the outside radius of the flanges of the rim. The adhesive used may have self-sealing properties.
Abstract:
A pneumatic tire, after manufacture, is provided with a propellant material and a foam forming sealant material in its interior pressurizable space. The propellant and sealant are isolated from each other during normal running conditions of the tire and have no significant effect on the normal running characteristics of the tire. When a tire fails due to a puncture or the like, a loss of tire pressure and/or collapse of the tire structure and/or heat build up in the bead area due to friction permit the propellant and the foam forming materials to interreact.In one embodiment of the invention the propellant and sealant are enclosed in separate chambers of a plurality of dual-chamber containers secured to the bead portion of the tire and/or a rim base. In other embodiments a plurality of mono-chamber containers house one of the materials, the other material being uncontained in the pressurizable space.
Abstract:
A pneumatic tire with an internal toroidal safety structure that expands and provides emergency support between the tire tread and the wheel rim if the tire loses inflation pressure. The safety structure has an outer circumferential belt comprising one or more superposed layers of cord reinforced strips, the belt being secured to the safety structure in a relatively narrow central circumferential zone so that radial expansion of the toroidal safety structure is readily accommodated should the tire lose inflation pressure. The belt bears between the inner surface of the tread portion of the tire and the safety structure in the event of tire deflation or underinflation and thus guards against puncture. The safety structure may be an internal inflatable tube or a flexible resilient foam member, for example.
Abstract:
An anti-flat device for a tubeless pneumatic tire comprising an expandable toroidal air pressure reservoir or small inner tube restrained by a folded and stitched fabric band to prevent the inner tube from filling the tire even though the inner tube is inflated to a higher pressure than that normally employed for the tire. When the air pressure in the tire is reduced below a predetermined value, the band unfolds thereby permitting the inner tube to expand and provide operable support for the tire.