US 6,981,535 B1
Elastic wheel
Hirohumi Kikuchi, Kawasaki (Japan); Katsumi Tashiro, Fuchu (Japan); Masanori Murase, Hidaka (Japan); and Keiichiro Mizuno, Tokyo (Japan)
Assigned to Bridgestone Corporation, Tokyo (Japan); and Topy Industries, Limited, Tokyo (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/48,651
PCT Filed Aug. 01, 2000, PCT No. PCT/JP00/05079
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Feb. 04, 2000,
PCT Pub. No. WO01/08904, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 08, 2001.
Claims priority of application No. 11-219166 (JP), filed on Aug. 02, 1999; application No. 11-240911 (JP), filed on Aug. 27, 1999; application No. 11-240913 (JP), filed on Aug. 27, 1999; application No. 11-302806 (JP), filed on Oct. 25, 1999; and application No. 11-079064 (JP), filed on Mar. 21, 2000.
Int. Cl. B60B 9/10 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 152—47 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An elastic wheel comprising:
an outer rim for supporting a tire;
a disk with a base rim positioned radially inward of the outer rim; and
means for defining an annular gap at a radially intermediate position between the outer rim and the base rim;
wherein the entire outer rim is positioned radially further from the base rim than the entire annular gap defining means, and
the annular gap defining means comprises an elasticity-providing device inserted between an outer peripheral surface of the base rim and an inner peripheral surface of the outer rim, the device including two concentrically arranged annular members with different diameters and a single annular elastic rubber body arranged between an outer peripheral surface of the inner annular member and an inner peripheral surface of the outer annular member, and wherein the elastic rubber body, in a cross-section taken along an axle direction of the wheel, has a width that gradually varies from the outer peripheral surface of the base rim toward the inner peripheral surface of the outer rim.