Abstract: A deformable wheel useful for example as a vehicle wheel or as a gear comprises a tread which is incompressible around its periphery but flexible under radial forces and a tension transmission system connecting different points of the tread to substantially diametrically opposed points and designed in such a way that, under a normal load, the strength of the radial forces which act on part of the connecting system is sufficient to prevent the wheel from collapsing completely. The tread may be constructed of hinged plates or may be similar to a tire tread or may be provided with teeth, depending on the application of the wheel, and the wheel may also include a central rigid part or hub to which the connecting system is attached. The wheel may be used for vehicles, gearings, pulleys and so on.

Abstract: A noninflatable wheel is manufactured by fabricating a subassembly including a radially deformable tread of constant peripheral length and formed of a pair of inner and outer superimposed bands joined by cementing or vulcanization, the inner band advantageously consisting of side-by-side plates mutually hinged by imbedment in rubber, and cable loops having outer bands anchored to the inner bands and extending radially inwardly to inner ends. The subassembly is assembled to a concentric hub having peripherally rigidly formed peripherally spaced hooks which are nonresiliently directly connected to the cable looped inner ends. The hub may include a pair of relatively rotatable discs having the hooks peripherally located thereon and being mutually alternating, the relative angular adjustment of the discs controlling the cable tension.