AU2009100579A4 - Energy Efficient Transportation System - Google Patents

Description

1 Description AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Energy Efficient Transportation System The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me Energy Efficient Transportation System Background of the Invention This invention relates to battery powered vehicles, particularly bicycles, and more specifically to a modular station for charging electric vehicles, as well as providing other electrical services to users. Summary of the Related Art Rises in fuel prices and city traffic congestion has prompted commuters to consider alternatives to motor vehicles. Recent developments in the fields of battery and motor 2 technology has made small electric vehicles an increasingly practical option, but there are still concerns about methods used to charge the vehicles batteries. The conventional model is that electric vehicles are charged at night using "off peak" electricity from the national grid. Off peak electricity arises due to the difficulty in starting and stopping large fossil fueled power stations. While the national electrical load is low, such as at night, the stations are throttled down to a minimum fuel burning operating mode, ready to power up when demand increases. The problem with this model is that the power stations, while operating at minimum power, are still burning tremendous amounts of fuel, which releases pollutants such as carbon dioxide to the environment. Furthermore, replacing the national motor vehicle fleet with electric vehicles would mean that there would be no off peak period. The power stations would be operating under load at all times, releasing even more pollutants into the atmosphere. Background of the Invention Most vehicles used for commuting only carry a single passenger, meaning that most of the energy used by the vehicle is simply to move the vehicle itself. Simple mathematics shows that most conventional vehicles operate at only a few percent fuel efficiency. That is, of a hundred units of energy used, perhaps as little as one or two units go into propelling the passenger, while the other 98 or 99 go into propelling the vehicle. This equation is strongly dependent on the weight and air resistance. Reducing both will have a dramatic effect on the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Alternately, a low weight, low air drag vehicle will achieve high levels of performance with only small power input. Lowering weight is not difficult, due to the availability of modern high strength, light weight materials such as aluminium alloys, carbon fiber, chrome steel, etc. It also follows that the vehicle should be sized to suit it's mission, with emphasis on small dimensions for ease of driving in congested areas and ease parking. Air resistance is reduced by again keeping overall dimensions modest, and also by keeping overall speed low. Lowering energy usage has the flow on effect of dramatically reducing recharging requirements. That is, the vehicle no longer needs to draw huge amounts of energy to be recharged, which would necessitate supply from the national grid. Rather, the energy requirement can be supplied by modest renewable energy systems such as solar panels, wind turbines, water turbines, etc. Similarly, lowering energy usage allows the driver to contribute to the energy input of the vehicle. The best known form is the electrically assisted bicycle, where the user can pedal in tandem with the electric drive system. Electric assisted bicycles are especially useful for motivating otherwise sedentary users into valuable exercise regimes, as they always have assistance if their chosen path of travel proves too 3 strenuous. At a time where obesity and other diseases of inactivity have become epidemic, this can be a valuable function indeed. Summary of the Invention The invention is a system of highly energy efficient electric vehicles recharged by a matching renewable energy powered charging station. As discussed above, the vehicles are designed to be of minimum size, weight and speed to suit their intended purpose, and include vehicles such as bicycles, tricycles, motorcycles and small cars. The charging stations store and shelter the vehicles as well as supplying charging energy. Power to the stations is supplied from alternative energy sources such as wind, solar or water power, with optional connection to the national grid to export excess power or make up temporary shortfalls. Given that alternative energies can often be of a variable nature, the recharging stations can optionally be fitted with a battery bank to accumulate energy input when available for later use in vehicle charging. To assure maximum versatility, the charging stations are designed to be of modular construction, where each module offers complete support for, say, two vehicles. Thus, the user simply needs to specify how many vehicles they require, and they are shipped a suitable number of modules and vehicles. For maximum ease of assembly, all charging station modules are designed to be constructed in "flat pack" form. That is, each module is completely fabricated in panels which are complete down to every detail such as wiring, plugs, sockets, battery packs, etc so that they can be assembled at their site without any skilled labour. The charging stations can be fitted with security options such as a complete cage around the vehicles, secure lockers, lights. Security pass entry such as a swipe card may also be fitted, to control entry or to allow collection of payments for use of the station. The charging stations can be fitted with extra electrical outlets for either DC low voltage or AC line voltage, allowing for eg. the charging of mobile phone batteries, telemetry for station monitoring, extra security lighting, etc. Description of the Drawings An example of the transportation system is shown in front and side views. In this case the vehicle is an electrically powered bicycle 3 supported for charging within the structure by support rail 4. The station has a roof 5 to shelter the bicycle and other components, and also to support solar panels 1 if used. If solar panels are used, the roof may have a pitch chosen to correspond to the preferred mounting angle for solar panels at a particular 4 latitude, or else be fitted with known mountings for the panels, again to allow the panels to be mounted at a particular angle. Lockers 6 may be provided to house any electrical or other equipment, as well as for secure storage of any personal belongings of the users.

Claims (5)

1.An energy efficient transportation system comprising one or more electrically powered vehicles, each having onboard rechargeable energy storage means, and a charging station to shelter the vehicles and to recharge the onboard energy storage means, wherein the charging station is powered by one or more renewable energy sources, and the vehicles are designed to minimise the amount of energy absorbed by the vehicle itself during transportation operations.

2.The transport system of Claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an electrically assisted bicycle.

3.The transport system as claimed in either of the above claims, wherein the charging station is connected to the national electricity grid, and excess generated power is exported into the grid.

4.The transport system as claimed in any of the above claims, wherein the charging station includes energy storage means.

5.The transport system as claimed in any of the above claims, wherein the renewable energy sources are selected from solar, wind and water power. 6