IP Library Granted Patent US 12,654,787
Granted Patent B2
US 12,654,787 · App. 18/272,017 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Wheel assembly for a unitractor and a unitractor comprising said wheel assembly

Inventors: Arne Nordbø (Finnøy, NO); Ola Hovda (Talgje, NO); Ragnvald Salte Malmin (Nærbø, NO); Vidar Løtveit (Sandnes, NO); Hogne Fjellanger (Tau, NO); Gabriel Pollestad (Nærbø, NO); Leif-Inge Nødland (Stavanger, NO)
Assignee: Punda AS
B62D51/065A01B33/028A01B51/02B60B27/02B60K1/04B60K2001/045
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,654,787
App. No.
18/272,017
Granted
Jun 16, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A wheel assembly is for a unitractor. The wheel assembly has a wheel, a static hub and an internal electrical motor. The wheel has a rim, a traction member arranged to the periphery of the rim and a plurality of magnets arranged to the inside of the rim. The hub has a stator having spherical windings. The wheel is rotatably connected to the hub via at least one bearing. At least one side panel extends from the rim and to the at least one bearing. At least one of an energy source and a controller for controlling the energy source is positioned in the hub. The hub is provided with a coupling member for an implement frame. A unitractor having the wheel assembly is also described.

Claims (21)

1 . A wheel assembly for a unitractor where the wheel assembly comprises a wheel, a hub and an internal electrical motor comprising a stator and a rotor, wherein:

the wheel comprises the rotor, a rim, and a traction member arranged to a periphery of the rim,

the hub comprises the stator, and

the wheel is rotatably connected to the hub via at least one bearing, where at least one side panel extends from the rim and to the at least one bearing to protect at least one component of the hub,

wherein

at least one of an energy source and a controller for controlling the energy source is positioned in a cavity in the stator, and

the hub is provided with a coupling member for an implement frame.

2 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , where the rotor comprises a plurality of magnets arranged to an inside of the rim.

3 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , where the energy source and the controller are positioned in the hub.

4 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the energy source is a battery.

5 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the energy source comprises a fuel cell.

6 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , where the at least one bearing is positioned coaxially with an axis of rotation (XR) of the wheel.

7 . The wheel assembly according to claim 3 , where at least one of the energy source and the controller is positioned inside the at least one bearing.

8 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling member is positioned in a center of the hub.

9 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the at least one of the energy source and the controller is positioned in a center of the hub.

10 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the wheel assembly comprises a control system for remote operation.

11 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the wheel assembly comprises a control system for autonomous operation.

12 . The wheel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the hub comprises a power outlet.

13 . A unitractor comprising the wheel assembly according to claim 1 and an implement frame.

14 . The unitractor according to claim 13 , wherein the implement frame comprises a coupling member for an agricultural implement.

15 . The unitractor according to claim 13 , where the implement frame is connected to at least one support wheel.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 29, 2023
From: NORDBØ, ARNE; HOVDA, OLA; MALMIN, RAGNVALD SALTE; LØTVEIT, VIDAR; FJELLANGER, HOGNE; POLLESTAD, GABRIEL; NØDLAND, LEIF-INGE
To: PUNDA AS
Reel/Frame 065697/0178 →
Priority Claims (1)
NO 20210173 · Feb 11, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240067276A1 · Feb 29, 2024
References Cited (52)
US 396023A · Bloom · 1889 [cited by applicant]
US 1307327A · Van Nort · 1919 [cited by applicant]
US 2535614A · Ausdall · 1950 [cited by applicant]
US 4015668A · Wilson · 1977 [cited by examiner]
US 4021690A · Burton · 1977 [cited by examiner]
US 5343128A · Beltrame · 1994 [cited by examiner]
US 5691584A · Toida · 1997 [cited by examiner]
US 5894902A · Cho · 1999 [cited by examiner]
US 6278216B1 · Li · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 6448674B1 · Schierling · 2002 [cited by examiner]
US 6470981B1 · Sueshige et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6492756B1 · Maslov et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6836035B1 · Pawletko · 2004 [cited by examiner]
US 7658251B2 · James · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 8766493B2 · Hunter · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 8914175B2 · Westlake · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 9167737B2 · Mcgowen · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 10075050B2 · Perry · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 11479107B2 · Payne · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 11833906B2 · Gomberg · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 20020084119A1 · Brabetz et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 20030213630A1 · Pyntikov et al. · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 20110056177A1 · Goto et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110191013A1 · Leeser · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20120083375A1 · Lo · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120161497A1 · He · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20140054953A1 · Zanfei et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20140318879A1 · Gillett · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20140345891A1 · Mcgowen · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20160007520A1 · McGowen · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160068055A1 · Wolf-Monheim et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160068056A1 · Burtov et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160075177A1 · Biderman · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20210009232A1 · Liu · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210023951A1 · Gomberg · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20220204133A1 · Huang · 2022 [cited by examiner]
CN 1132586 · 1996 [cited by applicant]
CN 203378234 · 2014 [cited by applicant]
CN 105667590 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
DE 102016218628 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
EP 0463168 · 1992 [cited by applicant]
EP 2848515 · 2015 [cited by applicant]
IT 20090173 · 2011 [cited by applicant]
JP 2002159202 · 2002 [cited by applicant]
WO 2016086057 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
Extended European Search Report for EP Publication No. 4291008, dated Nov. 11, 2024. [cited by applicant]
Norwegian Search Report for NO20210173, dated Aug. 3, 2021. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and the Written Opinion for PCT/NO2021/050280, dated Apr. 1, 2022. [cited by applicant]
Response to the Written Opinion for PCT/NO2021/050280, dated Jun. 13, 2022. [cited by applicant]
Second Written Opinion for PCT/NO2021/050280, dated Sep. 22, 2022. [cited by applicant]
Response to the Second Written Opinion for PCT/NO2021/050280, dated Oct. 5, 2022. [cited by applicant]
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for PCT/NO2021/050280, dated Mar. 14, 2023. [cited by applicant]