Tension-based non-pneumatic tire
First Claim
1. A non-pneumatic tire for supporting a load comprising:
- a generally annular inner ring having an axis of rotation;
a deformable generally annular outer ring; and
a flexible interconnected web extending between said inner and outer ring, said interconnected web comprising at least one layer of web elements extending between said inner and outer rings, said web elements extending substantially tangential to said inner ring;
wherein a substantial amount of said load is supported by a plurality of said web elements in tension along a length of the web elements.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A non-pneumatic tire for supporting a load by working in tension comprising a generally annular inner ring, a generally annular outer ring, and an interconnected web having a plurality of web elements and comprising a plurality of generally polygonal openings. Web elements are sized, curved, oriented, and comprised of varying thicknesses of material which facilitates buckling when subjected to a compressive load. By buckling, those elements in a deformed portion of the tire between a wheel and a footprint region where the tire contacts a surface can assume a significantly reduced portion of the load, if any. This causes web elements in other portions of the interconnected web to operate in tension to support the load.
128 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A non-pneumatic tire for supporting a load comprising:
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a generally annular inner ring having an axis of rotation; a deformable generally annular outer ring; and a flexible interconnected web extending between said inner and outer ring, said interconnected web comprising at least one layer of web elements extending between said inner and outer rings, said web elements extending substantially tangential to said inner ring;
wherein a substantial amount of said load is supported by a plurality of said web elements in tension along a length of the web elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A non-pneumatic tire for supporting a load comprising:
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a generally annular inner ring having an axis of rotation; a deformable generally annular outer ring; and a flexible interconnected web comprising at least two adjacent layers of web elements across the width of the cross-section of said tire, said web elements defining a plurality of openings formed by web elements extending substantially tangent to said inner ring, and a substantial amount of said load is supported by a plurality of said web elements in tension along a length of the web elements. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification