Patent ID: 8371350

Claim:
A device for selectively connecting a tire to a pneumatic unit of an aircraft, the tire forming part of a wheel mounted to rotate on a hollow axle of the aircraft, the device comprising: a stator; a rotor mounted on the stator in order to be completely received within the stator so that the rotor and the stator may be removed as a unit, the rotor being mounted to rotate inside the stator, by means of a bearing thereon, about an axis that coincides, in operation, with an axis of rotation of the wheel, and including a mechanical coupling between the wheel and rotor for enabling the wheel to drive said rotor in rotation; a seal that extends between the rotor and the stator to close a first chamber extending between the rotor and the stator and into which a first pneumatic port opens, the port being carried by the stator for connecting the device to the pneumatic unit; the rotor defining a second chamber into which a second pneumatic port opens for connecting the device to the tire; the rotor carrying a valve extending through a wall of the rotor separating the first and second chambers, thereby enabling the two chambers to be put selectively into pneumatic communication by opening the valve; and the stator carrying an actuator that acts selectively on the valve in order to switch between a closed state and an open state, the valve being normally closed; wherein the stator is bell-shaped and adapted to be push-fit in the axle and having an end wall that carries the first pneumatic port for connection to the pneumatic unit by a pipe running inside the axle, the rotor extending substantially inside the stator.