The Goodyear & Tire Rubber Company

Lois Levy

Daniel Paul Luc Marie Hinque

Gilles Bonnet

Jean Joseph Victor Collette

Massimo Di Giacomo Russo

Jean-Claude Patrice Philippe Griffoin

Marcel Przibilla

The invention relates generally to air maintenance tires and, more specifically, to a pump mechanism for supplying air into such tires.

Peristaltic pump air maintenance tire

A self-inflating tire assembly includes an air tube connected to a tire and defining an air passageway, the air tube being composed of a flexible material operative to allow an air tube segment opposite a tire footprint to flatten, closing the passageway, and resiliently unflatten into an original configuration. The air tube is sequentially flattened by the tire footprint in a direction opposite to a tire direction of rotation to pump air along the passageway to an inlet device for exhaust from the passageway or to an outlet device for direction into the tire cavity. The inlet device is positioned within the annular passageway 180 degrees opposite the outlet device such that sequential flattening of the air tube by the tire footprint effects pumping of air along the air passageway with the tire rotating in either a forward or reverse direction of rotation. The invention further includes an outlet device for regulating the tire cavity pressure and flow into the cavity.

Self-inflating tire

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Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Lois Levy