WO2006112574A1

WO2006112574A1 - Spring wheel

Info

Publication number: WO2006112574A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/002765
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sung Wook Cho
Original assignee: S-Wheel Inc.
Priority date: 2005-01-17
Filing date: 2005-08-22
Publication date: 2006-10-26

Abstract

The present invention relates to the spring wheel, which performs itself a function of a suspension system for the current vehicles and transportation equipment, which absorbs an impact transmitted from the roads and rough terrains. Although vehicles and transportation equipment have been much improved and changed till now, the wheel has not been improved and modified a lot except invention and improvement of the raw materials since its invention at ancient times. The tire wheel made of rubber and inflated as the most ideal method, has been invented at modern times, and used for absorbing various impacts transmitted to the equipment body together with a suspension system while the equipment is moving. And also, caterpillar tracks have been invented and widely used to overcome the weakness of the round wheels on the ground with bad conditions (for example, snowy, icy, sandy or muddy). However, some problems and limitations like the complex structure, accidents by puncture, ground conditions and high production & management cost have not been overcome and remained on the round wheels and caterpillar tracks. Therefore, the spring wheel of the present invention has been designed to improve and solve afore-mentioned problems and limitations by using raw materials with high quality, various unique parts and devices applied advanced technologies and theories. The spring wheel has major advantages such as no puncture for the vehicles with pneumatic tires and high impact absorption ability for tracked vehicles without suspension system. The spring wheel of the present invention has a plurality of wheel springs which have proper stress and tensile force and are coupled with a driving axle, a wheel rim and a spring rim to absorb the shock effectively transmitted from the ground. And in order to do the same functions as caterpillar tracks, a spring wheel rim covered with airless rubber tire interacts with springs installed in the spring wheel. Therefore, the contact surface of the spring wheel is increased, and the frictional force becomes higher to absorb the shock sufficiently. Furthermore, the spring structure is installed in the spring wheel more than one row and also, other various structures are composed in order to properly deal with various shocks on the spring wheel itself. Because the elasticity of the spring may be lost due to excessive distortion or bending while the equipment is moving. Therefore, the stop bars are installed in to prevent the spring from distortion and bending over the critical point of its elasticity, so that it makes the equipment move safely.

Description

SPRING WHEEL

Technical Field

[I] The present invention relates to the spring wheels for vehicles and so on, which is assembled by the wheel springs with various shapes and some advantages like superior elasticity and separate stress & tensile force, and it is assembled between a driving axle and a rim.

[2] This spring wheel absorbs a shock transmitted from the various ground conditions, independently or in cooperation with an existing suspension system.

[3] That is, in case of the equipment with a suspension system, the spring wheel provides more superior shock absorption ability, and in case of the equipment without a suspension system, the spring wheel itself absorbs a shock sufficiently while driving.

[4] As shown in Fig. 2, an M-type embodiment having a spring rim with specific rubber makes an equipment moves smoothly and stably on even the exceptional ground because its shape is changed(see Fig. 4) by the weight of an equipment and a frictional force between the wheel and the ground is increased.

[5]

Background Art

[6] The present invention relates to the vehicles and so on, which is assembled by the wheel springs with various shapes and some advantages like superior elasticity and separate stress & tensile force, and it is assembled between a driving axle and a rim.

[7] This spring wheel absorbs a shock transmitted from the various ground conditions, independently or in cooperation with an existing suspension system.

[8] That is, in case of the equipment with a suspension system, the spring wheel provides more superior shock absorption ability, and in case of the equipment without a suspension system, the spring wheel itself absorbs a shock sufficiently while driving.

[9] As shown in Fig. 2, an M-type embodiment having a spring rim with specific rubber makes an equipment moves smoothly and stably on even the exceptional ground because its shape is changed(see Fig. 4) by the weight of an equipment and a frictional force between the wheel and the ground is increased.

[10]

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[I I] All the conventional wheels complemented by suspension systems, air tires, caterpillar tracks and airless tires have been produced, but all of them may have insufficient shock absorption ability. [12] Meanwhile, the caterpillar tracks have been used widely for military tanks and construction equipment etc, but the caterpillar tracks also have some problems such as complex structure, high production & management costs and lack of shock absorption ability etc.

[13] So the present invention has been designed to overcome the demerits of the current caterpillar tracks by the arrangement of several (six through ten) M-type spring wheels as seen in Fig. 2.

[14]

Technical Solution

[15] To apply the spring wheel to the current transportation equipment like automobiles, agricultural equipment, tracked vehicles etc, the spring wheels must be designed and produced considering the structure and the system of the existing equipment. That is, to ensure the stability of the equipment, the characteristics of the equipment mentioned above, such as weight, structure etc, must be considered and analyzed sufficiently, and the optimum values of elasticity (stress, tensile force, restoring force) of the wheel springs and the spring rim must be determined and calculated completely to offset various loads transmitted to the wheels. Furthermore, when the present invention is applied to the equipment, the maximum speed of the equipment must be ensured.

[16] Therefore, the inventor of the present invention has executed various tests with several equipments.

[17] To optimize the charateristics of the present invention needs advanced mechanical engineering technologies and also, various new production machines and devices have to be developed because the present invention cannot be manufactured by the existing manufacturing machines.

[18] In order to accomplish the above goal, the present invention has an inside rim connected with a driving axle, which is designed to attach the various shapes of springs.

[19] And various shapes of leaf springs(S type, C type or O type) and other types of springs are installed in between a driving axle and a rim with rubber.

[20] Therefore, a shock transmitted from the ground can be absorbed by the springs with stress and tensile force.

[21] As well, the present invention, consisting of leaf springs or other springs with high elasticity and superior restoring force, can be applied sufficiently depending on the weight of the transportation equipment like automobiles etc.

[22] The present invention, having springs instead of air to absorb a load and the weight of the equipment, also can be produced to attach the specific air tires or the airless tires. [23] In this case, the spring wheel can perform the shock absorption ability transmitted from the ground remarkably.

[24] Furthermore, if various types of joints or other subsidiary devices are installed in the present invention, shock absorbption ability can be more increased while driving.

[25] Meanwhile, if a rim with a rubber tire is replaced by the wheel springs, the spring wheel can have more diverse functions.

[26] The great advantage of this invention is that the contact surface of the spring wheel and the ground is increased by the weight of the equipment.

[27] To ensure an appropriate contact surface, the elasticity of the spring rim and the wheel spring installed in the inside rim should be thoroughly calculated depending on the weight of the vehicle.

[28] According to the test data conducted by the inventor of the present invention (see graph C of Fig. 21), it has been appreciated that the contact surface between the spring wheel and the ground is narrow by a load of equipment at the initial installation stage of the spring wheel, but it shows a sharp direct proportion slope when a load applying to the equipment excesses a certain point.

[29] An increase of contact surface means the wheel has a large friction force while the equipment is moving.

[30] If the spring wheel of the present invention is installed in the equipment, the equipment moves stably and smoothly even on the roads or the ground with bad conditions (for example, snowy, icy, sandy or muddy etc). Furthermore, if the attachments like the crampons are mounted on the present invention, mobility of the equipment will be better.

[31] Because a specific airless tire is assembled in the present invention, any attachment like the crampons can be assembled or disassembled in with ease.

[32] Meanwhile, the stop bars can be installed in between a driving axle rim and a tire rim in the present invention, so that they can prevent the wheel from absorbing a shock suddenly and also can keep an appropriate elasticity of the springs while the equipment is moving. At this time, the maximum compressed length does not exceed 30% of an initial diameter of the spring wheel by the stop bars.

[33] Therefore, on the basis of the above-illustrated theory, the present invention may be applied to the current wheels for relatively light vehicles (e.g. baby carriages etc) by using PC (Polycarbonate), which is a kind of plastic, or coil springs.

Advantageous Effects

[34] As described above, if the shock absorption wheels of the present invention are fixed to automobiles or other transportation equipment, they can improve a shock absorption ability of the equipment, so it ensure you a smooth and comfortable ride. Furthermore, the specific airless tires are used in the spring wheel, accidents due to a puncture can be reduced remarkably. [35] As well, if the caterpillar tracks, which are widely used in the construction equipment and the military equipment, are replaced by the several M-type spring wheels as shown in Fig. 2, the relevant costs will be reduced remarkably. Particularly, because the M-type spring wheel has a high friction force, it can be widely used in various equipments. In addition, if S-type or C-type spring wheel of Fig. 1 or O-type spring wheel of Fig. 2 is applied to the equipment without a suspension system, it will be able to produce the high performance transportation equipment at low cost. [36]

Brief Description of the Drawings [37] Fig. 1 is side views showing the S-type spring wheel and the C-type spring wheel of the present invention; [38] Fig. 2 is side views showing the O-type spring wheel and the M-type spring wheel of the present invention; [39] Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a difference of the C-type spring wheel of the present invention; when a load is applied to the wheel, the driving axle is moved downwards from the point C to the point L; [40] Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing the contact surface of M-type spring wheel with an airless tire; when the driving axle is moved from the point C to the point L by a load applied to the wheel, the contact surface of the wheel and the ground is increased to a length of G;

[41] Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the spring wheel of the present invention;

[42] Fig. 6 is a view showing the general construction of the spring wheel of the present invention; [43] Fig. 7 is a schematic view showing the operation way of a joint unit and a wheel support member of the spring wheel for absorption of a shock and a large frictional force applied to the wheel; [44] Figs. 8(A) and 8(B) are schematic views showing the operation way of the spring wheel of the present invention; the spring wheel absorbs an uneven shock when one side or a part deviated from the center of the wheel contacts the sloped ground or the obstacles such as stone; [45] Fig. 9 are views showing longitudinal or transverse openings 18 on a rim of the spring wheel; the contact surface get wider by the openings which adjust the elasticity of a rim. [46] Fig. 10 is a schematic view of the installation of the spring wheel; an axle of the spring wheel rotates counterclockwise, so that the equipment moves forward; [47] Fig. 11 is a view showing one of the various shapes of the spring wheel's structure schemes; it can make more friction force between the wheel and the ground; [48] Fig. 12 is a view illustrating the function of the stop bars for C-type spring wheel;

Fig. 12(A) shows a shape of a wheel spring at normal position and Fig. 12(B) shows a shape of a wheel spring when a load is applied to the wheel; [49] Fig. 13 is a view illustrating the function of the stop bars for an O-type spring wheel; [50] Fig. 14 is a view showing the function and shape of T-shape stop bars, which are different from those of Figs. 6 and 7; [51] Figs. 15(A), 15(B) and 15(C) are views showing the stop bars mounted on a driving axle or a wheel support member, unlike the stop bars of Figs. 12, 13 and 14, which are directly mounted on the spring wheel; [52] Figs. 16(A) and 16(B) are views showing a kind of the multi-step stop bars, which is mounted on a driving axle or a wheel support member and is used for the M-type spring wheel in order to adjust the contact surface G between the wheel and the ground; [53] Fig. 17 is views showing the crampons mounted on the airless tire, which are used in bad ground conditions (snowy, icy, sandy or muddy ground);

[54] Fig. 18 is a view showing the wider crampons mounted on the M-type spring wheel;

[55] Fig. 19 is a view showing a spring wheel installed with the coil springs;

[56] Fig. 20 is a view showing a spring wheel made of PC(Polycarbonate) through an injection molding process; [57] Figs. 21(A), 21(B) and 21(C) are graphs showing the variation of distance between a driving axle and the ground depending on a load applied to the spring wheel of the present invention. [58]

[59] <Description of the elements in the drawings>

[60] 1 S-type wheel spring 2 C-type wheel spring 3 wheel rim

[61] 4 tire 5 spring wheel driving axle 6 O-type wheel spring

[62] 7 spring rim 8 airless tire 9 wheel spring

[63] 10 driving axle 11 stop bar(upper) 12 stop bar(lower)

[64] 13 general stop bar 14 crampon mounting member

[65] 15 spring wheel joint unit

[66] 16 A-type wheel support member 17 wheel spring joint pin 18 spring rim(opening)

[67] 19 wheel spring joint bearing 20 wheel spring joint pin

[68] 21 B-type wheel support member 22 wheel locking pin

[69] 23 spring rim compression long bearing

[70] 24 driving axle rubber ring 25 wheel support member side stop bar [71] 26 driving axle side stop bar 27 wheel support member rubber

[72] 28 driving axle side spring stop bar

[73] 29 multi-step stop bar control knob 30 control knob spring

[74] 31 control knob spring rim 32 control knob pin

[75] 33 multi-step stop bar control part rim 34 stop bar control part knob

[76] 35 multi-step stop bar control part 36 adjustment hole (A)

[77] 37 adjustment hole (B) 38 bar shape crampon

[78] 39 tire surface 40 surface of bar shape crampon

[79] 41 round shape crampon 42 wide crampon

[80] 43 PC(polycarbonate) wheel rim 44 coil spring wheel

[81] 45 foam rubber 46 PC driving axle]

[82] 47 PC spring wheel

[83]

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[84] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[85] The present invention relates to the shock absorption wheel using to the current equipment efficiently, which comprises various shapes of high elasticity springs, constructions and lots of attachments such as stop bars, spring joint units, spring rims and crampons. The attachments control and improve the function of constructions efficiently.

[86] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, a plurality of S-type wheel spring 1 or a plurality of C-type wheel spring 2 of Fig. 1 or a plurality of O-type wheel spring 6 of Fig. 2 with high elasticity is installed in between a wheel rim 3 and a spring wheel driving axle 5, as shown in Fig. 5.

[87] The S-type wheel spring is a narrow band-shaped leaf spring. This S-type wheel spring is made by bending twice a leaf spring to a shape of semicircle and its one side is connected with a wheel rim 3 and the other is connected with the spring wheel driving axle 5.

[88] The C-type wheel spring just like the S-type wheel spring is a narrow band-shaped leaf spring. This C-type wheel spring is made by bending once a leaf spring to a shape of semicircle and its one side is connected with a wheel rim 3 and the other is connected with the spring wheel driving axle 5.

[89] The O-type wheel spring 6 appears 'O' shape, which looks like an oval and is made by a narrow band-shaped leaf spring and its major axis is placed on a diametrical direction. One side of O-type wheel spring 6 is connected with a wheel rim 3 and the other is connected with a spring wheel driving axle 5. [90] The S-type wheel springs 1 or the C-type wheel springs 2 are connected with radially between a wheel rim and a spring wheel driving axle.

[91] When a shock is transmitted to the spring wheel from the ground, while the equipment is moving, as shown in Fig. 3, stress and tensile force are applied to the wheel springs 2, so that the center of the spring wheel driving axle 5 is moved from the position C to the position L to absorb a shock.

[92] Thereafter, the spring wheel is restored as shown in Fig. 1 (from the position L to the position C). While the equipment is moving, this operation is done repeatedly depending on the conditions of a road or the ground.

[93] At this time, the wheel rim 3 made of a metal with no elasticity, moves up and down, right and left on the driving axle 5.

[94] To perform this movement of the wheel more smoothly, a spring wheel joint unit 15 is assembled in between a wheel spring 2 and a tire as shown in Fig. 6.

[95] Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 8, two of wheel spring 2 are arranged as one pair (in the width direction of the wheel). The spring wheel joint unit 15 consists of a first joint unit connected with the spring rim 7 and a second joint unit connected with the respective opposite sides of a first joint unit in a way of hinge by a first hinge shaft placed in transverse directions of the equipment. Furthermore, a second joint unit is coupled to a third joint unit in a way of hinge by a second hinge shaft placed in a longitudinal direction of the equipmemt. A third joint unit is coupled to each wheel spring 2 by a locking bolt or the like. As shown in Fig. 8(B), when the equipment moves on a tilted road or passes over the obstacles (gravel or the like), a left side of a wheel spring 2 bends more than a right side of a wheel spring 2.

[96] Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 8(B), a part of the tire 8 moves upwards as pointed by the arrow of the drawing, so that the tire 8 makes an angle against the ground. At this time, the spring wheel joint unit 15 acts to prevent the wheel spring 2 from twisting and offsets finally.

[97] Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 7, when an abrupt shock is transmitted to the spring wheel, the spring wheel joint unit 15 moves left or right, so that the shock can be absorbed. Such operation is conducted in an instant due to the speed of the equipment.

[98] Meanwhile, the stop bars 13 are provided to prevent the wheel spring 2 from excessive bending, so that the elasticity of the wheel spring 2 can be maintained continuously.

[99] If a bending force beyond the limit is applied to a spring, a spring cannot keep its proper elasticity.

[100] The stop bars 13 can be arranged directly on each wheel spring 2, as shown in Figs.

12, 13 and 14, or the stop bar can be made with various shapes as shown in Fig. 15(A), 15(B) and 15(C). [101] Fig. 12 shows that several stop bars 11 and 12 are mounted on a concave surface of a C-type wheel spring 9. As shown in Fig. 12(A), the stop bars 11 and 12 are arranged at an adjacent position to the spring wheel driving axle 5 and at an adjacent position to the wheel rim 3 respectively on the basis of a bending line of a wheel spring. Thus, when the C-type wheel spring 9 is bent by a shock, the end of an upper stop bar 11 and the end of a lower stop bar 12 come in touch with each other.

[102] Fig. 13 shows that several stop bars 11 and 12 are mounted on an inner surface of an O-type wheel spring.

[103] As shown in Fig. 13(A), the stop bars 11 and 12 are arranged at an adjacent position to the spring wheel driving axle 5 and at an adjacent position to the wheel rim 3 respectively on the basis of a bending line of a wheel spring.

[104] Thus, when the O-type wheel spring bends by a shock, the end of an upper stop bar

11 and the end of a lower stop bar 12 come in touch with each other.

[105] Fig. 14 shows that several T shaped-stop bars 11, 12 are mounted on a concave surface of a C-type wheel spring.

[106] As shown in Fig. 14, the stop bars 11 and 12 are arranged symmetrically at an adjacent position to the spring wheel driving axle 5 and at an adjacent position to the wheel rim 3 respectively on the basis of a bending line of a wheel spring.

[107] When the C-type wheel spring bends by an impact, the end of the upper stop bar 11 and the end of the lower stop bar 12 come in touch with each other in a closed cross- section shape.

[108] Fig. 15(A) shows that the wheel support member side stop bar 25 is fixed on each wheel support member 16 mounted on the rim of the wheel. When an impact is applied to the wheel, the end of the wheel support member side stopper 25 comes in contact with the driving axle 5 and the wheel springs stop bending. To mitigate the contact shock of the wheel support member side stop bar 25 and the driving axle 5 by an abrupt bend of the wheel spring 2 due to an excessive shock, the driving axle rubber ring 24 is fixed on the driving axle 5. Fig. 15(B) shows that each driving axle side stop bar 26 is mounted on the driving axle 5 and the wheel support member rubber 27 is fixed on each wheel support member 16, so that an abrupt contact shock is absorbed.

[109] Fig. 15(C) shows that the stop bar 28 with a spring has a function of a shock absorber wheel spring as well as conducting its original function.

[110] Fig. 16 shows a multi-step stop bar. In this stop bar, a control knob pin 32 is inserted in a multi-step stop bar control part rim 33 and a spring is included in a control knob spring rim 31. The control knob pin 32 can be moved back and forth by pulling or releasing a multi-step stop bar control knob 29. As well, a triple thread having a pitch of 2mm is formed on the circumferential inner surface of the multi-step stop bar control part rim 33 and on the multi-step stop bar control part 35 to be tightened a multi-step stop bar control part 35 into the multi-step stop bar control part rim 33, so that the stop bar control part knob 34 is rotated by 360°it moves forward by 6mm. And also, the adjustment holes 36 and 37 are formed on the multi- step stop bar control part 35 to adjust the length of the stopper. At this time, if the multi-step stop bar control part 35 with the adjustment holes 36 and 37 is tightened completely into the multi-step stop bar control part rim 33, the length of the stop bar can be adjusted in four steps. The length of the multi-step stop bar can be adjusted depending on a road or the ground conditions and this stop bar can be mainly used in the M-type spring wheel of Fig. 2 rather than in the S-type and C- type spring wheels of Fig. 1 and the O-type spring wheel of Fig. 2. For example, when the multi-step stop bars are used in the wheel of the construction equipment, the length G of the contact surface of each wheel can be controlled by adjusting the multi-step stop bars to the first or the second step depending on the conditions of the ground. Meanwhile, if the stop bar extends to the maximum length when the equipment moves on a flat road, a friction force between the wheel and a road can be reduced.

[I l l] Fig. 17 shows that the crampons 38 are mounted on the wheel. In a road or the ground with bad conditions (for example, snowy, icy, sandy or muddy), the crampons 38 mounted on the crampon mounting members 14 can make the equipment move stably. In Fig. 17, a bar shape crampon 40 and a round shape crampon 41 are shown. The bar shape crampon 40 has a rectangular shape and is disposed in a width direction of the tire 8 and a plurality of grooves in a shape of sawtooth is formed on its surface in a width direction of the tire. And several round shape crampons 41 are assembled on each crampon mounting member in a width direction of the tire 8 and a plurality of round shaped grooves is formed on its surface.

[112] The present invention does not need an air tire, so that the above-mentioned crampons can be mounted on the wheel with ease. The wheel of Fig. 18 is used on the exceptional terrain and is an M-type wheel as shown in Fig. 2. The wide crampons 42 assembled on each wheel for the special purpose vehicles are manufactured, unlike the general removable crampons of Fig. 17 and the appropriate values of each crampon 42 like width, height and length can be decided depending on the purpose of vehicles. The crampon 42 is made of metal or rubber, (for example, a tracked vehicle)

[113] Fig. 9 illustrates the spring rim 7 of the spring wheel of the present invention. In case of relatively light equipment applied a small load to the wheels or for the purpose of smoother operation of the M-type spring wheel of Fig. 4, a plurality of holes is formed on the spring rim 7 in a longitudinal direction.

[114] As described above, the thickness of the spring rim 7 may become thin due to a small load to the wheels of the light vehicles. However, in this case, some problems may be occurred like durability or stability, so that the technology of the present invention is used for the wheels.

[115] Fig. 10 illustrates the C-type wheel spring of Fig. 1 and the C-type wheel spring must be installed in the wheel at the same direction as shown in Fig. 10. That is, a convex part of the C-type wheel spring 2 is oriented to an opposite direction of rotating direction of the driving axle 5. When the equipment moves forwards, the driving axle 5 rotates counterclockwise designated by the arrow in Fig. 10. At this time, the upper part of the wheel spring 2 moves downwards and the lower part of the wheel spring 2 moves to the left, as designated by the arrows in Fig. 10. If the vehicle starts only on the basis of above theory, the vehicle sinks downwards slightly and moves safely. However, if the wheel springs are installed in the wheel reversely, the vehicle will be lifted upwards and move. The above is obtained by actual driving test result by fixing the spring wheels of the present invention to vehicles.

[116] Fig. 11 illustrates a B-type wheel support member 21, which is wider than the A- type wheel support member 16. There are two compression long bearings 23 in either side of the wheel support member 21 and they press a relatively wide area. When the spring rim 7 of the wheel becomes flat by pressure, the wheel locking pin 22 fastened with the crampon mounting member 14 moves up and down. Furthermore, a wheel spring joint bearing 19 and a wheel spring joint pin 20 are provided in the wheel support member to mitigate impact when the vehicle starts or outside impact is applied.

[117] The spring wheel of Fig. 11 is a M-type spring wheel of Fig. 4 and can be applied efficiently to heavy vehicles which require a wide contact surface of the wheel and the ground.

[118] Fig. 19 shows a spring wheel using the coil spring wheels 44. This wheel uses a PC wheel rim 43 and a PC driving axle 46 manufactured by injection-molding method and the coil spring wheel 44 and is mainly used in a relatively light equipment without an engine(for example, a baby carriage).

[119] Each coil spring wheel 44 is manufactured by coupling the opposite ends of two twisted coil springs in a closed loop shape. One side of coil spring wheel 44 is connected with the PC driving axle 46 and the other is connected with the P.C wheel rim 43 and several coil spring wheels 44 are assembled in radial directions. The angle formed by the either end of coil spring wheel 44 is less than 180°, so that the coil spring wheel 44 can be bent smoothly at the coil part. At this time, if the circumferential outer surface of the P.C wheel rim 43 is enclosed by a foam rubber 45, an impact transmitted from the ground can be absorbed.

[120] Fig. 20 shows another shape of the spring wheel with C-type PC spring wheel 47, which has a same function as that of the wheel of Fig. 19. The P.C means poly carbonate, which is a kind of plastic and its elasticity is very well.

[121] Fig. 21 shows the graphs illustrating a pressure variation depending on the distance variation between the driving axle and the ground by a load applied to the spring wheel of the present invention. Almost the same data was obtained, when an elastic wheel spring or a tension wheel spring is tested. In case of the M-type spring wheel of Fig. 4, it can be appreciated that the contact surface between a driving axle and the ground increases sharply in a direct proportion over a certain load on the wheel while a gentle direct proportion is shown to a certain load on the wheel.

[122]

Industrial Applicability

[123] If the shock absorption wheels of the present invention is applied to the vehicles and other transportation equipment, it will be more convenient and comfortable when moving because the shock absorption ability is improved. And also, accidents caused by puncture of the tires may be reduced because airless type tire is used for the spring wheel of the present invention.

[124] And if the caterpillar tracks, which are widely used for construction equipment and military equipment, are replaced by a plurality of M-type spring wheels of Fig. 2, it will be possible to reduce the relevant costs. Particularly, because M-type spring wheels give increased friction, they can be widely used in other various equipments. In addition, if an S-type or a C-type spring wheel of Fig. 1 or an O-type spring wheel of Fig. 2 is applied to the equipments without a suspension system, it will be possible to produce the equipments at lower cost.

Claims

[I] A shock absorption wheel mounted on the equipment and comprising: a wheel rim or a spring rim and a driving axle are coupled with wheel springs with at least more than two different shapes, so that the wheel itself absorbs an impact when the equipment is moving.

[2] The shock absorption wheel according to claim 1, wherein there are various shapes of wheel springs such as S-type, C-type and O-type and so on and respective wheel spring itself has shock absorption ability.

[3] The shock absorption wheel according to claim 1, wherein two or more wheel springs are disposed and assembled in a width direction of the wheel.

[4] The shock absorption wheel according to claim 1, further comprising: stop bars are provided between the spring wheel rim and the spring wheel driving axle, so that stress does not affect the spring wheel any more.

[5] The shock absorption wheel according to claim 1, further comprising: stop bars are mounted on the driving axle or to a wheel support member, so that stress does not affect the spring wheel any more; and coil spring is mounted on the stop bar, so that stress does not affect the spring wheel any more and the function of the spring wheel is improved.

[6] The shock absorption wheel according to claim 5, wherein the stop bar has a plurality of adjustment screws and a plurality of fixed holes, so that a length of the stop bar is adjustable in several steps.

[7] The shock absorption wheel according to claim 1, further comprising: a crampon mounting member is provided between the spring wheel rim and a rubber tire, so that a crampon can be attached at any time.

[8] A friction wheel with springs of M type wheel connected with a wheel spring rim, high frictional force because contact surface becomes wider, so that the wheels can be used for the exceptional ground.

[9] The shock absorption wheel according to claim 3, wherein two wheel springs disposed in a width direction of the wheel are connected with spring wheel joint unit which can move up and down and right and left, so that the spring wheel joint unit prevents spring wheel from excessive distortion and the equipment can be operated smoothly even on the rough terrain or on obstacles.

[10] The friction wheel according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of longitudinal or transverse openings is formed on the spring rim at regular distance, so that the spring rim is flattened widely.

[I I] The friction wheel with a wide contact surface, comprising more than two spring rim compression long bearings. [12] The friction wheel according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising: wider metallic crampons are mounted on the tire of this wheel to improve a frictional force. [13] A shock absorption wheel in which coil springs with same function of the wheel springs are installed. [14] A shock absorption wheel, comprising: P.C(polycarbonate) wheel springs or P.C spring wheel rims in a same shape of the S, C or O type wheel spring of claim 2, which is manufactured by injection molding process.