Selfinflating tire invention

Posted by M H on September 20, 2022 - 7:44pm Edited 9/20 at 7:44pm

Self-inflating tire technology

An oustanding invention for drivers

From Czech web - published 20th Sept.2022:
Czech inventor František Hrabal of self-inflating tires sued 1.6 billion Czech crowns =
= 65 million dollars from company Goodyear and Rubber. The company appropriated his ideas about self-inflating tires, according to the US court.
Goodyear announced tires with air maintenance control (AMT) technology in 2011. This technology is designed to ensure automatic wheel inflation, so the driver no longer has to worry about checking the pressure in the tires and their correct inflation. In each AMT tire, a miniature pump is to be integrated, which will maintain a pre-selected pressure inside the rubber. Thus, no compressors are needed for blowing.

But for several years the Czech company Coda development has been working on a very similar principle under the name Self Inflating tire. According to the statement of the then head of the company and inventor František Hrabal, Coda did not grant any license to the concern Goodyear.

Self Inflating tire is a tire that automatically inflates itself to a preset pressure while driving. It uses the principle of a peristaltic pump.
"According to the court, the company appropriated five trade secrets of the inventor and his company Coda development," said Jan Martínek, the company's managing director.

A nine-member Ohio jury decided that Goodyear acted with malice. The jury also decided on a fine for Goodyear in the amount of $ 62.1 million in punitive damages and $ 2.8 million in damages. Coda development demanded compensation in the amount of 89 to 246 million dollars.

Self-inflation of tires increases the safety of operation, since the under-inflated tire is more prone to defects. According to the tests, Hrabal's solution is capable of about one and a half kilometers long drive to provide a catch-up of a typical monthly air leak, which varies between 1-3 %.

The legal dispute of the Prague company Coda development with the American tire manufacturer Goodyear lasts for several years. Coda sued Goodyear and its former engineer, Robert Benedict, in 2015.

Coda development has patented Self Inflating tire technology worldwide, including the United States since 2009. Ohio-based Goodyear introduced its air maintenance technology (AMT) in 2012.