It is a bold statement to say, I am reinventing it, and obviously it cannot be taken seriously, but here is a concept design of the simplest and most used mechanical device, also considered one of the oldest inventions, the Wheel.
This concept is a mechanical approach, which in theory should function, and the next step is to test it.
This wheel concept, I am calling "Differential Wheel", because it uses the same mechanical principle as a differential drive in a car but here it is applied to the wheel itself. The wheel is segmented into two parts, there is no complete circle. Part A and Part B are as shown in the picture,each is made of three identical pads separated by 120 degrees angles. At anytime, one Part is in contact with the ground and thus is not totally free to rotate; it conducts the torque to the ground and drives the vehicle. The other part is not in contact with the ground and thus it is free to rotate; and moves faster to be ready to make contact with the ground. The animated video could be very helpful to show how this works.
To explain how this mechanism is actually functioning, the below picture brings more information. The torque comes in through the red shaft, which rotates and with it the green gears rotate around the shaft, these green gears are in contact with Part A (in Blue) on the left and Part B (Also in Blue) on the right. One Part is free to rotate so it does not carry torque but moves with high velocity, the other part is in contact with the ground and then is moves slower as it conducts the energy to the ground and moves the vehicle forward.
The design is of course not a final functional model and does not show any bearings that are essential to make it efficient. This is simply a concept model.
Opinions are welcomed. Do you think it could work ?