Patent attributes
Landing gear apparatuses and applications, wherein wheels include embedded (in-wheel) high impact shock absorbing capabilities. Landing gear assembly includes: wheel with wheel rim connected to wheel hub, wheel rim encompasses inner boundary and has inner radius, wheel hub is movable and positionable to a nominal position in space within rim inner boundary; a wheel hub positioning mechanism, connected to wheel hub, selectively confining and positioning wheel hub within space to pre-determined position different from nominal position; and wheel hub suspension assembly, connected to wheel hub, operable in response to hub moving relative to pre-determined position, and including damper for absorbing shocks or/and dissipate kinetic energy during hub motion. When wheel is subjected to landing impact shock at least 2 meters-per-second vertical velocity, hub moves from or across pre-determined position towards rim inner boundary, along wheel hub maximal shifting path longer than rim inner radius. Applicable to various (air-bound) landing vehicles.
