Hub motor arrangement or vehicle with hub motor arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10226997-B2
Application number	US-201715498322-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2017
Priority date	Nov 14, 2013
Publication date	Mar 12, 2019
Grant date	Mar 12, 2019

Abstract

A ride-on vehicle, such as for a child, includes a vehicle body and one or more wheels that support the vehicle body relative to a surface. At least one of the wheels includes a hub motor arrangement that provides a drive torque for propelling the vehicle. The hub motor arrangement includes a housing defining an interior space. An axle or other mounting element(s) define an axis of rotation of the housing. Preferably, the axle or other mounting element(s) do not pass completely through the housing. A motor drives the housing through a transmission. Preferably, the motor is a standard, compact motor that is positioned on the axis of rotation and can be laterally offset from a central plane of the housing. In some embodiments, a traction element is carried directly by the housing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A hub motor arrangement, comprising:
a housing defining an interior space and an axis of rotation;
a first interconnecting member positioned within the interior space of the housing;
a second interconnecting member positioned within the interior space of the housing and configured to engage the first interconnecting member;
a plurality of planet gears;
a motor;
a sun gear driven by the motor and that drives the plurality of planet gears;
a ring gear driven by the plurality of planet gears, wherein the ring gear drives the housing for rotation about the axis of rotation;
wherein the motor is coupled for rotation with the ring gear and the housing, wherein the plurality of planet gears are positioned between the first and second interconnecting members, and wherein the first and second interconnecting members engage one another in a space that is located between the plurality of planet gears in a circumferential direction.

2. The hub motor arrangement of claim 1 , further comprising an axle defining the axis of rotation of the housing, wherein a first end portion of the axle is located outside of the interior space of the housing and a second end portion of the axle is located within the interior space of the housing such that the axle does not pass completely through the housing.

3. The hub motor arrangement of claim 2 , wherein the housing is supported for rotation relative to the axle by a first bearing.

4. The hub motor arrangement of claim 3 , wherein the first bearing supports a first side of the housing and a second end of the housing is supported by a second bearing at a location spaced from the first bearing along the axis of rotation.

5. The hub motor arrangement of claim 3 , wherein the second bearing surrounds a portion of the housing.

6. The hub motor arrangement of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of planet gears are positioned between the axle and the motor along the axis of rotation.

7. The hub motor arrangement of claim 2 , wherein a length of the axle is greater than a width of the first interconnecting member.

8. The hub motor arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the ring gear is a separate component from the housing.

9. The hub motor arrangement of claim 1 , further comprising a traction element that contacts a surface on which a vehicle is operated, wherein the traction element is carried indirectly by the housing.

10. The hub motor arrangement of claim 9 , further comprising a radially compliant member positioned between the housing and the traction element, wherein the radially compliant member is configured to transfer rotational force from the housing to the traction element and is configured to compress in a radial direction to absorb impact.

11. The hub motor arrangement of claim 10 , wherein the radially compliant member comprises a plurality of generally radially extending elements that is configured to compress or buckle in a radial direction.

12. The hub motor arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the housing defines a central plane that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, wherein the motor is offset from the central plane along the axis of rotation.

13. The hub motor arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the housing has a housing sidewall portion extending perpendicular to the axis of rotation and the ring gear has a ring gear sidewall portion, wherein the motor is positioned within a space defined between the housing sidewall portion and the ring gear side-wall portion.

14. The hub motor arrangement of claim 13 , wherein the ring gear sidewall portion is positioned substantially in alignment with a central plane that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation.

15. The hub motor arrangement of claim 1 , further comprising a first lateral support member and a second lateral support member spaced from the first lateral support member along the axis of rotation.

16. The hub motor arrangement of claim 15 , further comprising a plurality of connecting shafts extending from one of the first or the second lateral support member.

17. The hub motor arrangement of claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of planet gears is a double spur gear supported on a respective one of the plurality of connecting shafts.

18. The hub motor arrangement of claim 16 , wherein a number of the connecting shafts equals a number of the bearings.

19. The hub motor arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the ring gear is integrated with the housing.

Assignees

• Razor Usa Llc

Inventors

• Huang Joey Chih-Wei

Classifications

• B60L50/60

  using power supplied by batteries (in combination with fuel cells B60L50/75) · CPC title

• F16H1/36

  with two central gears coupled by intermeshing orbital gears · CPC title

• B60K2007/0092

  the motor axle being coaxial to the wheel axle · CPC title

• B62K2202/00

  Motorised scooters · CPC title

• B60K7/0007

  the motor being electric · CPC title