Energy efficient wheel system
OwnerBrian A. Russellinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle wheel assembly and a method of making the wheel assembly. In one embodiment, a wheel assembly may include a rim, a hoop member, and a resilient member. The hoop member may be disposed around the rim and spaced apart from the rim. The resilient member may be disposed around the hoop member, and portions of the resilient member may protrude through openings in the hoop member toward the rim. A tying member may tie each protruding portion to the rim, and the tying members may remain in tension while the wheel assembly is unloaded. In other embodiments, the wheel assembly may also include a second hoop member, or a traction layer, or both.
Claims23
A wheel assembly, comprising:
- a round rim having a round peripheral portion;
- a round hoop member having a main portion, the hoop member being disposed around the rim and radially spaced apart from the rim, the main portion having a plurality of access openings;
- a resilient member disposed around and in contact with an outside surface of the main portion of the hoop member, portions of the resilient member protruding into or through the access openings in the hoop member and radially toward the rim;
- a plurality of tying members, each tying member connecting one protruding portion to the rim, each tying member being in tension when the wheel assembly is unloaded.
A method of constructing a wheel assembly, the method comprising:
- obtaining a round rim having a round peripheral portion;
- obtaining a round hoop member having a main portion that has a diameter larger than that of the peripheral portion of the rim, the hoop member having a plurality of access openings in the main portion;
- obtaining a resilient member, and disposing the resilient member around and in contact with an outside surface of the main portion of the hoop member;
- obtaining a tying member for each opening in the main portion of the hoop member;
- at each opening in the hoop member main portion, protruding a portion of the resilient member through the opening and radially toward the rim, and connecting the protruded portion to the rim using one of the tying members, each tying member remaining in tension when the wheel assembly is unloaded.
A wheel assembly, comprising:
- first and second round hoop members, wherein the first round hoop member is an inner hoop member and the second round hoop member is an outer hoop member;
- a resilient member disposed between the inner and outer hoop members in contact with each of the inner and outer hoop members;
- a rim comprising a round peripheral portion;
- and
- tying members disposed about the periphery of the peripheral portion of the rim;
- wherein the rim is suspended within and radially spaced apart from the inner hoop member, wherein the tying members connect the peripheral portion of the rim to the resilient member through access openings in the inner hoop member, and wherein the rim is suspended by the tying members.
A wheel assembly, comprising:
- a generally cylindrical hoop member comprising a plurality of openings;
- a resilient membrane disposed around the generally cylindrical hoop member, portions of the resilient membrane protruding into or through the openings in the generally cylindrical hoop member;
- a plurality of tying members, one tying member pulling each protruding portion of the resilient membrane into or through one of the openings in the generally cylindrical hoop member;
- and
- a central hub suspended by the tying members within the generally cylindrical hoop member, each tying member being in tension when the wheel assembly is unloaded.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.