초록 ▼

A take-apart tire and wheel assembly including a multi-piece wheel rim having axially spaced bead flanges, a rim base, and a pneumatic tubeless tire, preferably adapted to removably receive in its tire inflation chamber a safety runflat insert. The wheel assembly also includes a safety vent for prev

A take-apart tire and wheel assembly including a multi-piece wheel rim having axially spaced bead flanges, a rim base, and a pneumatic tubeless tire, preferably adapted to removably receive in its tire inflation chamber a safety runflat insert. The wheel assembly also includes a safety vent for preventing inflation of the tire cavity in the event of improper assembly or disassembly of the safety tire and wheel assembly, including an O-ring seal disposed in a triangular cavity formed between opposing portions of rim segments of the wheel assembly, and mounting studs and associated nuts that releasably clamp the rim segments together with the O-ring captured in compression therebetween. The outboard wheel rim segment includes a wheel mounting disc and may also have a safety inflation valve coupling fixed to the outboard rim segment. An interior air passage of the coupling communicates with the tire cavity and has a minimum cross sectional dimension which prevents insertion therethrough an air inflation valve provided on an inner tube of sufficient size to fit within said tire cavity and capable when inflated of rendering said wheel and tire assembly normally operable for supporting its normal vehicle load in a run-mode of the vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

A wheel rim and disc assembly for use in a safety tire and wheel assembly which includes a pneumatic tubeless tire, said wheel rim and disc assembly comprising: an inboard rim part including a rim base and an inboard tire bead retaining flange integrally carried at an inboard edge of said rim part,

A wheel rim and disc assembly for use in a safety tire and wheel assembly which includes a pneumatic tubeless tire, said wheel rim and disc assembly comprising: an inboard rim part including a rim base and an inboard tire bead retaining flange integrally carried at an inboard edge of said rim part, said inboard rim part having a generally cylindrical band terminating at an outboard free edge of said rim base remote from said inboard flange of said inboard rim part, a wheel mounting ring having an outer marginal axially extending flange telescoped into and secured to said cylindrical band, said ring having a radially inwardly extending flange having an outer surface extending generally co-planar with said inboard rim part free edge, a demountable outboard rim part comprising a central wheel mounting portion and an outboard tire bead retaining flange integrally projecting from an outboard edge of said wheel mounting portion, annular resilient sealing means disposed between an outboard first sealing surface of said wheel mounting ring, an inboard second sealing surface of said outboard rim part and a radially inwardly facing third sealing surface of said rim base band free edge of said inboard rim part, and means for axially clamping said outboard rim part on said inboard rim part with said sealing means being captured in compression between said aforementioned three sealing surfaces so as to seal against air leakage from the internal cavity of a tire mounted on said wheel rim and disc assembly, said wheel rim and disc assembly having air bleed means normally sealed from the tire cavity by said sealing means, said clamping means being constructed and adapted to engage and exert clamping stress on said outboard rim part over a range of relative movement therebetween in the axial direction of said inboard rim part which is sufficient to permit loss of sealing pressure at said sealing means prior to loss of clamping engaging at said clamping means to thereby permit air leakage past said sealing means through said air bleed means to atmosphere within said range of relative movement, said first, second and third sealing surfaces when juxtaposed to sealably compress said sealing means thereby defining an annular cavity which in radial cross-section generally defines a triangle, said sealing means being bodily movable along said mounting ring first cavity air pressure upon mutual separation of said second sealing surface of said outboard rim part from said mounting ring and inboard rim part third sealing surface in response to said relative separational movement of said rim parts.