Abstract:
This wheel has features allowing both integrated and non-integrated Central Tire Inflation (CTI) systems to be installed, without the need for a specialized manifold, adapter, or unique wheel to accommodate each specific system. Thus, a single, light-weight wheel in accordance with this invention can accept either non-integrated or integrated CTI valves, allowing the wheels of the invention to be used on newer vehicles with integrated CTI systems, as well as on older vehicles with non-integrated (external) CTI systems. In addition, a wheel with both integrated and non-integrated Central Tire Inflation (CTI) systems is much simpler to assemble since the valve mounts directly to the wheel and no brackets are required, unlike prior two-piece bolt-together wheels.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims an invention which was disclosed in a provisional application filed Jun. 13, 2008; Ser. No. 61/131,976 entitled “WHEEL WITH INTEGRATED AND NON-INTEGRATED CENTRAL TIRE INFLATION”. The benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of the United States provisional application is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
       [0002]    This invention pertains generally to Central Tire Inflation (CTI) systems. CTI systems are installed in many military vehicles as they enable tire pressure to be lowered as needed to enable the user to benefit from the increased traction available while operating at low tire pressure. CTI systems can be integrated or non-integrated and are typically used with multi-piece wheels in conjunction with beadlock or runflat devices. Prior art multi-piece wheel designs for use with non-integrated and integrated CTI systems fall into three major categories. 
         [0003]    A first major category of multi-piece wheel designs includes wheels with features adapted for use with a non-integrated CTI having only external air passages. This type of wheel accepts a non-integrated CTI valve (or valves), and all air passages are external to the wheel (i.e. hoses and/or tubing). The CTI valve is typically fastened to brackets that are attached to the wheel. The wheel is usually a multi-piece wheel (two-piece bolt-together, or two or more piece wheel comprising a useful base, side rim, and lock-ring). 
         [0004]    A second category would include wheels with features adapted for use with a non-integrated CTI with both internal and external air passages. This type of wheel accepts a non-integrated CTI valve (or valves), and some or all of the air passages are internal to the wheel, with the balance requiring external hoses and/or tubing. The CTI valve is fastened directly to the wheel, or fastened to brackets that attach to the wheel. The wheel is, once again, usually a multi-piece wheel (two-piece bolt-together, or two or more piece wheel comprising a useful base, side rim, and lock-ring). 
         [0005]    A third category includes wheels including features adapted for use with a non-integrated CTI having only internal air passages. This type of wheel accepts an integrated CTI valve (or valves), and all air passages are internal to the wheel. The CTI valve is fastened directly to the wheel. The wheel is typically, but not necessarily, a two-piece wheel. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,578). 
         [0006]    However, all of these prior art approaches to wheel design have disadvantages. First, prior multi-piece wheels designed for use with CTI systems only permit use of a single system, either non-integrated or integrated CTI, but not both. This limits the number of vehicle applications for the wheel to those compatible with that specific CTI system. Second, prior multi-piece wheels designed for use with CTI systems only permit use of a single system, either non-integrated or integrated CTI, but not both. This results in higher costs and additional complexity to develop, test, manufacture, and supply a wheel adapted for the CTI system of a specific vehicle. Third, multi-piece wheels constructed from steel prohibit the use of integrated CTI systems, as internal air passages cannot be made in the rim components due to the rim geometry. Fourth, multi-piece wheel designs that use fasteners to clamp the rim components together have limited space available on the wheel face for mounting integrated and non-integrated CTI valves. Fifth, multi-piece wheel designs with non-integrated CTI valves require the use of brackets to attach the CTI valve to the wheel. This moves the valve further outboard, making it more susceptible to damage. And, sixth, multi-piece wheel designs with non-integrated CTI valves require the use of brackets to attach the CTI valve to the wheel. This increases assembly time and adds to the complexity of mounting non-integrated CTI valves. 
         [0007]    The instant invention resolves and avoids these difficulties by teaching wheel designs that allow both integrated and non-integrated Central Tire Inflation (CTI) systems to be installed on a single, light-weight wheel, without the need for a specialized manifold, adapter, or unique wheel to accommodate each specific system. The foregoing features and others of the inventive concept, as more fully described below, provide numerous advantages over the systems of prior art. To begin with, and most obviously, a wheel incorporating the teachings of our invention can accept either non-integrated or integrated CTI valves. This allows the wheels of the invention to be used on newer vehicles with integrated CTI systems, as well as on older vehicles with non-integrated (external) CTI systems. In addition, it is much simpler to assemble a non-integrated CTI valve to the wheel face since the valve mounts directly to the wheel and no brackets are required, unlike designs used with prior two-piece bolt-together wheels. Further, it is substantially less costly and complex to develop, test, manufacture, and supply a one wheel design that can be used on vehicles with different CTI systems, as opposed to multiple wheel designs. The numerous other advantages of our invention will become more apparent in view of the more detailed description and claims that follow. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  provides a perspective sectional view illustrating a two-piece wheel assembly produced in accordance with the teachings of the invention prior to fitting any CTI components or plugs. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  provides a perspective view of the wheel of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the non-integrated CTI configuration of the wheel, with all air passages used by the integrated CTI system sealed. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  provides a front elevation of the wheel of  FIG. 2 , with a more detailed cross-sectional view taken through C-C thereof, further illustrating the non-integrated CTI configuration of the wheel, with all air passages used by the integrated CTI system sealed. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  provides another front elevation of the wheel of  FIG. 2 , with a more detailed cross-sectional view taken through F-F thereof, further illustrating the non-integrated CTI configuration of the wheel, with all air passages used by the integrated CTI system sealed. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  provides a perspective view of the wheel of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the integrated CTI configuration of the wheel, with all air passages used by the non-integrated CTI system sealed. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  provides a front elevation of the wheel of  FIG. 5 , with a more detailed cross-sectional view taken through C-C thereof, further illustrating the integrated CTI configuration of the wheel, with all air passages used by the non-integrated CTI system sealed. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  provides another front elevation of the wheel of  FIG. 5 , with a more detailed cross-sectional view taken through F-F thereof, further illustrating the integrated CTI configuration of the wheel, with all air passages used by the non-integrated CTI system sealed. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  provides a perspective view of a prior art two-piece wheel with CTI valve and internal air passageways. 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  provides a front elevation of the wheel of  FIG. 2 , with a more detailed cross-sectional view taken through B-B thereof, illustrating an alternate configuration for the bolted connection for a two-piece wheel, in which the stud and nut are reversed so that the stud is oriented inboard instead of outboard, and the nut is installed from the opposite side of the wheel. 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  provides a front elevation of a one-piece wheel, with a more detailed cross-sectional view taken through A-A thereof, illustrating the one-piece wheel with the non-integrated CTI valve, and cover plate attached to the wheel by a screw. 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  provides a front elevation of a three-piece wheel including an inner rim, an outer flange, and a lock-ring, produced in accordance with the teachings of the invention, with a more detailed cross-sectional view taken through A-A thereof. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    The preferred embodiments described herein involve, and the inventive concept is described with reference to, a two-piece wheel that accepts both CTI systems, as two-piece wheels are the type of multi-piece wheel that is commonly used with CTI systems.  FIG. 1  illustrates a design for a two-piece wheel assembly  1  prior to placement of any CTI components or plugs. The outer rim  12  is connected to the inner rim  13  using studs  15  and nuts  16 . A seal  14 , depicted here by an O-ring, is used between the rim halves to maintain tire pressure. The outer rim  12  contains all CTI-related mounting holes  21 / 22  and air passages  23 / 24 . The outer rim  12  has enlarged holes in the form of recessed wells  19  in the face, to permit the protruding stud  15  and nut  16  to be recessed below the face of the wheel, providing a flush mounting surface for the non-integrated (external) CTI valve  25  (not shown). A fill valve  17  is installed in the outer rim  12  that provides a means of manual inflation to bypass the CTI system, as some CTI valves may not include an integral manual fill valve. A threaded insert  20  in the outer rim  12  accepts an adapter  27  (see  FIG. 3 and 4 ) for the non-integrated CTI configuration, and a plug (not shown, see  FIG. 4 ) for the integrated CTI configuration. 
         [0020]      FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4  show the non-integrated CTI configuration of the wheel, with all air passages used by the integrated CTI system sealed. In terms of physical installation, the non-integrated (or external) CTI valve assembly  25  is secured to the wheel face using screws  26 . The adapter  27  containing the fill valve is aligned with the port  29  in the wheel face leading to the internal air passage  24  (not shown in  FIG. 2 and 3 ), and a concealed fastener with sealing washer  29  secures the adapter  27  to the outer rim  12  providing a sealed connection. A fitting  30  protruding from the hub passes through a clearance hole  31  in the wheel between the lug holes. A fitting  32  connects atop the fitting protruding through the outer rim  12 , connecting the air hose assembly  33  to the hub connection. A cover plate  34  with a seal  35  (not shown in  FIG. 2 and 4 ), depicted here by an O-ring, is placed over the integrated CTI mounting location to plug the unused integrated CTI air passage  23 , and secured to the wheel face with fasteners  36  in the outer rim  12 . 
         [0021]    In terms of air routing in the system of  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4 , air passes from the vehicle hub into the protruding fitting  30 , and into a hose assembly  33 . The hose assembly  33  routes the air to a quick-release valve  37 , which may be absent on another external CTI systems. Air then continues through the hose assembly to the external CTI valve  38 . From there, the air travels into an adapter  27  threaded into the outer rim  12 . The air then travels through an internal air passage  24  in the wheel, past the beadlock or runflat device (not shown), and into the tire chamber  11  (not shown in  FIG. 2 ). 
         [0022]      FIGS. 5 ,  6 , and  7  show the integrated CTI configuration of the wheel, with all air passages used by the non-integrated CTI system sealed. In terms of physical installation, the integrated CTI valve  2  is fastened to the outer rim  12  using screws  39 . One seal  40  (not shown in  FIG. 5 and 7 ), depicted here as an O-ring, is placed on the back of the CTI valve to seal between the valve and tire air passage  10 . A second seal  41  (not shown in  FIG. 5 and 7 ), depicted here as an O-ring, is placed on the back of the CTI valve to seal between the valve and hub air passage  9 . A third seal  42  (not shown in  FIG. 5 and 7 ), depicted here as an O-ring, snaps into a groove on the hub mounting surface of the outer rim  12  to seal the connection between the hub and the wheel. A plug  43  is installed into an internal thread  20  in a port  29  in the outer rim  12  to prevent air leakage from the air passage  24  to the tire. 
         [0023]    In terms of air routing in  FIGS. 5 ,  6 , and  7 , air passes from the vehicle hub through the air passage  9  on the back of the outer rim  12  into the wheel. From here, it passes into the CTI valve  2  and into the air passage  10  in the wheel leading to the tire, past the beadlock or runflat device (not shown), and into the tire chamber  11  (not shown in  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0024]    The previously described advantages and features of the invention are advantageously provided through and using the preferred embodiments previously illustrated and discussed. However, numerous variations are possible without deviating from and/or exceeding the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, even though an aluminum wheel is shown in many of the figures, it is clear that many of the methods of the invention can be extended to wheels constructed of different materials. Further,  FIG. 9  illustrates an alternate configuration for the bolted connection for a two-piece wheel, in which the stud  15  and nut  16  are reversed so that the stud  15  is oriented inboard instead of outboard, and the nut  16  is installed from the opposite side of the wheel. (This configuration provides the benefit of reduced wheel weight). In addition, although a two-piece wheel is shown in many of the figures, it is clear that many of the methods of the invention can be extended to one-piece wheels, or multi-piece wheels consisting of more than two major parts.  FIGS. 10 and 11  illustrate a one-piece and three-piece configuration, respectively.  FIG. 10  illustrates a one-piece wheel  47  with the non-integrated CTI valve  33 , and cover plate  34  attached to the wheel  47  by a screw  36 .  FIG. 11  illustrates a three-piece wheel, consisting of an inner rim  13 , an outer flange  44 , and a lock-ring  45 . (This alternate method also requires an L-seal  46  to seal the tire cavity). Moreover, though a specific integrated and non-integrated CTI valve are shown as an example in many of the figures, it is clear that this methodology could be applied to alternate CTI valves, so long as requirements for the specific mounting pattern and air passages were satisfied. And, while the two-piece wheel shown in many of the figures has the lug hole pattern residing on the outer rim  12 , it is clear that this methodology could also be extended to a two-piece wheel with the lug hole pattern residing on the inner rim  13 . 
         [0025]    In addition, various features and functions disclosed above, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Further, various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the claims when filed. 
         [0026]    Finally, the following parts list for the drawing figures may be found to be of assistance in understanding more fully the concepts of our invention:
     1  Two-Piece Wheel Assembly     2  Non-integrated (External) CTI Valve     3  Two-Piece Wheel     4  Tire     5  Rim Portion of wheel     6  Disc Portion of wheel     7  Rim Flat Area     8  Hub Bore Area     9  Air Passage (Hub to Wheel)     10  Air Passage (Wheel to Tire)     11  Tire Chamber     12  Outer Rim     13  Inner Rim     14  Seal ( 0 -ring between rim halves)     15  Stud     16  Nut     17  Fill Valve     18  Lug Hole     19  Enlarged Hole in outer rim     20  Threaded Insert     21  Mounting Hole (non-integrated CTI)     22  Mounting Hole (integrated CTI)     23  Internal Air Passage (integrated CTI)     24  Internal Air Passage (non-integrated CTI)     25  Non-integrated CTI Valve Assembly     26  Screw To Mount Non-integrated CTI Valve     27  Adapter     28  Sealing Washer     29  Port In Outer Rim     30  Hub Fitting     31  Clearance Hole     32  Fitting     33  Hose Assembly     34  Cover Plate     35  O-ring (Cover Plate)     36  Screw (Cover Plate Mounting)     37  Quick-Release Valve     38  Non-Integrated (External) CTI Valve     39  Screw (External CTI Mounting)     40  Seal (O-ring CTI Valve to Tire)     41  Seal (O-ring CTI Valve to Hub)     42  Seal (O-ring Outer Rim to Hub)     43  Plug     44  Outer Flange     45  Lock-Ring     46  L-seal     47  One-piece Wheel