Patent ID: 7100722

Claim:
A wheel assembly comprising: a hub including a first section having a first bore terminating at an end wall to define a motor-receiving chamber, and a second section extending from said end wall in a direction opposite from said first bore and including a second bore concentric with said first bore; a wheel rotatably carried by said second section and rotatable relative to said hub; a speed reducing means carried by said second section and drivingly connected to said wheel; and a DC motor including a cylindrical shell non-rotatably mounted within said first bore and a field coil assembly fixedly carried within said shell, said motor including an armature fixedly carried on a shaft rotatably supported in said second bore for rotation within said field coil assembly, said cylindrical shell having a first, open end adjacent said end wall, wherein said shaft extends through said end wall and is drivingly connected with said speed reducing means to apply motor torque to rotate said wheel.