The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 12, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 06, 2000
Frank Mark Kustas, Parker, CO (US);
Suraj P. Rawal, Littleton, CO (US);
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD (US);
Abstract
The invention is a collapsible tire assembly for a vehicle designed for traveling over terrain. In detail, the tire assembly includes a rim rotatably mountable to the vehicle. An outer tube expandable from a stored condition to an expanded condition is attached to the rim. The outer tube includes side portions and a center tread portion for making contact with the terrain when in the expanded condition. A mechanism is included for mounting the side portions of the outer tube to the rim such that the outer tube forms a chamber. An inner tube is mounted within the chamber expandable from a stored condition within the chamber to an expanded condition expanding the outer tube to the expanded condition such that the center tread portion is supported by the inflated inner tube and the tire assembly is suitable for moving the vehicle over the terrain.