Differential Wheel Radius Design for Electric Vehicle Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automotive wheel designs do not prioritize fuel efficiency, leading to energy losses due to axial-to-wheel friction, particularly in electric motor-driven cars, which can be mitigated by increasing wheel diameter, but this poses design challenges such as steering and weight distribution.
Innovation Solution
Implementing wheels with a radius larger than 90 cm, potentially with a wave shape profile, and using differential wheel speed control or hybrid driving systems to manage steering and weight distribution, allowing for larger rear wheels to carry a greater portion of the car's weight and utilizing electronic control for stability during turns and braking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If wheel diameter is increased to reduce axial-to-wheel friction and improve fuel efficiency, then fuel efficiency is improved, but steering capability and vehicle design complexity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical steering systems with an electric field-based steering mechanism. The electric motor generates rotational force through electromagnetic fields, eliminating the need for complex mechanical linkages, steering gears, and associated components. This substitution reduces mechanical complexity while maintaining steering functionality, directly resolving the contradiction between improved fuel efficiency from larger wheels and deteriorating steering capability.
2Loss of energy
If wheel diameter is increased to improve fuel efficiency, then fuel efficiency is improved, but vehicle design and weight distribution deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The electric motor integrated into the wheel assembly serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides propulsion through electromagnetic rotation, enables steering control through directional electromagnetic force application, and allows for regenerative braking. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate mechanical systems for each function, simplifying overall vehicle design while accommodating the larger wheel diameter required for improved fuel efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the ability to independently control the rotational speed and direction of each wheel through electrical parameters. By varying voltage, current, and phase differences, the system can achieve different steering angles, acceleration rates, and braking forces without mechanical reconfiguration. This electrical parameter control simplifies the design process for vehicles with large diameter wheels, as it eliminates the need for complex mechanical adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical passenger car, the car including: an electrically driven motor; and wheels, where the wheels include a first wheel, a second wheel, a third wheel, and a fourth wheel, where the first wheel and the second wheel have a radius 20 percent larger than the third wheel and the fourth wheel, where the electrical passenger car includes a total weight, where the electrical passenger car includes a center of gravity designed so that greater than 50% of said total weight will be over the first wheel and the second wheel, and where the electrical passenger car is designed to travel for a greater distance for the same axial to wheel friction energy loss than a passenger car having wheels of a smaller radius.