"POWER WHEEL".

DESCRIPTION

The present invention concerns a power wheel particularly suited to be used on trucks, cleaning machines and the like. It is known that to move trucks, cleaning machines or self-propelled devices power wheels are often used which are all characterized in that they comprise a wheel body around which there is generally a rubber tread and inside which there are power means for movement.

In particular, to power these wheels a gearmotor is generally used, arranged inside the wheel body through the interposition of rolling bearings.

The driving shaft of the gearmotor is mechanically constrained to the wheel body itself for the transmission of the rotary motion.

The known embodiments of power wheels all pose some acknowledged drawbacks. The first of these drawbacks lies in that the wheel body is quite complex to construct.

In fact, it has a first substantially annular portion around which the tread is applied and inside which the gearmotor is located after the interposition of rolling bearings. There is also a second generally semi-spherical portion projecting from the side of the annular portion, to which the driving shaft is constrained.

The execution of the two portions in a single body makes it necessary to carry out very complex and costly operations.

A further drawback is constituted by the fact that, given the configuration of the wheel body, its connection with the gearmotor is particularly uncomfortable during assembly.

Another drawback is constituted by the fact that also the repair and maintenance of the gearmotor are complex due to the fact that some parts of the latter are difficult to reach. Last but not least, another drawback lies in that the complexity of the wheel body negatively affects the production costs of the power wheel.

The object of the present invention is to overcome all the above-mentioned drawbacks that are typical of the known art.

In particular, it is a first object of the present invention to carry out a power wheel that is simpler to construct than the power wheels of known type.

It is a further object of the invention to carry out a power wheel whose components are easier to assemble.

It is a further object of the invention to carry out a power wheel that is easier to repair and service than the power wheels of known type. Last but not least, another object of the present invention is to carry out a power wheel that is less expensive to construct than the power wheels of known type.

The objects described above have been achieved through the construction of a power wheel in accordance with the contents of the main claim, to which the reader should refer for the sake of brevity.

The successive claims all refer to details of the power wheel that is the subject of the invention.

To advantage, since the cap is removably connected with the wheel body, the construction stage of the latter is particularly simple, since it is substantially constituted by a cylindrical body.

Consequently, to advantage, also the cap is simpler to construct.

This is enhanced, to advantage, by the fact that the cap consists of a central body from which one or more arms project.

Still to advantage, the presence of a covering element makes it possible to cover the cap completely, including the empty spaces present among the various arms.

Since the cap is removable from the wheel body, even the maintenance operations, in addition to the assembly operations of the power wheel, advantageously result considerably simplified. Furthermore, advantageously, also the construction costs of the power wheel of the invention are lower than the costs of the power wheels of known type, since the wheel body and the cap can be carried out in two distinct processing steps and owing to the fact that the cap itself can be made only partially from a particularly resistant material, while the covering element can be made of a poor material.

The aforesaid objects and advantages, and others that will be described in greater detail below, are highlighted in the description of preferred embodiments of the invention, provided here as non-restrictive examples, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein: - Figure 1 shows an exploded axonometric view of the power wheel carried

out according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a partially sectioned view of the power wheel that is the subject of the invention.

The power wheel that is the subject of the invention is represented in Figures 1 and 2, where it is indicated as a whole by 1 and where it is possible to observe that it comprises: power means 2 from which at least one driving shaft 3 projects; at least one wheel body 4 rotatingly coupled to the outside of the power means 2 through the interposition of at least one bearing 5; - means 6 for transmitting the rotary motion from the driving shaft 3 to the wheel body 4.

According to the invention, the transmission means 6 comprise a cap 7 removably positioned between the wheel body 4 and the driving shaft 3 and connected to them. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein, in the cap 7 it is possible to identify a central body 8 that can be connected to the driving shaft 3, and one or more union arms 9 removably associated with the wheel body 4.

In this sense, to advantage, the rotary motion generated by the power means 2 is transferred through the driving shaft 3 and the cap 7 to the wheel body 4 which thus is set rotating.

The power wheel 1 of the invention also comprises a covering element 10 removably associated with the cap 7.

Said covering element 10 comprises a flange 11 with a plurality of shaped sectors 12 branching out to cover the spaces 13 defined by the union arms 9 of the cap 7.

In this case, the assembly of the covering element 10 onto the cap 7 ensures that the power means 2 are completely covered.

In order to enable their mutual mechanical constraint, the covering element 10 and the cap 7 may present, for example, projecting and recessed profiles that can be matched to achieve a removable snap coupling. As regards the power means 2, they comprise at least one motor 15 with a reduction gear 16.

Between the latter and the cap 7 there is a driving disc 17 mechanically associated with the driving shaft 3 and, as already said, connected to the

cap 7.

The power wheel 1 also comprises a rubber tread 20 fitted onto the outside of the wheel body 4 in such a way as to be interposed between the latter and the ground. In practice, the wheel body 4, consisting of a substantially cylindrical hollow element, and the cap 7 are constructed separately.

It is evident that the separate construction of said two parts is much simpler than their construction in a single body.

Furthermore, given the shape of the cap 7 described above, also the latter is much easier to construct compared to the known art.

Successively, the cap 7 is connected to the driving disc 17 that is constrained to the driving shaft 3 of the power means 2.

The cap 7 is successively constrained, generally via screw means, to the wheel body 4. The covering element 10 is then positioned around the cap 7.

It is important to observe that the covering element 10 is not subjected to heavy mechanical stress and therefore can be made of a poor material, which allows the costs of the power wheel 1 to be reduced compared to the costs of equivalent power wheels carried out according to the known art. For the reasons explained above, the power wheel that is the subject of the invention achieves all the set objects.

In particular, it achieves the object to carry out a power wheel that is simpler to construct than the power wheels of known type owing to the fact that the cap and the wheel body are produced separately. This object is achieved also thanks to the special shape of the cap of the power wheel of the invention.

The object to carry out a power wheel whose components are easier to assemble is also achieved.

The invention also achieves the object to carry out a power wheel that is easier to repair and service than the power wheels of known type owing to the fact that the cap can be removed with no need to remove the motor from the inside of the wheel body.

Finally, the object to carry out a power wheel that is less expensive to construct than the power wheels of known type is also achieved. In the construction stage, further construction variants of the power wheel of

the invention may be carried out.

These variants, although not represented and not described herein, must all be considered protected by the present patent, provided that they fall within the scope of the following claims. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference sings have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.