RIM MOTOR

MOTEUR DE JANTE

English Abstract

The rim motor described in this invention incorporates an electric motor
attached
to the inside of a vehicle tire rim. The motor has a narrow cylindrical
pancake
shape fixed outer housing with a large diameter hollow rotating drive shaft in
the
center attached to a vehicle wheel tire rim hub extending racially from the
bolting
face to the outer rim spokes. From the fixed outer housing of the motor
extends a
structural arm that is connected to the wheel suspension arm or to any part of
the
vehicle wheel mounting structure to keep the motor from turning. The inner
hollow shaft of the said motor attached to the rim hub then rotates the rim
and
drives the vehicle wheel.
In-wheel motors, to date, that are installed on an existing vehicle, require
the
redesign of the wheel components around the motor, and have to incorporate a
different brake mount and a new bearing/shaft arrangement.
In this invention an electric motor arranged on a tire rim can be fitted to a
vehicle
using standard bolt hole patterns, enabling a quick bolt-on conversion to add
electric propulsion to an existing internal combustion powered vehicle.

Claims

2.
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property of privilege
is
claimed are defined as follow:
1. An electrically propelled vehicle wheel in which a tire rim is attached
to the drive shaft of an electrical motor. The said shaft is hollow and
slips over the hub of the rim where it is attached.
2. The electrical motor as described in claim 1 is a narrow cylindrical
pancake shape extending radically from the rim hub between the rim
mount face and the rim spokes.
3. A rim motor as described in claim 1 and 2, in which a structural arm
extends from the fixed housing of the motor on the wheel mount side
were it is attached to the suspension arm or any fixed part of the wheel
mounting structure.

Description

CA 02657832 2000-03-16
1.
Disclosure
This invention relates to the electrical propulsion of a vehicle wheel.
Electric in-wheel motors installed in a retrofitted vehicle, typically include
the
wheel bearing, shaft, and brake assembly. Those motors are adapted to the
wheel
mount of a particular car or truck, and are not interchangeable to another
vehicle.
In this proposed invention the electric motor is mounted on the tire rim and
include a torque arm that links the motor housing to the wheel mount frame and
prevents the fixed part of the motor (stator) to turn while it's internal
inner center
(rotor) is linked to the rim hub and drives the wheel. In this arrangement the
adaptation of a vehicle to electric propulsion is made easier by simply
bolting a
motorized rim with a standard bolt pattern to a wheel hub and locking the
torque
arm to the fixed wheel frame. By using the standard rims this invention
permits
the rim motor to be used on different vehicles and eases the conversion of
multiple vehicles to electric propulsion.
Fig. I of the drawings shows the front view, side view, and cross section of
the rim
motor.
Fig. 2 is an isometric exploded view of the rim motor assembly with the rear
housing cover and tire rim separated for clarity.
As shown in fig. I the rim motor comprises of an external fixed housing (2) in
the
form of a narrow cylindrical pancake shape. The said housing (2) is held from
rotating by a torque arm (7) that is connected to the fixed part of the wheel
mount
or suspension arm of the vehicle. The said torque arm (7) contains the
electrical
wires (8) that power the motor. The housing (2) supports the stator coils (3)
and
secures the outer races of the bearing (5), the bearing inner races hold the
hollow
shaft (6), rotating part of the motor and the rotor magnets (4). The hollow
shaft is
in turn attached to the hub of the tire rim (1) and is driven by the said rim
motor
arrangement.

Representative Drawing