Back to results
US 2003/0196737 A1Published application
Wheel with a spring unit
AssigneeTopy Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorYoshiaki Kimura
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeTopy Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorYoshiaki Kimura
Estimating the term…
A wheel with a spring unit includes a rim, a disc and a plurality of spring units. Each spring unit is directed circumferentially and arranged in an annular space between the rim and the disc. Each spring unit includes at least one metal spring. The metal spring may be a coil spring or a leaf spring, and may be prestressed in compression or tension. To restrict the lateral relative movement between the rim and the disc, a pair of stopper ribs are disposed on opposite sides of the spring unit, or an axial movement stopper is disposed at axially outboard end of the wheel.
A wheel with a spring unit comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Backward citations are indexed for grants only.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
Using springs resiliently mounted bicycle rims: in helical form
Using springs resiliently mounted bicycle rims: in leaf form
Of rubber or the like: with means limiting relative lateral movements between hub and remainder of wheel
Cushion and pneumatic combined: metallic spring cushion
Term end not estimated
This application is based on and claims priority from JP 2002-116045 filed on Apr. 18, 2002, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wheel with a spring unit for a vehicle.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and will be more readily appreciated from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a wheel with a spring unit according to Embodiment I of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1;
A wheel with a spring unit according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1-32, wherein FIG. 32 illustrates a scheme of the present invention and FIGS. 1-31 illustrate details thereof.
The wheel with a spring unit includes a rim 10, a disc 20 radially spaced from the rim 10 to form an annular space between the rim 10 and the disc 20, and a plurality of spring units 30 directed circumferentially and arranged in the annular space. The rim 10 includes a rim side rib protruding radially inwardly. The disc 20 includes a disc side rib protruding radially outwardly. Each of the plurality of spring units 30 includes a metal spring 34. Each of the plurality of spring units 30 has a first end engaging the rim side rib and a second, opposite end engaging the disc side rib.
The rim side rib includes either one of a rib 11 formed integrally with the rim 10 and a first member 12 fixed to the rim. The disc side rib includes either one of a rib 21 formed integrally with the disc 20 and a second member 22 fixed to the disc 20. The rim side rib 11, 12 and the disc side rib 21, 22 are engageable with each other in a wheel rotational direction.