Detachable Sub-Battery System for Electric Vehicle Weight Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric motorcycles equipped with multiple batteries for long-distance travel result in increased weight, making it difficult for riders to enjoy light steering, and reducing the vehicle's ability to travel long distances when fewer batteries are used.
Innovation Solution
An electric vehicle design featuring a main battery and a detachable sub-battery system, where the controller prioritizes power supply from the sub-battery during long trips and switches to the main battery when the sub-battery's state of charge is low, allowing for efficient energy use and easy recharging, while detaching the sub-battery for short trips to reduce weight and improve handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If many batteries are mounted to the vehicle body to enable long distance travel, then the capacity of the whole batteries increases and the vehicle can travel for a long distance, but the vehicle body has a heavy weight making it difficult to enjoy light steering
Solution Approach 1:
The battery system is segmented into a main battery mounted on the vehicle body and multiple detachable sub-batteries. The sub-batteries can be selectively mounted depending on travel distance requirements, allowing the vehicle to achieve long distance travel capability when needed while maintaining light weight for short distance travel and easy handling.
2Ease of operation
If the batteries are reduced in number to allow light steering, then the vehicle body can be reduced in weight, but the vehicle body cannot travel for a long distance
Solution Approach 1:
The battery configuration is made dynamic and adaptable. The sub-batteries are designed to be detachably mounted, allowing the rider to adjust the battery configuration based on travel distance requirements. For short distance travel, sub-batteries are removed to achieve light steering; for long distance travel, sub-batteries are mounted to extend range.
3Reliability
If many batteries are mounted to the vehicle body to ensure sufficient SOC for long distance travel, then the battery capacity increases, but the device complexity increases due to multiple batteries
Solution Approach 1:
The sub-batteries are extracted as separate, detachable units from the main battery system. This allows the battery system to be simplified to just the main battery for short distance travel, while the sub-batteries can be added when long distance travel is required. The controller manages power supply from either the main battery or sub-batteries based on which are mounted, reducing the need for complex switching mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures sufficient battery state of charge for long trips while reducing vehicle weight for improved steering and easy sub-battery recharging, enabling efficient power management and enhanced ride quality.
Implementation Method 1
a main battery for activating the electric motor; a sub-battery for activating the electric motor
Data Source
AI summary
An electric vehicle comprises an electric motor for driving a wheel; a main battery for activating the electric motor; a case to which a sub-battery for activating the electric motor is detachably mounted; a connection terminal to which a terminal of the sub-battery is connected; a mounting detecting sensor for detecting that the connection terminal is connected to the terminal of the sub-battery; and a controller which detects the SOCs of the batteries and is configured such that electric power is supplied preferentially from the mounted sub-battery to the electric motor, when the SOC of the sub-battery is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and electric power is supplied from the main battery to the electric motor, when the SOC of the sub-battery is less than the predetermined value.