Shock absorbing wheel hub

A safety wheel comprising:

• (a) a rim, a pair of parallel spaced annular tire mounting surfaces formed on the exterior of said rim, and a flange extending substantially in a radial direction between said surfaces, contact surface means formed on the exterior of said flange;
• (b) a mounting flange portion, means on said flange for attachment to the axle to a vehicle, and a plurality of resilient spokes connecting said mounting flange portion to said rim, said resilient spokes elastically flexing in response to axial and lateral forces to absorb shock and stress;
• and
• (c) a flow passage in said rim extending between said mounting surfaces and a socket in said rim, a flow regulator means releasably mounted in said socket for regulating the flow of air through said passage whereby the flow rate may be changed by mounting a different regulator means in said socket.

A vehicle wheel comprising in combination:

• (a) a rim, means on said rim facilitating attachment to the axle, a pair of parallel spaced tire mounting surfaces on the exterior of said rim, and flange means on the rim extending radially from said rim for preventing damage to said tires when deflated by compression of said tires between said rim, flange and said roadway;
• (b) at least two distinct tires on said mounting surfaces with distinct tread surfaces on each of said tires for engaging the road surface, said tread surfaces being inclined with respect to the axis of wheel rotation, the effective radius of the tires being smaller at the outside edge than the inside edge;
• and
• (c) a flow passage in said rim extending between said mounting surfaces and a socket in said rim, a flow regulator means releasably mounted in said socket for regulating the flow of air through said rim whereby the flow rate may be changed by mounting a different regulator means in said socket.

A vehicle wheel comprising in combination:

• (a) a rim, means on said rim facilitating attachment to the axle, a pair of parallel spaced tire mounting surfaces on the exterior of said rim, and flange means on the rim extending radially from said rim for preventing damage to said tires when deflated by compression of said tires between said rim, flange and said roadway;
• (b) two distinct tires on said mounting surfaces, distinct tread surfaces on said tires for engaging the road surface, said tread surface being curved from side to side of said tire, the effective radius of the tire being smaller at the outside edge than the inside edge;
• and
• (c) a flow passage in said rim extending between said mounting surfaces and a socket in said rim, a flow regulator means releasably mounted in said socket for regulating the flow of air through said rim whereby the flow rate may be changed by mounting a different regulator means in said socket.

A safety wheel for use on an axle of a vehicle, comprising:

• (a) a rim having a pair of parallel spaced annular tire mounting surfaces formed on the exterior of said rim, and having a flange extending substantially in a radial direction between said mounting surfaces with contact surface means formed on the exterior of said flange;
• (b) a mounting flange portion having means on said flange portion for attachment to the axle of the vehicle;
• (c) a plurality of resilient steel spokes extending in an outward radial direction from said mounting flange portion;
• (d) a plurality of resilient steel curved portions, one of said steel curved portions extending in an outward radial direction from each of said spokes and curving in a direction normal to the plane defined by said rim;
• (e) a ball means disposed on each of said curved portions;
• (f) a socket means disposed in said rim for receiving said ball means to allow rotation and twisting of said ball means relative to said socket means;
• and
• (g) said steel curved portions having a resilient action to urge said ball means in an outward radial direction to retain said ball means in said socket means, said steel curved portions and said spokes being operable to elastically flex inwardly and outwardly in a radial direction in response to radial forces on said rim to absorb shock and stress, said steel curved portions and said spokes being operable to elastically flex in a lateral direction normal to the plane of the rim, said ball means rotating in said socket means in response to radial and lateral forces on said rim to absorb shock and stress.