Description:Field of Invention
[001] The invention relates to air filing system for tyres. It more particularly relates to mechanical systems that are mounted onboard commercial vehicles to fill up its tyres with air.
Background of the Invention
[002] In the typical conditions in which the commercial vehicles operate, the availability to a tyre filing station nearby isn’t always guaranteed. Therefore, in case of emergency, if a driver has noticed that the commercial vehicle tyres are not at the right pressure, they may not have any solution for this problem other than to replace it with the spare tyre until they have reached a location where they can get air filled or if required get the tyre repaired. This has the affect of consuming a lot of time and may also not be feasible in situations where the vehicle has travelled to remote locations with limited or no repair and maintenance availability. Commercial vehicles therefore have a more pressing requirement of onboard tyre filing systems that any other vehicle type on the road as recovering them in conditions where there are limited or no repair and maintenance capacity, can be stated to be exceptionally hard.
[003] Even though vehicle mounted tyre filing systems exist, the currently available technology has a lot of parts and usually a very complicated construction thereby requiring operator training to utilise them effectively. These systems are also often not user serviceable thereby making it harder to repair them in case of emergencies. These systems also add on to the complexity of the task of filing the tyres with air just in case the vehicle onboard system have for some reason failed, therefore requiring the use of stationary facilities for filing tyres with air.
[004] Given that vehicle mounted centralised tyre filling systems are specialised systems, the economics does not support providing them in every commercial vehicle on the road because of their overall high purchase and subsequently maintenance costs. Their maintenance cost being high because they have multiple parts and locations in the system where things can fail if the vehicle has to drive through not so good road conditions.
[005] Another argument against using them frequently is that such vehicle tyre air filing systems draw electrical power to operate their compressors which can put a lot of additional strain on the vehicle battery if such a system is used to fill up air in 6 or more tyres of the commercial vehicle. Even though battery technology is improving as the time progresses, the pace of improvement is not sufficient to allow engineers to cheaply provide a vehicle mounted tyre air filing system. Therefore, vehicle designers are opting to not provide any vehicle mounted tyre air filing systems even though technology for doing so already exists. The existing need for affordable vehicle mounted tyre air filing systems for commercial vehicles is not getting fulfilled for combined technological and economic reasons. Therefore, it is an objective of the current invention to provide a mechanical vehicle mounted tyre air filling system that has a simple and economical construction.
[006] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a vehicle mounted tyre air filling system that is easy to operate and hence does not require any training to be offered to the vehicle operators to ensure its issue free operation.
[007] It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a vehicle mounted tyre air filing system that has fewer parts and therefore lesser points along which the system can fail, thereby enabling its easy maintenance, even at places with limited repair and maintenance facilities.
[008] It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a vehicle mounted tyre air filing system that is at least as effective at performing its job as the costly conventional alternatives.
Summary of the Invention
[009] An embodiment of the invention achieving the stated objective, that is frugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100), comprises of, a vehicle air intake (1), an engine mounted air compressor (2), an air processing unit (3), a non-return valve (4), an auxiliary reservoir tank (5), a pressure test connector (10), and hoses (11). In the vehicle mounted tyre inflation system (100), the vehicle air intake (1) is pneumatically connected with the engine mounted air compressor (2) via hoses (11). The engine mounted air compressor (2) is pneumatically connected to the air processing unit (3) via stainless steel pipes. The air processing unit (3) is pneumatically connected to the non-return valve (4) via polyamide pipes. The non-return valve (4) is in turn pneumatically connected with the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5) via polyamide pipes. The pressure test connector (10) is directly connected with the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5). The hose (11) is connected at its one end with the pressure test connector (10), while its other end is in turn connected with a filling gun with a dial gauge (filling nozzle with a dial gauge) used for filling air in the commercial vehicle’s tyres.
Brief Description of Drawings
[0010] The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings that contain references numerals for indicating its various parts. The description of the present invention would therefore be better understood with reference to accompanying diagrams, wherein
[0011] Figure 1 discloses the system block diagram as per the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0012] Figure 2 discloses a flowchart explaining the manner of usage of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
[0013] Referring to the figure 1, frugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100), comprises of a vehicle air intake (1), an engine mounted air compressor (2), an air processing unit (3), a non-return valve (4), an auxiliary reservoir tank (5), a pressure test connector (10), and hoses (11).
[0014] Referring to figure 1, in the frugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100), the vehicle air intake (1) is pneumatically connected with the engine mounted air compressor (2) via hoses (11). The air intake system (1) has air intake capacity in the range 710-760 kg/hr. The air intake system (1) is additionally provided with an air filter to remove impurities from the air that is being drawn into the system.
[0015] The engine mounted air compressor (2) is pneumatically connected to the air processing unit (3) via stainless steel pipes. The engine mounted air compressor (2) has a displacement of 230 cm3 and can operate in the RPM range of 3000 to 3900 r/min. The engine mounted air compressor (2) can be a reciprocating piston pump or any other pump capable of generating pressures up to 10 bars.
[0016] The air processing unit (3) is pneumatically connected to the non-return valve (4) via polyamide pipes. The air processing unit (3) can operate in the temperature range -30 °C to 65 °C while drying the air being received from the engine mounted air compressor (2) and has a maximum operating pressure of 12.5 bar. The non-return valve (4) is in turn pneumatically connected with the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5) via polyamide pipes.
[0017] Furthermore, referring to Fig. 1 it is stated that, in the frugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicle (100), one end of the hose (11) is connected to the pressure test connector (10). The pressure test connector PTC (10) is itself connected to the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5). The auxiliary air reservoir tank (5) is capable of maintaining 8 to 10 bars of pressure and the hose (11) is a rubber hose capable of handling up to 15 bars of pressure. The other end of the hose (11) is connected to a pressure test connector (10) that is used for filling air in the commercial vehicle’s tyres.
[0018] The pressure test connector (10) (refer to Fig. 1) is directly connected with the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5)’s outlet port. The hose (11) is connected at its one end with the pressure test connector (PTC) (10), while its other end is in turn connected with a filling gun with a dial gauge (filling nozzle with a dial gauge) used for filling air in the commercial vehicle’s tyres. The air processing unit (3) is also pneumatically connected to a rear reservoir tank (8), and the rear reservoir tank (8) is in turn pneumatically connected to the rear brake chambers (9). The air processing unit (3) is also pneumatically connected to a front reservoir tank (8), and the front reservoir tank (6) is in turn pneumatically connected to the front brake chamber (7).
[0019] When the vehicle user turns on the IC engine of the vehicle, the engine mounted air compressor (2) starts functioning to draw in the atmospheric air filtered from the vehicle air intake (1) and compress it and forward it to the air processing unit (3) via the connecting stainless-steel pipes. The air processing unit (3) in turn processes the air to remove any moisture from the compressed air received from the engine mounted air compressor (2). The air processing unit (3) can be any conventional unit that is capable of receiving air under pressure and removing moisture from the same and delivering an output via polyamide pipes to the non-return valve (4), the rear reservoir tank (8), and the front reservoir tank (6). The compressed air delivered to the non-return valve (NRV) (4) via the polyamide pipes is only allowed move forward in one direction, i.e. towards the auxiliary air tank (5) via the connecting polyamide pipes.
[0020] The auxiliary air tank (5) (refer to figs. 1 and 2) is provided with an outlet port that allows it to be connected directly to the pressure test connector (PTC) (10). The PTC (10) then connects via a rubber hose (11) to the filling gun with a dial gauge (filling nozzle with a dial gauge) used for filling air in the commercial vehicle’s tyres. The pressure test connector (10) is provided with a plunger in its connector that, when pressed, allows it to release air for the tyres through the hose (11). The plunger of the PTC (10) gets pressed by the hose (11)’s attachment portion while the hose (11) is getting mounted on the PTC (10). Hence, when the hose (11) is installed, the plunger gets pressed thereby allowing pressurised air to flow into the hose (11). When the filling gun nozzle gets pressed against the tyre valve, the filling gun nozzle cause a pneumatic connection to be established (valve opens to allow air to flow within the tyre), which allows compressed air to flow from the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5) to the tyres via the PTC (10), the rubber hose (11) and the filling gun with a dial gauge. The air under pressure of 8-10 bars from the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5) is therefore supplied to the De-inflated tyres of the vehicle. The dial gauge of the filling gun helps the vehicle operator to monitor the tyre pressure.
[0021] The frugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicle (100) is also capable of supplying compressed air to the front reservoir tank (6) and the rear reservoir tank (8), which in turn enables supply compressed air to the commercial vehicle’s front and rear brake chambers (6, 9) when the vehicle operator operates the braking system of the vehicle. With the moisture having been removed from the compressed air by the air processing unit (3), the tyres and the brakes do not suffer from moisture accumulation over the time. This in turn enhances their overall life.
[0022] Technical advantages offered by the invention i.e., frugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicle (100) are-
- It is a mechanical vehicle mounted tyre air filling system that has a simple and economical construction.
- It enhances the overall life of the vehicle tyres and brakes as it supplies dehumidified air to them.
- It is easy to operate and hence does requires very limited training to be offered to the vehicle operators to ensure its issue free operation.
- It has fewer parts and therefore lesser points along which the system can fail, thereby enabling its easy maintenance, even at places with limited repair and maintenance facilities.
- It is at least as effective at performing its job as the costly conventional alternatives.
- It allows the commercial vehicle to serve the tyre air filing requirements of other vehicles in its vicinity as well. This allows it to perform mobile regular maintenance operation of air filing in tyres.
- It does not rely on electrical power as it used mechanical energy from the engine to drive the air compressor and produce compressed air.
[0023] The disclosed invention i.e. the frugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicle (100) achieves all the set-out objectives.
[0024] It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the present invention has been herein described in terms of its preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the preferred embodiment herein disclosed, can be practiced with modifications within the scope of the invention herein described.
, Claims:We Claim,
1. A frugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100) comprising,
• a vehicle air intake (1),
• an engine mounted air compressor (2),
• an air processing unit (3),
• a non-return valve (4),
• an auxiliary air reservoir tank (5),
• a pressure test connector (10),
• hoses (11),
wherein,
- the vehicle air intake (1) is pneumatically connected with the engine mounted air compressor (2) via hoses (11);
- the engine mounted air compressor (2) is pneumatically connected to the air processing unit (3) via stainless steel pipes;
- the air processing unit (3) is pneumatically connected to the non-return valve (4) via polyamide pipes;
- the non-return valve (4) is in turn pneumatically connected with the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5) via polyamide pipes;
- the pressure test connector (PTC) (10) is directly connected with the outlet port of the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5); and
- one end of the hose (11) is connected to the PTC (10), while its other end is connected to a filling gun with a dial gauge (filling nozzle with dial gauge) used for filing commercial vehicle’s tyres of the with air.
2. The fugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the air intake system (1) has air intake capacity in the range 710-760 kg/hr.
3. The fugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein, the air intake system (1) is provided with an air filter to remove impurities from the air that is being drawn into the system.
4. The fugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engine mounted air compressor (2) has a displacement of 230 cm 3 and can operate in the RPM range of 3000 to 3900 r/min.
5. The fugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air processing unit (3) can operate in the temperature range -30 °C to 65 °C while drying the air being received from the engine mounted air compressor (2) and has a maximum operating pressure of 12.5 bar.
6. The fugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary air reservoir tank (5) is capable of maintaining 8 to 10 bars of pressure.
7. The fugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein
- the hose (11) is a rubber hose capable of handling up to 15 bars of pressure; and
- the pressure test connector (10) is provided with a plunger in its connector that, when pressed, allows it to release air for the tyres through the hose (11).
8. The fugal vehicle mounted tyre inflation system for commercial vehicles (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein
- the air processing unit (3) is also pneumatically connected to a rear reservoir tank (8), and the rear reservoir tank (8) is in turn pneumatically connected to the rear brake chambers (9); and
- the air processing unit (3) is also pneumatically connected to a front reservoir tank (8), and the front reservoir tank (6) is in turn pneumatically connected to the front brake chamber (7).
Dated 31st day of January 2025

VIDIT CHOUBEY
(IN P/A 5566)
AGENT FOR THE APPLICANT(S)

To,
The Controller of Patents,
The Patent Office, at Mumbai