Controlling regenerative braking to reduce skidding of a vehicle

A vehicle, comprising:

• a vehicle body;
• a rechargeable battery supported by the vehicle body;
• an induction motor supported by the utility vehicle body;
• and
• control circuitry coupled with the rechargeable battery and the induction motor, the control circuitry being constructed and arranged to control regenerative braking to reduce skidding of the vehicle by:
• imparting rotation to the induction motor to move the vehicle,
• while the induction motor rotates at a first rate, applying a first power level limit for regenerative braking to the induction motor, and
• while the induction motor rotates at a second rate, applying a second power level limit for regenerative braking to the induction motor, the second power level limit being less than the first power level limit, each of the first power level limit and the second power level limit imposing an upper limit to power available to the induction motor during regenerative braking.

Electronic apparatus to control regenerative braking to reduce skidding of a vehicle, the electronic apparatus comprising:

• a battery interface constructed and arranged to couple with a rechargeable battery of the vehicle;
• an induction motor interface constructed and arranged to couple with an induction motor of the vehicle;
• and
• control circuitry coupled with the battery interface and the induction motor interface, the control circuitry being constructed and arranged to:
• impart rotation to the induction motor to move the vehicle,
• while the induction motor rotates at a first rate, apply a first power level limit for regenerative braking to the induction motor, and
• while the induction motor rotates at a second rate, apply a second power level limit for regenerative braking to the induction motor, the second power level limit being less than the first power level limit, each of the first power level limit and the second power level limit imposing an upper limit to power available to the induction motor during regenerative braking.

A method of controlling regenerative braking to reduce skidding of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• imparting rotation to an alternating current (AC) electric motor to move the vehicle to a first commanded vehicle speed;
• applying a regenerative braking power to the AC electric motor to bring the vehicle to a second commanded vehicle speed;
• while applying the regenerative braking power, adjusting the level of regenerative braking power applied to follow a predetermined speed reduction rate;
• while adjusting the level of regenerative braking power applied, provide a limit to the maximum level of regenerative braking power available;
• and
• while providing the limit to the maximum level of regenerative braking power available, adjusting the limit to the maximum level of regenerative braking power available based on a current speed of the vehicle.