Embodiments of collapsible wheels and methods of making collapsible wheels are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Provided is a tire including rims, beads each mounted so as to surround each of the rims, a side wall that is connected to the beads, a sub-tread that is formed on top of the side wall and is formed of a material having elasticity so as to have a changing curvature, and plural tread blocks that are arranged on the sub-tread such that the distances between the tread blocks change in accordance with the change in the curvature of the sub-tread.

Provided is a tire including rims, beads each mounted so as to surround each of the rims, a side wall that is connected to the beads, a sub-tread that is formed on top of the side wall and is formed of a material having elasticity so as to have a changing curvature, and plural tread blocks that are arranged on the sub-tread such that the distances between the tread blocks change in accordance with the change in the curvature of the sub-tread.

Embodiments of collapsible wheels and methods of making collapsible wheels are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Concepts of an omnidirectional pinion wheel are described. In one embodiment, the wheel includes first and second rims each including inner and outer rim surfaces, and an annular ring of rollers affixed on the outer surface of one of the first and second annular rim. Using an axis of freedom of the rollers, the wheel can move sideways in addition to forward and backward. Further, when used with a vertical rack gear, the wheel can provide vertical displacement by engagement between teeth of the gear and the pinion ring. Additionally, various racks and tracks with teeth for pinion ring engagement are described along with an example vehicle capable of vertical displacement using the wheels.

Concepts of an omnidirectional pinion wheel are described. In one embodiment, the wheel includes first and second rims each including inner and outer rim surfaces, and an annular ring of rollers affixed on the outer surface of one of the first and second annular rim. Using an axis of freedom of the rollers, the wheel can move sideways in addition to forward and backward. Further, when used with a vertical rack gear, the wheel can provide vertical displacement by engagement between teeth of the gear and the pinion ring. Additionally, various racks and tracks with teeth for pinion ring engagement are described along with an example vehicle capable of vertical displacement using the wheels.

Embodiments of collapsible wheels and methods of making collapsible wheels are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

A drive unit for a vehicle includes a drive unit spindle. The drive unit spindle extends along an axis for connecting the drive unit to the vehicle. The drive unit further includes one or more wheel assemblies. Each of the wheel assemblies has a hub that is removably supported by the spindle along the axis. At least one of the wheel assemblies includes a wheel which rotates about the hub and a motor connected to the wheel to rotate the wheel about the hub.

A bicycle and board apparatus comprising a buoyant board, a front wheel, a rear wheel and a steering member, and being mountable and usable in a first configuration as a bicycle in which the buoyant board is the bicycle's frame and in a second configuration as a surfboard by changing the orientation of the front wheel, the rear wheel or the steering member with respect to the buoyant board.

An embodiment is developed for a cylindrically shaped, elliptical rolling robot that has the ability to morph its outer surface as it rolls. The morphing actuation alters lengths of the major and minor axes, resulting in a torque imbalance that rolls the robot along faster or brakes its motion. A control scheme is implemented, whereby angular position and horizontal velocity are used as feedback to trigger and define morphing actuation. A goal of the control scheme is to cause the robot to follow a given velocity profile comprised of steps and ramps. Equations of motion for the rolling robot are formulated, which include rolling resistance torque caused by deformation of the outer surface tread. A computer program solves the equations of motion, and resulting plots show that by automatically morphing its shape in a periodic fashion, the rolling robot is able to commence from an initial position, achieve constant average velocity and slow itself.