Technica - 1962

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	1962 The Wheel The first Lego wheels and tires were introduced in 1962 after being developed the previous year. The initial sets included the 400 Small Wheels and 401 Large Wheels. These new wheels finally allowed children to build moving vehicles and began Lego's shift away from the small-scale architectural models of the 1950's.
		Set 401
	Over time the wheel would become one of the most ubiquitous of all Lego elements. In fact, by the late 1990's Lego was producing more than 300 million tires a year, making them the largest tire manufacturer in the world. The wheel, in various forms, would later be the basis of virtually every Technic set.
The wheel:	The patent application for the wheel bearing shows how Lego was able to provide new elements that were still compatible with the basic brick. The wheel bearing was a modified 2 x 4 brick with several hollow soft plastic bearings in the interior of the brick which were held in place by a plate attached to the bottom. An axle could fit into the sleeve and stay connected by friction. This axle/sleeve assembly was then free to rotate.
		US patent 3,234,683: 40K
	The wheel bearing provided the basis of not just the simple wheel/tire but of any construction that could rotate or pivot. It served as the foundation for the first gear wheels.
Example sets:	400 4 st. hjul med 8 tillbehör (1962) 401 2 st.stora hjul med 5 tilldehör (1962) 314 Large and Small Wheels plus turn-table (1965)
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