Patent ID: 6170544
Filing Date: 2001-01-09
Classification: B60B

Abstract:
A deformable structure for a vehicle, designed to roll on an axis of rotation, comprising an annular internal element centered on the axis, an annular external element, flexible and appreciably inextensible, forming a tread radially arranged externally relative to said internal element, a plurality of substantially radial spokes between the internal element and the external annular element, each spoke being capable of opposing a substantially constant force under a radial compressive stress beyond a given threshold, said external element having a circumferential length such that said spokes are preloaded in radial compression, and means for stabilizing the relative positions of the internal element and external element, characterized in that said spokes are formed and arranged between the internal and external elements, in such a way that they have a flexibility in a meridian plane well below their flexibility in a circumferential plane oriented in the circumferential direction followed by the external element, and in that said means of stabilization limit the amplitude of a circumferential relative rotation between the internal element and the external element.