Gas-Spring Wheel Assembly With Flange Stops for Run-Flat Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wheel technologies, including pneumatic and non-pneumatic tires, face challenges such as deformation, puncture, and rapid tread wear, especially in large construction or mining vehicles, leading to high replacement costs and downtime.
Innovation Solution
A wheel assembly featuring an inner and outer rim with gas springs providing a gas suspension system, including inboard and outboard flanges, elastomeric bodies, and lateral stops to allow relative movement and limit lateral movement, offering a run-flat capability and easy maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pneumatic tires are used to absorb forces during vehicle operation, then the tire can provide cushioning and comfort, but the tire is susceptible to deformation, puncture, and blowout under excessive forces
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel assembly is divided into separate inner rim and outer rim components connected by gas springs, allowing the system to segment the load-bearing function from the cushioning function. This segmentation enables the rigid rims to provide structural support while the gas springs provide compliant cushioning, eliminating the vulnerability of pneumatic tires to punctures and blowouts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses gas springs (pneumatic elements) to provide the cushioning function previously performed by pneumatic tires. The gas springs contain compressed gas that provides controlled compliance and force absorption without the vulnerability of pneumatic tire structures to punctures and blowouts.
2Reliability
If non-pneumatic wheels with mechanical springs are used to replace pneumatic tires, then the wheel can resist deformation and puncture, but the complexity of the mechanical spring system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical spring systems with simpler pneumatic gas springs. The gas springs provide the necessary mechanical compliance and force absorption through compressed gas, eliminating the need for complex mechanical linkages, pivots, and articulated components while maintaining reliability against deformation and puncture.
3Strength
If a rigid wheel assembly is used to prevent deformation, then structural integrity is maintained, but the wheel cannot absorb forces and experiences rapid tread wear
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel assembly segments the rigid rim structures from the compliant connection elements. The inner rim and outer rim maintain structural integrity through their rigid construction, while the gas springs between them provide the necessary compliance to absorb forces, preventing the tread from experiencing excessive shock loads that cause rapid wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas springs provide beforehand cushioning by being pre-charged with compressed gas, ready to absorb impact forces before they reach the tread. This prior cushioning protects the tread from excessive forces that would otherwise cause rapid wear, while the rigid rims maintain their structural integrity.
4Ease of operation
If pneumatic tires are used to provide cushioning, then comfort and force absorption are improved, but the tires require frequent replacement due to wear, puncture, and blowout
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses durable gas springs filled with inert gas to provide the cushioning function. These gas springs can be refilled and reused indefinitely, eliminating the need for frequent tire replacement while maintaining force absorption and comfort characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows for the recovery and reuse of the gas springs by refilling the compressed gas, rather than discarding the entire wheel assembly when the pneumatic tire wears out. This extends the service life of the wheel system significantly.
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 solution reduces the risk of deformation and puncture, extends the lifespan of the wheel assembly, and allows for field serviceability, minimizing downtime and replacement costs in heavy-duty applications.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of gas springs operatively coupled between the inner rim and the outer rim to provide a gas suspension permitting relative movement between the inner rim and the outer rim
Implementation Method 2
an inboard flange extending radially outward from an inboard side of the inner rim to define an inboard mechanical stop with the outer rim. An outboard flange may be spaced from the inboard flange and extend radially outward from an outboard side of the inner rim to define an outboard mechanical stop with the outer rim
Data Source
AI summary
A wheel assembly to be coupled to a hub of a vehicle may include an inner rim to be coupled to the hub of the vehicle, and an outer rim surrounding the inner rim. The wheel assembly may also include gas springs operatively coupled between the inner rim and the outer rim to provide a gas suspension permitting relative movement between the inner rim and the outer rim. An inboard flange may extend radially outward from an inboard side of the inner rim to define an inboard mechanical stop with the outer rim. An outboard flange may be spaced from the inboard flange and extend radially outward from an outboard side of the inner rim to define an outboard mechanical stop with the outer rim.