US 8,827,375 B2 · Wheel, and friction drive device and omni-directional vehicle using the same

Abstract

In a wheel for use in an omni-directional vehicle, gravel and other foreign matters are prevented from being trapped between free rollers forming the wheel, and traveling vibrations and noises are minimized at the same time. The wheel includes an annular member and a plurality of free rollers each rotatably supported by the annular member around a corresponding tangential line of the annular member, and a gap member is placed between each adjacent pair of the free rollers to fill a gap defined between the free rollers.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A wheel including an annular member and a plurality of free rollers each rotatably supported by the annular member around a corresponding tangential line of the annular member,

wherein a gap member is placed between an adjacent pair of the free rollers to fill a gap defined between the free rollers, and
wherein the gap member includes an annular mount member fitted onto the annular member and a plurality of vane members extending radially from the annular mount member, the vane members being arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the annular mount member in a circumferential direction of the annular mount member.

A wheel including an annular member and a plurality of free rollers each rotatably supported by the annular member around a corresponding tangential line of the annular member,

wherein a gap member is placed between an adjacent pair of the free rollers to fill a gap defined between the free rollers, and
wherein a plurality of flanged inner sleeves are fitted on the annular member in a rotationally fast manner so that a radial flange provided on each flanged inner sleeve is interposed between an adjacent pair of free rollers, each gap member being mounted on the corresponding radial flange, and
wherein each free roller is rotatably fitted on an outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical main part of a corresponding flanged inner sleeve.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

13/132,681Filed 1 Dec 2009

Priority

JP 2008-3112685 Dec 2008

Published

US 2011/0233989 A129 Sep 2011

Granted

9 Sep 2014

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

B62M 6/70
Rider propelled cycles with auxiliary electric motor: power-driven at single endless flexible member, e.g. chain, between cycle crankshaft and…
B60B 19/003
Wheels not otherwise provided for or having characteristics specified in one of the subgroups of this group: multidirectional wheels
B60B 19/125
Roller-type wheels: with helical projections on radial outer surface translating rotation of wheel into movement along the direction of the wheel axle
B62K 1/00
Unicycles

Wheel, and friction drive device and omni-directional vehicle using the same

Life of this patent

Wheel, and friction drive device and omni-directional vehicle using the same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims8