A) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire assembly for the bicycle. This invention especially relates to an improved outer tire and improved inner tube for a pneumatic tire assembly that provides protection against immediate or rapid deflation of the tire when the inner tube is punctured and also allows for easy air inflation of a pneumatic tire by a bicyclist.
B) Description of the Prior Art
The typical bicycle pneumatic tire assembly comprises a traditional tire, a traditional inner tube and a traditional rim. Both the tire and the inner tube are mounted on the corresponding rim. The traditional inner tube comprises a toroidal elastic tube with a traditional air valve. When the inner tube is inflated with the compressed air, the wheel performs the function of providing the bicycle and its load with a pneumatic-type support, and ensures suitable behavior on the road. The deficiency of the traditional inner tube is that when it is torn or punctured, the compressed air inside the inner tube then leaks through the broken hole of the inner tube and escapes through the rim valve hole and rim spoke openings and the gaps between the tire beads and rim bead seat. The result is an immediate deflation of the tire and corresponding loss of stability of the bicycle. The rider's safety in such an event at serious risk.
The reasons for this immediate deflation of a typical tire assembly primarily relate to three sealing problems. First, the beads of a traditional tire does not have elastomeric covering so that the contact between the beads of the tire and the rim bead seats is loose which allows compressed air to escape. Second, the traditional rim of a typical tire assembly has numerous unsealed spoke openings on the central annular channel to accommodate the spokes of the wheel. Compressed air then also escapes through these spoke openings. Third, the air valve of the traditional inner tube is purposefully not integrated with the rim valve opening so that air between the inner tube and tire may escape as the inner tube is inflated. This way, air is not trapped in the cavity between the inflated inner tube and the tire and close contact between the inflated inner tube and tire is achieved. Therefore, because above described sealing problems in a typical tire assembly, the volume between the tire and the inner tube is not totally separated from surrounding enviroment and compressed air may leak into the atmosphere of the surrounding enviroment once the inner tube is punctured or torn.
By comparison, the tubeless tire is deemed to be much safer than the typical tire assembly with the traditional tire, inner tube and rim. The tubeless tire and tubeless rim have become a popular assembly for bicycles. However, the requirement for bicycle tires is to be lightweight, so the structure of the tubeless tire is quite thin, especially at the tire beads. As a result, the beads of the tubeless tire easily deform, causing a gap between the tire beads and the rim bead seats and giving rise to a sealing problem. The volume of the air which is blown into the tubless tire by the pump gradually escapes at various points where the beads have deformed. This problem becomes especially apparent when the tubeless tire is inflated with a manual pump since the rate of inflation and increase in volume of air in the tire are not quick enough to apply sufficient pressure against the tire beads to seal the gaps. So far, there is no effective solution to correct this problem
The purpose of the invention is to propose a safety pneumatic tire for the bicycle to ensure the bicyclist's safety in case the inner tube is punctured. The invention will also allow easy air inflation of the tire for the bicyclist.
The invention is related to a pneumatic safety tire that comprises an improved tire (outer cover) and an improved inner tube that is incorporated inside the improved tire, both of which are mounted on a tubeless rim.
A) The improved tire consists of an elastomeric material coating that is applied to the beads of the tire to obtain an elastic property. The elastomeric-covered beads and the tubeless rim naturely join closely to form a completely sealed chamber between the tire and the tubeless rim. In case the inner tube is punctured, the pressurized air remains in the tire and the pressure of inflation is maintained.
B) The improved inner tube consists of an elastic rubber part that is added to the outer base of the air valve body or is added to the entire outer body of the air valve to form an air tight seal with the rim valve opening. The elastic rubber covered air valve is fastened to the rim valve opening of the tubeless rim.
The advantages of the invention is to provide a completely closed and sealed chamber between the pneumatic tire and upper bridge of tubeless rim which has no spoke holes except a valve hole. The inflated improved inner tube presses against the improved tire (outer cover) and the tire beads are tightly fixed on the bead seats of the tubeless rim. When the improved inner tube is punctured, the pressurized air escapes from the inner tube but is confined in the closed and sealed chamber between the improved tire and the upper bridge of the tubeless rim. Therefore, pressure is maintained within the improved tire and the bicyclist then is able to continue riding without risk of falling. Also, a further advantage of the invention is that it allows for easy inflation by a manual pump, even a mini manual pump, as compared to the tubeless tire since the process and rate of inflation is not hampered by leakage of compressed air through gaps between the tire beads and the rim bead seats during the inflation process, which is the situation with the tubeless tire. Instead, it is the improved inner tube that is inflated, which is a sealed, closed system that can be easily inflated with any manual pump. So, unlike the tubeless tire, the invention does not require rapid pressurization of the tire to create the necessary seal between the tire beads and bead seats to avoid leakage during the inflation process.
A) The drawings:
The invention will be better understood with reference to the following description and the attached drawings.
B) The key for drawings:
The invention is described in detail and refers to the drawings. The emphasis is on the structure of assembly, the technique and the achievement of the desired result.
The function of the safety pneumatic tire is illustrated in
In addition, the elastic rubber-covered valve base (31) of the elastic rubber semi-covered air valve (30) is united (using a process of vulcanization or use of an adhesive) with the inner tube (20) to make the improved inner tube which is incorporated inside the improved tire (10). Where the valve body (32) is connected to the elastic rubber-covered valve base (31), there is a elastic rubber covered inserted section (33). The valve body (32) is inserted through the valve opening (42) of the tubeless rim (40). The elastic rubber semi-covered air valve (30) is tightly pressed into the valve hole (42) by screwing in the nut (36) and washer (35) at the thread end (34) of the valve body (32) at outer side of the tubeless rim (40). The diameter of the elastic rubber-covered inserted section (33) of the valve body is greater than the inner diameter of rim valve opening (42). The process of tightening the elastic rubber semi-covered air valve (30) pushes the elastic rubber covered inserted section (33) into the rim valve opening (42) to achieve a tight seal between elastic rubber semi-covered air valve (30) and the rim valve opening (42) (as
The use of elastic rubber semi-covered air valve (30) united (using a process of vulcanization or use of an adhesive) with the inner tube to make the improved inner tube (as illustrated in
In order to create an airtight seal between the the inner tube, such non-united air valve and the rim, the surrounding edge (25) of the tube air hole (24) should be thicken or an elastic rubber O-ring (25) should be added to the air valve base (51) between the air valve base and the interior of inner tube at the periphery of the tube air hole. A tightly fitted elastic rubber ring piece (53) should be added on the exterior of the valve body (52) at the section close to the valve base (51) but on the external side of the inner tube at the periphery of to the tube air hole. Such elastic rubber ring piece to be added to the exterior of the valve body may be cone-shaped, nipple-shaped or other appropriate shape to ensure sealing between the valve body and the rim valve hole.
When the valve body (52) of the air valve (50) is inserted through the rim valve hole (42), the tightly fitted elastic rubber ring piece (53) is pushed in and form an inital close contact with the valve hole periphery (43). An airtight seal between the air valve (50), the inner tube (20) and tubeless rim (40) is formed by screwing the nut (56) and the washer (55) on the threaded (54) end of the valve body (52) from outer side of the tubeless rim (40) which causes the valve base (51) of the air valve (50) and the valve hole periphery (43) to forcefully clamp the thickened elastic rubber ring (25) of the inner tube (or the elastic rubber O-ring (25)) and the tightly fitted elastic ring piece (53).
The valve body (62), with the notch, is inserted through the valve hole (42) and the enlarged section (63) is squeezed tightly into the valve hole periphery (43) to the point of the notch in order to obtain a tight seal. In addition, the notch formed on the diameter enlarged section (63) next to the valve base (61) ensures that the valve body (62) is securely positioned and fastened to the valve hole (42).
As provided in the descriptions and drawing referred to above (which intended to serve as examples, and one could adopt variations thereof without leaving the scope of the invention), the present invention provides a better engineering design and better structure to traditional bicycle tire. In other words, the non-airtight assembly structure of the traditional tire, specifically referring to the juncture of the tire beads and bead-seats and the juncture of the air valve and valve hole, are replaced with the airtight assembly structure to provide a dependable airtight sealing mechanism for retaining of the compressed air at the time the inner tube is punctured.
In addition, the total weight of the safety pneumatic tire is comparable to the the weight of a traditional tire or the weight of a tubeless tire for a bicycle, so there is little, if any, additional weight for the bicyclist. Finally, the production and manufacturing techniques for the present invention can adapted from the existing techniques for traditional tires so no new manufacturing facilities and techniques are needed.
In conclusion, the present invention is intended to accomplish the goal of overcome the short-comings of the traditional tire described previously in an economical and efficient manner that can be easily and practically employed in a production manufacturing setting. The assembly of the safety pneumatic tire, which comprises an improved inner tube, improved tire and tubeless rim, provides a mechanism for confining compressed air inside the improved tire. When the improved inner tube is punctured, the compressed air is retained in the chamber within the improved tire without immediate or rapid loss of air pressure in the tire. The bicyclist is then able to safely continue riding on the punctured tire. Additionally, the present invention overcomes the problem of air inflation using a manual pump that is inherent with tubeless tires.
The present invention is a practicle and valuable improvement in the design and manufacturing of bicycle tires for the tire industry. This new design is a break-through from the traditional bicycle tire concept.