Swingarm concentric motor drive for electric motorcycle
AssigneeHarley-Davidson Motor Company Group, Inc.
InventorsSamuel Nicholas Reitinger, Eric Konkel, Mark Gales, Jared Peter Thede
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A motorcycle includes an electric motor having an output shaft defining a motor axis, a rear wheel drivably coupled to the electric motor to propel the motorcycle, a swingarm rotatably supporting the rear wheel, and a frame. The frame includes a main frame member supporting the electric motor and the swingarm. A case of the electric motor is a stressed member of the frame between the main frame member and the swingarm. The swingarm is coupled to the case of the electric motor to define a swingarm pivot axis that is co-axial with the motor axis.
Claims20
A motorcycle comprising:
- an electric motor having an output shaft defining a motor axis;
- a rear wheel drivably coupled to the electric motor to propel the motorcycle;
- a front wheel rotatably supported by a front fork;
- a swingarm rotatably supporting the rear wheel;
- a frame providing a head tube for supporting the front fork, and a pair of swingarm mounts for the swingarm to pivot coaxial with the motor axis, the pair of swingarm mounts including a drive side boss and a non-drive side boss;
- and
- a drive sprocket connected to an extended portion the output shaft at a position outboard of the pair of swingarm mounts, the drive sprocket configured to drive the rear wheel through an endless drive member that extends rearward from the drive sprocket,
- wherein the output shaft has an intermediate portion extending through the drive side boss to the extended portion.
A motorcycle comprising:
- an electric motor operable to propel the motorcycle, wherein a case of the electric motor enclosing a rotor thereof is a stressed frame member of the motorcycle and includes laterally-opposed first and second axial end faces;
- a drivetrain including a drive sprocket rotatable by the electric motor, a driven sprocket coupled to a rear wheel of the motorcycle, and an endless drive member extended between the drive sprocket and the driven sprocket;
- a swingarm defining a swingarm pivot axis at a forward end thereof, and supporting the rear wheel at a rearward end thereof;
- and
- a pair of swingarm mounts for pivotally supporting the forward end of the swingarm,
- wherein the swingarm pivot axis is also the axis of rotation of both the drive sprocket and the rotor of the electric motor,
- wherein one of the pair of swingarm mounts is integrally formed with the first axial end face of the electric motor case and the other of the pair of swingarm mounts is formed separately from the second axial end face of the electric motor case.
A motorcycle comprising:
- an electric motor operable to propel the motorcycle, wherein a case of the electric motor includes two opposing axial end faces defining a cavity enclosing a rotor of the electric motor and a portion of an output shaft extending concentric with the rotor;
- a drivetrain including a drive sprocket secured for rotation with an extended portion of the output shaft, a driven sprocket secured for rotation with a rear wheel of the motorcycle, and an endless drive member extended between the drive sprocket and the driven sprocket;
- a swingarm supporting the rear wheel, wherein a pivot axis of the swingarm on the motorcycle is concentric with an axis of rotation of the output shaft and the drive sprocket;
- and
- a first bearing and a second bearing supporting the output shaft for rotation in the case, wherein the output shaft extends outward from the first bearing to a rotational position sensor, and wherein the output shaft extends outward from the second bearing to support the drive sprocket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.