Reinventing the Wheel

Very interesting. So you only need enough electr to power pumps and controls while the propulsion occurs from the hydraulics.

Yes - and if you have valves which are timed to the rpm of the wheel and these valves are controlled elect., the P on each foot's hydraulic E source can be decreased on the down side, approaching the axle center (allowing for a greater stroke) and increased as the load passes over center allowing for a greater Release of E.

I am thinking of how pressure is controlled on a car jack.

The most amazing set of wheels I've ever seen, I was shooting sound for a film company as they moved a drilling platform from the construction site to the water.

The platform was on this giant set of wheels. When they powered up the sound was intense. It ground on and on, as we stared at those massive unmoving wheels. After a long time, they started to move. It was so slow, it could almost trick your eye. Sure enough, it finally moved. And that is the best real image I have, for irresistable force meets immovable object. It was awesome, went off without a hitch.

Your dream wheels sound like a good upgrade for Baba Yaga's hut, as I recall it was built on the legs of a chicken, so as to run away when necessary. The Yaga is probably online somewhere, looking for just such an idea.. happy new year.

was it like this?

Not exactly Chris,

But thanks for the ROFLMAO!

This thread started out serious. Really, I promise!!

Shadetree pleads: "This thread started out serious. Really, I promise!!"

seriously.. I too would be interested in seeing a sketch.

and remember that plan for a wheel system for landing on mars that inflates/deflates sections in order to rotate? I can't find an image for it.. but it was a form of non-rimmed wheel too.

Synchro valving and internal bladders could certainly generate at least modest propulsion and low E consumption.

Dem wheels: Do dey go wop wop wop?

I find the idea interesting, where the action of walking and rotary action are compatible, particularly if applied to a wheel chair. I do have such a concept in mind, I have been reluctant to put it forward, but will post concepts and drawings if anyone is interested. I do not know if it will work or if it is practical.

Regards JD.

I think maybe it would be better suited to a gas based system. For one, you can't use the cylinders as shocks if they are hydraulic, due to the incompressibility of fluids. In either case, you will be limited in speed to the expansion and contraction speeds of the driving cylinders based on either gas or fluid flow through the ports/orifices. Therefore, this sort of thing, if hydraulic, would work well for moving heavy loads..

Another idea, based on the above, is to insert this type of wheel into a tread, so you get further load distribution, but still benefit from the hydraulic power.

If I understand the system correctly, the springs would actually be used to discharge the cylinders more rapidly, and not for shock absorption? they would be acting in oppostion to the extension and energy of the cylinders. Therefore, I would recommend fast porting and double acting cylinders, to both speed up the action and to save the energy of compressing the springs to extend the cylinders. Perhaps the springs you mention are not action in conjunction with the cylinders at all, but are part of a separate shock absorption system?

If this is the heavy vehicle I imagine, I think you would use an engine driven PTO and closed loop hydraulics for energy supply. I think that a roller cam system turning on a fixed eccentric cam would be all you need to control the action of the cylinders. Speed control is achieved by the valve system and gears on the transmission that would be connected to the pump. Therefore, braking would be achieved by relieving the operating pressure, and applying a traditional disk or drum brake. Unless you have some dynamic cylinder control system, you could not use the hydraulic 'square wheel' approach to braking.

There could be some interesting variations on the theme however. Once the basic technology is developed, I don't think it would not be long before someone developed the system to be more like a millipede, and eliminate the track. the basics are the same. It is really just multiplying the rotation points, and transforming the complete wheel rotation into a partial rotation with a return.

If you have a ground reading sensor, and proportional control system, you can achieve 'level flight' of the vehicle body, while the extension of the cylinder is adjusted to conform to the uneven ground.

Lastly, steering can be acheived in a large heavy vehicle, if there were no tracks/treads, by having one set of wheels/feet pointing in the x-direction, and another set (not on the same axle) pointing in the y-direction. When the X feet are up, the Y feet are in play, and vice versa. This way you can steer, spin, reverse.. etc to achieve precise positioning.

If you think of the heavy vehicle used to move the space shuttle, it has little maneuverability, and even less abiltity to maintain attitude of the body with respect to the ground. that is why it requires a prepared roadway.

chris

Chris,

This is why I posted this, to get feedback. You are digging deeper than what I remember from my dream, and that's great.

The wheel I saw, however, was like this: The feet were a separate system and were purely reactive. That is, when the weight of the vehicle compressed them they 'cocked' and once the presure started coming off they released.

The rim was set on a non rotating hub with little bogies between the two but was connected to the inboard mounted hydraulic motor via an axle shaft w/CV joints.

When the oil is forced through the valve in the little foot cylinder it compresses the spring in the built in accumulator. It acts as a shock absorber by the size of the orifice the oil is forced through. Once it reaches it's compression point the second (large) valve opens.

Thats about all the detail I can remember at this point. If you recall from my original post the dream was shortened due to the need to empty my bladder.

GA... well researched. Do you have a winter version for those of us in Canada. Its -30 today, before the wind chill.

Talk to the Eskimo. I believe they call them Muk-Luks.

"Do you have a winter version for those of us in Canada."

We do indeed, and they're expensive. But if you're willing to go out on a limb and foot the bill, we'll hand you some of these:

Btw, it's 80 F here in Austin, the backyard is full of songbirds (including a few robins) and the pansies are in full bloom.

"It's -30 today, before the wind chill."

Sorry 'bout the temp, mate! Been there, done that. In Taxachusetts. Decided I'd had enough when I had to chisel ice from my front steps in early June.

thanks.. that will prevent falling on the ice..

actually it was -36C earlier.. but now its warmed up to -28C.. a sunny day.

when I was a kid, we could just wear felt liners (from snow boots) in the winter, because it was so cold, there was no real moisture in the snow... all you really needed was the insulation.. so I think with your rubber tire treads, and some snow boot liners, they would work just fine.

chris.

Yeah GA ur-opium,

I had a couple pairs of those in the 60's. I guess maybe it was a flashback.

Let's see. How did that old song go?

"I got shoes. You got shoes. All God's chillun got shoes, got shoes. All Gods chillun got shoes."