Wheel assembly including hollow piston shaft orifice and related methods

A wheel assembly for a vehicle comprising:

• an inner rim to be coupled to the vehicle;
• an outer rim surrounding the inner rim;
• a plurality of gas springs operatively coupled between the inner rim and the outer rim to provide relative movement between the inner rim and the outer rim, each of the plurality of gas springs comprising
• a gas cylinder body, and
• a gas piston comprising a hollow piston shaft and an enlarged piston head coupled thereto, the enlarged piston head being slideably moveable within the gas cylinder body and defining first and second gas cylinder chambers on opposing first and second sides of the enlarged piston head, the enlarged piston head having an orifice therethrough permitting gas flow between the first gas cylinder chamber and the hollow piston shaft;
• a valve carried by the hollow piston shaft to restrict gas flow through the orifice;
• and
• an outer ring coupled to the outer rim and extending radially inwardly to define a mechanical stop with adjacent portions of the inner rim.

A method of making a plurality of gas springs to be coupled between an inner rim and an outer rim of a wheel assembly, the method comprising:

• coupling an enlarged piston head of a gas piston to a hollow piston shaft of the gas piston;
• positioning the gas piston to be slideable within a gas cylinder body to define, via the enlarged piston head, first and second gas cylinder chambers on opposing first and second sides of the enlarged piston head;
• forming an orifice through the enlarged piston head to permit gas flow between the first gas cylinder chamber and the hollow piston shaft;
• and
• coupling a valve carried by the hollow piston shaft to restrict gas flow through the orifice.