Wheelchair, wheel for wheelchair, and method of producing wheel for wheelchair

A wheel for a wheelchair comprising:

• an outer ring mounted on an inner periphery of a tire;
• an inner ring which is positioned concentrically inside the outer ring, and fitted on a wheelchair frame;
• a plurality of rolling elements interposed between the outer ring and the inner ring, each rolling element being spaced at intervals in a circumferential direction;
• and
• a plurality of spacers for maintaining said intervals between the rolling elements, wherein
• each spacer is in an elongated shape along a circumferential direction of the outer ring and the inner ring, and each of the spacers and each of the rolling elements are alternatively provided along the circumferential direction;
• and
• wherein each rolling element is spherically-shaped and each spacer is pipe-shaped, and each rolling element is in contact with an opening mouth of a spacer.

A method of manufacturing a wheel for a wheelchair having an outer ring mounted on an inner periphery of a tire, an inner ring which is positioned concentrically inside the outer ring and defining an annular space therebetween, the inner ring being fitted on a wheelchair frame, a plurality of rolling elements interposed between the outer ring and the inner ring, and spacers provided between the rolling elements, respectively, the method comprising the steps of:

• determining a number of the rolling elements adapted to suit a wheelchair user;
• determining a length of each spacer according to the number of rolling elements determined and a circumferential length of the annular space defined between the outer ring and the inner ring;
• and
• disposing the rolling elements and the spacers between the outer ring and the inner ring in a manner that each of the spacers is arranged between adjacent rolling elements.