Wheel Assembly with Reversible Adaptor
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsGopal K. Gorle, Keith Kabrick
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An adaptor for a wheel assembly is disclosed. The adaptor has a reversible design for convenient reconfiguration of the wheel assembly without additional hardware. In one general non-limiting embodiment, the adaptor may include an inner ring and an outer ring fixedly connected to the inner ring. The inner and outer rings may be concentric around an axis. The inner and outer rings may be offset from each other. Methods of using the adaptor to change wheel configurations to accommodate different tire sizes are also disclosed.
Claims20
A wheel adaptor comprising:
- an inner ring;
- and
- an outer ring fixedly connected to the inner ring, the inner and outer rings being concentric around an axis, the inner and outer rings being offset from each other.
A wheel assembly comprising:
- a hub;
- a first wheel;
- and
- a wheel adaptor, the wheel adaptor including an inner ring connected to the hub and an outer ring connected to the first wheel, the inner and outer rings being concentric around an axis, the inner and outer rings being offset from each other.
A method for reconfiguring a wheel assembly including a hub, a wheel, and an adaptor interconnecting the hub and wheel, the method comprising:
- disconnecting the wheel and adaptor;
- disconnecting the adaptor and hub;
- reversing the adaptor;
- reconnecting the adaptor and hub;
- and
- reconnecting the wheel and adaptor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.