WHEEL FOR AMPHIBIAN VEHICLES

Description

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wheel for amphibious vehicles (single- or multi-wheeled amphibious bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, etc.) according to the preamble of patent claim 1. State of the art

[0002] Wheels for amphibious vehicles are already known from the prior art. These consist of a rim and a tire contact area for driving on a solid surface. For example, DE 28 56 157 A1 discloses a wheel with a float designed to hold air and / or gas, which can be moved from a neutral position to a floating position as needed. This uses an airtight float that folds when the gas is released and is converted into a rollable shape when filled with gas. These floats are attached to the front and rear wheels of the amphibious vehicle with fixed brackets.

[0003] The biggest disadvantage of such a bicycle or amphibious vehicle is likely to be that, due to the vehicle's excessive width, it is unlikely to be practical. Transporting a bicycle of such dimensions would already prove difficult. The design would also severely impair handling on land.

[0004] From KR 2014 0008206 A, a bicycle for playing in water is known. It comprises a wheel with a rim and a tire contact area for traveling on a solid surface. A floating body designed to hold air and / or gas is provided on the wheel and can be moved from a neutral position to a floating position as needed. KR 2014 0008206 A discloses a bicycle according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0005] From DE 28 56 157 A1 an amphibious bicycle is known which comprises a water travel float device consisting of floats, each of which has an airtight bag which can be folded smaller when the gas is released and can be made into a rollable shape when gas-filled, as well as of holding frames, each of which - receiving an airtight bag filled with gas - can be arranged freely rotatably on the ends of the front and rear axles in order to carry the bicycle. Description of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages and to provide a wheel for an amphibious vehicle which, on the one hand, enables almost seamless use from land travel to water and vice versa and, on the other hand, can be used without impairment when traveling on land.

[0007] According to the invention, the above object is achieved according to the preamble of claim 1 in conjunction with the characterizing features. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the wheel according to the invention for an amphibious vehicle are specified in the dependent subclaims. Brief description of the drawings

[0008] Further objects, features, advantages and possible applications of the wheel according to the invention for an amphibious vehicle will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the drawings.

[0009] The drawings show Fig. 1 the wheel according to the invention for an amphibious vehicle in an advantageous embodiment in cross section, wherein the pivotable profiles are pivoted in (in contact); Fig. 2 the wheel according to the invention for an amphibious vehicle as in Fig. 1 in cross-section, wherein the pivoting profiles are folded out to form the buoyant cavity by means of the waterproof and flexible and / or elastic material; Fig. 3 two wheels according to the invention on an amphibious vehicle with swivelled profiles in side view; Fig. 4 two wheels according to the invention on an amphibious vehicle with swung-out profiles in side view; Fig. 5 a further embodiment of the present invention, in which a mechanism is triggered in the rim part, preferably at the beginning of the mudguard, which triggers the spreading by means of a bending hinge technology and unlocks it again by means of a snap mechanism; Fig. 6a the embodiment from Fig. 5 in an enlarged view in a Zoom UP position that triggers the spread; Fig. 6b the embodiment from Fig. 5 in an enlarged view in a Zoom CLOSED position, which unlocks the spread again. Implementation of the invention

[0010] As from Fig. 1 As can be seen, the wheel 10a, 10b according to the invention for amphibious vehicles 1 has a rim 100 and a tire contact surface 102 for driving on a solid surface, wherein at least one floating body 101 designed to absorb air and / or gas is provided on the wheel 10a, 10b, which floating body can be brought from a neutral position into a floating position if necessary.

[0011] The present invention is characterized in that the floating body 101 is formed from numerous profiles 1010 which can be pivoted at a defined angle W to the wheel plane E on the circumference of the rim 100 and / or on the circumference of a receiving means 1000 running within the inner circumference of the rim 100, wherein at least one waterproof and flexible and / or elastic material 1012 is arranged on the profiles 1010 and / or connected to the profiles 1010 to form a buoyant cavity 1011.

[0012] As from Fig. 2 As can be seen, when the profiles 1010 are pivoted up, the material 1012 is clamped to form the cavity 1011.

[0013] It is not absolutely necessary for the profiles 1010 themselves to be connected to one another in a watertight manner to form the cavity 1011, but rather that a watertight cavity is created by the material 1012 or materials 1012 connected to the profiles 1010. In a further embodiment of the invention, however, the profiles 1010 themselves can also be connected to one another in a watertight manner.

[0014] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, all profiles 1010 provided on a wheel 10a, 10b are connected to one another in a watertight manner by means of at least one watertight and flexible and / or elastic material 1012 to form a buoyant cavity 1011 on the floating body 101 running around the wheel 10a, 10b.

[0015] The material 1012 may further be connected to the wheel 10a, 10b at least in one further region of the wheel 10a, 10b to form a circumferential, buoyant cavity 1011 on the floating body 101.

[0016] In a further particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the profiles 1010 are arranged and / or formed so as to overlap at least in some areas, wherein the profiles 1010 can also be formed as lamellae and / or blades and / or as elongated profile bodies in a further embodiment. The design of the profiles 1010 as blades allows the wheel 10, 10b to be used simultaneously as a floating and propulsion means.

[0017] As can be seen from the figures, preferably at least one device 1013 is provided by means of which the profiles 1010 can be pivoted from their neutral position into a floating position provided at a defined angle W to the wheel plane E and vice versa.

[0018] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the device 1013 is formed from at least one roller-, ball- or wheel-shaped pressure means 10130, which rests on the inner circumference of the profiles 1010 and by means of which the profiles 1010 can be pivoted by means of pressure from their neutral position into a floating position provided at a defined angle W to the wheel plane E and vice versa.

[0019] Such pressure means 10130 can, for example, be attached to the outer edge of the profiles 1010 in a (preferably profile-free) area. In the present exemplary embodiment, the wheel 10a, 10b is provided, for example, with profiles 1010 that open, e.g., like a hinge, after passing through the bicycle fork or suspension, due to the pressure of a roller-, ball-, or wheel-shaped pressure means 10130 that generates downward pressure and is pressed into the inside of the profiles 1010 (preferably at the edge). A second pressure means 10130 can be arranged for pressing in so that these can contract / fold again to pass through the bicycle fork (or suspension). A final pressure medium 10130 may be provided so that the pressure of the downward pressure generating pressure medium 10130 is not too great and the profiles 1010 do not open too early (in order to have the lowest frictional resistance, the corresponding material with low frictional resistance is installed).

[0020] The roller-, ball- or wheel-shaped pressure means 10130 are preferably arranged on a pivotable lever arm 10131, by means of which the pressure means 10130 can be actuated along the guide track F of the pivotable profiles 1010.

[0021] Theoretically, other methods such as the air chamber method could also be used, such as a double-compartment hinge row with, for example, two downward-loading rollers. The outer row of compartment hinges provides stabilization and propulsion with the cove strips, and an inner compartment hinge strip prevents sinking (thus providing buoyancy). However, this is unnecessary here due to the air chamber method. The current description uses the methodology with an airtight, fold-out (rubber) chamber.

[0022] The lever arm 10131 is preferably hydraulic and / or telescopic.

[0023] The device 1013 may comprise electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, chemical and / or magnetic means by means of which the profiles 1010 can be pivoted from their neutral position into a floating position provided at a defined angle W to the wheel plane E and vice versa.

[0024] The floating bodies 101 preferably comprise air / gas inlets and / or air / gas outlets as well as means for filling the buoyant cavity 1011, by means of which the buoyant cavity 1011 can be filled with air and / or gas.

[0025] The volume of the floating bodies 101 or the buoyant cavities 1011 on the wheel 10a, 10b is preferably variably adjustable.

[0026] In addition, a control can be provided by means of which the pivoting process can be initiated and / or the volume of the floating bodies 101 or the buoyant cavities 1011 on the wheel 10a, 10b can be variably adjusted.

[0027] While the front wheel 10a of an amphibious vehicle usually only has a buoyancy function (+ steering function if necessary), the rear wheel 10b can be used / overstretched primarily for propulsion and stabilization.

[0028] The wheels 10a, 10b of an amphibious vehicle with at least two wheels 10a, 10b are preferably designed to provide buoyancy for one person (a larger wheel size may need to be selected to ensure sufficient buoyancy and stabilization for heavy persons). The wheel 10a, 10b is therefore designed to be as large as possible, but not unnecessarily large, to provide the necessary volume.

[0029] The spoke area of ​​the wheel 10a, 10b can preferably be designed as an emergency volume that is sufficient to prevent it from sinking completely when no pedals are being pressed.

[0030] For the rear wheel 10b, which can have a stabilizing and driving effect, aluminum rails are advantageously processed, which are designed as a preferably semi-hollow profile and create a water wheel drive effect, thus driving the rear wheel 10b.

[0031] Fig. 5 a further embodiment of the present invention, in which a mechanism is triggered in a rim part 100, preferably at the beginning of the mudguard 105, which triggers the spreading by means of a bending hinge technology and unlocks it again by means of a snap mechanism.

[0032] In this modification / version improvement, the profiles 1010 (slats and / or blades) for opening and closing are preferably activated from a mechanism within the rim 100, which is triggered by a cable pull, hydraulics or otherwise by means of at least one OPEN switch 103.

[0033] The UP switch 103 (preferably a gear lever or other mechanical and / or electrical switching element), which can advantageously be attached to or in the area of ​​the steering wheel, activates an UP pressure roller 103b, which is preferably attached to the (more massive in each case) front mudguard and presses towards the rim (like a brake lever) and thus narrows the path to the rim so that the UP locking / release lever 1030 is pressed downwards and thus the locking is released (at the same time the head of the UP locking / release lever 1030 disappears into the slot, as here, so that the UP pressure roller 103b can continue to run.The locking rocker 1035, thus released under continuous pressure, then clears the way for exposure to the pressure of the compression springs 1032, and thus the profile-hinge combination 1036 springs upward (latterly limited and guided by the sliding rollers 1033 and enabled by the spreading of the hinges 1034) and forms a continuous slat plane. This process was made possible not only by the released locking rocker but also by the pressure medium (e.g., roller) 10130, which was then retracted by the compression-roller return spring 1031.

[0034] Closing mechanism: A CLOSE switch 104 (preferably a gearshift lever or other mechanical and / or electrical switching element), which can also preferably be attached to the steering wheel, activates a CLOSE pressure roller 104b, which is attached to the (more massive) rear mudguard, presses towards the rim 100 (like a brake lever - hydraulically via cable or otherwise), and thus narrows the path to the rim so that the CLOSE lever 1040 is pressed downwards and disappears into the slot so that the OPEN pressure roller 104b can continue to run. The pressure medium 10130 is pushed onto the profile platform 1038 by the press-in roller carriage 1041, whereby the profile hinge combination 1036 is pressed downwards again (and the slats close again at the same time) until the locking rocker 1035 engages again. List of reference numbers

[0035] 10a(Front) wheel 10b(Rear) wheel 100Rim 101Float 102Tire contact patch 103OPEN switch 104CLOSE switch 103bOPEN pressure roller 104bCLOSE pressure roller 1000Holder 1010Profiles 1011Cavity 1012Material 1013Device 1030OPEN locking / releasing lever 1031Pressure roller return spring 1032Continuous pressure springs (adjustable) and locking pin 1033Sliding rollers 1034Hinges 1035Locking rocker 1036Profile hinge combination 1038Profile platform 1040Close lever 1041 Push-in roller carriage 10130 Pressure medium 10130'Pressure medium for pivoting / opening the profiles 10130"Pressure medium for pivoting / closing the profiles 10131Lever arm 10132Operating part for lever arm ERodel plane FGuideway WAngle

Claims

1. Wheel (10a, 10b) for amphibious vehicles (1), which has a rim (100) and a tyre contact surface (102) for driving on a solid surface, at least one floating body (101) being provided on the wheel (10a, 10b), which floating body is designed to receive air and / or gas and can be brought from a neutral position into a floating position as required, characterised in that the floating body (101) is formed from numerous profiles (1010) pivotable at a defined angle (W) to the wheel plane (E) on the circumference of the rim (100) and / or on the circumference of a receiving means (1000) extending within the inner circumference of the rim (100), at least one watertight and flexible and / or elastic material (1012) being arranged on the profiles (1010) and / or connected to the profiles (1010) to form a buoyant cavity (1011).

2. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to claim 1, characterised in that the profiles (1010) are arranged and / or formed to overlap at least in certain areas.

3. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that at least one device (1013) is provided by means of which the profiles (1010) can be pivoted from their neutral position into a floating position provided at a defined angle (W) to the wheel plane (E) and vice versa.

4. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to claim 3, characterised in that the device (1013) is formed from at least one roller-, ball- or wheel-shaped pressure means (10130) which bears against the inner circumference of the profiles (1010) and by means of which the profiles (1010) can be pivoted by means of pressure from their neutral position into a floating position provided at a defined angle (W) to the wheel plane (E) and vice versa.

5. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to claim 4, characterised in that the roller-, ball- or wheel-shaped pressure means (10130) are arranged on a pivotable lever arm (10131), by means of which the pressure means (10130) can be actuated along the guide path (F) of the pivotable profiles (1010).

6. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to claim 5, characterised in that the lever arm (10131) is hydraulic and / or telescopic.

7. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to claim 3, characterised in that the device (1013) comprises electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, chemical and / or magnetic means by means of which the profiles (1010) can be pivoted from their neutral position into a floating position provided at a defined angle (W) to the wheel plane (E) and vice versa.

8. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the floating bodies (101) comprise air / gas inlets and / or air / gas outlets and means for filling the floatable cavity (1011), by means of which the floatable cavity (1011) can be filled with air and / or gas.

9. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that all profiles (1010) provided on a wheel (10a, 10b) for forming a buoyant cavity (1011) running around the wheel (10a, 10b) are connected to one another in a watertight manner on the floating body (101) by means of at least one watertight and flexible and / or elastic material (1012).

10. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the material (1012) is connected to the wheel (10a, 10b) in at least one further region of the wheel (10a, 10b) to form a surrounding, buoyant cavity (1011) on the floating body (101).

11. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the volume of the floats (101) or the buoyant cavities (1011) on the wheel (10a, 10b) can be variably adjusted in each case.

12. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a control system is provided by means of which the pivoting process can be initiated and / or the volume of the floating bodies (101) or the floatable cavities (1011) on the wheel (10a, 10b) can be variably adjusted in each case.

13. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the profiles (1010) are designed as blades, wherein the profiles (1010) contract / fold in to generate a propulsive force and open like a hinge after passing through the bicycle fork.

14. Wheel (10a, 10b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the profiles (1010) are activated for opening and closing from a mechanism within the rim (100), which is triggered by a cable pull, a hydraulic system or in another manner by means of at least one OPEN switch 104b.