US Patent 10173463 Motorized wheel with suspension

A wheel comprises a rim, a hub and a suspension unit. The wheel incorporates or is connectable to a torque source capable of producing torques up to a maximal torque for rotating the wheel around a rotation-axis. In this invention, the suspension unit includes at least one structural member, provided at least partially between the rim and the hub, configured to change in size and/or shape, relative to a nominal size and/or shape thereof, during displacements and/or rotations of the hub relative to a center point of the rim. The suspension unit also includes at least one motion resisting component adapted to retain the structural member at the nominal size and/or shape thereof under torques smaller than the maximal torque.