CA2279151A1 - Tire - Google Patents

Tire Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2279151A1
CA2279151A1 CA 2279151 CA2279151A CA2279151A1 CA 2279151 A1 CA2279151 A1 CA 2279151A1 CA 2279151 CA2279151 CA 2279151 CA 2279151 A CA2279151 A CA 2279151A CA 2279151 A1 CA2279151 A1 CA 2279151A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
tire
formation
orientation
inflated
another
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA 2279151
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
William S. Hendrie
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA 2279151 priority Critical patent/CA2279151A1/en
Publication of CA2279151A1 publication Critical patent/CA2279151A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60CVEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES
    • B60C23/00Devices for measuring, signalling, controlling, or distributing tyre pressure or temperature, specially adapted for mounting on vehicles; Arrangement of tyre inflating devices on vehicles, e.g. of pumps or of tanks; Tyre cooling arrangements
    • B60C23/02Signalling devices actuated by tyre pressure
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60CVEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES
    • B60C13/00Tyre sidewalls; Protecting, decorating, marking, or the like, thereof
    • B60C13/02Arrangement of grooves or ribs

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Tires In General (AREA)

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a pneumatic vehicle tire comprising a pair of side walls and a ground engaging surface extending therebetween, at least one of the side walls bearing an outwardly visible first ring formation, at least a first portion of the first ring formation being positioned relative to the ground engaging surface, wherein when the tire becomes incorrectly inflated to a predetermined degree, the first portion is arranged to change from one orientation to another visibly distinct orientation when viewed from a distance.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to tires, and more particularly to methods of detecting tire inflation.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
As long as automotive vehicles have had inflatable tires, vehicle operators have had to monitor the pressure of the tires. Over time, there has been a number of methods to do this, including the use of tire gauges and the like. However, the tire gauge often becomes lost, making tire pressure measurement impossible without it. Other techniques rely on the general configuration of the tire to make a guess at whether it is properly inflated.
However, this takes a considerable about of skill and is beyond the reach of most amateur vehicle operators.
A number of recent developments have proposed the use of electronic detectors and the like to present an audible or visible signal either in the cab of the vehicle or on the face of the tire to indicate when the tire has become incorrectly inflated. However, these are relatively ?0 complicated and will be unsuitable for those vehicles or owners who are disinclined to purchase them.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an novel technique for detecting tire inflation.
~>
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one of its aspects, the present invention provides a pneumatic vehicle tire comprising a pair of side walls and a ground engaging surface extending therebetween, at least one of said side walls bearing an outwardly visible first ring formation, at least a first portion of said first ring formation being positioned relative to the ground engaging surface, wherein when the tire becomes incorrectly inflated to a predetermined degree, the first portion is arranged to change from one orientation to another visibly distinct orientation when viewed from a distance.
In one embodiment, the first portion of the first ring formation changes from one orientation to another when the tire becomes moderately incorrectly inflated and a second portion of a second ring formation changes from one orientation to another when the tire becomes severely incorrectly inflated. There may be more than one first and second formation as desired.
In other words, there may be two or more first formations and two or more second portions. For example, the formations may be operable to change their orientation when the tire is either under inflated or overinflated.
Preferably, the first portion further comprises a segment to lie against the ground as the tire rolls thereon under load, the segment being arranged to become partially concealed when the tire becomes moderately under inflated.
In another of its aspects, the present invention provides an automobile comprising a plurality of pneumatic tires as defined herein above.
In another of its aspects, there is provided a pneumatic vehicle tire comprising a pair of side walls and a ground engaging surface extending therebetween, at least one of the side walls bearing an outwardly visible ring formation which has two alternative orientations, each of which being visually distinct from the other when judged from a distance, the ring formation being positioned relative to the ground engaging surface in order to change from one orientation to another when the tire becomes incorrectly inflated to a predetermined degree.
In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a technique for monitoring pressure in a tire. comprising the steps of providing a tire with an outwardly visible first ring formation on a side wall; and arranging at least a portion of the first ring formation to chan~~e from one orientation to another visibly distinct orientation when viewed from a distance when the tire becomes incorrectly inflated to a predetermined degree.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Several preferred embodiments of the present invention will be provided, by way of example only, with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle tire;
Figure 2 is an end view of the tire of figure 1;
Figure 3 is a schematic side view of another vehicle tire;
1>
Figure 4 is a magnified view of a portion of the tire of figure 3;
Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of figure 4;
Figure 6 is a schematic side view of still another tire;
Figure 7 is a magnified view of a portion of the tire of figure 6;
Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of figure 7;
?5 Figure 9 is a schematic end view of a tire;
Figures 1 Oa through 1 Oe are successive schematic views of alternative portions of the tire of figure 9; and Figures 11 and 11 a are schematic views of other tires.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the figures, there is provided a pneumatic vehicle tire 10 having a pair of side walls 12 and a ground engaging surface 14 extending therebetween. Located on at least one of the side walls 12 are outwardly visible first and second ring formations shown as lines 18 and 20 in figure 1. As will be described, each of the first and second formations respectively has a first portion and a second portion, which has two alternative orientations. Each of these orientations is visually distinct from the other when judged from a distance. In addition, the first and second ring formations each have first and second segments which are positioned relative to the ground engaging surface in order to change from one orientation to another when the tire becomes incorrectly inflated to a predetermined degree, as will be described.
Preferably, the first and second portions correspond to the first and second segments respectively.
In this particular embodiment, the first portion is operable to change from one orientation to another when the tire becomes moderately incorrectly inflated and the second portion changes from one orientation to another when the tire becomes severely incorrectly inflated, in both cases below the rated tire pressure, in other words 'under-inflated' or above the rated tire pressure, that is 'over-inflated'.
The first and second segments are adjacent the ground as the tire rolls thereon under load, the first segment being arranged to become partially concealed when the tire becomes moderately under inflated. For illustration purposes, a tire might be considered to be moderately under inflated when the first formation preferably becomes partially concealed when the tire pressure is reduced, for example, beyond 75 to 90 percent of the normal rated tire pressure, while the second formation preferably becomes partially concealed when the tire pressure is reduced, for example, beyond 50 to 75 percent of the normal rated pressure (in this case where the tire might be considered to be severely under inflated). The specific range of tire pressures will depend on the characteristics of the particular tire, the season that the tire is operating in and the load the tire is carrying.
The first and second formations may be provided in a number of different forms including a continuous or discontinuous band or a regular pattern, such as a series of regular spaced dashes forming a ring. The formations may be imprinted on the tire, or otherwise applied to the side wall of the tire. Alternatively, the formations may be integrally formed with the tire. Desirably, the formations may form a circle which is close to the ground engaging surface of the tire, the closer thereto the more pronounced the concealment of the first and second formations will be.
If desired, the formations may have different colours, such as neon or bright hues of, for example, red, yellow, red or green, or alternating bands or segments thereof.
In this case, the colours may be selected to stand out in the different weather conditions to be faced by the tire, such as rain and snow. These different colours are shown, for example, as an array of circles 30 and triangles 32 in figure 1 1 which are fully exposed to the exterior of the side wall, while they are shown applied on the inner face of grooves 30 and 32 in figure 11 a.
The tire 10 shown in figure 1 is also provided with a bead 25 which changes its orientation when the tire is incorrectly inflated, causing the bead 25 to engage the road surface. In this case, the bead 25 may be arranged, for example, to exhibit, in the portion near the road surface, a visibly distinct orientation in comparison with the remaining portion of the bead on the tire.
Another tire is shown at 28 in figure 3 with a pair of formations 30, 32. In this case, the portion of the formation is normally concealed in one orientation and is revealed in another orientation. In this case, each formation includes a segment 30a, 32a which lies adjacent the ground as the tire rolls thereon under load, the formation being positioned so that the segment is revealed when the tire is moderately under inflated.
Referring to figures 4 and 5, the side wall has a central region which assumes an apex condition when engaged under load on the ground. In this case, a third formation is provided at 34 which is positioned in the central region and is in the form of a groove which is bordered by two opposing side walls 40, 42 with a mouth therebetween and an inner surface 44. In this case, the side walls substantially conceal a portion of the mouth in the vicinity of the ground surface in the second operative condition and the side walls move relative to one another to widen or open the mouth of the groove in at least one region of the side wall to reveal the inner surface 44. In this case, one or more portions of the groove may be provided with different colours indicative of the severity of the overinflation. For example, the inner surface 44 may be one colour and the opposing side walls one or two different colours, which may in some cases become visible only when the groove is fully open.
Figures 6. 7 and 8 show yet another tire in which a groove is provided in the side wall of the tire to be exposed when the tire is incorrectly inflated. In this case, the groove has simply a pair of convergent side faces shown at 35a and 35b.
1>
Referring to figures 9 and 1 Oa to 1 Oe, a number of configurations may be employed for the first and second formations (or others if need be), it being understood that only one formation may be needed to provide effective detection of an incorrectly inflated tire.
A tire is shown schematically at 50 in figure 9 having two regions 52, 54. The region 52 is below that part of the side wall of the tire that tends to bulged out when the tire is under-inflated. The region 54 is approximately at the apex of the region of the tire that bulges out. Thus, for those formations located at ~2, they may be dimensioned so that the bulged portion of the tire tends to overlap the formation or alternatively the formation wherein a groove is rotated so that the inner surface hecomes blocked by one or both of the side wall of the groove or the bulged portion of the tire, as 2> would be the case in the examples of figures 10a, lOb and lOc. For those formations located at re;~ion ~4, they may be arranged so that the tire, as it bulges out, causing the side walls to separate to reveal the inner surface which may be otherwise concealed except when the tire bulges to a ~~iven degree, as is the case for the example of figure l Od and 10e.
While the above tire has been discussed with respect to automobile applications, it will be understood that the tire may also be adapted for use on other vehicles such as bicycles, trailers, trucks and the like.

Claims (20)

1. A pneumatic vehicle tire comprising a pair of side walls and a ground engaging surface extending therebetween, at least one of said side walls bearing an outwardly visible first ring formation, at least a first portion of said first ring formation being positioned relative to said ground engaging surface, wherein when the tire becomes incorrectly inflated to a predetermined degree, said first portion is arranged to change from one orientation to another visibly distinct orientation when viewed from a distance.
2. A tire as defined in claim 1, wherein said first portion changes from one orientation to another when the tire becomes moderately incorrectly inflated, further comprising a second ring formation, having at least a second portion to change from one orientation to another when the tire becomes severely incorrectly inflated.
3. A tire as defined in claim 1 wherein said first portion includes a first segment to lie adjacent the ground as the tire rolls thereon under load, said segment being arranged to become partially concealed when the tire becomes moderately under inflated.
4. A tire as defined in claim 1 wherein said first portion of said first formation is normally concealed in one orientation and is revealed in another orientation.
5. A tire as defined in claim 4 wherein said first portion includes a first segment to lie adjacent the ground as the tire rolls thereon under load, said formation being positioned so that said segment is revealed when said tire is moderately under inflated.
6. A tire as defined in claim 5 wherein said side wall has a central region which assumes an apex condition when engaged under load on the ground, said first segment being positioned in said central region.
7. A tire as defined in claim 1 wherein first portion is located on said side wall and sufficiently close to said ground engaging surface to be concealed by an overlapping portion of said side wall in said second condition.
8. A tire as defined in claim 1 wherein said first formation is continuous or discontinuous.
9. A tire as defined in claim 8 wherein said first formation is a regular pattern.
10. A tire as defined in claim 8 wherein said first formation is imprinted on said tire.
11. A tire as defined in claim 8 wherein said first formation is applied to the side wall of said tire.
12. A tire as defined in claim 8 wherein said first formation is integrally formed with said tire.
13. A tire as defined in claim 8 wherein said first formation includes an annular groove.
14. A tire as defined in claim 8 wherein said first formation forms a circle which is close to the circumference of the outer wall of the tire.
15. A tire as defined in claim 8 wherein said ring first formation is a groove.
16. A tire as defined in claim 15 wherein said groove has two opposing side walls with a mouth therebetween.
17. A tire as defined in claim 16 wherein said side walls substantially conceal a portion of the mouth in the vicinity of the ground surface when said tire is moderately under inflated.
18. A tire are defined in claim 17 wherein said side walls move relative to one another to reveal said mouth in at least one region of said side wall.
19. An automobile comprising a plurality of pneumatic tires as defined in claim 1.
20. A technique for monitoring pressure in a tire, comprising the steps of providing a tire with an outwardly visible first ring formation on a side wall; and arranging at least a portion of said first ring formation to change from one orientation to another visibly distinct orientation when viewed from a distance when the tire becomes incorrectly inflated to a predetermined degree.
CA 2279151 1999-07-28 1999-07-28 Tire Abandoned CA2279151A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2279151 CA2279151A1 (en) 1999-07-28 1999-07-28 Tire

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2279151 CA2279151A1 (en) 1999-07-28 1999-07-28 Tire

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2279151A1 true CA2279151A1 (en) 2001-01-28

Family

ID=4163885

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 2279151 Abandoned CA2279151A1 (en) 1999-07-28 1999-07-28 Tire

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA2279151A1 (en)

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