Electrical generator or motor structure – Dynamoelectric – Rotary
Patent
1996-04-30
1998-06-16
LaBalle, Clayton E.
Electrical generator or motor structure
Dynamoelectric
Rotary
310 905, 310 58, 310 64, H02K 702, H02K 709, H02K 919, H02K 922
Patent
active
057675953
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a flywheel energy storage device. More specifically, the present invention is related to a flywheel-motor-generator combination providing surge power, dynamic braking, and energy storage for a hybrid electric motor vehicle. The present invention is particularly advantageous when adapted for use in a hybrid electric motor vehicle.
One aspect of the present invention relates to the maintenance of a vacuum within the space occupied by a high speed flywheel rotor. More specifically, the use of a molecular pump incorporated into the flywheel assembly of a flywheel energy storage system to pump gases from a rotor environment into a separate chamber is disclosed. The separate chamber advantageously can contain molecular sieves for adsorbing gas molecules given off by the rotor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The manufacture of electric vehicles powered by chemical batteries is being encouraged by air quality control agencies in an effort to reduce the air pollution created by the internal combustion engines in current use. Even though the electric power utilities which supply the energy used to charge the batteries are themselves polluters, the net result is favorable with respect to air quality. However, the relatively poor characteristics of chemical batteries, in terms of weight, cycle life, and cost make it difficult for them to compete in the market place with internal-combustion engines as the power system of choice.
A hybrid electric powertrain, consisting of a turbo-generator which generates the average power consumed by the vehicle, a flywheel surge power generator, an electric traction motor, and an electronic power control system can achieve the low pollution levels needed for good air quality, but with performance characteristics which exceed those of the internal combustion engine. Even though the turbine burns hydrocarbon fuels, its use of a catalytic combustor results in less air pollution than that created by the utilities which provide the electricity needed to charge the chemical batteries in vehicles so powered. The separation of the power sources into elements separately optimized to supply the average and the peak power, respectively, coupled with the ability to use dynamic braking, causes the efficiency over most driving schedules to be enhanced and, thus, less fuel is consumed.
A description of a turbo-generator suitable for use in a hybrid electric vehicle is given in a paper by Robin Mackay for the SAE International Congress and Exposition, March, 1994, entitled "Development of a 24 KW Gas Turbine Generator Set for Hybrid Vehicles", which paper is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Many different types of electric motors have been used for traction of electrically propelled vehicles for over a century. The present disclosure relates to the design of the flywheel energy storage system. The electric power control system, the fourth major element of the electric power train, is described in a co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/246,240, which is entitled "ELECTRIC POWER TRAIN CONTROL" and which is incorporated herein for all purposes.
Modern high strength-to-weight ratio fibers make it possible to construct high energy density flywheels, which, when combined with a high power motor-generators, are an attractive alternative to electrochemical batteries for use as energy buffers in hybrid electric vehicles. A properly designed flywheel system would provide higher energy density, higher power density, higher efficiency, and longer life than a conventional electrochemical battery.
The vehicle environment, however, presents special challenges to successful implementation of a flywheel to motor vehicle applications. Among these challenges are the need to deal with the gyroscopic torques resulting from the vehicle's angular motions and the need to accommodate the translational accelerations of the vehicle. Several safety issues resulting from the high energy and momentum stored in the flywheel also need to
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LaBalle Clayton E.
Powell, Jr. Raymond H. J.
Rosen Motors L.P.
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