Patent ID: 8991456
Filing Date: 2015-03-31
Classification: B60C,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An air maintenance tire and pump assembly comprising: a tire having a tire cavity, first and second sidewalls extending respectively from first and second tire bead regions to a tire tread region; an elongate substantially annular air passageway enclosed within a bending region of the tire, the air passageway operatively closing and opening segment by segment as the bending region of the tire passes through a rolling tire footprint to pump air along the air passageway; an air inlet port assembly coupled to and in air flow communication with the air passageway at an inlet air passageway junction, the air inlet port assembly operable to channel inlet air from outside of the tire into the air passageway; a pair of substantially inline valves positioned on respective opposite sides of the inlet air passageway junction in air flow communication with the inlet port assembly; the inline valves operative to selectively open in respective opposite directions and pass a flow of the inlet air from an upstream valve side to a downstream valve side and into the air passageway, and a pair of outlet valves, each outlet valve positioned in air flow communication with a downstream side of a respective inline valve, the valves operative to selectively open and conduct a flow of the inlet air from the downstream side of a respective inline valve to the tire cavity.