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December 2008 Posts
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I have be interested in wheel motor technology for awhile now, Siemens, PML flightlink , and Volvol all have candidates in this area, this is the first I heard of Michelin thanks for the scoop.
This would seem to be a great way to create more space and maybe a weight savings- what I wonder about is would the motors be more apt to become damaged by vibration or environmental conditions - If anyone knows please comment
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I have in my hands a 1988 issue of Popular Mechanics where they showcase the same Michelin concept as the "wheel of the future." When I read the news in Treehugger.com I ran to my stash of old magazines and find it instantly. Mine is a Spanish translation (Mecánica Popular) from May 1988, the English version might be from about three months earlier. Try to find it in your library!
well in one sense it's nothing new- there was a German motorcycle that had a gas engine in the wheel- which was similar to the engine in some propeller planes
@William Stockwell:
Actually, the Volvo Recharge concept uses the PML Flightlink Hi-Pa drive wheels.
Here's an article on ABG that talks about using the Michelin Active wheel in a n upcoming car.
The Venturi Volage also features these wheels.
Regarding Hypermiling and using RPM in the cruise control...
Thanks to Gint to responding to my question. Here is my reaction.
First a correction. In a manual transmission, there is NO SLIPPAGE between the engine and the wheels. If this does happen, you will smell a burning clutch. So in my manual shift car, you can step on the accelerator pedal as hard as you want and the RPM and the SPEED will increase at the same rate. I double checked that this morning.
Secondly, regarding automatic transmissions. Gint may have the answer here. Let's establish some basic facts first. In an automatic transmission, the clutch is replaced by something called a torque converter. When you are stopped at a light with your foot on the brake, the torque converter allows the motor to spin (at say 1000 RPM) and yet the speed is zero. So no correlation between RPM and SPEED. However, at highway speeds, modern torque converters "lock-up" and become a rigid link between the the motor and the wheels to improve efficiency. So on the highway, RPM and SPEED are completely linked unless...
If the driver presses on the accelerator hard on the highway with an automatic transmission car, two things can happen. First the "lock-up" torque converter is released so that the engine RPM can increase; RPM and SPEED are no longer directly correlated. Secondly, the transmission can "down shift" into a lower gear causing the engine RPM to increase. This will also decrease efficiency.
So perhaps this explains the hypermiling comment about controlling RPM. In an automatic transmission, if you are gentle with the accelerator pedal, the car wil not downshift and will not release the lock-up torque converter and the RPM will not change dramatically. However, if you press hard on the accelerator, the car will downshift and the lock-up torque converter will be released resulting in a noticeable increase in RPM. So perhaps looking at the tachometer is something the driver can do to make sure they are being gentle with the accelerator pedal.
However, for those of us driving manual shift transmission cars, the comment about watching the tachometer is not helpful.
ThanksJohn C. Briggs
Sorry for that confusing email. It was another email that I was forwarding and hoping the common brilliant mind of EVcast could interpret.
Here is the simple proof that Chevron owns the patent on transportation Nimh batteries:
http://www.ovonic.com/eb_ba_nimh_battery_jv.cfm
What Bo read was a summary of a settlement regarding a lawsuit against toyota for use of nimh batteries for plug-in EVs. You can read the settlement info here:
http://www.ovonic.com/PDFs/Financial_Reports/form_8k/8k_mbi_patent_infringe_settlement_7july04.pdf
The significance is that the lawsuit prevented toyota from using nimh batteries for plug-in EVs. See page 2 under settlement. So the question is who has been licensed to use nimh for EVs? The answer may be no one. I don't think they consider the vetrix an EV. Gold Peak has been licensed by Ovonic for non propulsion nimh.
Look at the specs on their units they are small...so they clearly are not designed for plugins.
http://www.cobasys.com/pdf/transportation/NiMHax_HEV_Brochure.pdf
Do I have this right?
Fred Yee Ha
PLM Flightlink, my favorite wheel motor company entered "Adminstration" (read bankruptcy) just last week. http://www.hipadrive.com/ This development does not portend well for the likes of Volvo Recharge or the Venturi Volage. PLM's wheel motors were also used on a prototype Mini Cooper that boasted 900 mile range with a 250cc ICE recharging motor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Sy7XnJBPE&feature=related
Dr. Briggs: Sorry for the misinformation on manual transmissions. I have been driving an automatic for so long I forgot the pleasures of driving a stick.
To see a picture of the Vectrix Superbike: http://www.wippz.com/wippz_blog/2008/12/06/robrady-wins-red-dot-design-award-for-vectrix-electric-superbike/
To see the Michelin active wheel and a video (which is really cool!) with the car: http://gas2.org/2008/12/05/revolutionary-wheel-for-electric-cars-puts-guts-inside-wheel/
I believe this is the future of EV design, but thus far there have been design issues, as well as cost, that have kept it from the market- perhaps with so many companies now putting their R&D into it, we may see it sooner rather than later;-)
As far as Germany wants to build over a million plug in cars, toyota is making some noise out there by modifying some toyota parts to help Germany's campaign to reach this goal.
