US 4,254,843 AGranted

Electrically powered vehicle

OwnerJoon H. Han, Tae H. Choinventors

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An electrically powered vehicle having a bank of batteries supplying electricity to an electric motor driving wheels of the vehicle includes a whirl ventilator system, a clutch system and an automatically operated, engine-generator unit for recharging the batteries. The whirl ventilator system includes housings to produce a whirling air flow rotating a fan to drive an alternator such that air flow from movement of the vehicle generates electricity to charge the batteries. The clutch system includes a clutch mechanism coupling a drive shaft and a driven shaft to impart a driving force to the wheels when the drive shaft is rotated faster than the driven shaft and to couple the driven shaft with a flywheel when the driven shaft is rotating faster than the drive shaft, the flywheel driving an alternator such that momentum of the vehicle causes the alternator to charge the batteries. The automatically operated, engine-generator unit is started to charge the batteries when the level of charge therein has dropped below a predetermined level and stopped when the charge level reaches a second predetermined level.

Claims19

Dependent claims

An electrically powered vehicle comprising:

a body supporting wheel means;
driven shaft means supported on said body for rotating said wheel means;
electric motor means supported by said body rotating a drive shaft;
battery means supported by said body supplying electricity to drive said electric motor means;
accelerator means operable by a driver of said vehicle to control electricity supplied by said battery means to said electric motor means to control the speed of rotation of said drive shaft;
electrical generator means connected with said battery means for electrically charging said battery means;
and
clutch means coupling said drive shaft and said driven shaft including a drive member carried by said drive shaft, a driven member carried by said driven shaft, flywheel means for driving said electrical generator means, and coupling means connecting said drive member with said driven member and responsive to relative rotational speed of said drive and driven members to connect said driven member with said flywheel means when said driven member is rotating faster than said drive member and to disconnect said driven member from said flywheel means when said drive member is rotating as fast or faster than said driven member whereby said electrical generator is driven to charge said battery means by the momentum of said vehicle.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 06/059,130Filed 20 Jul 1979 · continuation in part
Priority: 8 Jun 1979
Granted: 10 Mar 1981
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification24 codes

B60K 6/46
Characterised by the architecture of the hybrid electric vehicle: series type
B60K 1/00
Arrangement or mounting of electrical propulsion units
B60L 8/006
Electric propulsion with power supply from forces of nature, e.g. sun or wind: converting flow of air into electric energy, e.g. by using wind…
F03D 9/12
Combinations of wind motors with apparatus storing energy: storing kinetic energy, e.g. using flywheels