Motorcycle with an electrically driveable front wheel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10752122-B2
Application number	US-201815868485-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 11, 2018
Priority date	Sep 4, 2015
Publication date	Aug 25, 2020
Grant date	Aug 25, 2020

Abstract

A vehicle with a front wheel and a front wheel of a vehicle is provided. The front wheel is drivable by a first drive arrangement, and a rear wheel of the vehicle is drivable by a second drive arrangement. The first drive arrangement may be integrated into the front wheel, and includes an electric motor for selectively rotatably driving the front wheel, a reduction gear between the electric motor and the front wheel, and an actuable coupling for selectively coupling or decoupling the electric motor to the reduction gear.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle, comprising:
a front wheel;
a first drive arrangement configured to drive the front wheel;
a rear wheel; and
a second drive arrangement configured to drive the rear wheel,
wherein
the first drive arrangement is integrated within a hub of the front wheel,
the first drive arrangement includes an electric motor, a reduction gear, and an actuable coupling configured to selectively couple or decouple the electric motor with the reduction gear,
the reduction gear is a Wolfrom gear arrangement,
a stator and a rotor of the electric motor, the reduction gear and the actuable coupling are located axially adjacent to one another on an axle and are not radially overlapping, and
the front wheel is drivable by the electric motor when the actuable coupling is coupling the electric motor with the reduction gear.

2. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the actuable coupling is a mechanical coupling.

3. The vehicle as claimed in claim 2 , wherein
the mechanical coupling is a friction coupling or a claw coupling.

4. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the stator of the electric motor is connected to a front wheel suspension in a non-rotational manner, and
an output end of the reduction gear is connected to the front wheel such that the output end rotates with the front wheel.

5. The vehicle as claimed in claim 4 , further comprising:
a first drive arrangement control unit configured to control at least one of the electric motor and the actuable coupling.

6. The vehicle as claimed in claim 5 , wherein
the first drive arrangement control unit is integrated with the front wheel.

7. The vehicle as claimed in claim 5 , wherein
the first drive arrangement control unit is connectable to a BUS system of the vehicle to receive vehicle state information.

8. The vehicle as claimed in claim 7 , wherein
the first drive arrangement control unit is configured to control the at least one of the electric motor and the actuable coupling based on the received vehicle state information.

9. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6 , wherein
the first drive arrangement includes a mechanical securement configured to mechanically prevent an unintentional coupling of the drive motor to the reduction gear when the second drive arrangement is in an active operating state.

10. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the first drive arrangement is coupleable to a battery of the vehicle.

11. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the first drive arrangement is configured for slow maneuvering operation of the vehicle at a maneuvering speed between 0 and 5 km/h.

12. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the first drive arrangement is configured for slow maneuvering operation of the vehicle at a maneuvering speed between 0 and 2 km/h.

13. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
a torque output of the electric motor is between 0.1 and 50 Nm.

14. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
a torque output of the electric motor is between 0.5 and 10 Nm.

15. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the vehicle is a motorcycle, a scooter, a quad or a trike.

16. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the electric motor of the first drive arrangement is a permanently excited synchronous motor, and
the second drive arrangement includes at least one of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine.

17. A vehicle front wheel, comprising:
a first drive arrangement configured to drive the front wheel,
wherein
the first drive arrangement is integrated within a hub of the front wheel,
the first drive arrangement includes an electric motor, a reduction gear, and an actuable coupling configured to selectively couple or decouple the electric motor with the reduction gear,
the reduction gear is a Wolfrom gear arrangement,
a stator and a rotor of the electric motor, the reduction gear and the actuable coupling are located axially adjacent to one another on an axle shaft and are not radially overlapping, and
the front wheel is drivable by the electric motor when the actuable coupling is coupling the electric motor with the reduction gear.

Assignees

• Bayerische Motoren Werke Ag

Inventors

• Werner Ernst August
• Mueller Gerhard
• Garnweitner Franz
• Weck Werner
• Reiner Gerhard

Classifications

• B60L2200/12

  Bikes · CPC title

• B62M25/08

  with electrical or fluid transmitting systems · CPC title

• B62M11/18

  with a plurality of planetary gear units · CPC title

• B62M7/12

  with the engine beside or within the driven wheel · CPC title

• B62M6/65

  with axle and driving shaft arranged coaxially · CPC title