Tire valve and associated tire pressure sending unit
First Claim
1. A snap-in tire valve comprising:
- a valve body defining a passageway comprising inner and outer portions, said outer portion adapted to receive a valve core;
a resilient element surrounding at least part of the valve body, said resilient element forming an annular sealing surface configured to snap in place into a valve opening in a wheel;
a radio-frequency sending unit positioned nearer the inner portion of the passageway than the outer portion of the passageway;
a load-bearing element coupled between the valve body and the sending unit;
a ledge coupled with the sending unit; and
at least one of said sending unit and said resilient element forming an expansion volume, said expansion volume disposed radially outwardly from the load-bearing element and situated between the ledge and a portion of the resilient element such that the expansion volume is operative to receive a part of the resilient element during insertion of the tire valve into the valve opening of the wheel.
14 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A snap-in tire valve includes a valve body surrounded in part by a resilient element that forms an annular sealing surface configured to snap in place into a valve opening of a wheel. A tire pressure radio-frequency sending unit is mounted to the valve body, and a column extends from the sending unit. The region between the resilient element and the pressure sending unit defines an expansion volume that receives displaced portions of the resilient element during snap-in insertion of the valve body into a wheel opening, thereby facilitating insertion. Preferably the column defines a central passageway to facilitate insertion using standard insertion tools. In one version, two batteries are included in the sending unit, disposed on opposite sides of the column.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A snap-in tire valve comprising:
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a valve body defining a passageway comprising inner and outer portions, said outer portion adapted to receive a valve core; a resilient element surrounding at least part of the valve body, said resilient element forming an annular sealing surface configured to snap in place into a valve opening in a wheel; a radio-frequency sending unit positioned nearer the inner portion of the passageway than the outer portion of the passageway; a load-bearing element coupled between the valve body and the sending unit; a ledge coupled with the sending unit; and at least one of said sending unit and said resilient element forming an expansion volume, said expansion volume disposed radially outwardly from the load-bearing element and situated between the ledge and a portion of the resilient element such that the expansion volume is operative to receive a part of the resilient element during insertion of the tire valve into the valve opening of the wheel.
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2. A snap-in tire valve comprising:
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a valve body defining a passageway comprising inner and outer portions, said outer portion adapted to receive a valve core; a resilient element surrounding at least part of the valve body, said resilient element forming an annular sealing surface configured to snap in place into a valve opening in a wheel; a radio-frequency sending unit positioned nearer the inner portion of the passageway than the outer portion of the passageway; and a column extending through the sending unit, said column comprising an inner end and an outer end, said inner end coupled with the valve body. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A snap-in tire valve comprising:
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a valve body defining a passageway comprising inner and outer portions, said outer portion adapted to receive a valve core; a resilient element surrounding at least part of the valve body, said resilient element forming an annular sealing surface configured to snap in place into a valve opening in a wheel; a radio-frequency sending unit positioned nearer the inner portion of the passageway than the outer portion of the passageway; a tube coupled to the sending unit and releasably connected to the valve body at a connection region, said connection region and said outer portion of the passageway extending on one side of the sealing surface and said sending unit disposed on the other side of the sealing surface; said sending unit and tube being removable from the valve body. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A snap-in tire valve comprising:
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a valve body defining a passageway comprising inner and outer portions; a valve core mounted in the outer portion of the passageway; a resilient element surrounding at least part of the valve body, said resilient element forming an annular sealing surface configured to snap in place into a valve opening in a wheel; a radio-frequency sending unit positioned nearer the inner portion of the passageway than the outer portion of the passageway; said tire valve as a whole, including the valve body, the valve core, the resilient element, and the radio frequency sending unit, having a center of mass positioned on a first side of a plane passing through the annular sealing surface, said valve core also positioned on the first side of the plane.
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16. A tire pressure sending unit adapted for connection to a tire valve comprising an inner end portion, said tire pressure sending unit comprising;
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a housing; a battery and a radio frequency transmitter disposed in the housing, said transmitter powered by the battery and operative to send a radio frequency signal; and a load-bearing element extending from the housing and adapted to secure the housing to a tire valve; said sending unit forming a recessed region around a portion of the load-bearing element, said recessed region extending away from the load-bearing element by a greater distance than the inner end portion of the tire valve such that the recessed region is configured to receive the entire inner end portion of the tire valve. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A tire pressure sending unit comprising:
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a housing; at least two batteries and a radio-frequency transmitter disposed in the housing, said transmitter powered by the batteries and operative to send a radio-frequency signal; a load-bearing element extending from the housing and adapted to secure the housing to a tire valve; said batteries each disposed on a respective side of the load-bearing element, said transmitter comprising a printed circuit board, wherein the load-bearing element passes through the printed circuit board between the batteries. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A snap-in tire valve comprising:
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a valve body defining a passageway comprising inner and outer portions, said outer portion adapted to receive a valve core; a resilient element surrounding at least part of the valve body, said resilient element forming an annular sealing surface configured to snap in place into a valve opening in a wheel; a radio-frequency sending unit positioned nearer the inner portion of the passageway than the outer portion of the passageway; a load-bearing element coupled between the valve body and the sending unit; at least one of said sending unit and said resilient element forming an expansion volume, said expansion volume disposed radially outwardly from the load-bearing element and situated between the sending unit and the resilient element to receive a part of the resilient element during insertion of the tire valve into the valve opening of the wheel; wherein the expansion volume is dimensioned to receive a sufficient volume of the resilient material to facilitate insertion of the valve into the valve opening in the wheel.
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Specification