Patent Description:
Tire valves of this type, with an electronic device attached to a proximal end of a valve stem, are commonly known (see, for example, Patent Document <NUM>). <CIT> discloses an angle adjustable valve arranged on a wheel rim.

Patent Document <NUM>: <CIT> (<FIG> and paragraph [<NUM>]).

The above tire valve according to Patent Document <NUM> is desired to be mounted such that the electronic device is disposed in a predetermined normal rotational position around the valve mount hole relative to the tire wheel in consideration of centrifugal force, and the operation of attaching the tire valve to a tire wheel in this way required deft skills. Accordingly, the invention as claimed proposes a technique that can facilitate the operation of attaching a tire valve such that an electronic device is set in a normal rotational position relative to a tire wheel.

A tire valve according to a first aspect of the invention as claimed made to solve the above problem is a tire valve as defined in claim <NUM>, including:.

Hereinafter a tire valve 10A according to a first embodiment of the invention as claimed will be described with reference to <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the tire valve 10A of this embodiment is configured to include an electronic device <NUM> at one end of a valve stem <NUM>, and attached to a tire wheel <NUM> such that the electronic device <NUM> is positioned inside the tire <NUM>, with the valve stem <NUM> passed through a valve mount hole <NUM> of the tire wheel.

The tire wheel <NUM> includes a rim forming part <NUM>, for example, on an outer side of a disc part <NUM>. The rim forming part <NUM> is configured to have a tubular part 91B fitted and welded to an outer side of the disc part <NUM>, for example, with a pair of rims <NUM> extending sideways from both ends of the tubular part 91B (<FIG> shows only one of the rims <NUM>). The rim <NUM> has a tire mount part 91A at the distal end of a flange part 91C that extends from an end portion of the tubular part 91B and bends sideways. The valve mount hole <NUM> extends through one of the rims <NUM> in the flange part 91C near the tubular part 91B. The flange part 91C is slightly tilted outward. As shown in <FIG>, a circumferential portion of the opening edge of the valve mount hole <NUM> is positioned in an inner corner between the flange part 91C and the tubular part 91B, and a notch <NUM> having a flat surface parallel to the axial direction of the valve mount hole <NUM>, for example, is formed in this inner corner.

In this embodiment, the notch <NUM> in the tire wheel <NUM> described above corresponds to a "wheel wall portion" in the claims that is adjacent to an interference avoidance part <NUM> of a support ring 30A to be described later. The "wheel wall portion" adjacent to the interference avoidance part <NUM> may not necessarily be formed by cutting off part of the tire wheel <NUM> and may be, for example, a portion of the tubular part 91B that is not cut off. The tire wheel <NUM> may be made of iron or aluminum.

The valve stem <NUM> is made of metal and, as shown in <FIG>, configured in a symmetrical shape as a whole, with a cylindrical stem body <NUM> and a pair of retaining parts <NUM> extending from one end of the stem body to both sides. The valve stem <NUM> may be made of resin, and/or asymmetrical. Hereinafter in the description of various parts of the tire valve 10A, the axial direction along the center axis of the stem body <NUM> shall be referred to as a first direction H1, and the direction in which the pair of retaining parts <NUM> extends shall be referred to as a second direction H2. One side in the first direction H1 where there are the retaining parts <NUM> shall be referred to as a "proximal side", and the opposite side as a "distal side".

As shown in <FIG>, the stem body <NUM> accommodates a valve core <NUM> inside. The valve core <NUM> has a structure known as a check valve, which restricts the air from passing from the proximal side to the distal side in a flow passage 12R inside the valve stem <NUM>, while allowing the air to pass in the opposite direction.

As shown in <FIG>, the stem body <NUM> on the outside includes a large-diameter part 12A on the proximal side and a small-diameter part 12B on the distal side, with a tapered part 12C in the middle in the axial direction. The small-diameter part 12B has an annular groove 12M1 in the middle in the axial direction, the distal side from this annular groove 12M1 being a threaded part <NUM>. A valve cap <NUM> (see <FIG>) that covers a distal end opening <NUM> of the stem body <NUM> is screwed to this threaded part <NUM>.

The large-diameter part 12A also has an annular groove 12M2 in the middle in the axial direction, the distal side from this annular groove 12M2 being a threaded part 12E. As shown in <FIG>, a nut <NUM> for fitting the valve stem <NUM> to the tire wheel <NUM> is screwed to the threaded part 12E. The proximal side from the annular groove 12M2 of the large-diameter part 12A is a fitting part 12F, to which the support ring 30A, a grommet <NUM>, and a washer <NUM> are fitted. When the tire valve 10A is attached to the rim <NUM>, a middle portion of the fitting part 12F extends through the valve mount hole <NUM> of the rim <NUM>, with the washer <NUM> abutted on the opening edge on the outer side of the rim <NUM> and the support ring 30A abutted on the opening edge on the inner side of the rim <NUM>, and with the grommet <NUM> pressed into the valve mount hole <NUM> from the inner side of the rim <NUM> and making tight contact with an outer surface of the fitting part 12F and an inner surface of the valve mount hole <NUM>. The shapes of the support ring 30A and grommet <NUM> will be described in more detail later.

As shown in <FIG>, the pair of retaining parts <NUM> extends from the proximal end of the stem body <NUM> to both sides as described above. The pair of retaining parts <NUM> on the outside has an arcuate surface 13B that is semicircular on the side facing the distal end of the stem body <NUM>. The pair of retaining parts <NUM> on the outside has a flat surface 13A continuous over the pair of retaining parts <NUM> on the opposite side from the arcuate surface 13B. The flow passage 12R inside the stem body <NUM> opens at the center in the flat surface 13A. Alternatively, the retaining parts <NUM> may be columnar so that it has a cylindrical outer surface as a whole.

The electronic device <NUM> includes, for example, a wireless circuit and a sensor that detects a condition of the tire <NUM>, and wirelessly transmits the detection results of the sensor to a tire monitoring device in the vehicle body (not shown). The tire monitoring device monitors the presence or absence of an abnormality in the condition of the tire <NUM> based on the received detection results. Concrete examples of the sensor include a pressure sensor that detects internal pressure of the tire <NUM>, a temperature sensor that detects temperature inside the tire <NUM>, an acceleration sensor capable of detecting vibration applied to the tire wheel <NUM>, and so on. Other sensors may be used. There may be one sensor, or a plurality of sensors.

The electronic device <NUM> is configured such that an electrical circuit including the sensor and wireless circuit described above is packaged in a resin-made housing <NUM>. The housing <NUM> includes a case part <NUM> that accommodates the electrical circuit, and a connection part 52A for coupling the electronic device <NUM> to the valve stem <NUM>. The case part <NUM> is elongated along the second direction H2 and flat in a direction perpendicular to the second direction H2. Hereinafter the direction in which the case part <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> is flattened shall be referred to as an up-down direction, one side being the upper side and the other side being the lower side. The direction perpendicular to both of the direction in which the case part <NUM> is flattened and the second direction H2 shall be referred to as a front-back direction of the electronic device <NUM>, one side being the front side and the other side being the rear side.

While the lower surface of the case part <NUM> is flat as shown in <FIG>, the upper surface of the case part <NUM> is uneven as shown in <FIG>. The connection part 52A as a whole has a trough shape with an open top, and is connected to the case part <NUM> on the front and upper side thereof.

To be more specific, the connection part 52A includes a curved wall <NUM> extending forward from a lower edge portion on the front face of the case part <NUM> and arcuately curved upward, and a pair of connecting walls <NUM> connecting both ends in the second direction H2 of the curved wall <NUM> with the front face and an upper front portion of the case part <NUM>. The pair of connecting walls <NUM> is located near one end and the other end in the second direction H2 of the case part <NUM>. A pair of L-shaped legs <NUM> extends out in the second direction H2 from the surfaces of the pair of connecting walls <NUM> on the opposite sides to the surfaces facing each other. The pair of L-shaped legs <NUM> extends from the case part <NUM> to points spaced away therefrom on both sides in the second direction H2, where they bend downwards, the distal ends being positioned lower than the lower surface of the case part <NUM>. The pair of L-shaped legs <NUM> is also integral with the front face of the case part <NUM>.

A slot 53N is formed at the center in the second direction H2 of the curved wall <NUM>, extending from near the lower end to near the upper end. The stem body <NUM> is passed through the slot 53N, so that the pair of retaining parts <NUM> of the valve stem <NUM> fits inside a pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> that is part of the curved wall <NUM> with the slot 53N disposed therebetween.

As shown in <FIG>, the entire inner face of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> except for upper and lower ends is an inner arcuate surface 54A that is an arcuate surface having the same radius of curvature as that of the arcuate surface 13B of the pair of retaining parts <NUM>. The entire outer face of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> except for upper and lower ends is an outer arcuate surface 54B that is an arcuate surface having the same center as that of the inner arcuate surface 54A. Moreover, as shown in <FIG>, a pair of metal arcuate discs <NUM> is embedded in the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>. Each arcuate disc <NUM> is located near the slot 53N in each arcuate groove <NUM> in an arcuate shape extending from the upper end to the lower end of the arcuate groove <NUM>, and has an inner face forming part of the inner arcuate surface 54A and an outer face forming part of the outer arcuate surface 54B. As shown in <FIG>, the inner face of the arcuate disc <NUM> makes contact with the arcuate surface 13B of the retaining parts <NUM> as part of the inner arcuate surface 54A. A plurality of through holes 56A is formed all over the arcuate discs <NUM>.

The pair of arcuate discs <NUM> is embedded in the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> by insertion molding. Instead, for example, the housing <NUM> may be formed such as to have a pair of slits in the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>, and the pair of arcuate discs <NUM> may be inserted into the pair of slits. Alternatively, the entire curved wall <NUM> may be made of metal, and this metal part forming the curved wall <NUM> may be embedded in the housing <NUM> by insertion molding. Alternatively, the arcuate grooves <NUM> may not contain any metal parts and made only of resin (including reinforced resin reinforced with glass fiber, for example).

As shown in <FIG>, a pair of opposing surfaces of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> on both sides of the slot 53N is formed with a pair of tapered guide surface <NUM>, which corresponds to a "guide part" in the claims. To be more specific, the opening edge where the hole inner face of the slot 53N and the outer face of the curved wall <NUM> intersect is chamfered to a mid-point in the direction in which the slot extends through, for example. Part of this chamfered surface <NUM> positioned along the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> serves as the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM>. The pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM> is sloped toward each other from the outer face to the inner face of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>. The hole inner face of the slot 53N on the side closer to the inner face of the curved wall <NUM> from the mid-point in the direction in which the slot extends through is parallel to the radial direction of the circular arc of the inner arcuate surface 54A and outer arcuate surface 54B.

<FIG> shows the support ring 30A mentioned above as a single unit. The support ring 30A is made of metal, for example, its center axis being parallel to the first direction H1. As shown in <FIG> and as mentioned above, the support ring is fitted onto the valve stem <NUM> and disposed on the inner side of the rim <NUM>. Namely, the support ring is sandwiched between the rim <NUM> and the connection part 52A of the electronic device <NUM>.

To be more specific, as shown in <FIG>, the support ring 30A has a flat abutment surface <NUM> perpendicular to the axial direction in an axial mid-point on the outside. An outer surface of the support ring 30A on the distal end (rim <NUM>) side of the abutment surface <NUM> is a large-diameter part <NUM>, and an outer surface on the proximal end (electronic device <NUM>) side of the abutment surface <NUM> is a small-diameter part <NUM>. In an axial mid-point inside the large-diameter part <NUM> is a tapered surface <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. An inner surface of the support ring 30A on the proximal end side of the tapered surface <NUM> is a small-diameter hole 34A, and an inner surface on the distal end side of the tapered surface <NUM> is a large-diameter hole 31A. Moreover, as shown in <FIG>, the distal end of the support ring 30A has chamfers 31C and 31D respectively on the outer side and inner side. As shown in <FIG>, the proximal end of the support ring 30A has a chamfer 34C on the outer side.

As shown in <FIG>, a pair of interference avoidance parts <NUM> having a flat surface 33A parallel to the first direction H1 of the large-diameter part <NUM> is provided on the outer face of the large-diameter part <NUM> by cutting off two parts circumferentially spaced apart by <NUM>°. The flat surface 33A of the pair of interference avoidance parts <NUM> extends in the first direction H1 over the entire large-diameter part <NUM>, and extends in the radial direction of the large-diameter part <NUM> as far as to the chamfer 31D on the inner side of the large-diameter part <NUM>, as a result of which a pair of arcuate notches <NUM> is formed in distal end parts of the large-diameter part <NUM> where the pair of interference avoidance parts <NUM> is formed.

As shown in <FIG>, a pair of guide slopes <NUM>, which is flat surfaces inclined to the first direction H1 of the small-diameter part <NUM>, is formed on the outer face of the small-diameter part <NUM> by cutting off two parts circumferentially spaced apart by <NUM>°. The pair of guide slopes <NUM> corresponds to "guide parts" in the claims, and extends from near the abutment surface <NUM> on the outside of the small-diameter part <NUM> to the distal end face of the small-diameter part <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the pair of guide slopes <NUM> is inclined to the first direction H1 at substantially the same angle as the angle of inclination of the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM> relative to the radial direction of the circular arc of the inner arcuate surface 54A and outer arcuate surface 54B of the electronic device <NUM> described above (up-down direction in <FIG>). Moreover, as shown in <FIG>, the pair of guide slopes <NUM> and the pair of interference avoidance parts <NUM> are disposed <NUM>° out of alignment in the circumferential direction of the support ring 30A, the support ring 30A as a whole having a <NUM>° rotation symmetry.

When the nut <NUM> is not fastened on the threaded part 12E of the valve stem <NUM>, the support ring 30A can rotate around the valve stem <NUM> relative to the electronic device <NUM>. The position where the direction in which the pair of guide slopes <NUM> of the support ring 30A is aligned matches the direction in which the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> is aligned as shown in <FIG> is the normal rotational position where the support ring 30A and electronic device <NUM> are correctly positioned relative to each other. When the support ring 30A and electronic device <NUM> are in this normal rotational position and the support ring 30A is pressed in the first direction H1 toward the electronic device <NUM>, the abutment surface <NUM> of the support ring 30A makes contact with the outer arcuate surfaces 54B of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>, the small-diameter part <NUM> of the support ring 30A is received between the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>, and the pair of guide slopes <NUM> becomes adjacent to the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> with a slight gap therebetween. In this state, the pair of arcuate discs <NUM> embedded in the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> is sandwiched between the pair of retaining parts <NUM> the valve stem <NUM> and the support ring 30A.

The grommet <NUM>, which is made of elastomer, is shown in <FIG> in a state before being compressed, and in <FIG> in a state of being compressed. The grommet <NUM> before being compressed has an inner face and an outer face with a uniform diameter as shown in <FIG>, and a distal end face and a proximal end face that are perpendicular to the first direction H1, with an annular protrusion 46A protruding from an inner edge on the distal end face. The annular protrusion 46A is tapered on the outside. The grommet <NUM> is fitted into the large-diameter hole 31A of the support ring 30A, with the proximal end face abutted on the tapered surface <NUM>, and the distal end face positioned more forward than the support ring 30A.

The structure of the tire valve 10A according to this embodiment has been described above. This tire valve 10A is attached to the tire wheel <NUM> as described below. The tire valve 10A, with the nut <NUM> and washer <NUM> removed from the valve stem <NUM>, is inserted into the valve mount hole <NUM> of the tire wheel <NUM> with no tire <NUM> attached thereto, from the inner side of the rim <NUM>. The washer <NUM> and nut <NUM> are then mounted to the valve stem <NUM> protruding from the valve mount hole <NUM> to the outer side of the rim <NUM>, and the nut <NUM> is fastened lightly (i.e., temporarily).

At this time, the annular protrusion 46A of the grommet <NUM> is received into the valve mount hole <NUM> from the inner side of the rim <NUM>. One of the interference avoidance parts <NUM> of the support ring 30A is set adjacent to the notch <NUM> of the tire wheel <NUM>. Further, the lower side of the electronic device <NUM> is set to face the tubular part 91B of the tire wheel <NUM>. Since the electronic device <NUM> is tiltable around the retaining part <NUM> of the valve stem <NUM> at this stage, it is adjusted to take a prescribed normal tilted attitude. Specifically, in this embodiment, the lower side of the electronic device <NUM> is parallel to the rotation center of the tire wheel <NUM> in the normal tilted attitude, for example. The electronic device is adjusted to take such an attitude, after which the lower faces of the pair of L-shaped legs <NUM> are abutted on an outer circumferential surface of the tubular part 91B of the tire wheel <NUM>.

When the nut <NUM> is fastened with a prescribed fastening torque (final fastening), the support ring 30A and the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> are sandwiched between the pair of retaining parts <NUM> of the valve stem <NUM> and the inner face of the rim <NUM>, so that the electronic device <NUM> is fixed to a certain tilted attitude. The grommet <NUM> is compressed between the support ring 30A and the rim <NUM> to make tight contact with an inner surface of the valve mount hole <NUM>, an opening edge of the rim <NUM>, an outer surface of the fitting part 12F of the valve stem <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, so that the valve mount hole <NUM> is sealed. The above procedure completes the mounting of the tire valve 10A.

When the tire valve 10A is passed through the valve mount hole <NUM>, before the nut <NUM> is fastened, the support ring 30A is set to a certain rotational position relative to the valve mount hole <NUM> by the interference avoidance parts <NUM> and the notch <NUM> being adjacent to each other. In this state, however, a situation can arise where the electronic device <NUM> is displaced from the normal rotational position relative to the support ring 30A. When this is the case, according to the tire valve 10A of this embodiment, the electronic device <NUM> is guided to the normal rotational position relative to the support ring 30A in the process in which the nut <NUM> is fastened to the valve stem <NUM>, causing the support ring 30A to approach the connection part 52A of the electronic device <NUM>, and in which the pair of guide slopes <NUM> of the support ring 30A and the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> slide on each other, i.e., the displacement from the normal rotational position is automatically corrected. The tire valve 10A of this embodiment has such an automatic alignment function whereby the electronic device <NUM> is automatically guided to the normal rotational position in the process in which the tire valve 10A is attached to the tire wheel <NUM>, so that the operation of attaching the tire valve 10A is made easier.

When the support ring 30A and electronic device <NUM> are largely displaced from each other more than a maximum tolerable misalignment angle (of, for example <NUM>° in this embodiment), below which the support ring 30A and the electronic device <NUM> can be guided toward the normal rotational position, part of the support ring 30A without the guide slopes <NUM> abuts on the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> and prohibits the support ring 30A and electronic device <NUM> from approaching each other. This allows the operator to realize that the support ring 30A and electronic device <NUM> are largely displaced from the normal rotational position, and prevents a situation where the support ring 30A and electronic device <NUM> are left misaligned relative to each other.

Since the support ring 30A including the pair of interference avoidance parts <NUM> and the pair of guide slopes <NUM> has a rotation symmetry as a whole, it is easy to put the support ring 30A and electronic device <NUM> back to the normal rotational position by turning them in suitable directions relative to each other, when the support ring 30A and electronic device <NUM> are largely displaced from each other more than the maximum tolerable misalignment angle, below which the support ring 30A and the electronic device <NUM> can be guided to the normal rotational position. The rotation symmetry of the support ring 30A allows the electronic device <NUM> and support ring 30A to be readily set in the normal rotational position when assembling the support ring 30A by inserting the valve stem <NUM> into the ring, so that the operation of assembling the tire valve 10A is also made easier.

Since the electronic device <NUM> is tiltable around an axis perpendicular to the axial direction of the valve stem <NUM> (which is also the axial direction of the valve mount hole <NUM>), the tire valve 10A can be fixed to various types of tire wheels <NUM> having a valve mount hole <NUM> in different positions such that the electronic device <NUM> does not interfere with an inner face of the tire wheel <NUM> by adjusting the tilted attitude of the electronic device as required.

Since the pair of metal arcuate discs <NUM> is embedded in the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> of the resin-made housing <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM>, the pair of metal arcuate discs <NUM> is held between the pair of retaining parts <NUM> of the valve stem <NUM> made of metal and the support ring 30A made of metal when the electronic device <NUM> is fixed in any desired tilted attitude, which provides a good balance in strength and allows the electronic device <NUM> to be stably fixed in the desired tilted position.

When the electronic device <NUM> is located at the normal rotational position relative to the support ring 30A, the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> and the pair of guide slopes <NUM> of the support ring 30A provided for the automatic alignment function described above face each other with a gap therebetween, which prevents a large force from being applied to the pair of guide slopes <NUM> and the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM> when the nut <NUM> is fastened.

This embodiment is shown in <FIG> and has a support ring 30B with a different structure from that of the support ring 30A of the tire valve 10A of the first embodiment. Namely, the support ring 30A of the first embodiment has the small-diameter part <NUM> on the proximal end side of the abutment surface <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, with the pair of guide slopes <NUM> formed on this small-diameter part <NUM>. The support ring 30B of this embodiment does not have a small-diameter part <NUM> as shown in <FIG> and instead, a lug <NUM> extends out from part of the opening edge of the abutment surface <NUM>, with one guide slope <NUM> formed on this lug <NUM>. The interference avoidance part <NUM> is provided only at one location <NUM>° away from the guide slope <NUM>. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

This support ring 30B used for the tire valve 10A of the first embodiment can also provide the automatic alignment function described in the first embodiment and makes the operation of attaching the tire valve 10A to the tire wheel <NUM> easier. The connection part 52A of the electronic device <NUM> may be configured such that the tapered guide surface <NUM> is not formed to the arcuate groove <NUM> on the opposite side to the arcuate groove <NUM> having the tapered guide surface <NUM> that will abut the guide slope <NUM> of the support ring 30B in the normal rotational position, so that the lug <NUM> will interfere with the arcuate groove <NUM> when the electronic device <NUM> is <NUM>° out of alignment from the normal rotational position relative to the support ring 30B.

This embodiment is shown in <FIG> and different from the first embodiment in the configurations of a connection part 52C of the electronic device <NUM> and a support ring 30C. Namely, as shown in <FIG>, the connection part 52C of this embodiment has a pair of arcuate ribs <NUM> protruding from the outer arcuate surface 54B of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>. The pair of arcuate ribs <NUM> extends along the circumferential direction of the outer arcuate surface 54B from the lower end to the upper end of the arcuate grooves <NUM>. The pair of arcuate ribs <NUM> is located farther from the slot 53N than the parts of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> where the pair of arcuate discs <NUM> is embedded. As shown in <FIG>, the opposing surfaces of the pair of arcuate ribs <NUM> form a pair of tapered guide surfaces 57C. This connection part 52C is not formed with the chamfered surface <NUM> (see <FIG>), part of which is the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM> described in the first embodiment along the opening edge of the slot 53N.

Corresponding to the connection part 52C described above, the support ring 30C of a tire valve 10C in this embodiment does not have the small-diameter part <NUM> on the proximal side of the abutment surface <NUM>, the abutment surface <NUM> itself being the proximal end face, as shown in <FIG>. The support ring 30C is formed with a pair of guide slopes 35C at two locations each <NUM>° away from each of the pair of interference avoidance parts <NUM> so that the support ring as a whole has a rotation symmetry. Moreover, the pair of guide slopes 35C is positioned at the proximal end on the outer circumferential surface of the support ring 30C and inclined to the axial direction of the support ring 30C at the same angle as the angle of inclination of the pair of tapered guide surfaces 57C relative to the radial direction of the outer arcuate surface 54B. When the electronic device <NUM> is set in the normal rotational position relative to the support ring 30C, the abutment surface <NUM> makes contact with a portion of the outer arcuate surface 54B of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> between the pair of arcuate ribs <NUM>, and the pair of tapered guide surfaces 57C becomes adjacent to the pair of guide slopes 35C.

The tire valve 10C of this embodiment also provides the automatic alignment function described in the first embodiment and makes the operation of attaching the tire valve 10C to the tire wheel <NUM> easier.

This embodiment is shown in <FIG> and includes a support ring 30D configured without one of the interference avoidance parts <NUM> and one of the guide slopes 35C of the support ring 30C in the tire valve 10C of the third embodiment. Other configurations are the same as those of the third embodiment. The configuration of this embodiment also provides the automatic alignment function described in the first embodiment similarly to the second embodiment.

A tire valve 10E of this embodiment is shown in <FIG> and different from the third embodiment in the configurations of a connection part 52E of the electronic device <NUM> and a support ring 30E. Namely, the connection part 52E of this embodiment has the pair of arcuate ribs <NUM> located closer to the slot 53N than the parts of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM> where the pair of arcuate discs <NUM> is embedded, and has the pair of tapered guide surfaces 57E on the opposite side to the opposing surfaces of the pair of arcuate ribs <NUM>.

The support ring 30E on the other hand has grooves <NUM> at the proximal end, extending in a direction in which the pair of interference avoidance parts <NUM> (not shown) is aligned (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of <FIG>). A pair of inner side faces of the grooves <NUM> forms a pair of guide slopes 35E inclined to the axial direction of the support ring 30E. When the electronic device <NUM> is set in the normal rotational position relative to the support ring 30E, the abutment surface <NUM> makes contact with the outer arcuate surface 54B of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>, and the pair of tapered guide surfaces 57E becomes adjacent to the pair of guide slopes 35E. Thus, the tire valve 10E of this embodiment also provides the automatic alignment function described in the first embodiment.

A tire valve 10F of this embodiment is shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, a support ring 30F of the tire valve 10F of this embodiment has a pair of rotation restricting walls <NUM> that is parallel to the axial direction and flat, instead of the pair of guide slopes <NUM> on the small-diameter part <NUM> of the support ring 30A of the first embodiment. Correspondingly, a connection part 52F is not formed with the chamfered surface <NUM> (see <FIG>), part of which is the pair of tapered guide surfaces <NUM>, along the opening edge of the slot 53N.

As shown in <FIG>, when the electronic device <NUM> is set in the normal rotational position relative to the support ring 30F, the abutment surface <NUM> makes contact with the outer arcuate surface 54B of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>, and a pair of rotation restricting walls <NUM> becomes adjacent to opposing surfaces <NUM> of the pair of arcuate grooves <NUM>. While the tire valve 10F of this embodiment does not provide the automatic alignment function described in the first embodiment, the rotation restricting walls <NUM> facing the opposing surfaces <NUM> restrict the rotation of the electronic device <NUM> relative to the support ring 30F and keeps the electronic device <NUM> stably in the normal rotational position.

This embodiment is shown in <FIG>. Similarly to the relationship between the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the lug <NUM> protrudes from the abutment surface <NUM>, with the rotation restricting wall <NUM> formed on this lug <NUM>, in exchange for elimination of the small-diameter part <NUM> from the support ring 30F of the sixth embodiment, and a support ring <NUM> is configured without one of the interference avoidance parts <NUM>. This configuration also provides similar effects as those of the sixth embodiment.

A tire valve <NUM> of this embodiment is shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, a connection part <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> in the tire valve <NUM> of this embodiment is configured such that the opposing surfaces of the pair of arcuate ribs <NUM> in the connection part 52C of the third embodiment are changed to a pair of rotation restricting walls <NUM> that is parallel to each other and flat. A support ring <NUM> on the other hand does not have the small-diameter part <NUM> described above as shown in <FIG>, the abutment surface <NUM> itself being the proximal end face, and instead is formed with interference avoidance parts <NUM> at four equally spaced locations on the outer circumferential surface. One of the interference avoidance parts <NUM> is set to face the notch <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the tire wheel <NUM>, and the flat surfaces 33A of the pair of interference avoidance parts <NUM> on both sides of that interference avoidance part <NUM> are set adjacent to the rotation restricting walls <NUM> of the pair of arcuate ribs <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Similarly to the sixth embodiment, the configuration of this embodiment also restricts the rotation of the electronic device <NUM> relative to the support ring <NUM> and provides the effect of keeping the electronic device <NUM> stably in the normal rotational position.

This embodiment is shown in <FIG>. Similarly to the relationship between the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment, a support ring 30I is configured such that two adjacent interference avoidance parts <NUM> are removed from the support ring <NUM> of the eighth embodiment. This configuration also provides similar effects as those of the eighth embodiment.

Claim 1:
A tire valve (10A) comprising:
a valve stem (<NUM>) configured to pass through a valve mount hole (<NUM>) extending through a rim (<NUM>) of a tire wheel (<NUM>) from an inner side of the rim (<NUM>), and to be screwed with a nut (<NUM>) on an outer side of the rim (<NUM>);
a retaining part (<NUM>) extending sideways from a proximal end of the valve stem (<NUM>);
an electronic device (<NUM>) having a connection part (52A) that fits onto an outer side of the retaining part (<NUM>); and
a support ring (30A) set on the valve stem (<NUM>), the support ring (30A) and a portion of the connection part (52A) are adapted to be sandwiched between the retaining part (<NUM>) and an opening edge of the valve mount hole (<NUM>) by fastening the nut (<NUM>), characterized by
an interference avoidance part (<NUM>) formed by cutting off part of an outer circumferential surface of the support ring (30A) and configured to be positioned adjacent to a wheel wall portion of the tire wheel (<NUM>) near the valve mount hole (<NUM>), and
guide parts (<NUM>, <NUM>) provided to the support ring (30A) and the electronic device (<NUM>), wherein the guide parts (<NUM>, <NUM>) are adapted to slide on each other by fastening the nut (<NUM>) thereby causing the support ring (30A) and the electronic device (<NUM>) to approach, to guide the support ring (30A) and the electronic device (<NUM>) toward a normal rotational position where the support ring (30A) and the electronic device (<NUM>) are at correct rotational positions relative to each other around the valve stem (<NUM>), when the support ring (30A) and the electronic device (<NUM>) are displaced from the normal rotational position.