Patent ID: 7641006

Claim:
A military vehicle comprising: a turret; a gun mounted on the turret; a plurality of belts, wherein each of the plurality of belts encompass a front wheel and a rear wheel to provide a positive belt drive system for rotating the belt, wherein the belt has a ground engaging surface and a wheel engaging surface, the wheel engaging surface having lugs thereon for mating with the apertures in the front wheel and the rear wheel such that when at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel rotates, the belt is positively driven; at least one suspension system for absorbing load stresses, wherein the at least one suspension system includes a suspension cylinder that is operatively and pivotably mounted to a military vehicle frame pivot on a main frame of the military vehicle, at least one of the front wheel and the rear wheel rotatably mounted between a first side and a second side of a lower suspension bracket such that when the at least one of the front wheel and the rear wheel encounters an object or depression, the lower suspension bracket moves in a vertical direction and pivots about the track frame pivot thereby allowing the at least one of the front wheel and the rear wheel to move vertically without moving the main frame proportionally vertical, and vertical movement of the least one of the front wheel and the rear wheel is dampened by the suspension cylinder; at least one belt tensioning system for maintaining tension on the plurality of belts, wherein the at least one belt tensioning system includes a track tension cylinder operatively mounted between an axle of the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel and the main frame, wherein the track tension cylinder maintains tension on the belt by moving the axle of the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel in a horizontal direction; and at least one electric drive system, wherein the electric drive system includes a plurality of electric drive motors, each electric drive motor is operatively attached to the least one of the front wheel and the rear wheel for rotation of the at least one of the front wheel and the rear wheel and braking when electric power is removed from the plurality of electric drive motors.