Motor vehicle accessory to increase power supply and reduce fuel requirements
AssigneeHyliion Inc.
InventorThomas Joseph Healy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A power control system may include at least one of batteries, a motor, and a data logic analyzer that can interpret certain variable conditions of a transport, such as a tractor trailer, moving along a road or highway. The data can be used to determine when to apply supplemental power to the wheels of a trailer to reduce fuel usage. One example device may include at least one of a power source affixed to a trailer to capture energy from movement of an axle of the trailer, and a motor powered by the power source to operate and provide movement assistance to the axle.
Claims10
A trailer suitable for use in a tractor-trailer vehicle configuration in which a dominant motive force is supplied from a fuel consuming engine of the tractor, the trailer comprising:
- one or more on-trailer motor-generators coupled to a respective one or more drive axles of the trailer to provide, in a first mode of operation, an assistive motive rotational force at wheels of the trailer and to provide, in a second mode of operation, a regenerative braking force at wheels of the trailer, the one or more on-trailer motor-generators responsive to a controller operatively coupled to one or more sensor inputs to transition between the first, the second and at least a third mode of operation based on direct determination by an inclinometer, during motion of the tractor-trailer vehicle over a roadway, of an uphill or downhill angle of inclination in a direction of travel over the roadway;
- and
- an on-trailer battery from which stored energy is supplied to power the one or more on-trailer motor-generators in the first mode of operation and to which regenerated braking energy is supplied in the second mode of operation.
A method comprising:
- in a tractor-trailer vehicle configuration in which a dominant motive force is supplied from a fuel consuming engine of the tractor and wherein at least one drive axle of the tractor-trailer vehicle configuration is unpowered by the fuel consuming engine,
- providing, in a first mode of operation, an assistive motive rotational force at the drive axle using an electric motor-generator powered from a battery so as to reduce fuel consumption of the fuel consuming engine of the tractor in an uphill grade or during acceleration;
- and
- providing, in a second mode of operation, a regenerative braking force at the drive axle by capturing regenerative braking energy in a downhill grade or during braking using the electric motor-generator and storing the captured regenerative braking energy in the battery,
- wherein the electric motor-generator is responsive to a controller operatively coupled to one or more sensor inputs to transition between the first, the second and at least a third mode of operation based on direct determination by an inclinometer, during motion of the tractor-trailer vehicle over a roadway, of an uphill or downhill angle of inclination in a direction of travel over the roadway.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.