Orbital Wheel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Orbital wheel was designed in 1990 by Dominique Mottas of the French Osmos company in an attempt to reduce the number of moving parts by removing the center shaft and hub of the wheel and relying upon a circular rim inserted inside the wheel to support it instead. The orbital wheel was created by using two circular bearings inserted inside of each other. The inner bearing providing steering, support, and attachment to the frame. The outer bearing consists of a tire with a brake ring also fixed in. Some of the advantages seen by this design are more accurate steering, less weight, and enhanced braking (the brake is closer to the ground where the most forces act upon the wheel).