Actively Controlled Rotary Actuator For Vehicle Suspensions

For a new paradigm in mobility, future military ground vehicles may look to animals for the added benefits of walking or crawling motion to supplement advanced wheel drive systems. Such hybrid mobility approaches show promise towards overcoming tradeoffs associated with a dedicated wheel or track-based system. A critical requirement for wheel placement in a walking or crawling motion the elimination of packaging and performance constraints imposed by the use of strut-type suspension. RMSV's rotary actuator package represents an innovative approach to replacing a passive, semi-active, or fully active linear suspension used in a leading or trailing arm configuration. The result is an actuator system that combines the functions of a spring and an active damper, allowing efficient, wide bandwidth operation over both traditional and previously impassable terrain. Our concept supports high force, high speed suspension articulation in an extremely compact package that supports the benefits of new technologies such as in-hub motors. RMSV's concept leverages the existing hybrid-electric power system of future tactical vehicles to achieve compact size, light weight and high efficiency unattainable with a hydraulic or pneumatic-based solution.