A wheel includes a body (10) having a cylindrical outer circumference; a first ring member (21) provided at one side edge of the body (10) in the form of a protruding ring; a second ring member (22) provided at the other side edge of the body (10) in the form of a protruding ring; a rotation ring (30) located between the first ring member (21) and the second ring member (22) and located out of the body (10) and rotatably coupled thereto; a plurality of pivoting plates (40) coupled to the rotation ring (30) to be pivotal outward and configured to protrude out of the rotation ring (30); a connection member (50) located between the plurality of pivoting plates (40) to connect the first ring member (21) and the second ring member (22) and serve as a stopper for limiting a pivoting range of the pivoting plate (40); a first opening (31) formed at the rotation ring (30) along a rotation direction of the rotation ring (30); a second opening (11) formed at the body (10) at a position corresponding to the first opening (31); a stopper bar (60) configured to be pivotal based on a center portion (C) of the body (10) and provided through the first opening (31) and the second opening (11); and a shock absorber (70) coupled to the body (10) to absorb shock when the stopper bar (60) pivots.

A dual plunging constant velocity (CV) drive shaft is provided for communicating rotational forces from a transaxle to a drive wheel of a vehicle. The dual plunging CV drive shaft comprises a drive shaft that transfers torque from the transaxle to the drive wheel. An inboard plunging CV joint is coupled between the transaxle and the drive shaft, and an outboard plunging CV joint is coupled between the drive shaft and the drive wheel. The inboard and outboard plunging CV joints each comprises an elongate housing that receives a CV joint coupled with the drive shaft. The inboard and outboard plunging CV joints communicate rotational forces from the transaxle to the drive wheel during vertical pivoting of a trailing arm coupled with the outboard plunging CV joint. The elongate housings allow the drive shaft to “float” longitudinally, as needed, during extreme pivoting motion of the suspension.

A unit for rapid deployment and retraction of chain traction systems for vehicles includes a pneumatic cylinder having a cylindrical chamber enclosing a piston that is pneumatically-movable bidirectionally. A control rod coupled at one end to the piston passes through an end of the chamber and is coupled to a rack linearly movable within a sealed, grease-containing case. The rack is formed from a series of equally-spaced roller pins secured between parallel walls of a rack frame. The roller pins of the rack engage a sprocket affixed to a rotatable shaft to which is rigidly coupled an actuator arm of the rapidly-deployable vehicle ice and snow chain traction system. As the rack is moved back and forth, the actuator arm swings through an arc that—depending on the displacement of the control rod and the length of the rack, can be greater than 180 degrees.

A wheel with a tire bead area, in which a tire bead sits, and an aero lip which provides structural integrity to the wheel and anchors the part of the wheel that secures and protects a mudcover. Inside of the aero lip is a cover insert that protects the mudcover. The mudcover rests against a cover support ledge, and is bolted with a mudcover bolt into a threaded insert that is held by a cover tab . The mudcover is bolted directly to the wheel, as opposed to the prior art. The mudcover bolt can also be a twist-rivet or nut-rivet combination.

A tire traction and vehicle turning device attaches to a tire of a vehicle to dislodge the vehicle from unfavorable ground conditions, such as snow, ice, or sand. The tire traction and vehicle turning device includes a tire-mounting body, a plurality of gripping treads, and a tie-down. The tire-mounting body attaches to a tire of the vehicle. The plurality of gripping treads provides a separate surface for the vehicle to gain traction due to differing coefficients of friction between the plurality of gripping treads and the grounds surface compared to the tire and the ground surface. The tie-down is positioned through the rim of the wheel to secure the tire-mounting body to the tire. As the tire is rotated, the tire traction and vehicle turning device is positioned between the ground surface and the tire, lifting the vehicle and propelling the vehicle in the direction the rotating tire is pointing.

A dual plunging constant velocity (CV) drive shaft is provided for communicating rotational forces from a transaxle to a drive wheel of a vehicle. The dual plunging CV drive shaft comprises a drive shaft that transfers torque from the transaxle to the drive wheel. An inboard plunging CV joint is coupled between the transaxle and the drive shaft, and an outboard plunging CV joint is coupled between the drive shaft and the drive wheel. The inboard and outboard plunging CV joints each comprises an elongate housing that receives a CV joint coupled with the drive shaft. The inboard and outboard plunging CV joints communicate rotational forces from the transaxle to the drive wheel during vertical pivoting of a trailing arm coupled with the outboard plunging CV joint. The elongate housings allow the drive shaft to “float” longitudinally, as needed, during extreme pivoting motion of the suspension.

A universal rotating module is provided. The universal rotating module comprises a main body including a first portion and two second portions; a main shaft passing through the through groove to pivotally connected to the main body; two bearings sleeved on and pivotally connected to the second portions along the second direction, respectively; two rollers pivotally connected to the second portions along a third direction, respectively; two hemispherical casings fixed to the two bearings, respectively. The first portion includes a through groove extending along a first direction, and the two second portions protrude from opposite sides of the first portion along a second direction, respectively. Each of the hemispherical casing includes a through hole at the top, and a portion of each of the rollers is exposed out of the corresponding through hole.

A caster apparatus is provided. In one embodiment, there is provided a caster apparatus including a caster wheel and a first driving wheel disposed on a first side of the caster wheel. The first driving wheel is configured to be driven by a first motor. A second driving wheel is disposed on a second side opposite to the first side of the caster wheel. The second driving wheel is configured to be driven by a second motor different from the first motor. A first actuator is configured to move the first driving wheel in a vertical direction to a ground according to a curvature of the ground. A second actuator is configured to move the second driving wheel in a vertical direction to the ground according to a curvature of the ground, wherein the first and second driving wheels are configured to steer the caster wheel.

A high temperature-resistant wheel, comprising: an elastic hub assembly (1), which has a thermal insulation layer integrated therewith so as to insulate the elastic hub assembly (1) from exterior high temperatures; and a rigid wheel barbed ring (2), which has the elastic hub assembly (1) fastened inside and rotates together with the elastic hub assembly (1). A robot, which comprises the high temperature-resistant wheel.

A universal traction device for movement over even and uneven supporting surfaces that includes an all-terrain wheel having a circular wheel assembly with a plurality of spoke-containing components arrayed around an outer perimeter wheel edge and control means for extending spokes from the spoke-containing units when encountering an obstacle that the vehicle is to traverse and retracting the spokes when the spokes are no longer required for traversing the obstacle.