Patent Application
20250050308
The information provided in this section is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
The present disclosure relates to a wheel assembly including activated carbon.
Vehicle wheel assemblies typically include a wheel and a tire mounted to the wheel. An air cavity is defined between the tire and the wheel. Air is added to the air cavity to inflate the tire. The amount of air within the air cavity has a bearing on performance of the tire. For example, increasing tire pressure may improve handling and stability, and may increase ride stiffness.
The present disclosure includes, in various features, a wheel assembly including: a wheel; a tire mounted to the wheel, the tire defining a cavity between an inner surface of the tire and the wheel; and activated carbon exposed to air molecules within the cavity, the activated carbon including a porous surface configured to adsorb and compact air molecules present within the cavity.
In further features, the activated carbon is derived from at least one of the following: coal; wood; bamboo; coconut husk; willow; peat; coir; lignite; and petroleum pitch.
In further features, the activated carbon includes charcoal that has been carbonized in an oxygen-free environment.
In further features, the activated carbon is produced from a source material by one of physical activation and chemical activation.
In further features, the activated carbon includes a surface area of at least 3,000 m2/g.
In further features, the activated carbon is mounted to an inner surface of the tire.
In further features, the activated carbon is mounted to the wheel.
In further features, the activated carbon is mounted to a barrel of the wheel.
In further features, the activated carbon is within a wheel cavity defined by the wheel.
In further features, the wheel cavity is defined at a spoke of the wheel.
In further features, the activated carbon is mounted with an adhesive.
In further features, the activated carbon is mounted with a container including a mesh surface configured to permit air molecules to pass therethrough.
In further features, the activated carbon is mounted with a retainer including a micro perforated surface defining a plurality of holes configured to permit air molecules to pass therethrough.
In further features, the plurality of holes each have a circumference of 0.1 mm to 2.0 mm.
The present disclosure also includes, in various features, a wheel assembly including: a wheel including a barrel; a tire mounted to the wheel, the tire defining a cavity between an inner surface of the tire and the wheel; and activated carbon mounted to at least one of the barrel of the wheel and the tire, the activated carbon including a porous surface configured to adsorb and compact air molecules present within the cavity.
In further features, the activated carbon is mounted with an adhesive.
In further features, the activated carbon is mounted with a container defining openings configured to permit air molecules to pass therethrough.
The present disclosure also includes, in various features, a wheel assembly including: a wheel including a barrel defining an opening to a wheel cavity defined by the wheel; a tire mounted to the wheel, the tire defining an air cavity between an inner surface of the tire and the barrel; and activated carbon retained within the wheel cavity by a retention member defining openings configured to permit air molecules of the air cavity to pass therethrough, the activated carbon including a porous surface configured to adsorb and compact the air molecules of the air cavity. In further features, the wheel cavity extends to within spokes of the wheel.
In further features, the activated carbon includes a surface area of at least 3,000 m2/g.
Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims, and the drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to identify similar and/or identical elements.
The wheel assembly 10 generally includes a wheel 20 and a tire 50 configured to be mounted to the wheel 20. The wheel 20 includes a hub 22 at a center of the wheel 20. A plurality of spokes 24 extend outward from the hub 22 to a barrel 30, which is illustrated in
With particular reference to
With continued reference to
With respect to chemical activation, the carbon source is impregnated with suitable chemicals, such as an acid, strong base, or a salt (phosphoric acid 25%, potassium hydroxide 5%, sodium hydroxide 5%, potassium carbonate 5%, calcium chloride 25%, and zinc chloride 25%). The carbon is then subjected to high temperatures, such as 250° C.-600° C. The high temperature likely activates the carbon by forcing the carbon material to open and have an increased number of microscopic pores, which increase the surface area of the activated carbon 70. For example, the activated carbon 70 may have a surface area of at least 3,000 m2/g.
The activated carbon 70 may take any suitable form, such as powdered activated carbon, granular activated carbon, extruded activated carbon, bead activated carbon, impregnated carbon, polymer coated carbon, woven carbon, etc. The activated carbon 70 may also be configured as larger slabs exposed to the air molecules within the air cavity 60. Further, the activated carbon 70 may be made in particulate form as a powder or fine granules less than 1.0 millimeters in size, with an average diameter between 0.15 and 0.25 millimeters.
The activated carbon 70 is generally a microporous inert carbon matrix with a very large internal surface area (700-3,000 m2/g, or greater). The internal surface area is configured for adsorption of air molecules present within the air cavity 60. The activated carbon 70 is formed by way of a thermal process, where volatile components are removed from the carbon-laden material (raw material) in the presence of oxygen. By way of specific treatments, such as the physical and chemical activation described above, a particular pore structure is created, which determines the adsorption capacity and adsorption properties of the activated carbon 70.
The activated carbon 70 may be mounted at any suitable position about the wheel assembly 10 as long as the activated carbon 70 is exposed to the air molecules within the air cavity 60. In the example of
In the example of
With reference to
In the example of
In the example of
The activated carbon 70 is configured to adsorb air molecules of the air cavity 60, which compacts the air molecules of the air cavity 60, thereby increasing the air capacity of the air cavity 60. By adsorbing air molecules into the porous surface of the activated carbon 70, the tire 50, and the overall wheel assembly 10, acts as if the air cavity 60 has a larger internal volume than its actual volume, which reduces vertical stiffness of the tire 50 and enables improved ride comfort and isolation. For example, the tire 50 feels softer, thereby improving ride comfort. By increasing the effective internal air volume of the air cavity 60, activated carbon 70 also reduces tire cavity noise, which provides a quieter driving experience. The activated carbon 70 effectively softens the ride and improves ride quality when air pressure of the air cavity 60 is increased, such as to support relatively heavy loads and/or to enhance handling.
As air pressure within the air cavity 60 is increased, additional air molecules are adsorbed by the activated carbon 70. The atoms of carbon included with the activated carbon 70 project attractive forces outward from the porous surfaces thereof. These very short-range forces, known as Van der Waals forces, attract the molecules of the surrounding air within the air cavity 60. The combination of these attractive forces and the air molecules in the air cavity 60 results in adsorption of molecules at the surface of the activated carbon 70.
The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims. It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Further, although each of the embodiments is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the disclosure can be implemented in and/or combined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if that combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or more embodiments with one another remain within the scope of this disclosure.
Spatial and functional relationships between elements (for example, between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms, including “connected,” “engaged,” “coupled,” “adjacent,” “next to,” “on top of,” “above,” “below,” and “disposed.” Unless explicitly described as being “direct,” when a relationship between first and second elements is described in the above disclosure, that relationship can be a direct relationship where no other intervening elements are present between the first and second elements, but can also be an indirect relationship where one or more intervening elements are present (either spatially or functionally) between the first and second elements. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”
In the figures, the direction of an arrow, as indicated by the arrowhead, generally demonstrates the flow of information (such as data or instructions) that is of interest to the illustration. For example, when element A and element B exchange a variety of information but information transmitted from element A to element B is relevant to the illustration, the arrow may point from element A to element B. This unidirectional arrow does not imply that no other information is transmitted from element B to element A. Further, for information sent from element A to element B, element B may send requests for, or receipt acknowledgements of, the information to element A.
