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US 5,743,316 AGranted
Dynamic steerable wheel spring
AssigneeAmerican Mobility Systems, Inc.
InventorDennis S. Chrobak
Life of this patent
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AssigneeAmerican Mobility Systems, Inc.
InventorDennis S. Chrobak
Estimating the term…
A dynamic steerable spring for axially mounting for supporting a compressive load as it would experience as a vehicle wheel, the load from such vehicle being distributed being evenly transferred to a spring hub, as a replacement for a conventional pneumatic or non pneumatic tire. The spring is preferably manufactured from a single flat sheet of a spring steel type material that is formed into a circular disk that is cut by identical equally spaced radial slots from the disk circumference to a radial distance from the disk center, that is the spring hub wherethrough radially spaced lug bolt holes are formed, with the disk elements between the slots being identical and each terminating in essentially a rectangular end portion. The flat disk is fitted between opposing male and female dies, or the like, that are moved together to bend the disk into the spring where the elements, spaced at equal distances from the hub and bent outwardly from the hub plane, and are then curved to where the finger portions extend across the hub plane. A pair of springs can be joined at the hubs, with the lug holes aligning and the finger end portions interdigitating to form a dual steerable spring. The single or dual spring can receive one or more non-elastic hoops fitted over and under the fingers, and the spring fingers can receive an elastomeric cap formed therearound, and an elastomeric side can be formed around the elements above the hub to form the wheel.
A dynamic steerable wheel spring comprising, a pair of units each individually formed from a single section of a spring steel material having a uniform thickness with said section of spring steel manufactured to have a flat circular center hub having hole means formed therein for axial mounting, and where, from an outer edge of said hub, identical equidistantly spaced segments extend radially outwardly that are each identically bent outwardly from the plane of said hub at identical points therealong and with said elements each sloping outwardly from said plane of said hub, are bent inwardly at identical points therealong towards the plane of said hub, and each element, at a top portion is bent inwardly at a same radius to form segment ends that are each at an identical distance from, the circumference of and cross at right angles to said hub to form a plurality of equal spaced apart fingers;
A dynamic steerable spring comprising a dynamic steerable wheel spring comprising, a unit formed from a single section of a spring steel material having a uniform thickness with said section of spring steel manufactured to have a flat circular center hub having hole means formed therein for axial mounting, and where, from an outer edge of said hub, identical equidistantly spaced segments extend radially outwardly that are each identically bent outwardly from the plane of said hub at identical points therealong and with said elements each sloping outwardly from said plane of said hub, are bent inwardly at identical points therealong towards the plane of said hub, and each element, at a top portion is bent inwardly at a same radius to form segment ends that are each at an identical distance from the circumference of and cross and are at right angles to said hub to form a plurality of equal spaced apart fingers;
A dynamic steerable wheel spring comprising a dynamic steerable wheel spring comprising a unit formed from a single section of a spring steel material having a uniform thickness with said section of spring steel manufactured to have a flat circular center hub having hole means formed therein for axial mounting, and where, from an outer edge of said hub, identical equidistantly spaced segments extend radially outwardly that are each identically bent outwardly from the plane of said hub at identical points therealong and with said elements each sloping outwardly from said plane of said hub, are bent inwardly at identical points therealong towards the plane of said hub, and each element, at a top portion is bent inwardly at a same radius to form segment ends that are each at an identical distance from the circumference of and cross and are at right angles to said hub to form a plurality of equal spaced apart fingers;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.