Vehicle and suspension arm assembly
AssigneeFR8 Technology Limited
InventorsThomas Hughes, Aniruddha Shrikant Kabra
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle (8) comprising a vehicle body (81), a ground-engaging wheel (7), a suspension arm (1) by means of which the wheel (7) is mounted on the vehicle body (81), an electric motor/generator (2) with a mechanical driveline by means of which the motor/generator (2) is connected to the wheel (7) such that rotation of the wheel (7) about a wheel axis (B) may be driven by the motor (2) or rotation of the wheel may drive the generator (2), wherein the motor/generator (2) is mounted on the suspension arm (1).
Claims18
A vehicle comprising a vehicle body, a pair of wheels located on opposite sides of the vehicle body, a suspension arm wherein one of the pair of wheels is mounted on the vehicle body, an electric motor/generator with a driveline wherein the electric motor/generator is connected to the one of the pair of wheels such that rotation of the one of the pair of wheels about a wheel axis may be driven by the electric motor/generator or that rotation of the one of the pair of wheels may drive the electric motor/generator, the electric motor/generator rotating about a motor axis (A), the vehicle further comprising a wheel hub assembly wherein the electric motor/generator is mounted on the suspension arm, the wheel hub assembly and the electric motor/generator being mounted on a same side of the suspension arm so that the wheel hub assembly is located between two parallel imaginary vertical planes with the suspension arm lying in one of the two parallel imaginary vertical planes, and the electric motor/generator also extends from the suspension arm into a space between the two parallel imaginary vertical planes, the motor axis being located anywhere along a semi-circular arc about the wheel axis, wherein the electric motor/generator is not located in the space between the pair of wheels.
A vehicle comprising a tractor and a trailer or a semi-trailer, the trailer or the semi-trailer having a vehicle body, a ground-engaging wheel, a suspension arm wherein the wheel is mounted on the vehicle body, an electric motor/generator with a driveline by means of which the motor/generator is connected to the wheel such that rotation of the wheel about a wheel axis may be driven by the electric motor/generator or such that rotation of the wheel may drive the electric motor/generator, wherein the electric motor/generator is mounted on the suspension arm, wherein the trailer or/the semi-trailer is connected to the tractor so that the tractor or the semi-trailer can be towed by the tractor, and the tractor is provided with a drive apparatus which is operable to drive the tractor, the or each electric motor/generator of the trailer or the semi-trailer being operable to either assist the drive apparatus of the tractor in driving the vehicle or to be operated instead of the drive apparatus to drive the vehicle without use of the drive apparatus of the tractor.
A vehicle suspension arm assembly comprising a suspension arm with a first portion wherein the suspension arm can be pivotally connected to a vehicle body, a second portion on which is mounted a spring, the vehicle suspension arm assembly further comprising an electric motor/generator, a wheel hub assembly having a wheel mount on which a wheel may be mounted, and a driveline which connects the electric motor/generator to the wheel hub assembly such that rotation of the wheel mount about a wheel axis may be driven by the electric motor/generator or such that rotation of the wheel mount may drive the electric motor/generator, wherein the electric motor/generator, the wheel hub assembly and the driveline are mounted on the suspension arm, and the electric motor/generator and the wheel hub assembly are on a same side of the suspension arm, the wheel hub assembly being mounted on an intermediate portion of the suspension arm which is between the first portion and the second portion of the suspension arm, the electric motor/generator being mounted on a third portion of the suspension arm which is offset relative to a line extending between the first portion and the second portion, and the third portion is connected to the intermediate portion by a driveline support portion of the suspension arm, the driveline being mounted on the driveline support portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.