WIND DRIVEN VEHICLE WITH ELECTRIC MOTOR ASSIST

VEHICULE EOLIEN ASSISTE PAR MOTEUR ELECTRIQUE

English Abstract

There are several encumbrances to speed and forward mobility in land sailing
vehicles, including their variously
numerous friction sources, their lack of versatility as personal conveyances,
and their relative lack of efficient
directional manoeuvrability. This invention addresses them using: (a) a
maximum of two, very large wheels that
are not articulated for steering, carry electric motors as their hubs, have no
machine bearings other than those of
the hub motors, and due to their large diameters are more directionally stable
and significantly less affected by
roadway roughness; (b) an under-axle centre of gravity that facilities braking
without rotating the vehicle's load
or ballast, and facilitates extra load capacity which can be speed-enhancing;
(c) a four-way-adjustable aerofoil
which can effect minor turns in lieu of conventional or differential braking;
and (d) regenerative motors that
charge batteries under sail power and therefore deliver a broader opportunity
for fuel-free mobility.

Claims

CLAIMS
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege
is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A land sailing vehicle whose main axle is the vehicle's crossbeam and whose
centre of gravity while
the vehicle is at rest is located beneath the crossbeam-axle.
2. A land vehicle capable of employing wind as its free source of power for
both propulsion and battery
recharging.
3. A vehicle as defined in Claim 1, in which each end of the crossbeam is
fitted with a spoked wheel.
4. A vehicle as defined in Claim 1, which may be occupied by one or more
seated persons and driven by
any combination of one or more fabric sail(s) and two battery-regenerative
electric motors.
5. A vehicle as defined in Claim 3, in which the motor rotors serve as hubs
for the two wheels, as anchors
for the spokes and as brake disks, and in which the motor shafts are affixed
into the ends of the
crossbeam-axle.
6. A vehicle as defined in Claim 1, in which the crossbeam carries a fixed
crib or "cage" structure whose
main components are one or more occupant seats and two batteries.
7. A vehicle as defined in Claim 1, in which the foot of a mast is affixed to
the rear of the cage structure, a
sail is hung from the masthead, and the sail position or trim is adjustable by
the operator of the vehicle
in a manner that causes the vehicle to be propelled forward.
8. A vehicle as defined in Claim 2, in which the operator may deploy
regenerative motor braking as
needed while the vehicle glides downhill, and motor power as needed for uphill
travel.
9. A vehicle as defined in Claim 1, in which the inertia of the vehicle's
ballast weight located a sufficient
distance beneath the crossbeam-axle directly facilitates friction-disk braking
without need for additional
braking appendages.

Description

CA 02670036 2009-06-03
G~ ~b K
Richard Letkeman
203 - 106 Lakeshore Rd. E.
Mississauga, Ontario L5G 1E3
a5c~ 230
The Commissioner of Patents Industry Industrie aM,J......_._ Y/M/D
Place du Portage I Canada Canada
2009/06/03
50 Victoria St., Room C-114
Gatineau, Quebec K1A OC9 ~IIN II~I~~IIYIY~II~II~~IYI~dI~INdNI 159- 09
Dear Sir: CIPO OPIC B001339522
I hereby request an Early Filing date for a Canada Patent application covering
the following invention
originated by me.
This design is a two-wheel vehicle powered by wind and sail as well as by two
electric motors, such that:
(1) the vehicle will be propelled by one or more adjustable aerofoils or sails
attached by their peak(s) to a
spar while allowing two wheel-hub motors to electrically charge a bank of two
or more standard
automotive batteries; (2) the motors will propel the vehicle forward during
periods of light winds; (3)
steering will be achieved by a combination of differential braking and sail
adjustment; (4) a low centre of
gravity is achieved by means of (A) a bench seat hanging from the centre beam
and axles and carrying
one or more persons, and (B) positioning of the batteries as near to the
ground as practicable; (5) the side-
by-side wheels are a sufficient distance apart from each other to achieve
stability and of sufficient
diameter to allow space for passenger(s) in the seat, (6) the vehicle is
practical for medium-to-high-speed
travel on unrestricted paved or soft-base roads and on ground surfaces
including beaches, and (7) an
optional tarpaulin may cover the vehicle's forepart to provide a measure of
aerodynamic streamlining.
Please be informed, also, that during preliminary design stages for this
vehicle I have shown sketches of it
to Stephen Connor, Matthew Geraghty, D. Ken Letkeman, Michael Spaziani, Barry
Pierce, Peter Hanna,
Joe Kwan and Joe Sant. Be informed, also that I am unaware of the need for
sketches or drawings to be
submitted at the same time as this Early Filing and therefore have not
submitted them although they are
currently available.
By this submission I believe that in accordance with Subsection 3.01(2) of the
Patent Rules, I am entitled
to pay the fees at the small entity level in respect of this early filing
patent application. I have therefore
enclosed a cheque for $200.
Yours,
Richard Letkeman
Encl.