High Capability Off-Road Active Suspension System

Proposal by Danaus, LLC, Tempe, AZ in January 2014

SBIR A14-061

Problem and Requirement

10-37 tons

65 mph

Maximize soft soil (mud and sand) mobility and reduce vehicle rollovers caused by road breakaways using advanced suspension technologies of

Perfect suspension control algorithms that can walk a vehicle out of an immobilized condition in soft soil or prevent a rollover when the road breaks away under a heavy vehicle (e.g., tripped TWLO).

Also, to determine when a vehicle is stuck in mud or sand, and generate enough load transfer, from side to side, to get the vehicle unstuck.

Stat of Art

Single leaf spring or coil spring with shocks

Independent suspension

Tire deflation/inflation while driving

State of Art Continued

Common deployed

Independent

Magneto-Rheological by LORD Corp., NC, USAControls suspension stiffness/damping. (Beta)

Semi-active

Passive

Rollover Controls Today

1. Auto-observer predicts and warns the driver to act

2. Auto-observer predicts and commands braking

Warning and/or auto-braking is activated when the absolute value of the Rollover Index exceeds unity: where and and are the right and

left vertical tire forces on the vehicle respectively (see the diagram on Slide 2).

Currently, these forces are not measured directly but calculated based on lateral accelerometer, inclinometer and position/extension measurements. That delays action in critical situation and may result in unreliable predictions.

The proposed solution offers the direct measurements of these forces in real time and the quick automatic counterbalancing of the weight shift, alas retaining thewarning by displaying in color, how the axel and the chassis are inclined on the road.

Countermeasures Effectiveness

R=1

R=3/4

R=3/4

Expected values:Full-control R=1/2Proposed-control R=1/4

Ref: Center for Transportation Studies CTS 12-33Final Report by Gridasada Phanomchoeng and Rajesh Rajamani, at the Dept. of Mech. Eng., Univ. of Minnesota for Intelligent Transportation SystemsITS Institute, “ Prediction and Prevention of TrippedRollovers”, Dec. 2012, Project # CTS 2011019Simulations with CARSIM compared to scaled downExperiments.

Proposed Solution Package

Primary Solution:

Add two-way (push-pull) air cylinders to each wheel suspension with active control for forced counter balancing based on pressure, acceleration and/or inclination sensory measurements.

Secondary Solution:

Add to each wheel a run-flat shock-crown insert which engages only on soft soil with lowered tire pressure, preventing lateral tire buckling and stabilizing the wheels on soft soil.

Proposed Solution Continued

Tertiary Solution (Optional):Control the forward/reverse axel lead/lag over rim/tire to drive the wheel out from immobilized condition and/or to assist driving/braking and/or to save fuel up to 15% by lowering rolling resistance up to 30% on soft soil as per the White Paper and Theory at shweel.us.

Achieve this by forcing by a mechanical circular-lobe cam-roller inserted between two layers of the added run-flat shock-crown-insert or by harmonic pressure control (pneumatics) of the crown-shocks based on driver input.

Primary Solution

How it works?R, the Rollover Index is not sensitive to the mass and the sprung-unsprungmass ratio, thus accelerometer is only used for checking. The counterbalancing by force (air cylinder pressure pulse train) is in harmony with the natural rolling period, T, of the sprung mass. Either the chassis lateral inclination or the air cylinder’s extension (or both for checking) is measured in real time. The external impact forces are measured by the cylinder pressure bursts (pulses). The currentsuspension shocks are preserved to ensure at least 4% critical damping, which isnecessary for direct control robustness. The need for computation is marginal.

Secondary SolutionPresent day steel reinforced rubber run-flat wheel insertby Tyron, Leicestershire, UK.

Proposed run-flat air-shockcrown insert with segmental steel rim clearing the tire by a gap, by Danaus, Tempe, AZ.

How it works?

Partially deflated tire

Shock-crown with rigid rim

Partially deflated tire with run-flat insert of shock-crown with rigid rim

Bead-locked & auto-inflated

Our Danaus™ Runflat Insert

Configurable on aluminum and steel rims as new or retrofit. Pat. Pend.

Solution Benefits

Main Benefits

• Counterbalance static and dynamic roll (sideway tilt) and impacts from wheels automatically without computational delay

• Shifts the load sideway to assist trapped condition walkout

• Drives out sand and mud trapped vehicle by wheel drive assist mechanism

Side Benefits

• Stealth and unnoticeable

• Adds new components, without removing any

• Suitable for quick retrofit

• Extends drive flat capability to thousands of miles

• Adds tire bulletproofing

• Inexpensive option

• Can operate in fuel saving mode on most terrain

• Warns driver to danger

The A14-062 Team

Danaus, LLC may license the Lord Corporation and team up with them.In that case, Danaus will consult to Lord and Lord will execute the plan.

Danaus is negotiating with other suitable manufacturers for teaming up.

Todd Zuccone

Dr.

Zolt

an K

eme

ny

Gregory Hebert

Key PersonnelZoltan Kemeny, PhD is a serial inventor with over 130 patents, a successful businessman, founded 9 small businesses, sold 2 and runs 6 of them, licensed most of his patents, which yielded over $ 150 million net profits to his licensees. He has 10 years academic and over 30 years engineering practice. He solved a very similar control problem for the airborne tracing gravitometer leveling platform, which is in service over a decade. The 2-tons instrument hardly fit in a highway container and secured in the belly of a Boeing cargo plane. It had to be level, regardless of the aircraft pitch, bank and roll, with extremely tight tolerance. The electromechanically controlled platform was designed and built by Dr. Kemeny at his company.

Todd Zuccone is a mechanical and electronics engineer, and a successful businessman, with passion in tuning high performance cars, dragsters, race cars and building vehicles from scratch. He has over 15 years of experience.

Gregory Hebert, attorney is legal expert in IP protection and transfer, and an accomplished grant writer. As President of Kelsey Thomas, LLC, for over 20 years, he consults high profile Fortune 100 companies, government organizations and the King of Qatar, who is a car and drag racing champion.

CompanyDanaus LLC is a for-profit company registered in Arizona in 2011 as a domestic corporation. It is in good standing since. Its members are 1) Intelligent Tuning LLC and 2) 2014 LLC, both are similar, but older Arizona companies with different profiles. The statutory agent for Danaus is Todd Zuccone, President of Evolution Motorsports of Tempe, AZ. Intelligent Tuning LLC has expertise on the field of new vehicle building and testing, while 2014 LLC in innovation portfolio building and managing. This partnership was formed to prototype, test, develop, market, produce and sell airless tactical wheels with built -in shock absorbers for US government departments and agencies responsible for domestic security, including the DHS, TSA, FEMA, Boarder Patrol, Police and such in need of security wheels on their patrol and first responder vehicles, which are vulnerable to adversary attacks and can be disabled by road spikes, bullets, Molotov cocktails and other criminal or terrorist activities. Danaus conducts confidential business to protect the interest of government and state agencies in not get behind adversary advances in new technology, which can be used in security breaching or law enforcement evasion activities. Danaus is assured the active support of several AZ and US senators, police chiefs and other top level agency officials and policy leaders.