# US 2015/0306975 A1 · Integrated Motor-Gear Box Wheel Hub Drive

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- Number: US 2015/0306975 A1
- Document ID: US20150306975A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/420,144
- Filed: 2012-08-08
- Published: 2015-10-29
- Earliest claimed: 2012-08-08
- Assignees: Bombardier Transporation GmbH
- Inventors: Peter Edward Timan; Hans Peter Trotsch; Martin Bazant; Daniel Martinez-Anon-Perez; Alexander Bauer
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20150306975A1

## CPC

- B61B 13/06: Saddle or like balanced type
- B60L 3/0061: {relating to electrical machines}
- B60L 7/14: for vehicles propelled by AC motors
- B60L 7/26: Controlling the braking effect
- B60L 9/28: polyphase motors
- B60L 13/006: {Electric propulsion adapted for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways (B60L13/03 takes precedence)}
- B60L 15/2054: {by controlling transmissions or clutches}
- B61B 13/04: Monorail systems
- B61C 3/00: Electric locomotives or railcars (characterised by power transmission B61C9/00; electrical features B60L; H02)
- B61C 9/50: in bogies
- H02K 7/006: {Structural association of a motor or generator with the drive train of a motor vehicle}
- H02K 7/116: with gears
- B60L 13/00: Electric propulsion for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways; Magnetic suspension or levitation for vehicles ({tracks for Maglev-type trains E01B25/30;} electromagnets per se H01F7/06; linear motors per se H02K41/00)
- B60L 2200/26: Rail vehicles
- B60L 2210/20: AC to AC converters
- B60L 2220/46: Wheel motors, i.e. motor connected to only one wheel
- B60L 2220/50: Structural details of electrical machines
- B60L 2240/36: Temperature of vehicle components or parts
- Y02T 10/64: Electric machine technologies in electromobility
- Y02T 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility
- B61B: RAILWAY SYSTEMS; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (lifts or hoists, elevators, escalators, moving walkways B66B)
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
- B61C: LOCOMOTIVES; MOTOR RAILCARS (vehicles in general B60; frames or bogies B61F; special railroad equipment for locomotives B61J, B61K)
- H02K: DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINES (dynamo-electric relays H01H53/00; conversion of DC or AC input power into surge output power {H03K3/53})
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION

## Abstract

A monorail vehicle includes a chassis supporting a vehicle body, that includes a passenger floor and at least one side wall, and an electrical motor supported by the chassis. A drive wheel is coupled to a rotor of the electric motor with a rotation axis of the drive wheel substantially coaxial with an axis of the rotor. Portions of the drive wheel and the electric motor are positioned on both sides of an imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A monorail vehicle comprising:
a chassis coupled to a body of the monorail vehicle;
a drive unit coupled to the chassis, the drive unit comprising an electric motor and a planetary gear assembly rotatably coupled to the electric motor, the planetary gear assembly comprising at least 3 planet gears coupled between a sun gear, which is coupled to a rotor of the electric motor, and a ring gear surrounding the planet gears, the planet gears rotatable within the ring gear in response to rotation of the sun gear by the electric motor; and
a rim assembly coupled to the planetary gear assembly for rotation thereby, the rim assembly including a pair of side-by-side rim sections adapted to support a pair of wheels side-by-side for rotation about a rotation axis of the rim assembly that runs coaxial with a rotation axis of the rotor of the electric motor and a rotation axis of the sun gear, the rim assembly further including a hub that extends radially from the rotation axis of the rim assembly and terminates on an interior surface of the rim assembly, wherein one of the rim sections at least partially surrounds and rotates about the planetary gear assembly in response to rotation of the rim assembly by the planetary gear assembly.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the electric motor is an AC motor.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the AC motor is a permanent magnet AC motor.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the permanent magnets are disposed on the rotor.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the hub terminates on the interior surface of the rim assembly between the pair of side-by-side rim sections.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the planetary gear assembly and the electric motor are received within a housing that is coupled to the chassis, wherein the one rim section rotates about a section of the housing that houses the planetary gear assembly.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The vehicle of claim 1, further including a brake rotor coupled to an end of the rotor of the electric motor opposite the sun gear.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The vehicle of claim 1, wherein an interior of the vehicle defines a passenger pathway that extends longitudinally along one side of the vehicle between an interior surface of the vehicle body and the drive unit.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the electric motor is received within a housing that is coupled to the chassis, the housing including fluid channels adapted to allow the passage of a cooling liquid therethrough for removal of heat generated by the electric motor.

### Claim 10

A monorail vehicle comprising:
a chassis supporting an elongated vehicle body that includes spaced sides and a passenger floor, wherein a length direction, a height direction and a width (or side-to-side) direction of the elongated vehicle body correspond to X, Y and Z axes, respectively, of a Cartesian coordinate system, wherein the X and Y axes define an imaginary plane that bisects the vehicle body in half;
a drive unit coupled to the chassis, the drive unit comprising an electric motor and a gear assembly, the electric motor including a rotor that has an axis that is disposed substantially parallel with the Z axis; and
at least one drive wheel coupled to the rotor via the gear assembly, each drive wheel having a rotation axis that is disposed substantially coaxial with the rotor axis, wherein the drive unit is supported by the chassis with the electric motor and at least part of the gear assembly residing entirely in one of the halves of the vehicle body with at least portions of each drive wheel, the electric motor and the gear assembly residing above a plane of the passenger floor of the vehicle body.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The vehicle of claim 10, wherein a portion of the passenger floor is disposed between one side of the vehicle body and the portions of each wheel, the electric motor and the gear assembly.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the electric motor is a permanent magnet AC electric motor.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the electric motor is liquid cooled.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the gear assembly is a planetary gear assembly.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the planetary gear assembly has 3 planet gears coupled between a sun gear and a ring gear which surrounds the planet gears, wherein the sun gear is coupled between the rotor and the planet gears such that the planet gears are rotatable within the ring gear in response to rotation of the sun gear by the rotor.

### Claim 16 (depends on 10)

The vehicle of claim 10, further including a pair of drive wheels supported by a rim assembly which is coupled to the gear assembly by a hub of the rim assembly, wherein at least part of the rim assembly surrounds the gear assembly, which part of the rim assembly is rotatable about the gear assembly in response to rotation of the rim assembly by the motor via the gear assembly.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the pair of drive wheels have a common rotation axis, the rim assembly includes a pair of rim sections with each rim section supporting one of the drive wheels, and the rim assembly includes the hub which extends radially from the common rotation axis and which terminates substantially at the intersection of the pair of rim sections.

### Claim 18 (depends on 10)

The vehicle of claim 10, wherein a bogie couples the drive unit and each drive wheel to the chassis.

### Claim 19

A monorail vehicle comprising:
a chassis supporting a vehicle body that includes a passenger floor and at least one side wall;
an electrical motor supported by the chassis; and
a drive wheel coupled to a rotor of the electric motor with a rotation axis of the drive wheel substantially coaxial with an axis of the rotor, wherein portions of the drive wheel and the electric motor are positioned on both sides of an imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The vehicle of claim 19, further including a gear assembly coupled substantially coaxially between the rotor and the drive wheel.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The vehicle of claim 20, wherein the gear assembly is a planetary gear assembly that has a rotational axis coaxial with the axis of the rotor and the rotation axis of the drive wheel.

### Claim 22 (depends on 20)

The vehicle of claim 20, wherein portions of the gear assembly are positioned on both sides of the imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor.

### Claim 23 (depends on 20)

The vehicle of claim 20, wherein the passenger floor runs or extends between a front and a rear of the vehicle body and in a space between the drive wheel and the side wall.

### Claim 24 (depends on 19)

The vehicle of claim 19, wherein a bogie couples the electrical motor and the drive wheel to the chassis.