초록 ▼

A wheel assembly for a vehicle may include a rim and an energy recovery system. The energy recovery system may include a flywheel and an infinitely variable transmission (IVT). The flywheel may be concentric with the rim and operable to rotate relative to the rim. The IVT may be positioned within th

A wheel assembly for a vehicle may include a rim and an energy recovery system. The energy recovery system may include a flywheel and an infinitely variable transmission (IVT). The flywheel may be concentric with the rim and operable to rotate relative to the rim. The IVT may be positioned within the flywheel and couple the rim to the flywheel. When the vehicle is decelerating and an angular velocity of the rim is greater than an angular velocity of the flywheel, kinetic energy of the rim may be imparted to the flywheel and stored as mechanical potential energy thereby providing a braking force to the vehicle. Alternatively, when the vehicle is accelerating and the angular velocity of the rim is less than the angular velocity of the flywheel, the mechanical potential energy of the flywheel may be imparted to the wheel thereby providing an accelerating force to the vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A wheel assembly for a vehicle comprising a rim and an energy recovery system, the energy recovery system comprising a flywheel and an infinitely variable transmission wherein: the flywheel is substantially concentric with the rim and operable to rotate relative to the rim;the infinitely variable

1. A wheel assembly for a vehicle comprising a rim and an energy recovery system, the energy recovery system comprising a flywheel and an infinitely variable transmission wherein: the flywheel is substantially concentric with the rim and operable to rotate relative to the rim;the infinitely variable transmission is positioned within the flywheel and couples the rim to the flywheel such that: when the vehicle is decelerating and an angular velocity of the rim is greater than an angular velocity of the flywheel, kinetic energy of the rim is imparted to the flywheel and stored as mechanical potential energy thereby providing a braking force to the vehicle; andwhen the vehicle is accelerating and the angular velocity of the rim is less than the angular velocity of the flywheel, the mechanical potential energy of the flywheel is imparted to the rim thereby providing an accelerating force to the vehicle. 2. The wheel assembly of claim 1 wherein the infinitely variable transmission comprises an idler ring, a plurality of input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and a plurality of output infinitely variable planetary gear sets, wherein: the idler ring is concentric with the flywheel;the plurality of input infinitely variable planetary gear sets are pivotally engaged with an outer diameter of the idler ring and operable to rotate on the outer diameter of the idler ring, wherein: the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets are rotationally coupled to the rim such that a rotation of the rim rotates the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets on the outer diameter of the idler ring;the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets are operable to frictionally engage a flywheel coupling ring concentric with the flywheel and rotationally coupled to the flywheel such that rotation of the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets around the idler ring is imparted to the flywheel via the flywheel coupling ring;the plurality of output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are pivotally engaged with an inner diameter of the idler ring and operable to rotate on the inner diameter of the idler ring, wherein: the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are rotationally coupled to the flywheel such that the rotation of the flywheel rotates the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets on the inner diameter of the idler ring;the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are operable to frictionally engage an output coupling concentric with the flywheel and rotationally coupled to the rim such that rotation of the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets is imparted to the rim via the output coupling; andthe idler ring is axially displaceable with respect to the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets thereby pivoting the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets such that the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are frictionally engaged or disengaged with the flywheel coupling ring and the output coupling, respectively. 3. The wheel assembly of claim 2 wherein, when the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are pivoted, the flywheel is engaged with the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets. 4. The wheel assembly of claim 2 wherein each of the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets comprise a roller element positioned on an axle and the axle is pivotally coupled to the idler ring with a pivoting linkage and a follower arm. 5. The wheel assembly of claim 4 wherein the roller element is a sphere. 6. The wheel assembly of claim 4 wherein the roller element is spheroidal. 7. The wheel assembly of claim 2 further comprising a planetary gear set having a ring gear, a carrier concentric with the ring gear, a sun gear concentric with the carrier, and a plurality of pinion gears rotatably attached to the carrier and engaged with the ring gear and a sun gear, wherein: the ring gear is fixed with respect to the carrier and the sun gear;the sun gear is attached to the flywheel such that the sun gear and the flywheel are operable to rotate with one another about a common axis of rotation relative to the ring gear; andthe carrier is rotatable with respect to the ring gear and rotationally coupled to the flywheel coupling ring with a one way clutch and to the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets. 8. The wheel assembly of claim 2 further comprising a one way clutch that rotationally couples the flywheel coupling ring to the flywheel such that rotation of the flywheel is not imparted to the flywheel coupling ring and the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets. 9. The wheel assembly of claim 2 further comprising a one way clutch that rotationally couples the output coupling to the rim such that rotation of the rim is not imparted to the output coupling and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets. 10. An energy recovery system comprising a flywheel and an infinitely variable transmission), wherein the infinitely variable transmission rotationally couples the flywheel to a source of rotational motion with an input coupling and to an external system with an output coupling and the infinitely variable transmission comprises an idler ring, a plurality of input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and a plurality of output infinitely variable planetary gear sets, wherein: the idler ring is concentric with the flywheel;the plurality of input infinitely variable planetary gear sets are pivotally engaged with an outer diameter of the idler ring and operable to rotate on the outer diameter of the idler ring, wherein: the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets are rotationally coupled to the input coupling such that a rotation of the input coupling rotates the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets on the outer diameter of the idler ring;the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets are operable to frictionally engage with a flywheel coupling ring concentric with the flywheel and rotationally coupled to the flywheel such that rotation of the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets around the idler ring is imparted to the flywheel via the flywheel coupling ring;the plurality of output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are pivotally engaged with an inner diameter of the idler ring and operable to rotate on the inner diameter of the idler ring, wherein: the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are rotationally coupled to the flywheel such that the rotation of the flywheel rotates the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets on the inner diameter of the idler ring;the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are operable to frictionally engage with an output coupling concentric with the flywheel such that rotation of the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets is imparted to the output coupling; andthe idler ring is axially displaceable with respect to the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets thereby pivoting the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets such that the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are frictionally engaged or disengaged with the flywheel coupling ring and the output coupling, respectively. 11. The energy recovery system of claim 10 wherein, when the input coupling is coupled to the source of rotational motion, the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets are frictionally engaged with the flywheel coupling ring and an angular velocity of the source is greater than an angular velocity of the flywheel, kinetic energy from the source is imparted to the flywheel and stored as mechanical potential energy. 12. The energy recovery system of claim 10 wherein, when the output coupling is coupled to the external system, the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets are engaged with the output coupling and an angular velocity of the external system is less than the angular velocity of the flywheel, mechanical potential energy of the flywheel is imparted to the external system. 13. The energy recovery system of claim 10 wherein the external system is the source of rotational motion. 14. The energy recovery system of claim 10 further comprising a planetary gear set having a ring gear, a carrier concentric with the ring gear, a sun gear concentric with the carrier, and a plurality of pinion gears rotatably attached to the carrier and engaged with the ring gear and a sun gear, wherein: the ring gear is fixed with respect to the carrier and the sun gear;the sun gear is attached to the flywheel such that the sun gear and the flywheel are operable to rotate with one another about a common axis of rotation relative to the ring gear; andthe carrier is rotatable with respect to the ring gear and rotationally coupled to the flywheel coupling ring with a one way clutch and to the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets. 15. The energy recovery system of claim 10 further comprising a one way clutch that rotationally couples the flywheel coupling ring to the flywheel such that rotation of the flywheel is not imparted to the flywheel coupling ring and the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets. 16. The energy recovery system of claim 10 further comprising a one way clutch for rotationally coupling the output coupling to the external system such that rotation of the external system is not imparted to the output coupling. 17. The energy recovery system of claim 10 wherein each of the input infinitely variable planetary gear sets and the output infinitely variable planetary gear sets comprise a roller element positioned on an axle and the axle is pivotally coupled to the idler ring with a pivoting linkage and a follower arm. 18. An energy recovery control system for a vehicle having at least one wheel assembly comprising a rim and an energy recovery system having a flywheel disposed in the rim and an infinitely variable transmission coupling the rim to the flywheel, wherein: the energy recovery control system comprises an electronic control unit electrically coupled to a brake sensor, an accelerator sensor, and an IVT actuator, wherein the brake sensor is coupled to a braking system of the vehicle, the accelerator sensor is coupled to a throttle control system of the vehicle, the IVT actuator is coupled to the infinitely variable transmission and the electronic control unit is programmed to: receive a signal from the brake sensor indicative of an amount of braking desired by a vehicle operator when the vehicle is decelerating;receive a signal from the accelerator sensor indicative of an amount of acceleration desired by the vehicle operator when the vehicle is accelerating from a stop; andoutput a control signal to the IVT actuator to engage the infinitely variable transmission with the flywheel and the rim based on one of the signal from the brake sensor or the signal from the accelerator sensor when the vehicle is accelerating from a stop or decelerating. 19. The energy recovery control system of claim 18 wherein: when the IVT actuator engages the infinitely variable transmission with the flywheel and the rim, the vehicle is decelerating, and an angular velocity of the rim is greater than an angular velocity of the flywheel, kinetic energy of the rim is imparted to the flywheel and stored as mechanical potential energy thereby providing a braking force to the vehicle; andwhen the IVT actuator engages the infinitely variable transmission with the flywheel and the rim, the vehicle is accelerating, and the angular velocity of the rim is less than the angular velocity of the flywheel, the mechanical potential energy of the flywheel is imparted to the rim thereby providing an accelerating force to the vehicle. 20. The energy recovery control system of claim 18 further comprising a wheel velocity sensor coupled to the electronic control unit and the rim and a flywheel velocity sensor coupled to the electronic control unit a and the flywheel, wherein the electronic control unit is further programmed to: receive a signal from the wheel velocity sensor indicative of the angular velocity of the rim;receive a signal from the flywheel velocity sensor indicative of the angular velocity of the flywheel; andsend a control signal to the IVT actuator to disengage the infinitely variable transmission from the flywheel when the velocity of the rim is zero or the velocity of the flywheel is zero.