Patent ID: 8651155

Claim:
An air-maintenance tire system comprising: a tire having a tire carcass comprising a tire cavity defined by a tire inner liner, first and second sidewalls extending respectively from first and second tire bead regions to a tire tread region; compression actuator means mounted to the tire carcass configured for operative actuation by tire deformation during a tire revolution, a pump assembly affixed to the tire carcass and comprising a compressor body affixed to the compression actuator means and having an internal air chamber, the air chamber having an inlet opening for admitting air into the internal air chamber and an outlet opening for conducting air from the internal air chamber to the tire cavity; the air compressor body further comprising a piston valve member located within the internal air chamber and moving within the internal air chamber responsive to contacting engagement with the compression actuator means between an open position relative to the inlet opening wherein permitting air flow from the inlet opening into the air chamber and a closed position relative to the inlet opening wherein obstructing air flow from the inlet opening into the air chamber, wherein the piston valve member during movement between the open and closed positions compressing a volume of air within the air chamber; an outlet valve member within the air chamber and moving along the air chamber responsive to air pressure within the air chamber reaching a preset threshold between an open position wherein permitting air flow from the air chamber into the outlet opening and a closed position wherein obstructing air flow from the air chamber into the outlet opening; wherein the piston valve member and the outlet valve member are positioned at opposite ends of the air chamber; and wherein the compression actuator means comprising a hollow containment body formed from a resilient deformable material composition and containing a quantity of a non-compressible medium, the containment body affixed to a relatively high flex-deformation region of the tire carcass and the containment body reciprocally transforming between a deformed state and a non-deformed state responsive to deformation and recovery of the tire high flex-deformation region in a rolling tire, respectively; and wherein the actuator means containment body in the deformed state displacing a pressurized displaced quantity of the non-compressible medium, the pressurized displaced quantity of the non-compressible medium operative to generate a compression force against a piston valve member surface to move the piston valve between the open and closed positions within the air chamber.