Wheel assembly including spaced apart tread members having stacked rubber and reinforcing layers and related methods
AssigneeGacw Incorporated
InventorZoltan Kemeny
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheel assembly may include an inner rim to be coupled to the hub of the vehicle, and an outer rim surrounding the hub. The wheel assembly may also include gas springs operatively coupled between the inner rim and the outer rim to provide a gas suspension permitting relative movement between the inner rim and the outer rim. The wheel assembly may also include tread assemblies carried by the outer rim. Each tread assembly may include a tread member support coupled to the outer rim, and spaced-apart tread members carried by the tread member support and defining a tread pattern therebetween. Each tread member may include at least one rubber layer, and at least one reinforcing layer in stacked relation.
Claims21
A wheel assembly to be coupled to a hub of a vehicle, the wheel assembly comprising:
- an inner rim to be coupled to the hub of the vehicle;
- an outer rim surrounding the hub;
- a plurality of gas springs operatively coupled between said inner rim and said outer rim to provide a gas suspension permitting relative movement between said inner rim and said outer rim;
- and
- a plurality of tread assemblies carried by said outer rim and each comprising
- a tread member support coupled to the outer rim, and
- a plurality of spaced-apart tread members carried by said tread member support and defining a tread pattern therebetween, each tread member comprising at least one rubber layer and at least one reinforcing layer in stacked relation.
A wheel assembly to be coupled to a hub of a vehicle, the wheel assembly comprising:
- an inner rim to be coupled to the hub of the vehicle;
- an outer rim surrounding the hub;
- a plurality of gas springs operatively coupled between said inner rim and said outer rim to provide a gas suspension permitting relative movement between said inner rim and said outer rim;
- and
- a plurality of tread assemblies carried by said outer rim and each comprising
- a tread member support coupled to the outer rim, and
- a plurality of spaced-apart tread members carried by said tread member support and defining a tread pattern therebetween, each tread member comprising a plurality of alternating rubber and reinforcing layers in stacked relation, each rubber layer having progressively smaller areas extending radially outwardly from said tread member support.
A method of making a wheel assembly comprising:
- operatively coupling a plurality of gas springs between an inner rim to be coupled to a hub of a vehicle and an outer rim surrounding the hub to provide a gas suspension permitting relative movement between the inner rim and the outer rim;
- and
- positioning a plurality of tread assemblies to be carried by the outer rim, each tread assembly comprising a tread member support coupled to the outer rim, a plurality of spaced-apart tread members carried by the tread member support and defining a tread pattern therebetween, and each tread member comprising at least one rubber layer and at least one reinforcing layer in stacked relation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.