Centerless Wheel Ring Gear Bushing Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wheel designs with spokes or central hubs face challenges in accommodating imperfections in circularity, leading to misalignment, increased friction, and reduced efficiency, especially when used in vehicles with varying load conditions and terrain.
Innovation Solution
A centerless wheel assembly featuring a ring gear coupled to a centerless rim, with bushings allowing movement to compensate for circularity imperfections, and a brake rotor integrated into the design to manage rotational forces and heat dissipation, enhancing alignment and reducing friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional wheel designs with spokes or central hubs are used, then structural support and load bearing are achieved, but misalignment and increased friction occur due to imperfections in circularity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the central hub from the wheel design, creating a centerless wheel assembly. This extraction eliminates the primary source of misalignment and friction caused by hub-related imperfections in circularity, allowing the wheel to rotate more freely and efficiently without the constraints of a central support structure
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a rim structure, a ring gear, and bushings. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, with the bushings specifically designed to accommodate circularity imperfections and the ring gear providing drive functionality without requiring a central hub
2Reliability
If bushings are added to allow movement for compensating circularity imperfections, then alignment and friction reduction are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Bushings are introduced as intermediary elements between the rim and the ring gear, serving as mediators that accommodate circularity imperfections. These bushings provide a simple yet effective mechanism for absorbing misalignment without requiring complex adjustment systems or multiple moving parts
Solution Approach 2:
The bushings enable dynamic adjustment and movement to compensate for circularity imperfections during rotation. This dynamic capability allows the wheel assembly to adapt to manufacturing tolerances and operational deformations without requiring complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms
3Power
If a ring gear is coupled to the centerless rim, then rotational drive capability is achieved, but heat generation from friction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ring gear is extracted from the traditional hub-based mounting and directly coupled to the centerless rim. This repositioning distributes the drive interface away from a central concentration point, reducing localized heat generation and improving thermal management of the braking system
Solution Approach 2:
The ring gear serves as a functional copy of traditional hub-based drive mechanisms, providing rotational drive capability while eliminating the need for a central hub. This allows the system to achieve power transmission without the thermal concentration issues associated with hub-mounted gears
4Ease of manufacture
If the wheel design is simplified to reduce weight and cost, then manufacturing ease and weight are improved, but ability to accommodate circularity imperfections worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The design changes the critical parameter from central hub precision to rim and bushing interface tolerance. By shifting the tolerance accommodation to the bushing-rim interface rather than requiring precise hub manufacturing, the system achieves both manufacturing simplicity and reliability in the presence of circularity imperfections
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The centerless wheel assembly improves rotational efficiency, reduces friction, and effectively manages imperfections in circularity, providing stable performance across different load conditions and terrain while maintaining low weight and cost.
Implementation Method 1
reduces friction
Implementation Method 2
heat dissipation
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure may relate to centerless wheel assembly that includes a centerless rim including a first center point laying in a first plane generally defined by the centerless rim. The centerless wheel assembly may also include a centerless ring gear coupled to the centerless rim such that rotation of the centerless ring gear causes a corresponding rotation of the centerless rim. The centerless ring gear may include a second center point laying in a second plane generally defined by the centerless ring gear, and the first plane may be generally parallel to the second plane. Additionally, the centerless ring gear may be shaped to interface with a drive gear that drives the centerless ring gear.