Model vehicle wheel structure

Claim 2

A wheel structure for model vehicles which makes use of an axle of straight right cylindrical form at the wheel bearing area, said structure comprising a hub having inside and outside faces, means forming a central bearing aperture therein extending through said inside face, an enlarged annular pocket in communication with said aperture having opposite parallel respectively inside and outside walls, A block of synthetic plastic resin material having an axial bore therethrough of diameter providing a snug releasable grip on said axle, said block having an outside diameter less than the inside diameter of said pocket and a length less than the length of said pocket, said block having opposite substantially flat radially extending parallel surfaces, said surfaces being parallel to said inside and outside parallel walls of the pocket, an outer portion of said pocket including structure forming said outside wall overlying and adjacent surface of said block whereby to retain the hub on the axle.

Claim 3

A wheel structure as in claim 1 wherein there is a bearing support between the hub and the axle on opposite sides of said pocket.

Claim 4

A wheel structure as in claim 2 wherein the bearing support between the hub and the axle comprises axially aligned portions of the aperture of the same diameter extending through the material comprising the hub and wherein the axially aligned portions are on opposite sides of the pocket.

Claim 5

A wheel structure as in claim 1 wherein there is brake means on the hub at the side where the axle enters said bearing aperture.

Claim 6

A wheel structure as in claim 1 including a bearing sleeve located between said block and said inside face, said bearing sleeve having a bearing bore there-through surrounding and in bearing engagement with said axle, said bearing bore being in axial alignment with the axial bore in said block, the exterior of said bearing sleeve having a slip fit engagement with the hub adjacent said pocket, and retention means acting between the hub and the bearing sleeve for holding the bearing sleeve and the block in the hub.

Claim 7

A wheel structure for model vehicles which makes use of an axle of straight right cylindrical form at the wheel bearing area, said structure comprising a hub, means forming a central bearing aperture therein, an enlarged annular pocket in communication with said aperture, a block of synthetic plastic resin material having an axial bore therethrough of diameter providing a snug releasable grip on said axle, said block having an outside diameter less than the inside diameter of said pocket and a length less than the length of said pocket, an outer portion of said pocket including structure overlying an adjacent end of said block whereby to retain the hub on the axle said retention means comprising a split collar having a circumferential flange and an annular recess in the hub surrounding said flange and in which said flange is releasably engaged.

Claim 8

A wheel structure for model vehicles which makes use of an axle of straight right cylindrical form at the wheel bearing area, said structure comprising a hub, means forming a central bearing aperture therein, an enlarged annular pocket in communication with said aperture, a block of synthetic plastic resin material having an axial bore therethrough of diameter providing a snug releasable grip on said axle, said block having an outside diameter less than the inside diameter of said pocket and a length less than the length of said pocket, an outer portion of said pocket including structure overlying an adjacent end of said block whereby to retain the hub on the axle said retention means comprising a split collar having a circumferential flange and an annular recess in the hub surrounding said flange and in which said flange is releasably engaged.

Claim 9

A wheel structure for model vehicles which makes use of an axle of straight right cylindrical form at the wheel bearing area, said structure comprising a rotatable wheel hub means having a first bearing aperture therein, an enlarged annular pocket having a bottom adjacent said aperture and an open end opposite thereform, a block of synthetic plastic resin material in the pocket with an axial bore therethrough of diameter providing a snug releasable grip on said axle and a lock washer for the block surrounding the axle and having an engagement with the hub at the open end of the pocket, a brake housing on the hub having an annular cylindrical wall forming a brake chamber at the open end of said pocket and including a friction braking element, and a brake assembly in said chamber comprising a stationary hub for the vehicle having a second bearing aperture in axial alignment with said first bearing aperture, a brake shoe member extending around and in non-rotatable engagement with said hub, a first brake actuating sleeve having a non-rotatable and axially shiftable mounting on said shaft, a second brake actuating sleeve having a rotatable mounting on said shaft and including means for effecting rotation, said brake actuating sleeves having mutually coacting cam means operable when the second sleeve is rotated to shift the first sleeve and said brake shoe member into frictional braking engagement with the friction braking element.

Claim 10

A wheel structure for model vehicles which makes use of an axle of straight right cylindrical form at the wheel bearing area, said structure comprising a rotatable wheel hub means having a first bearing aperture therein, an enlarged annular pocket having a bottom adjacent said aperture and an open end opposite thereform, a block of synthetic plastic resin material in the pocket with an axial bore therethrough of diameter providing a snug releasable grip on said axle and a lock washer for the block surrounding the axle and having an engagement with the hub at the open end of the pocket, a brake housing on the hub having an annular cylindrical wall forming a brake chamber at the open end of said pocket and including a friction braking element, and a brake assembly in said chamber comprising a stationary hub for the vehicle having a second bearing aperture in axial alignment with said first bearing aperture, a brake shoe member extending around and in non-rotatable engagement with said hub, a first brake actuating sleeve having a non-rotatable and axially shiftable mounting on said shaft, a second brake actuating sleeve having a rotatable mounting on said shaft and including means for effecting rotation, said brake actuating sleeves having mutually coacting cam means operable when the second sleeve is rotated to shift the first sleeve and said brake shoe member into frictional braking engagement with the friction braking element.

Claim 11

A wheel structure as in claim 7 wherein said lock washer is a split washer of resilient plastic resin material with a substantially annular groove and wherein there is an annular inwardly facing bead in said pocket releasably receptive of said annular groove.

Claim 12

A wheel structure as in claim 7 wherein said friction braking element is a substantially annular synthetic plastic element in non-rotatable engagement with the brake housing, said synthetic plastic element having an annular face and wherein said brake shoe member is an annular flange on said first brake actuating sleeve.

Claim 13

A wheel structure as in claim 9 wherein said annular synthetic plastic element has a rotatable support on said annular flange of the brake shoe member.

Claim 14

A wheel structure as in claim 7 wherein said friction braking element extends as a cylindrical surface around the interior of said brake housing and said brake shoe member comprises radially extendable shoe elements.

Claim 15

A wheel structure as in claim 11 wherein complementary cam means respectively on said shoe elements and said first brake actuating sleeve act to extend said shoe elements.

Claim 16

A wheel structure as in claim 12 wherein there is a coil spring extending around said shoe elements biased to retract said shoe elements.

Claim 17

A wheel structure as in claim 12 wherein there is a radially extending brake lever on said second brake actuating sleeve and spring means between said lever and said stationary hub biased in a direction to return said lever into brake release position.