Patent ID: 8746306

Claim:
A self-inflating tire assembly comprising: a tire mounted to a rim, the tire having a tire cavity, first and second sidewalls extending respectively from first and second tire bead regions to a tire tread region; an air tube connected to the tire and being composed of a flexible material operative to allow a portion of the air tube near a tire footprint to substantially open and close the air tube, a regulator device including a regulator body mounted in the tire sidewall, the regulator body having a first end located within the tire cavity, wherein the first end has an internal passageway that is in fluid communication with the tire cavity, said regulator device having a second end having an internal pump passageway for connecting to a first end of the air tube; a check valve in fluid communication with the internal passageway and the pump passageway, wherein the regulator device further comprises a channel located between the second end and the check valve, wherein the channel is in fluid communication with a buffer chamber.