Energy recovery system

Abstract

An energy recovery system, for an articulated vehicle having a tractor 10 and a trailer 20, comprises an energy converter 22 and an energy sink. The energy converter is configured to be connected to

Description

Field of the disclosure The present disclosure relates to an articulated vehicle. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an energy recovery system for an articulated vehicle. Background An articulated vehicle generally comprises a tractor portion (generally known as the tractor) and a trailer portion (generally known as the trailer). The tractor and trailer are connected together by a pivot joint. The provision of the pivot joint reduces the turning radius of the articulated vehicle (relative to a similarly sized non-articulated vehicle). Examples of articulated vehicles include: articulated lorries, articulated busses, and articulated off-road vehicles. Examples of articulated off-road vehicles include front loader, graders, dump trucks, haulers and the like. Typically, the tractor comprises a power source which generates power to drive the articulated vehicle. The power source may comprise one or more of an internal combustion engine and a battery. As such, an articulated vehicle may be driven solely by an internal combustion engine, an electric articulated vehicle may be driven solely by electrical energy, or a hybrid articulated vehicle may be driven by an internal combustion engine and by electrical energy. US-B-8,874,291 discloses an electricity generating suspension system for hybrid and electric automobiles. WO-A-2020198127 discloses an energy conversion device. Summary According to a first aspect, an energy recovery system for an articulated vehicle having a tractor and a trailer is provided. The energy recovery system comprises an energy converter configured to be connected to the trailer of the articulated vehicle. The energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy associated with a rotational motion of the trailer into electrical energy. The energy recovery system also comprises an energy sink. The energy sink is configured to receive electrical energy from the energy converter, the energy sink configured to be located in the tractor of the articulated vehicle. The energy recovery system of the first aspect is configured to recover kinetic energy from an articulated vehicle. In particular, the energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy of the trailer of the articulated vehicle into electrical energy. As such, the energy recovery system may recover energy from the rotational motion of the trailer of the articulated vehicle, which would otherwise be wasted. Brief description of the figures Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described with reference to the following nonlimiting figures in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an articulated vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosure; Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an articulated vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosure; Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a further articulated vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Detailed description Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an articulated vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The articulated vehicle 1 comprises a tractor 10, a trailer 20, and a pivot joint 30. According to this disclosure, the tractor 10 and trailer 20 are the parts of the articulated vehicle provided on opposing sides of the pivot joint 30. It will be understood that the tractor 10 is provided on the forward-facing side of the pivot joint 30, with the trailer 20 being provided on the backward facing-side of the pivot joint. The articulated vehicle 1 of Fig. 1 is an electric articulated vehicle. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments of this disclosure, the articulated vehicle 1 may be an articulated vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine, or a hybrid articulated vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine and at least one electric motor 14. As shown in Fig. 1, the articulated vehicle 1 comprises an energy recovery system 3. The energy recovery system of Fig. 1 comprises an energy converter 22 and at least one power sink (the battery 12 of Fig. 1). As shown in Fig. 1, the tractor 10 comprises a battery 12, and an electric motor 14. The battery 12 may be configured to store electrical energy. The battery 12 may be configured to supply electrical energy to the electric motor 14 of the tractor 10. The electric motor 14 may be configured to drive one or more wheels (not shown) of the tractor 10 in order to move the articulated vehicle 1. As such, the electric motor 14 may be configured to convert electrical energy into kinetic energy of the articulated vehicle 1. The battery 12 is configured to store electrical energy in the form of chemical energy. As such, the battery 12 is a means of storing electrical energy on the articulated vehicle 1 such that it may be utilised at a later time. In other embodiments, other means of storing electrical energy may be used as an alternative, or in addition to the battery 12. For example, other means of storing electrical energy may comprise one or more capacitors (not shown) and / or a flywheel and a flywheel motor (not shown), wherein the flywheel motor is configured to receive the electrical energy to drive the flywheel such that the electrical energy is stored as kinetic energy of the flywheel. It will be appreciated that each of the battery 12 and the electric motor 14 may be configured to receive electrical energy, wherein the received electrical energy is either stored or utilised. As such, each of the battery 12 and electric motor 14 may be an energy sink according to this disclosure. In some embodiments, a plurality of energy sinks may be provided in the tractor 10. For example, as shown in Fig. 1, one or more one batteries 12 and one or more electric motors 14 may be provided in the tractor 10. The trailer 20 comprises an energy converter 22. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment of Fig. 1, the trailer 20 may also comprise one or more trailer electric motors 24. Each trailer electric motor 14 may be configured to drive one or more wheels (not shown) of the trailer 20 in order to move the articulated vehicle 1. As such, the one or more trailer electric motors 24 may be configured to convert electrical energy into kinetic energy of the articulated vehicle 1. The energy converter 22 is configured to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy. In particular, the energy converter 22 may be configured to convert kinetic energy of the trailer 20 into electrical energy. In some embodiments, the energy converter 22 may be configured to convert kinetic energy from motion of a suspension (not shown) of the trailer 20 to electrical energy. One example of an energy converter 22 for converting kinetic energy to electrical energy from the motion of a suspension is shown in US-B-8,874,291. In some embodiments, the energy converter 22 may be configured to convert kinetic energy of one or more wheels (not shown) of the trailer 20 to electrical energy. For example, the trailer may comprise one or more regenerative braking systems for converting kinetic energy of one or more wheels of the trailer 20 to electrical energy In some embodiments, the energy converter 22 may convert kinetic energy from a plurality of moving parts of the trailer 20 (e.g. wheels and suspension) into electrical energy. As shown in Fig. 1, the energy converter 22 may be configured to output electrical energy to the tractor 10 of the articulated vehicle 1. In particular, the electrical energy may be output to a power sink of the tractor 10. In some embodiments where a plurality of power sinks are provided in the tractor 10, the electrical energy may be output to the power sinks following a hierarchy. As such, a power output of the energy converter 22 may be assigned to a first power sink having a first power draw. Where the power output of the energy converter 22 exceeds the first power draw, any excess power output may be assigned to a second power sink having a second power draw. Any excess power output may be assigned to a third power sink and so on for the plurality of power sinks. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, the power draw of any one power sink may vary over time. As such, in some embodiments a controller (not shown) may be provided in order to control the flow of electrical energy to the plurality of power sinks of the tractor 10. For example, in the embodiment of Fig. 1, the articulated vehicle may prioritise providing electrical power to the electrical motor 14 of the tractor 10. Where the power draw of the electrical motor 14 is lower than the electrical power output from the energy converter 22, any excess electrical power may be output to batter 12. In some embodiments, the trailer 20 of the articulated vehicle 1 may also be provided with one or more power sinks. For example, in the embodiment of Fig. 1, the trailer 20 comprises one or more electric trailer motors 24. In some embodiments, the energy converter 22 may also be configured to output electrical energy to the one or more electric trailer motors. As such, in some embodiments, the energy recovery system 3 may also comprise one or more power sinks which are configured to be located in a trailer 20 of an articulated vehicle 1. Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an articulated vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The articulated vehicle 1 of Fig. 2 may be an articulated truck, in particular an off-road articulated truck. As shown in Fig. 2, the articulated vehicle 1 comprises a tractor 10 and a trailer 20. In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the trailer 20 comprises an articulating hitch 23. The articulating hitch 23 may be configured to connect the trailer 20 to the tractor 10. The articulating hitch 23 may be configured to allow the trailer 20 to rotate with respect to the tractor 10. In some embodiments, the articulating hitch 23 may be configured to allow the trailer 20 to rotate with respect to the tractor 10 in one or more dimensions. In some embodiments, the articulating hitch 23 may be configured to allow the trailer 20 to rotate with respect to the tractor in two or three-dimensions. The energy converter 22 shown in Fig. 2 may be connected to the articulating hitch 23. The energy converter 22 may be configured to convert the kinetic energy associated with the rotation of the trailer about the articulating hitch 23 in one or more dimensions into electrical energy. For example, as shown in Fig. 2 the trailer 20 is configured to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the articulated vehicle 1 aligned with the articulating hitch 23. Rotational motion about the articulating hitch 23 may be used to drive the energy converter 22 which then converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy. In some embodiments, the rotational energy from one or more wheels 14, 24 may also be converted to electrical energy. Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an articulated vehicle 1 according to a further embodiment of the disclosure. The articulated vehicle 1 of Fig. 3 may be an articulated truck, in particular an off-road articulated truck. As shown in Fig. , the articulated vehicle 1 comprises a tractor 10 and a trailer 20. In the embodiment of Fig. 3, the trailer 20 comprises a walking beam 25. The walking beam 25 may be configured to connect two or more wheels 24 of the trailer 20 to the chassis 26 of the trailer 20. The walking beam 25 may be configured to allow the wheels 24 of the trailer 20 to move relative to the chassis 26 of the trailer. As such, it will be appreciated that the walking beam 25 may be configured to rotate with respect to the chassis 26 of the trailer 20. As shown in the schematic diagram of Fig. 3, the walking beam 25 may be configured to rotate about a transverse axis which is parallel to the axes of rotation of each of the wheels 14, 24 of the articulated vehicle. The energy converter 22 shown in Fig. 3 may be connected to the walking beam 25. The energy converter 22 may be configured to convert the kinetic energy associated with the rotation of the walking beam 25 about the chassis 26 of the trailer 20 into electrical energy. For example, as shown in Fig. 3 the walking beam 25 is configured to rotate about a transverse axis of the walking beam 25. Rotational motion of the walking beam 25 may be used to drive the energy converter 22 which then converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy. In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, the energy converter 22 may be used to convert rotational energy of the trailer 20 into electrical energy. In some embodiments, the energy converter may comprise a generator (not shown). The generator may be configured to convert rotational motion into electrical energy. In some embodiments, energy converter 22 may also comprise a flywheel (not shown). In some embodiments, the flywheel may be configured to drive the generator, wherein the flywheel is in turn driven by the rotational motion of the trailer 20. One example of an energy converter 22 according to this disclosure is described in WO-A-2020198127, although it will be appreciated that other types of energy converter may also be utilised in embodiments of this disclosure. According to this disclosure a method of energy recovery for an articulated vehicle 1 is also provided. The method 100 may be performed by the articulated truck 1 of Fig. 1. A block diagram of the method 100 is shown in Fig. 2. Step 101 of the method comprises using an energy converter located in the trailer 20 of the articulated vehicle 1 to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy. Step 102 of the method comprises transferring the electrical energy from the energy converter 22 to an energy sink 12, 14 located in the tractor 10 of the articulated vehicle 1. Industrial applicability According to this disclosure an energy recovery system 3 for an articulated vehicle 1 is provided. The energy recovery system 3 is configured to recover kinetic energy from an articulated vehicle 1. In particular, the energy recovery system 3 is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the trailer 20 of the articulated vehicle 1 into electrical energy. As such, the energy recovery system 3 may recover energy from the motion of the trailer 20 of the articulated vehicle, which would otherwise be wasted. In particular, the energy recovery system 3 may be configured to recover energy from the motion (i.e. the kinetic energy involved in the motion) of the trailer 20 relative to the tractor 10 of the articulated vehicle 1. For example, the energy converter 22 may be configured to convert kinetic energy from motion of an articulating hitch 23 or a walking beam 25 of the trailer 20 to electrical energy. In some embodiments, energy recovery system 3 may also be configured to distribute the recovered energy to different parts of the articulated vehicle 1. For example, the energy recovery system 3 which may be located in the trailer 20 may transfer recovered electrical energy to a power sink located in the tractor 10 of the articulated vehicle 1. The energy recovery system 3 may also be configured to transfer electrical energy to one or more power sinks of the trailer 20. For example, the trailer 20 may include one or more trailer electric motors 24, which may receive electrical energy from the energy converter 22. According to embodiments of this disclosure, an articulated vehicle 1 including an energy recover system 3 is also provided. The articulated vehicle 1 may be an articulated vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine, or a hybrid articulated vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine and at least one electric motor 14. According to this disclosure, the articulated vehicle may be an articulated lorry, an articulated bus, or an articulated offroad vehicle. In particular, the articulated off-road vehicle may be a front loader, a grader, a 5 dump truck, or a hauler.

Claims

1. An energy recovery system for an articulated vehicle having a tractor and a trailer, the energy recovery system comprising:an energy converter configured to be connected to the trailer of the articulated vehicle, the energy converter configured to convert kinetic energy associated with a rotational motion of the trailer into electrical energy; andan energy sink configured to receive electrical energy from the energy converter, the energy sink configured to be located in the tractor of the articulated vehicle.

2. An energy recovery system according to claim 1, whereinthe trailer comprises an articulating hitch which is configured to connect the trailer to the tractor; andthe energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the articulating hitch to electrical energy.

3. An energy recovery system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the trailer comprises a walking beam; and the energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the walking beam to electrical energy.

4. An energy recovery system according to any preceding claim, wherein the energy converter comprises a flywheel and a generator, wherein the flywheel is configured to be driven by rotational motion of the trailer and the generator is configured to generate electrical energy from rotation of flywheel.

5. An energy recovery system according to any preceding claim, wherein the energy converter also configured to convert kinetic energy of one or more wheels of the trailer to electrical energy.

6. An energy recovery system according to any preceding claim, wherein the energy sink comprises a battery or a capacitor of the articulated vehicle.

7. An energy recovery system according to any preceding claim, whereinthe energy sink comprises a motor configured to drive to one or more wheels of the tractor.

8. An articulated vehicle comprising: a tractor;a trailer, wherein the tractor is pivotably connected to the trailer; and an energy recovery system according to any of claims 1 to 7.

9. An articulated vehicle according to claim 8, whereinthe trailer further comprises an articulation hitch which is configured to connect the trailer to the tractor; andthe energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the articulation hitch to electrical energy.

10. An articulated vehicle according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the trailer comprises a walking beam; and the energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the walking beam to electrical energy.

11. An articulated vehicle according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the energy converter comprises a flywheel and a generator, and the flywheel is configured to be driven by rotational motion of the trailer and the generator is configured to generate electrical energy from rotation of flywheel.

12. An articulated vehicle according to any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the trailer comprises a plurality of wheels; andthe energy converter is also configured to convert kinetic energy of one or more wheels of the trailer to electrical energy.

13. An articulated vehicle according to any of claims 8 to 12, wherein the energy sink comprises a battery or a capacitor of the articulated vehicle.

14. An articulated vehicle according to any of claims 8 to 13, wherein the energy sink comprises a motor configured to drive to one or more wheels of thetractor.

15. A method of energy recovery for an articulate vehicle having a tractor and a trailer, the method comprising:using an energy converter located in the trailer of the articulated vehicle to convert5 kinetic energy into electrical energy; andtransferring the electrical energy from the energy converter to an energy sink located in the tractor of the articulated vehicle.AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN FILED AS FOLLOWS:-CLAIMS:

1. An energy recovery system for an articulated vehicle having a tractor and a trailer, the energy recovery system comprising:an energy converter configured to be connected to the trailer of the articulated vehicle, the energy converter configured to convert kinetic energy associated with a rotational motion of the trailer into electrical energy; andan energy sink configured to receive electrical energy from the energy converter, the energy sink configured to be located in the tractor of the articulated vehicle, whereinthe trailer comprises an articulating hitch which is configured to connect the trailer to the tractor; andthe energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the articulating hitch to electrical energy.

2. An energy recovery system according to claim 1, whereinthe trailer comprises a walking beam; andthe energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the walking beam to electrical energy.

3. An energy recovery system according to any preceding claim, wherein the energy converter comprises a flywheel and a generator, wherein the flywheel is configured to be driven by rotational motion of the trailer and the generator is configured to generate electrical energy from rotation of flywheel.

4. An energy recovery system according to any preceding claim, wherein the energy converter also configured to convert kinetic energy of one or more wheels of the trailer to electrical energy.

5. An energy recovery system according to any preceding claim, wherein the energy sink comprises a battery or a capacitor of the articulated vehicle.

6. An energy recovery system according to any preceding claim, wherein the energy sink comprises a motor configured to drive to one or more wheels of thetractor.

7. An articulated vehicle comprising:a tractor;a trailer;an articulation hitch which is configured to pivotably connect the trailer to the tractor; andan energy recovery system according to any of claims 1 to 6.

8. An articulated vehicle according to claim 7, whereinthe trailer comprises a walking beam; andthe energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the walking beam to electrical energy.

9. An articulated vehicle according to any of claims 7 to 8, wherein the energy converter comprises a flywheel and a generator, and the flywheel is configured to be driven by rotational motion of the trailer and the generator is configured to generate electrical energy from rotation of flywheel.

10. An articulated vehicle according to any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the trailer comprises a plurality of wheels; andthe energy converter is also configured to convert kinetic energy of one or more wheels of the trailer to electrical energy.

11. An articulated vehicle according to any of claims 7 to 10, wherein the energy sink comprises a battery or a capacitor of the articulated vehicle.

12. An articulated vehicle according to any of claims 7 to 11, wherein the energy sink comprises a motor configured to drive to one or more wheels of the tractor.

13. A method of energy recovery for an articulate vehicle having a tractor and a trailer, the method comprising:using an energy converter located in the trailer of the articulated vehicle to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy; andtransferring the electrical energy from the energy converter to an energy sink located in the tractor of the articulated vehicle,whereinthe trailer comprises an articulating hitch which is configured to connect the trailer to the tractor; andthe energy converter is configured to convert kinetic energy from rotation of the5 articulating hitch to electrical energy.LDCM

Images