Patent ID: 8567536
Filing Date: 2013-10-29
Classification: B62D

Abstract:
1. A tracked vehicle comprising; a chassis, a drive mechanism, an endless track, and, a suspension apparatus; the drive mechanism, comprising; a drive-motor, drive transmission unit, and one or more drive wheels, gears, or sprockets, including an upper leading drive wheel, gear, or sprocket and a lower trailing drive wheel, gear, or sprocket; the endless track driven by the drive mechanism, and, comprising a chain, belt, or cable, said track comprising an exterior upon which are mounted a plurality of permanently magnetized adhering track-members, the said endless track so configured and contrived as to provide traction in propulsion for the tracked vehicle; said traction in propulsion achieved by cyclical motion of the endless track in a plane parallel to direction of motion of the vehicle, said endless track and adhering track-members while so cyclically moving, transitioning through a traction-portion of the track motion cycle, and a non-traction-portion of the track motion cycle, the said traction-portion defined as that area of the track wherein said adhering track-members are situated proximal to a surface being transited; the suspension apparatus supporting the chassis, and comprising tangential guide-linkages, bias-devices, and a compliant beam mechanism; the compliant beam mechanism slidably directly connected to the endless track, and the chassis linked to the compliant beam by the tangential guide-linkages and bias-devices, the compliant beam mechanism so contrived as to facilitate dynamic adaption of the compliant beam to contours of the surface being transited, by transiently deforming in such a way as to facilitate and preserve said adhering track-members contact with the said surface, for essentially all said track-members that are within the traction-portion of their cyclical motion; the said tangential guide-linkages joined to the chassis by pivot-points upon which the linkage may rotate in a plane normal to the surface being transited and parallel to the plane of cyclical motion of the endless track, the tangential guide-linkages joined to the compliant beam by pivot-points, upon which the linkage may rotate or slide; said bias-devices located at one or more points along the compliant beam, each said bias-device so contrived as to exert force upon the compliant beam at its particular point on the beam, pulling or pushing in such a way as to govern pressure of the track against the transited surface at that tension point, thereby promoting transient deformation of the compliant beam to conform with the topography of the surface being transited, in such a way as to tend to more equally distribute track pressure against the transited surface, along the rest of the track within the traction-portion of the track motion, and promote increased surface contact of all said adhering members along the rest of the track within the traction-portion of the track motion cycle, maximizing the area over which the adhering members of the endless track contact the surface being transited; the said tracked vehicle also comprising a track tensioning device so contrived as to allow the amount of endless track within the traction-portion to increase or decrease as required to permit essentially all track members to contact contours of the surface being traversed and to conform to the contours of the compliant beam as the compliant beam transiently deforms to conform to the contours of the surface being traversed.