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US 5,050,656 AGranted
Non-pneumatic tire wheel
AssigneeThe B. F. Goodrich Company
InventorFanghuai H. Ho
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A non-pneumatic tire wheel having an annular hub with a carcass connected thereto, which carcass has C-shaped sidewalls with a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots that extend into the crown of the carcass. The crown of the tire wheel receives a tread ring to enhance rolling. The hub receives a circumferentially extending shock absorbing element that is curvilinear in cross section with slots extending radially from the hub.
Claims24
A non-pneumatic tire wheel comprising a hub section for receiving an axle;
- said hub section having a central bore with a central axis;
- a yieldable annular carcass extending radially outwardly from said hub section to cooperatively define a toroidal shape therewith;
- said carcass having a pair of axially spaced sidewalls, a pair of axially spaced circumferentially extending shoulders and an annular crown;
- said crown being generally linear in cross section and parallel to said central axis, said crown merges with said shoulders;
- said sidewalls merge with said shoulders and said hub section;
- a tread ring encompassing said crown and integral therewith to define a ground engaging element;
- each of said sidewalls having a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots that extend radially from adjacent said hub section into said annular crown;
- and said slots being spaced to define a plurality of circumferentially spaced beam members that extend radially on both sides of said tire wheel that provide a yielding and resiliency to said tire wheel under load.
5 more elements
A non-pneumatic wheel comprising:
- a hub section for receiving an axle, said axle having a center line about which said wheel can rotate, said hub section having a pair of axially spaced end portions, a resilient annular toroidal wheel body section extending radially and axially outwardly away from said spaced end portions of said hub section, a tread ring encompassing and secured to said wheel body section at its peripheral portion distal from said hub section, said body section having a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots extending radially from closely adjacent said hub section of said wheel body section to within the outer peripheral portion that is encompassed by said tread portion to define a plurality of circumferentially spaced beam members on both sides of said annular toroidal wheel body to provide resiliency to said wheel, and each of said beam members having portions adjacent to said hub section that extend in a direction that has a component that is substantially axially away from a plane that is normal to said center line and bisects said hub section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.