SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MODIFIED TIRE RIMS FOR USE WITH GRAVITY-DRIVEN AUTOMATIC TIRE PUMPS AND GENERATORS
Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for gravity-driven pumps and generators, as well as various supporting concepts, mechanisms, and approaches. As a tire rotates around an axle, the pull of gravity varies for a given point on the tire. While gravity is always pulling ‘down’, the force relative to a fixed point on the tire changes. Gravity-driven generators exploit these changes in gravitational force to do work. A gravity-driven generator is different from an automatic pump that operates using centrifugal force due to rotation of a tire. Automatic, gravity-driven generators can be used to generate and store energy to perform such tasks as inflating tires to offset the natural gas leakage of modern tires, and can maintain tire pressure and inflation within a desired or optimal range. Tire rims can be modified to accommodate these pumps.
The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application 62/192,337, filed Jul. 14, 2015, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to specific changes or modifications in current tire rim designs to better accommodate and/or facilitate the use of automatic pumps and/or generators for tires and more specifically to pumps and/or generators that use changes in orientation due to tire rotation and gravitational force to drive pumps and/or generators to automatically inflate tires or perform other operations.
2. Introduction
Tires are a critical part of modern transportation. However, proper tire inflation is an important factor in the safety, efficiency and cost of using tires. Underinflation or overinflation are not optimal conditions for tire longevity or safety. Overinflation can lead to unsafe wear patterns, lower traction and increased potential for a catastrophic failure or blowout of the tire during otherwise, normal operation. Underinflation lowers the fuel efficiency of tires, increases wear, lowers the tire sidewall (lateral) stiffness making the tire less safe and increases the potential for catastrophic failure or blowout of the tire during otherwise, normal operation. All rubber-based, modern tires lose some amount of gas due to the natural porosity of rubber. These porosity losses can be minimized by using larger air molecules (Nitrogen) than air. However, the porosity losses are only reduced, not eliminated. Temperature can also affect tire inflation. One solution is for users to manually check tire inflation periodically, but this is a difficult task, requires training and significant user time. Further, some portion of the user population will never check their tire inflation due to inconvenience, regardless of the benefits that proper inflation provide. Tire inflation is a problem that many drivers do not care enough about to invest the time to check or correct until the problem is so bad that the tire, and consequently the vehicle, become undrivable, or unsafe. An automatic approach to tire inflation that does not require end-users, i.e. the drivers of these vehicles, to spend time and effort would be significantly preferable.
SUMMARYAdditional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosed principles. The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or can be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein.
The approaches set forth herein use gravity-driven pumps and/or gravity-driven generators to automatically inflate tires in a way that offsets the loss of gas from inside the tire. The gravity-driven pumps and/or generators are mounted to the tire rim, and are activated to pump air by exploiting gravity at various orientations as the tire rotates. Different types of pumps are described herein. Further, the differences in tire orientation can be used to generate electricity using similar principles. This electricity can be used to power various sensors, a processor, wired or wireless communications interfaces, electronic storage, or even an electric pump instead of a gravity-driven pump. Traditional tire rims can be modified to accommodate these pumps and the various associated modules and supporting elements.
In one aspect, a device used in connection with a rotating tire can generate electricity via a tube that holds a semi-viscous fluid (SVF) with magnetic/ferrite particles distributed within the fluid. An electrical wire mesh sleeve can be positioned around the tube. As the wheel turns, the SVF within the tube rotates slower than the wheel speed, and the ferrite particles passing through the wire mesh around the tube produce a charge that can be harnessed. The power can be stored in a battery or capacitor and can be used to power an electrical pneumatic pump, electronic components for sensors, wireless transceivers, pump control mechanisms, and so forth. The electricity can also be directly provided to one or more components without being stored in a battery.
A system, method and computer-readable media are disclosed for gravity-driven pumps and/or generators, as well as various supporting concepts, mechanisms, and approaches. The present disclosure will reference bother a gravity-driven pump as well as corresponding gravity-driven electricity generators. Principles disclosed relative to the functioning of the pump can also apply equally to the function and structure of a generator. Gravity is an ever-present acceleration and related to the size and density of a planet or large body generating the gravity. On earth, the gravitational acceleration is about 9.8 m/s2 or 32.2 ft/s2. The gravitational potential energy (U) is related to the product of the mass, gravitational acceleration and height above the surface that the mass is raised.
U=mgh
where U is gravitational potential energy, m is mass, g is the surface value of gravity, and h is the height above the surface (for surface calculations and small distances above the surface of the gravity generating body).
The more general, integral form of gravitational energy is as follows:
where U(r) is the gravitational potential energy as a function of the distance between the bodies, G is the gravitational constant, M is the Mass of the attracting body, m is the mass of the body gravity is acting upon, and r is the distance between their centers.
This application describes how to use gravity to move a mass within a chamber, which moves air from one chamber to another (in this case, moving air into a tire.). By changing the orientation of the chamber, gravity creates the pump stroke and intake stroke. Or in the case of a gravity-based generator, by changing the orientation of the generator, the device creates electricity which can be harnessed to power an electric pump, a sensor, a wireless transceiver, or any other component. The electricity can be stored in a battery or capacitor or used directly to power another device or component.
As the tire rotates around an axle, the magnitude of the gravitational vector component varies for a given tangent on the circumference of the tire. While gravity is always pulling ‘down’, the force relative to a fixed tangent on the tire changes. The tangents on a circle, at 12:00 and 6:00 are parallel to each other and are horizontal in a normal, earth reference frame. The gravitational vector component is perpendicular to the tangents at 12:00 and 6:00 or pointing vertically down. In this application, at 12:00 and 6:00, gravity cannot do any constructive work because the gravitational vector is perpendicular to the orientation of the pumping mechanism. However, the tangents on a circle at 3:00 and 9:00 are parallel with each other and are parallel with the gravitational vector. At the 3:00 and 9:00 orientations, in this application, one can utilize the full effect of gravity (the gravitational potential energy) to do constructive work. Gravity-driven pumps exploit changes in their orientation to utilize the gravitational force vector's vertical component to do work. The work can be driving a pump, or generating electrical power to drive a traditional electric pump or other electrical components. A gravity-driven pump is different from an automatic pump that operates using centrifugal force due to rotation of a tire. Centrifugal force applies to virtually any rotating mass, whereas a gravity-driven pump would work when the rotational direction would cause some change in orientation of the pumping device, utilizing gravitational force to pull a pumping element in opposite directions at different rotational positions. Automatic, gravity-driven pumps can be used to inflate tires to offset the natural gas leakage of modern tires, and can maintain tire pressure and inflation within a designed and desired range.
The example of
It is noted that in any place in this disclosure where a pump is discussed, that the pump can also be considered a generator of electricity and can function to generate electricity as the wheel rotates around its axis.
The placement and counteracting motions of pumps can provide automatically harmonically balanced tires, even at low, medium, or high speeds. At low speeds the mass may move to do work to pump air, but at greater speeds the mass may move or may not have a chance to move, so the additional masses from the pumps do not cause an imbalance in the tire.
In each of these examples, the pumps can pump gas, such as air, directly into a tire, or can pump gas into a reservoir or container of compressed air (not shown). For example, if the tire is already inflated to its proper pressure, the pump can fill the reservoir or container to store air under pressure for inflating the tire at a later time, or for some other purpose.
The control unit 418 can adjust other pump parameters as well. For example, the control unit 418 can operate a release mechanism 416 that can release an additional mass 414. The additional mass 414 can attach to mass 402 for a combined larger mass and different pump characteristics. The larger combined mass of the mass 402 and the additional mass 414 may provide more optimal pumping at higher speeds, for example. The release mechanism can recapture and hold in place the additional mass 414 when the control unit 418 determines that the additional mass 414 is not needed. In another variation, the release mechanism 416 can interface directly with the mass 402 and can hold the mass 402 in place when pumping is not necessary, and can release the mass 402 to do pumping work when pumping is desired. In this way, the release mechanism can fix the mass in place if no more pumping is needed to reduce wear.
The system can dynamically adjust the pump, valving, or pressure elements based on various factors. In one scenario, the optimum pressure for a given tire and load are established as X. However, if the load changes (increases), the necessary and optimum tire pressure would also need to change (in this case, increase) to address the added load. Normally, when the tire pressure is insufficient for a given load, the side walls bulge and the tire footprint increases to carry the load. This may include more of the tread, the sidewalls, etc. to satisfy the pressure requirement (force/area). The tires can include piezoelectric strain sensors in the side walls to both generate electricity and/or provide sensor data related to the distortion of the side wall. This data provides an indirect measure of the tire pressure related to the load. If the side walls bulge for a given load, the tire pressure is likely insufficient for that load and hence, the system can increase the tire pressure to a safe level, such as according to the maximum tire pressure for any given tire. The tires can generate or track operating information from the sidewall, strain gauge deformation, temperature, humidity, pH (acidity/alkalinity) (related to oxidation—rust), air composition, etc. The system can capture or use this tire sensor information to change the tire pressure accordingly. The system can also use Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) data for an independent pressure reading and tire location for more precise control and inflation, such as where steering tires should be at a different (higher) pressure than rear, or drive, tires.
The pump 400 can include various sensors, such as an internal sensor 420 and an external sensor 422. The control unit 418 can interface with each of these sensors 420, 422. The internal sensor 420 can detect attributes of the gas in the internal cavity 410. For example, the internal sensor 420 can detect pressure, speed of the air moving in or out of the internal cavity, air temperature, air composition, humidity, pH levels, salinity, air quality, air cleanliness, and so forth. The external sensor 422 can detect similar attributes for external conditions. The internal sensor 420 and/or the external sensor 422 can relay those readings to the control unit 418, which can then base decisions and execute actions based on those readings. For example, if the internal sensor 420 reports air cleanliness that the control unit 418 determines is too low, the control unit 418 can control the outlet valve 408 to shunt the pumped air out back into the atmosphere instead of into the tire or into an air reservoir or tank. Similarly, if the external sensor 420 reports air salinity that the control unit 418 determines is too high and may lead to corrosion damage to the pump or to the tire, the control unit 418 can control the intake valve 406 to prevent air from entering the internal cavity 410. The control unit 418 can further interface with sensors in the tire to determine a type of gas in the tire. For example, the tire may be inflated with normal air, nitrogen, a different gas, or a mixture thereof. The control unit 418 can decide, based on how urgently the tire needs to be inflated and based on the type of gas in the tire already, whether to activate the pump to pump additional air into the tire. In one variation, the control unit 418 can even control the intake valve and outlet valve 408 to reverse their directions so that the pump can actively extract excess pressure from the tire in over-inflation conditions. For example, if the tire is inflated to a desired pressure range at a cold temperature, as the tire moves and heats up, the pressure increases. If the pressure increase, due to temperature or other causes, exceeds a desired range or threshold, the control unit 418 can actively pump air out of the tire until the pressure reaches the desired range or threshold.
The system can divert excess pressure away from the tire when the tire is at an acceptable pressure, or can continue pumping regardless of pressure and use a pressure relief valve to keep the intravolumetric pressure at a prescribed target pressure, in a similar manner to a voltage divider or a water heater pressure relief valve.
The control unit 506 can identify, from a tire profile database 508, a tire type for the tire 502. The tire type can indicate how fast gas leaks from the tire due to natural porosity of the tire, a range of optimal inflation for that tire type, how temperature affects the tire, how different loads affect the tire, and so forth. The tire profile database 508 can also store data indicating how various tire attributes change over time as the tire ages and/or wears. The control unit 506 can monitor and build up a driver profile 510 or simply use an existing driver profile 510. The driver profile 510 can track driving patterns of an individual user or group of users. The driver profile 510 can include information such as how quickly the driver tends to accelerate from a stopped position, braking times, turn sharpness, and so forth. Each driver drives slightly differently, and the control unit 506 can use that data to determine how or whether to modify pump attributes 504 based on the tire profile data 508 to ensure that the tire 502 remains inflated within the appropriate pressure range.
The control unit 506 can communicate with a pressure release valve for the tire which can either relieve pressure from within the tire 502 or can prevent unneeded pump strokes from pumping air into the tire 502, such as by pumping air back into the atmosphere, a separate air container, or elsewhere. The control unit 506 can examine real-time data 514 such as tire pressure and activate all pumps 504 for the tire 502 if a sudden pressure drop is detected, for example. If the pumps 504 have been pumping air into a reservoir, the control unit 506 can cause that air to be released into the tire 502 as well.
Thus, an example tire rim has an outer surface onto which an inflatable tire can be installed or mounted, a first hole for an inflation stem, and a second hole for a fixedly attached pump configured to pump air into the tire via rotational motion of the tire rim about an axis that causes gravity to move a pump element of the fixedly attached pump in a first direction at a first rotational position to yield a first pump stroke, and causes gravity to move the pump element in a second direction at a second rotational position to yield a second pump stroke, wherein the first pump stroke and the second pump stroke pump a gas into the inflatable tire through the second hole. The strokes can also be used to generate electricity in a gravity-based electricity generator.
For example, a system for generating electricity can include a tire rim with an outer surface onto which an inflatable tire can be mounted, a first hole for an inflation stem and at least one second hole for a fixedly attached electricity generator configured to generate electricity via rotational motion of the tire rim about an axis that causes gravity to move a generation element of the fixedly attached electricity generator in a first direction at a first rotational position to yield a first electricity generator stroke. With rotation of the rim, the rotation causes gravity to move the generation element in a second direction at a second rotational position to yield a second generator stroke. The first generator stroke and the second generator stroke cause electricity to be generated. The system also can include a mounting area in the tire rim into which the fixedly attached electricity generator can be inserted so the fixedly attached electricity generator is flush with an outer surface of the tire rim.
The electricity generator further can include a tube containing a semi-viscous fluid with magnetic/ferrite particles distributed within the semi-viscous fluid. The electricity generator further can include an electrical wire mesh sleeve around the tube. As the tire rim turns, the semi-viscous fluid within the tube rotates slower than a wheel speed, and the magnetic/ferrite particles passing through the wire mesh around the tube produce a charge.
The example tire rim can include a mounting channel into which the fixedly attached pump can be inserted so the fixedly attached pump is flush with the outer surface of the tire rim.
The tire rim 600 can be modified to include a series of pits or holes into which pumps can be inserted, instead of a channel 610 which circumscribes the entire rim. The tire rim 600 can further be modified to include or incorporate various automatic safety mechanisms to ensure that air does not escape the tire if the pumps break or are damaged, mounting clamps or brackets for receiving and holding pumps in place, and so forth. Pumps 702 and stems 606 can be incorporated at a same position on the tire, the pump 702 on the tire facing side and the stems 606 exposed on the center facing side. The pumps can be modular, so that pumps can be inserted into and removed from the modified rim at will, either while the tire is removed from the rim in one embodiment, or while the tire is still mounted on the rim. Valves incorporated into the modified rim can engage when a pump is removed to prevent air leakage while a pump is removed or replaced. In one embodiment, portions of the pumps or the modified rims are transparent so a mechanic can make a visual inspection to ensure that the pump is functioning properly and the mass is moving within the pump.
The tire rim 600 can be modified with an alarm or notification system. The alarm or notification system can activate when a pump is removed, or when a pump is added. The notification can be an audible, visual, electronic, or other notification. The alarm or notification system can also encourage proper placement of the pumps in the modified tire rim 600, by providing indications that the tire is properly installed, properly engaged, functional, correctly positioned, that associated pumps are also properly positioned, and so forth. For example, if a user installs a single pump, the alarm or notification system can illuminate an LED indicating (or at) a corresponding position on the tire rim so the user knows where to install a second pump to balance the tire. The tire rim 600 can be modified to include wireless communication to output to a sensor, receiver, remote display, an on-board computer, etc.
The pumping mechanism can include some kind of visual indication, such as a sticker (such as a state inspection sticker), different color or color pattern, notches, a light, etc., to indicate readily and easily that automatic gravity-driven pumps are included on this rim, or that the rim is capable of receiving and operating with such pumps. The indications can be more detailed visual markings as well, such as text, symbols, or other markings on the tire. The indications can include non-visual components, such as a different texture or material, a vibration generating motor, an audible alert, NFC or RFID tags that electronically and wirelessly confirm the presence of gravity-driven pumps, or that confirm that the tire is capable of receiving and operating with such pumps. These notifications can, where capable, further provide an indication that the pump is functional, such as illuminating a green LED to indicate proper operation, and illuminating a red LED to indicate a failure of some kind. Different blinking patterns can communicate different states of functionality or detected problems. An NFC or RFID tag can communicate additional status or diagnostic information for a pump which can be displayed on a mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone. Further, the rim and/or the pump mechanism can include markings, notches, bumps, etc. that confirm or guide proper pump mechanism placement, alignment, and/or orientation. Such guides can help reduce the potential to damage the pump or the rim during mounting or repairing procedures.
The rim 600 can be modified to receive a “replacement” pumping mechanism, such as if one pump is damaged or not functioning properly. The pumping mechanism can be popped out, either manually or with a general-purpose tool or a specific tool for removing pumps. Then a user can replace the removed pump with a new pump. The pumping mechanism can be internally mounted, or on the outside of the rim facing into the interior of a tire. The pumping mechanism can be externally mounted, or on the inside of the rim facing toward a center of the rim. The pumping mechanisms can be mounted onto the rim at multiple locations which may be different from the locations of any stems for manual inflation. The stem and/or pumping mechanism can exhaust pumped air according to a variable target pressure based on load, as indicated by data from a tire sidewall deformation sensor. A stem and/or valve, such as Schrader valve, and can draw air in and exhaust air out above a target pressure.
In one variation, the control unit can determine that only a small amount of pumping is needed, such as the amount provided by a single pump. But in order to maintain the harmonic balancing due to the moving masses in the pumps, the control unit can activate the set of pumps of the same type, while enabling one pump to pump air into the tire while the remaining pumps simply pump air back into the atmosphere. In this way, the movement of the masses in the pumps offset each other for harmonic balancing, but only one pump is ‘working’. In case of pump removal, a specially shaped plug can be inserted into the hole from which the pump was removed to cover the holes and protect the tire, rim, and the hole.
The pump mechanisms can incorporate electronic components to read and transmit wirelessly various data including tire pressure, tire temperature, internal and external air temperature, humidity, side wall deformation, estimated load as a function of pressure and side wall deformation, pH reading as indicator of oxidation (rusting) inside the tire, air quality sensors, barometric pressure, an amount of electricity generated, an amount of air pumped into the tire, and so forth.
In one embodiment for a semi truck, as the semi-truck pulls in to a weigh station, devices or sensors embedded or placed in positions throughout a parking zone can communicate with the individual pumps in the tires and provide a report to an inspector. The report can show, for example, green check marks for tires and pumps functioning properly, and red X's or yellow exclamation marks for tires or pumps that need inspection. The report can provide access for a user to drill down to more detailed information. For example, a user can examine the report to view a history of pump operation, and a chart showing the tire pressure over time to verify that the pump is maintaining the tire pressure within a desired range. This can save significant time and cost at inspections. Such sensors can be placed in other locations as well, or the on-board computer 904 can generate such reports and transmit them to the server 906.
The pumps 902 and on-board computer 904 can be integrated with or communicate via the CAN bus or CAN protocol. For example, the pumps 902 and on-board computer 904 can communicate with “wireless inspection stations” for vehicle inspections, such as semi trucks at weigh stations, at vehicle service centers, or at government agencies such as the division of motor vehicles for inspections.
While specific implementations are described herein, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. Other components and configurations may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
A brief description of a basic general purpose system or computing device in
The system bus 1310 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. A basic input/output (BIOS) stored in ROM 1340 or the like, may provide the basic routine that helps to transfer information between elements within the computing device 1300, such as during start-up. The computing device 1300 further includes storage devices 1360 such as a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical disk drive, tape drive or the like. The storage device 1360 can include software modules 1362, 1364, 1366 for controlling the processor 1320. Other hardware or software modules are contemplated. The storage device 1360 is connected to the system bus 1310 by a drive interface. The drives and the associated computer-readable storage media provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computing device 1300. In one aspect, a hardware module that performs a particular function includes the software component stored in a tangible computer-readable storage medium in connection with the necessary hardware components, such as the processor 1320, bus 1310, display 1370, and so forth, to carry out the function. In another aspect, the system can use a processor and computer-readable storage medium to store instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a method or other specific actions. The basic components and appropriate variations are contemplated depending on the type of device, such as whether the device 1300 is a small, handheld computing device, a desktop computer, or a computer server.
Although the exemplary embodiment described herein employs the hard disk 1360, other types of computer-readable media which can store data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random access memories (RAMs) 1350, read only memory (ROM) 1340, a cable or wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. Tangible computer-readable storage media, computer-readable storage devices, or computer-readable memory devices, expressly exclude media such as transitory waves, energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.
To enable user interaction with the computing device 1300, an input device 1390 represents any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An output device 1370 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodal systems enable a user to provide multiple types of input to communicate with the computing device 1300. The communications interface 1380 generally governs and manages the user input and system output. There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic features here may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.
For clarity of explanation, the illustrative system embodiment is presented as including individual functional blocks including functional blocks labeled as a “processor” or processor 1320. The functions these blocks represent may be provided through the use of either shared or dedicated hardware, including, but not limited to, hardware capable of executing software and hardware, such as a processor 1320, that is purpose-built to operate as an equivalent to software executing on a general purpose processor. For example the functions of one or more processors presented in
The logical operations of the various embodiments are implemented as: (1) a sequence of computer implemented steps, operations, or procedures running on a programmable circuit within a general use computer, (2) a sequence of computer implemented steps, operations, or procedures running on a specific-use programmable circuit; and/or (3) interconnected machine modules or program engines within the programmable circuits. The system 1300 shown in
We now turn to details on gravity-based generation of electricity introduced in
In order to more specifically address electricity generation, other changes to the structures disclosed herein may be necessary. For example, additional holes or access portals may be needed in the rim in that current holes may be needed for air access and additional holes may be needed for a generator. The sizes of holes may need to change as well as the position of such holes to make room for generators and/or pumps. A marking may be placed on the rim to indicate the existence of a gravity based device (generator and/or pump). The markings can show where the device is mounted on the rim as well. The rim structure may be modified in order to affix a gravity based device in a similar way as current valve stem holes are standardized. In this new case, a standardized structure can be created within the rim to accommodate gravity based pumps or generators.
Computer-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Computer-executable instructions also include program modules that are executed by computers in stand-alone or network environments. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, objects, and the functions inherent in the design of special-purpose processors, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of the program code means for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps.
Other embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computer system configurations, including personal computers, hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by local and remote processing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links, wireless links, or by a combination thereof) through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. Various modifications and changes may be made to the principles described herein without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Claims
1. A system comprising:
- a tire rim with an outer surface onto which an inflatable tire can be mounted;
- a first hole configured within the tire rim for an inflation stem; and
- at least one second hole configured within the tire rim for a fixedly attached electricity generator configured to generate electricity via rotational motion of the tire rim about an axis that causes gravity to move a generation element of the fixedly attached electricity generator in a first direction at a first rotational position to yield a first generator stroke, and with rotation of the tire rim, causes gravity to move the generation element in a second direction at a second rotational position to yield a second generator stroke, wherein the first generator stroke and the second generator stroke cause electricity to be generated.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
- a mounting area in the tire rim into which the fixedly attached electricity generator can be inserted so the fixedly attached electricity generator is flush with an outer surface of the tire rim.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the fixedly attached electricity generator further comprises a tube containing a semi-viscous fluid with magnetic/ferrite particles distributed within the semi-viscous fluid.
4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a battery that stores generated electricity.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more items which can be powered by the fixedly attached electricity generator, wherein the one or more items comprise: an electrical pneumatic pump, an electronic component for a sensor, a wireless transceiver, and a pump control mechanisms.
6. A method of generating electricity, the method comprising:
- as a tire rim with an outer surface onto which an inflatable tire can be mounted rotates around an axis, causing an element to move due to a change in angular acceleration to yield a movement of the element;
- generating electricity via the movement of the element; and
- communicating the electricity to one of a sensor, an air pump, and a wireless communication device.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the element comprises a semi-viscous fluid.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein generating the electricity is achieved through movement of the semi-viscous fluid in a tube surrounded by a wire mesh sleeve.
9. The method of claim 9, wherein the semi-viscous fluid contains magnetic/ferrite particles.
10. The method of claim 6, further comprising: storing the electricity in a battery.
11. The method of claim 11, further comprising powering one of the sensor, the air pump, and the wireless communication device using the electricity stored in the battery.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 14, 2016
Publication Date: Jan 19, 2017
Inventor: Scott McClellan (Park City, UT)
Application Number: 15/210,736