Resilient tires and wheels – Spring wheels – Deformable ground engaging part
Patent
1993-01-05
1994-10-11
Stormer, Russell D.
Resilient tires and wheels
Spring wheels
Deformable ground engaging part
152 5, B60C 710
Patent
active
053538536
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a non-pneumatic supporting wheel of the kind comprising a central part and a wheel-rim, which is carried by said central part and which has an outer wheel-rim part, which is intended to roll on an underlying surface, and an inner wheel-rim part, located radially inwards of said outer wheel-rim part, wherein at least the inner of the two wheel-rim parts is constructed from a plurality of curved elongated elements which consist of a resilient material and which are mutually separated in the circumferential direction of the wheel, and wherein each of said elongated elements, when seen in a section taken diametrically through the wheel, present parts which are curved in opposite directions, and which elements, for the purpose of taking-up forces which, when the wheel is subjected to load, act substantially radially between center of the wheel and the region thereof in contact with the underlying surface, are elastically yielding in the radial direction of said wheel during increased bending of said elements.
In the case of known non-pneumatic support wheels, see for instance U.S. patent application No. 2,436,844 and 4,350,196 and WO 87/05268, the outer wheel-rim part tends to move to one side upon contact with the underlying surface. This can result in drawbacks in the form of increased wear on the material which comes into contact with the underlying surface, increased stresses on wheel bearings, impaired road holding of a vehicle which is fitted with such non-pneumatic supporting wheels, and, above all, higher internal losses as a result of propagation of the lateral movements of that wheel-rim region in contact with the underlying surface to adjacent regions of the wheel and resultant deformation of said regions.
The object of the present invention is to provide a novel and useful supporting wheel in which the aforesaid drawbacks are at least substantially avoided.
To this end, it is proposed in accordance with the invention that in the case of a supporting wheel of the kind described in the introduction, the bendable elements which are mutually spaced in the circumferential direction of the wheel are so constructed that both the sum of the bending of each small longitudinal section of the elements when said elements are subjected to load in the radial direction of the wheel, and the sum of the product of the bending of each such small section and the distance of this section from the underlying surface when the wheel is subjected to normal load is at least substantially zero. As a result of this arrangement, the supporting wheel will be deformed elastically substantially only in the radial direction when in contact with the underlying surface.
The aforedescribed, inventive construction of the elongated resilient elements can be achieved in many different ways in practice. However, a preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the elements or the parts thereof which form the inner wheel-rim part of said wheel have, when seen in a section taken diametrically through the wheel, essentially the form or a recumbent S with the end of a radially outward convex part being located on one side of the wheel and connected to the central part of said wheel, and the end of a radially inward convex part being connected to the outer wheel-rim part on the opposite side of said wheel.
When the outer wheel-rim part has the form of a circumferentially extending web, it is particularly advantageous to provide the web with radially through-passing holes. These holes, which extend through the outer wheel-rim part, have surprisingly been found to reduce the level of noise that is generated when the supporting wheel rolls against the underlying surface. It has been possible to achieve noise reductions as high as 10 dBA, with a suitable choice of hole size and shape.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic axial-section partial view of an inventive non-pneumatic supporting wheel, with the wheel shown in a load-
REFERENCES:
patent: 4350196 (1982-09-01), Hampshire
HE Hansson Aktiebolag
Stormer Russell D.
LandOfFree
Supporting wheel does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Supporting wheel, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Supporting wheel will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1652814