Planetary gear transmission systems or components – Condition responsive control – With flywheel or centrifugal weight control
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-06
2002-05-14
Estremsky, Sherry (Department: 3681)
Planetary gear transmission systems or components
Condition responsive control
With flywheel or centrifugal weight control
C475S005000, C180S065510
Reexamination Certificate
active
06387007
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electric motor powered wheeled vehicles are well known in the art and have sparked continued interest as an alternate power source for human transport. One problem in the development of electric vehicles suitable for modern demands is the difficulty of producing a vehicle of reasonable cost, size and performance using available electric power storage systems.
Electric powered vehicles compete with internal combustion powered vehicles as transportation and in view of such must provide a great many of the conveniences of operation found using modern internal combustion vehicles. Thus, it is considered necessary for general acceptance of an electric powered vehicle that it have the ability to operate at reasonable highway speeds, e.g. 50-70 mph, have reasonable operational longevity between down time charging, and must have reasonable power and vehicle response over typical roadway terrain and conditions which might be encountered.
Electric vehicle speeds of 50-70 mph have not been a significant problem to attain, however attaining and maintaining such speeds, while achieving reasonable operational longevity, has been problematic. To solve such problem, electric vehicles have been fitted with diverse electricity generating and storage means. For example, solar generators, wind generators and even small gasoline, natural gas and the like fueled generators have been fitted to electric vehicles to generate electricity as it is being used and replenish and extend the life of battery systems currently used to power electric vehicles. Improved battery systems having deep cycle charges have been developed, but the cost and weight of sufficient numbers of such batteries to extend range have created further problems which negate the acceptance of electric vehicles as a popular transportation choice.
In an effort to extend the operational range of electric powered vehicles, hybrid arrangements of electric motors with alternate fuel engines have been proposed to be added to electric powered vehicles. By the term alternate fuel engine is meant engines which are fueled by gasoline, diesel, natural gas, hydrogen, compressed air, steam and the like such as internal combustion engines, turbines and the like. In such arrangement an electric motor is generally arranged as the primary vehicle drive, powered by a bank of batteries, with the vehicle additionally containing an alternate fuel engine which drives a generator enabled to regenerate electric battery storage during and/or intermittent with power use by the electric motor. An advantage of such hybrid arrangements is that small horsepower alternate fuel engines can be used for electricity replenishment, which can be enabled at constant, energy efficient speeds to use small quantities of fuel to regenerate electricity and thus significantly increase the operational range of the electric powered vehicle. Since most calculations for vehicle fuel efficiency are concerned with fuel burned on board the vehicle, such arrangements are viewed as being very efficient in miles per gallon of fuel consumed.
In some hybrid embodiments, the alternate fuel engine regenerating arrangement can be shifted to directly engage the drive train of the vehicle, typically in emergency situations. Such enablement is usually provided for situations when stored electric power is too low to power the electric motor drive of the vehicle, but since the alternate fuel engine is generally of low horsepower, they are generally inadequate for normal drive use.
In the operation of a wheeled vehicle for general transport, the driving event is one where the vehicle is intermittently powered, braked and otherwise caused to change the speed and force which must be delivered to the drive wheels of the vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to use various changes in the vehicular driving event to replenish and extend storage battery systems powering an electric vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved system for regenerating batteries in an electric motor powered vehicle, using energy means which is otherwise lost during changes in the driving experience.
A still further object of the invention is provide a simple, efficient and inexpensive transmission for varying speed and power from an electric motor drive source to the wheels, which can be conveniently arranged in enabling a iregenerating system for extending the life of a storage battery system.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a transmission means to enable convenient and efficient hybrid embodiments of an electric motor drive vehicle.
These and other objects will become apparent from the following recitation of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In its simplest mode, the present invention combines a simple, efficient and inexpensive transmission suitable for varying the speed and power delivered to drive wheels of a vehicle, with a power regeneration loop arranged to utilize energy otherwise wasted during the driving experience.
In a preferred arrangement of the invention, a high output transmission comprising a planetary drive with means connected to an electric motor, is arranged as a variable speed translator within a vehicle drive train, with vehicle power and speed being enabled by automatically increasing and decreasing gear ratios in cooperation with variations in electric motor speed and output power needs.
The high output transmission of the invention comprises a planetary drive means which utilizes an incrementally scheduled means to resist the rotation of an idler wheel member for automatically transferring power in infinite increments through a defined range of gear ratios to and from opposing output and input drive means of the planetary.
In one arrangement of the invention, an electric motor, powered by a battery storage system, drives a planetary input member which in turn has an output member arranged to drive a vehicle wheel. The electric motor driven input member is in planetary arrangement with an output member and an idler member, with variable resistance of rotation being imposed upon the idler member to define the rotation and geared ratio of the output member in respect to the driven input member. The arrangement includes a generator in an arrangement which imposes incremental scheduled resistance of rotation upon the idler member, with the resistance of rotation being sufficient to enable translation of electric motor rotation to the output drive and accordingly the vehicle wheel(s). The generator arrangement is such as to produce regenerative electricity for input to the battery storage system as a functional consequence of resistance of rotation of the idler member, and stops producing regenerative electricity when rotation of the idler member is stopped.
In a typical sequence of driving events to initiate movement of a vehicle in such arrangement, the electric motor provides a selected rotational speed to the input member which rotates an idler member. The idler member is incrementally restricted by the generator arrangement to automatically provide incrementally increasing output to the wheels, infinitely through a defined range of gear ratios, up to a scheduled intermediate state gear ratio or to the highest transmission gear ratio of the transmission. The generator is arranged to produce power in accord with the rotation of the idler member, intermittently or continuously generating electricity for replenishing a battery storage system.
In such arrangement of the invention, the vehicle maintains speed as determined by the selected speed of the electric motor and the transmission gear ratio automatically selected through the planetary arrangement in accord with the resistance of the vehicle to motion. Thus, at any selected motor speed wherein resistance to movement of the vehicle is such that the planetary transmission gear ratio is less than at its highest ratio, the idler member rotates and enables generation of electricity for replenishment of the battery storage system.
For example, when a vehicle is tra
Estremsky Sherry
Lewis Tisha D.
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