CLEVELAND, Ohio — Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is showcasing self-inflating tires for large commercial trucks at a European trade show today.
Last year, the tire company received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop tires. And in Europe, governments have given the company grants to develop self-inflating tires for consumer cars and trucks.
“The progress we continue to make with this technology is very encouraging,” Jean-Claude Cain, Goodyear’s chief technology officer, said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to further testing of this concept.” The system could reduce fuel consumption, improve tire life and lower costs for commercial truck fleets, he added.
Goodyear engineers in Akron developed the truck tires. The company has built prototypes in Kansas and plans to ship several to fleet operators next year to gather data on how well the system works.
When Goodyear received the grant last year, it didn’t describe how the tires could inflate themselves. But the company’s patents show a fairly low-tech system that embeds a straw-sized tube along the inside of the tire. As the tire rolls, air droplets can travel inside that tube. A valve can allow that air to flow into the tire if the pressure is too low or out of the tube if the tire pressure is good.
The company confirmed on Wednesday that these patents describe the system the company uses.
The company has not yet announced the cost of the self-inflating system.
