US 8,914,175 B2Granted

Electric motor vehicle

AssigneesBarry Westlake, John Hanson Boorne

InventorBarry Westlake

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Abstract

Various embodiments include an electric motor vehicle which does not have any active suspension components, gearbox, differential or other mechanical transmission components, in various embodiments including consists a chassis, at least one pair of integrated wheel and brushless DC electric motor assemblies mounted on the chassis with conventional suspension components including springs and dampers. In various embodiments, a battery pack on the chassis provides power to the integrated wheel and electric motor assemblies; and a control system operates each integrated wheel and motor assembly independently of each other integrated wheel and motor assembly. Various embodiments include the control system including a master controller connected to the battery pack, and, a separate slave controller connected to the battery pack and to each of the integrated wheel and motor assemblies as well as the master controller.

Claims27

Dependent claims

An electric motor vehicle comprising:

(i) a chassis,
(ii) at least one pair of integrated wheel and brushless DC electric motor assemblies mounted on the chassis using suspension components,
(iii) a battery pack carried by the chassis and providing power to the integrated wheel and electric motor assemblies;
and
(iv) a control system for operating each said integrated wheel and motor assembly independently of each other integrated wheel and motor assembly, the control system comprising a master controller connected to the battery pack, and, a plurality of separate slave controllers connected to a battery pack, each slave controller being positioned on the vehicle adjacent to a corresponding one of said integrated wheel and motor assemblies and being connected to corresponding integrated wheel and motor assembly and to the master controller, the speed of each of the wheels being independently adjusted by a corresponding one of the slave controllers to rotate substantially at a speed requested by the master controller, wherein the speed of a first one of the wheels is adjusted by the slave controller corresponding to the first wheel to rotate substantially at the speed requested by the master controller, by adjusting power to the motor assembly of the first wheel, upon the first wheel starting to rotate slower or faster than the speed requested by the master controller.

2 more elements

An electric motor vehicle comprising:

(i) a chassis,
(ii) at least one pair of integrated wheel and brushless DC electric motor assemblies mounted on the chassis using suspension components,
(iii) a battery pack carried by the chassis and providing power to the integrated wheel and electric motor assemblies,
(iv) a control system for operating each said integrated wheel and motor assembly independently of each other integrated wheel and motor assembly, the control system comprising a master controller connected to the battery pack, and, a plurality of separate slave controllers connected to the battery pack, each slave controller being positioned on the vehicle adjacent to a corresponding one of said integrated wheel and motor assemblies and being connected to corresponding integrated wheel and motor assembly and to the master controller, the master controller and the slave controllers combining together to provide one or more of:
(a) an anti-lock braking function,
(b) an active traction control function, and
(c) an electronic differential function, whereby in performing the functions, the speed of each of the wheels is independently adjusted by a corresponding one of the slave controllers to rotate substantially at a speed requested by the master controller, wherein the speed of a first one of the wheels is adjusted by the slave controller corresponding to the first wheel to rotate substantially at the speed requested by the master controller, by adjusting power to the motor assembly of the first wheel, upon the first wheel starting to rotate slower or faster than the speed requested by the master controller.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/123,035Filed 16 Oct 2009
Priority: AU 200890535216 Oct 2008
Published: US 2011/0288707 A124 Nov 2011
Granted: 16 Dec 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

B60K 7/0007
Disposition of motor in, or adjacent to, traction wheel: the motor being electric
B60L 50/40
Electric propulsion with power supplied within the vehicle: using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
B60L 50/51
Using propulsion power supplied by batteries or fuel cells: characterised by AC-motors
B60K 2001/0411
Characterised by their position: arrangement in the front part of the vehicle