Wheels for all kinds of vehicles as cars, trucks, agricultural harvesters, tractors, cranes, locomotives, railcars, motorcycles, bicycles, wheelchairs, hospital beds, medical equipment and for all kinds of carts as perambulators, golf carts, pushcarts, dustbins or similar.

Wheels having specific properties or being of specific form.

Hub caps, wheel covers, wheel decorations, wheel mounted advertising panels.

Wheel hubs including wheel bearings, sealing arrangements, sensors and drive shaft/homokinetic joint arrangements in the case of driving wheels.

Castors for furniture, chairs, hospital beds, medical equipment, suitcases, pallets or similar.

Axles and wheel-axle combinations.

Apparatus for mounting/dismounting wheels, for holding wheels and for assembling/disassembling wheels.

Wheel traction/adhesion increasing means being permanently attached to the wheel or being permanently mounted to the vehicle chassis.

If the components of the wheels are only relevant by their functional features and not specially adapted, they are classified in the relevant functional subclasses and not in B60B, see for bearings (F16C 17/00 - F16C 25/00), sealings (F16J 15/00), couplings, clutches or freewheels (F16D), shafts (F16C 1/00, F16C 3/00), sensors (G01B, G01H, G01J, G01K, G01L, G01P).

There is a considerable overlap with subclasses B60C, B60G and B62D. Details are given in the relevant main-group definitions.

In this subclass, an Indexing Scheme is used:

The Indexing Scheme is an Indexing Scheme which is used in all maingroups under the subclass B60B "VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION ". This Indexing Scheme is used for indexing information which is not limited to the scope of one of the main-groups in the subclass B60B. This Indexing Scheme is used for indexing both, invention information and additional information. The use of this Indexing Scheme is obligatory for invention information.

The following main groups of an 'Indexing Scheme' are applicable:

All types of wheels comprising either tension or compression spokes. The type of wheels ranging from bicycle wheels over light weight plastic wheels for strollers to heavy duty cast metal wheels.

All types of tension or compression spokes for wheels.

Attachment of spokes to the hub.

Attachment of spokes to the rim only in the case when the spoke is fastened to the rim by the use of a spoke nipple or a screw or when the filament winding to interact with the spoke nipple is concerned.

B60B 1/10 concerns only spokes made of sheet metal and not spoked wheels made of sheet metal having stamped holes to simulate spokes.

All types of disc wheels, where the disc body is load-supporting.

Disc being of the full face or the apertured type being either provided with small size holes or larger openings simulating spokes.

Disc wheels being made of stamped steel blanks, forged aluminium or other light alloys or cast metallic material.

Disc wheels where disc body and rim were joined during the forming procedure.

In case that the wheels were integrally formed by casting they are classified in addition in group B60B 3/06.

Disc wheels where the rim was permanently attached to the disc body in a later step after having been formed, e.g. by welding.

All types of wheels being made from synthetic material as fibre reinforced resins, compound materials et. al. and wood;

Focussing on specific constructional needs when using synthetic materials;

Compositions;

Properties or manufacturing/handling of the synthetic material.

All elements (e.g. wheel covers, hub caps or wheel rings) removably attached at the laterally outer side of the wheel for ornamenting, protecting, venting, aerodynamically optimising or obscuring, wholly or in part, the wheel body, rim, hub, or tyre sidewall.

Wheels offering resilience without using pneumatic tyres

Arrangements where more than one wheel is located at one end of an axle. The arrangement consisting either of multiple wheels being mounted to one hub or by single wheels having multiple rims or carrying several tires on one rim. These arrangements predominantly serving the purpose of increased load carrying capacity, uniform distribution of load or of offering emergency running capabilities.

Wheels or wheel attachments that increase traction off-road, especially for agricultural or constructional vehicles. Wheels of the staircase negotiating type are classified under B60B 15/18.

Wheels cooperating with rails in railway, crane or other applications. Rail wheels of the solid type, comprising resilient inserts or having elastic tyres. Features to increase resiliency, reduce vibrations and to achieve insonorisation of rail-engaging wheels. This group precedes over B60B 1/00, B60B 3/00 and B60B 9/00.

Noise reducing measures applied on the disc portion of rail wheels comprising at least two or more axially spaced discs.

Noise reducing measures applied on the disc portion of single disc wheels.

Rail wheels provided with noise or vibration reducing resilient inserts between the disc and the rim or tyre.

Wheels being convertible, e.g. from road wheel to rail wheel;

Wheels specially designed for alternative use on road and rail;

Expansible wheels; with compartments for fluid, packing or loading material;

Buoyant wheels;

Wheels with lubricating passages, channels, or reservoirs;

Wheels with cooling fins;

Roller-type wheels (e.g. for golf-carts) and ball-type wheels.

Wheels having a spherical shape and a fixed rotation axis.

Wheel rims or characteristics of the rim itself.

Specific characteristics being transverse section profile, form of the tire seat or flanges;

Spoke attachment means (e.g. nipple/nipple seat combinations, rim/spoke configuration that allow direct attachment without the use of spoke nipples or screws);

Breaking surfaces located on the rim and accessories as lining bands;

Noise attenuating devices (helmholtz resonators).

Releasable attachment of wheel rims to the wheel disc. Permanent attachment of wheel rims to the disc or spokes by welding or integrally casting is not covered by this group.

Segmented rims (i.e. rims where the circumference is constituted by a number of segments);

Circumferentially split rims (i.e. rims where the rim is constituted of a number of annular rim elements joined along a circumferential seam);

Connecting means for segmented rims (including bicycle rims being made of one piece but not being of the seamless type and having two end portions);

Rims with dismountable flange rings, seat rings or lock rings;

Sealing means for rims built up of several main parts;

Safety arrangements to avoid dismounting when tyre is still under pressure.

Wheel hubs including wheel bearings, sealing arrangements, sensors and drive shaft/homokinetic joint arrangements in the case of driving wheels;

B60B 27/00 refers only to arrangements where the hub radially outer part is non-rotating and mounted to a knuckle;

If the components of the hubs are only relevant by their functional features and not specially adapted, they are classified in the relevant functional subclasses and not in B60B 27/00, see for bearings (F16C 17/00 - F16C 25/00), sealings (F16J 15/00), couplings, clutches and freewheels (F16D), shafts (F16C 1/00, F16C 3/00), sensors (G01B, G01H, G01J, G01K, G01L, G01P).

Hub arrangements where the radially outer part of the hub is rotating while the radially inner or center part respectively of the hub is non-rotating and could be mounted to a non-rotating fixed axle.

Apparatus or tools necessary for mounting or dismounting wheels to be used in garages or by individuals. The apparatus or tools possibly comprising lifting or aligning means or being mounted on a dolly. Holding means to be used during mounting/dismounting of wheels.

Means for holding wheels or parts thereof by gripping the wheel itself or the tyre. The means possibly being mounted on a dolly. Means where the holding and not the mounting of the wheels is predominant.

Apparatus or tools for assembling or disassembling wheels where the rim is not integral with the disc body, where the rim consists of several main parts, where spokes have to be mounted.

Apparatus or tools for attaching or removing wheel covers, hub caps or alike.

All types of castors, i.e. one or more small wheels mounted on a carrier that is rotatably mounted to an object about an axis orthogonal to the rolling axis of the wheels; the mounting of the castors to the object; the construction of the wheels, the braking mechanisms and the swivel mechanisms; specific arrangements avoiding clogging.

Spherical/Ball shaped rollers with a variable rotation axis, i.e. being of the multi-directional type. Typically no real axle exists but the sphere forming the main roller is suspended by multiple guiding rollers or kept in a partial spherical shell.

Dead and driven axles of constant or adjustable track;

One-piece or composite axles and axle housings predominantly for trucks, busses, constructional or agricultural vehicles.

Elements and devices for emergency repairs of broken axles (e.g. clamping arrangements for replacement axle elements) are covered by B60B 35/14.

Axles with wheels being integrally formed with the axle, rigidly attached to the axle or one or more wheels being individually rotatable around the axle.

Apparatus to increase wheel adhesion under adverse road conditions as snow, ice or water;

Vehicle chassis mounted non-skid chains;

Vehicle fittings to improve the road surface in front of the wheels by scattering or dispensing material or by directing a gas stream.