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US 8,006,728 B2Granted
Centrifugal wheel
OwnerGeoffrey McCueinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A centrifugal wheel apparatus for a vehicle having a plurality of pivoting elements attachable to an interior of a vehicle wheel that, when subjected to centripetal force, pivot away from the vehicle wheel and toward a pneumatic tire attached to the vehicle wheel to reshape the pneumatic tire into a dome thereby decreasing surface contact between the vehicle and a surface so that the vehicle may travel with less resistance and increased economy.
Claims20
A vehicle wheel element attachable to a vehicle, the vehicle wheel element comprising:
- a pivot element mounted to a vehicle wheel that is moveable from a retracted configuration to an extended configuration relative to an outer surface of the vehicle wheel;
- and
- a deformable element that changes shape depending on whether the pivot element is in the retracted configuration or the extended configuration,
- wherein the deformable element has an internal surface portion that has (i) a non-deformed configuration when the pivot element is in the retracted configuration and (ii) a domed configuration when the pivot element is in the extended configuration.
1 more element
A vehicle wheel element attachable to a vehicle, the vehicle wheel element comprising:
- a deformation element operable to decrease friction of the vehicle, the deformation element mounted to the vehicle and moveable from a first configuration in which the vehicle is subject to a first degree of friction to a second configuration in which the vehicle is subject to a second degree of friction, and
- a deformable element that changes shape depending on whether the deformation element is in the first configuration or the second configuration,
- wherein,
- the second degree of friction is less than the first degree of friction, and
- the deformable element is biased and assumes a domed configuration when the deformation element is in the second configuration.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.