Claims:CLAIMS
I/We Claim:
1. An electric scooter (100) comprising:
a motor (106) configured to control a movement of wheels (108a-108b), wherein the motor (106) is a brushless direct current motor;
a battery (110) coupled to the motor (106), and configured to provide power to the motor (106);
a throttle (112) configured to generate an acceleration to obtain a variable speed; and
a controller (114) coupled to the motor (106), the battery (110), and the throttle (112), and configured to:
receive an activation signal from an ignition switch;
activate the motor (106) based on the received activation signal;
draw a current and/or a voltage from the battery (110) based on the acceleration produced by way of the throttle (112);
determine the current and/or the voltage drawn from the battery (110);
compare the determined current and/or the voltage drawn with a predefined overloading threshold;
generate a deactivation signal when the determined current and/or the voltage drawn from the battery (110) is greater than or equal to the predefined overloading threshold; and
deactivate the motor (106) based on the generated deactivation signal.
2. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller (114) is a PIC18F2431 microcontroller.
3. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery (110) is charged by way of an Electronic Braking System (EBS) of the electric scooter (100).
4. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the Electronic Braking System (EBS) is configured to alter connection phases of the motor (106) resulting in charging of the battery (110) through a dynamo mechanism.
5. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fan (116) connected to the controller (114), wherein the fan (116) is adapted to cool the controller (114) during high-temperature conditions.
6. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a boot space (118) beneath a seat (120) of the electric scooter (100), wherein a capacity of the boot space (118) is 21 liters.
7. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising hall sensors (122) connected to a shaft of the motor (106), wherein the hall sensors (122) are configured to control an energization of windings based on a position of shaft of the motor (106).
8. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a chassis (102) designed to support the motor (106), the wheels (108a-108b), the battery (110), the controller (114), a fan (116), or a combination thereof.
9. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a ground clearance of 155 Millimeter (mm).
10. The electric scooter (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a torque generated by the motor (106) is equal to 41 Newton Meter (Nm).
Date: 09 November, 2021
Place: Noida

Dr. Keerti Gupta
Agent for the Applicant
(IN/PA-1529)

, Description:FORM 2

THE PATENT ACT 1970
(39 of 1970)
&

THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10, and rule 13)

ELECTRIC SCOOTER

APPLICANT(S)
NAME: SR University
NATIONALITY: INDIAN
ADDRESS: S R University Ananthasagar, Warangal, Telangana, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed
BACKGROUND
Field of the Invention
[001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a two-wheeler vehicle and particularly to an electric two-wheeler scooter.
Description of Related Art
[002] Travel has become essential for humans. One must go from one place to another place to survive in this fast-paced environment. Thus, fast and modern means of transportation such as buses, cars, motorcycles, trucks, trains, etc. are essential needs of today’s humans as they keep travelling time to minimum, as well as being affordable and readily available. Vehicles operating on gasoline, diesel, petrol have led to an increase in environmental issues in recent years. Thus, to prevent natural resources along with the environment, the humans are switching to green fuels. The green fuels such as electricity has replaced the conventional fuels used in the modern means of transportation, as electric vehicles are environmentally safe and cost-effective.
[003] In past few years, various types of the electric vehicles have been developed by manufacturers. For example, YO bikes have introduced electric two-wheelers in a year 2006 to an Indian market. Similarly, Hero in collaboration with UK based Ultra motor has launched a series of bikes in 2007. Similarly, Ace Motors have also introduced the electric bike. However, the electric bikes/scooters available in the market have many shortcomings such as a recharging time of these electric bikes/scooters being quite too high. These electric bikes/scooters are usually very expensive. Also, a battery pack of these electric scooters/bikes are very weak leading to a short range of operation.
[004] There is thus a need for an electric scooter that can overcome all the shortcomings of the presently available electric scooters in the market.
SUMMARY
[005] Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide an electric scooter. The electric scooter comprises a motor configured to control a movement of wheels. The motor is a brushless direct current motor. The electric scooter further includes a battery coupled to the motor, and configured to provide power to the motor. The electric scooter further includes a throttle configured to generate an acceleration to obtain a variable speed. The electric scooter further includes a controller coupled to the motor, the battery, and the throttle. The controller is configured to receive an activation signal from an ignition switch, activate the motor based on the received activation signal; draw a current and/or a voltage from the battery based on the acceleration produced by way of the throttle; determine the current and/or the voltage drawn from the battery ; compare the determined current and/or the voltage drawn with a predefined overloading threshold; generate a deactivation signal when the determined current and/or the voltage drawn from the battery is greater than or equal to the predefined overloading threshold; and deactivate the motor based on the generated deactivation signal.
[006] Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a number of advantages depending on its particular configuration. First, embodiments of the present application may provide an electric scooter. Next, embodiments of the present application may provide a battery-operated electric scooter.
[007] Next, embodiments of the present application may provide an electric scooter with reduced charging time.
[008] Next, embodiments of the present application may provide an electric scooter that can carry more load as compared with presently available electric bikes.
[009] Next, embodiments of the present application may provide a very low-cost electric scooter.
[0010] Next, embodiments of the present application may provide an electric scooter with a metal and a plastic body.
[0011] These and other advantages will be apparent from the present application of the embodiments described herein.
[0012] The preceding is a simplified summary to provide an understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. This summary is neither an extensive nor exhaustive overview of the present disclosure and its various embodiments. The summary presents selected concepts of the embodiments of the present disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be appreciated, other embodiments of the present disclosure are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The above and still further features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of embodiments thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an electric scooter, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a chassis of the electric scooter, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates components of a controller of the electric scooter, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 4 depicts a process flow chart of the electric scooter, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method for operating the electric scooter, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0019] The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include”, “including”, and “includes” mean including but not limited to. To facilitate understanding, like reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate like elements common to the figures. Optional portions of the figures may be illustrated using dashed or dotted lines, unless the context of usage indicates otherwise.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] The following description includes the preferred best mode of one embodiment of the present disclosure. It will be clear from this description of the disclosure that the disclosure is not limited to these illustrated embodiments but that the disclosure also includes a variety of modifications and embodiments thereto. Therefore, the present description should be seen as illustrative and not limiting. While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, it should be understood, that there is no intention to limit the disclosure to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined in the claims.
[0021] In any embodiment described herein, the open-ended terms "comprising", "comprises”, and the like (which are synonymous with "including", "having” and "characterized by") may be replaced by the respective partially closed phrases "consisting essentially of", “consists essentially of", and the like or the respective closed phrases "consisting of", "consists of”, the like.
[0022] As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” designate both the singular and the plural, unless expressly stated to designate the singular only.
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates an electric scooter 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electric scooter 100 may be similar to a gasoline powered scooter that uses gasoline to run an engine whereas the electric scooter 100 may either use batteries or fuel cells instead of gas. Further, the electric scooter 100 may comprise a chassis 102 and a body 104. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the chassis 102 may be designed to support various components of the electric scooter 100. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the chassis 102 may be configured to provide a structural support to the electric scooter 100. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the chassis 102 may be made up of a material selected from steel, iron, aluminium alloy, stainless steel, titanium alloy, magnesium alloy, and so forth. Embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the material of the chassis 102 including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies.
[0024] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the chassis 102 may be covered by the body 104. The body 104 may be designed to protect the various components housed upon the chassis 102 from environmental damages such as rain, snow, hail, dust, and so forth. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the body 104 may be made up of a material selected from, the iron, the steel, aluminium, hardened plastic, carbon fiber, and so forth. Embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the material of the body 104 including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies. Further, the chassis 102 will be explained in detail in conjunction with FIG. 2.
[0025] Further, the electric scooter 100 may comprise components such as, a motor 106, wheels 108a-108b (hereinafter referred to as the wheels 108), a battery 110, a throttle 112, a controller 114, a fan 116 (as shown in the FIG. 2), a boot space 118, a seat 120, hall sensors 122 (as shown in the FIG. 2), a horn (not shown), mirrors (not shown), indicators (not shown), and so forth. The components may be attached to the chassis 102 to build a fully functional electric scooter 100.
[0026] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the motor 106 may be configured to control a movement of the wheels 108. According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the motor 106 may be a Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motor. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the motor 106 may be configured to generate a torque of 41 Newton meters. The motor 106 may be connected to the wheels 108 using a chain drive system (not shown) comprising a sprocket (not shown) and a chain wrapped around the sprocket. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the motor 106 may be connected to the wheels 108 using a belt drive system comprising a belt in place of a chain. In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the motor 106 may be connected to the wheels 108 using a shaft drive system. Further, the wheels 108 may be electric hub wheels, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Furthermore, a ground clearance of 155 Millimeters (mm) may be provided by the wheels 108.
[0027] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the battery 110 may be coupled to the motor 106. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the battery 110 may be configured to power up the motor 106. The battery 110 may be a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery pack, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, 126 Li-ion cells may be integrated to form the Li-ion battery pack. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a series and a parallel combination approach may be applied to accomplish required voltage and current parameters of the battery 110. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the battery 110 may be configured to generate 52 Volts of power. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, 14 cells may be connected in series to generate 51.8 Volt, while 9 cells are linked in parallel to generate 21.6 Ampere hour. In an embodiment of the present invention, a soldering process may be used to make the battery pack that may use 0.7 mm of a single copper wire to connect all of the battery cells in the battery pack.
[0028] The throttle 112 may be disposed upon a handle bar of the electric scooter 100 along with brakes 412 (as shown in FIG. 4), according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the throttle 112 may be disposed of on a right-hand side of the handle bar. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the throttle 112 may be used to control a speed of the electric scooter 100. The throttle 112 may use a throttle wire that may be connected to the motor 106, in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0029] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the controller 114 may be configured to receive input and perform according to the received input. The controller 114 may be coupled to the motor 106, the battery 110, and the throttle 112, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the controller 114 may be, but not limited to, a Programmable Logic Control unit (PLC), a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a computing device, a development board, and so forth. In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 114 may be a PIC18F2431 microcontroller. Embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the controller 114 including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies that may be capable of processing the received input.
[0030] Further, the controller 114 may be connected to the fan 116, in an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the fan 116 may be adapted to cool the controller 114 during high-temperature conditions. The fan 116 may blow cool air onto the controller 114 to keep the temperature of the controller 114 in control.
[0031] Apart from these, the electric scooter 100 has the boot space 118 that may be disposed beneath the seat 120 of the electric scooter 100. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the boot space 118 may be designed to hold a helmet, bottles, papers, and luggage. In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the electric scooter 100 may have the boot space 118 of 21 liters. The seat 120 may be designed to enable a user to sit upon it comfortably and drive the electric scooter 100 to a destination. The seat 120 may be made up of closed-cell foam with a cover of a material selected from leather, rexine, fabric, polyurethane, and so forth. Embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the material of the cover.
[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates the chassis 102 of the electric scooter 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The chassis 102 may be the support structure of the electric scooter 100. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the chassis 102 have a swing bar 200. The swing bar 200 may be designed to enable an easy installation of the rear wheel 108b. The rear wheel 108b may be installed at an open end of the swing bar 200 where a closed end of the swing bar 200 may be connected to the chassis 102 using bolts and nuts. Further, suspension springs 202a-202b (hereinafter referred to as the suspension springs 202) may also be connected on the open end of the swing bar 200. The suspension springs 202 may be configured to compensate uneven road surfaces and thus provide an assurance of high levels of ride comfort.
[0033] Further, a cage 204 may be designed within the chassis 102 to house the battery 110. The cage 204 may be made up of the same material as the chassis 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The cage 204 may be made up of a material selected from, the steel, the iron, the aluminium alloy, the stainless steel, the titanium alloy, the magnesium alloy, and so forth. Embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the material of the cage 204 including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies.
[0034] Furthermore, the motor 106, the fan 116, and the hall sensors 122 may be disposed of within the chassis 102. The motor 106, and the fan 116 may be connected to the battery 110 to draw the power from the battery 110 housed within the cage 204. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the hall sensors 122 may be connected to a shaft of the motor 106. The hall sensors 122 may be configured to control energization of windings based on a position of the shaft of the motor 106.
[0035] FIG. 3 illustrates components of the controller 114 of the electric scooter 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The controller 114 may comprise a scooter configuration module 300, an operation module 302, a monitoring module 304, and a deactivation module 306, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0036] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, an ignition key may be configured to generate an activation signal when the user of the electric scooter 100 activates the ignition key. The activation signal may enable the scooter configuration module 300 that may be configured to activate the motor 106 of the electric scooter 100.
[0037] The operation module 302 may be configured to enable the user to drive the electric scooter 100. In an exemplary scenario, the operation module 302 may enable the user to turn on the throttle 112 to increase the speed of the electric scooter 100. Further, the operation module 302 may be configured to draw amperes from the battery 110 based on the throttle 112. In another exemplary scenario, if the user is slowly increasing the throttle 112, then the operation module 302 may be configured to slowly increase the amperes draw from the battery 110 with respect to the throttle 112. In yet another exemplary scenario, if the operation module 302 determines that the user is driving the electric scooter 100 at a constant speed without altering the throttle 112, then the operation module 302 may continue drawing the constant amperes from the battery 110.
[0038] The monitoring module 304 may be configured to monitor the amperes drawn from the battery 110 by the operation module 302. In an exemplary scenario, if the monitoring module 304 determines that the ampere drawn by the operation module 302 exceeds or equal to a predefined overloading threshold, then the monitoring module 304 may generate a deactivation signal. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the predefined overloading threshold may be 31 amperes In another exemplary scenario, if the monitoring module 304 determines that the amperes drawn by the operation module 302 is below the predefined overloading threshold, then the monitoring module 304 continues to monitor the amperes drawn by the operation module 302. Further, the monitoring module 304 may be configured to transmit the generated deactivation signal to the deactivation module 306.
[0039] The deactivation module 306 may be configured to receive the deactivation signal from the monitoring module 304. The deactivation module 306 may be configured to deactivate the motor 106 to stop a functioning of the electric scooter 100 based on the received deactivation signal.
[0040] FIG. 4 depicts a process flow chart 400 of the electric scooter 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electric scooter 100 may comprise the battery 110 that may be charged using a power supply charger 402 that is further connected to a charging socket 404. The charging socket 404 may be, but not limited to, a regular charging socket available at a house, a charging station deployed around a city, and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the charging socket 404.
[0041] The user can plug the power supply charger 402 into the charging socket 404 to charge the battery 110. Once, the battery 110 is charged, the power supply charger 402 may be removed and the electric scooter 100 may be ready to be driven. Further, the battery 110 may be connected to a 12 volt step down converter 406. The 12 volt step down converter 406 may be coupled to 12 volt accessories 408 such as, but not limited to, headlights, indicators, a horn, a speedometer, and so forth. Embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the 12 volt accessories 408.
[0042] Furthermore, an electric motor drive circuit may have the controller 114 that may be a direct current brushless controller of 51.8 Volt which is powered by the battery 110 of capacity 51.8V through a Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) 410. The function of the MCB 410 is to protect the electric motor drive circuit under over current/overvoltage conditions. The power that may be supplied in a specified sequence is provided to the motor 106 by the controller 114. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the hall sensors 122 that may be connected at the shaft of the motor 106 gives a signal to the controller 114 and thus respective windings get energized as per a position of the shaft of the motor 106. The throttle 112 may be electrically connected to the controller 114. Hence, the variable speed can be obtained by accelerating the throttle 112. Also, the brakes 412 may be electrically connected to the controller 114. As soon as the brakes 412 are applied, it will open the electric motor drive circuit and then the battery 110 is disconnected from the motor 106 causing a speed reduction in the motor 106 and in a specified time, the motor 106 will stop.
[0043] Furthermore, the brakes 412 may also be configured to stop the electric scooter 100. In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the brakes 412 may be disk brakes. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a switching mechanism may be used to activate a braking feature of the electric scooter 100. An Electronic Braking System (EBS) may be configured to work by altering connection phases of the motor 106 which leads to a dynamo mechanism. The dynamo mechanism is a regenerative system 414 of the motor 106 as it helps the battery 110 to recharge itself. The dynamo mechanism may also acts as a disk braking system which does the work about 30% of the disk brake.
[0044] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 for operating the electric scooter 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0045] At step 502, the controller 114 may receive the activation signal from the ignition key to power up the motor 106.
[0046] At step 504, the controller 114 may enable the user to accelerate the throttle 112 to drive the electric scooter 100.
[0047] At step 506, the controller 114 may draw the current and/or voltage from the battery 110 based on the acceleration of the throttle 112.
[0048] At step 508, the controller 114 may determine the current and/or voltage drawn from the battery 110.
[0049] At step 510, the controller 114 may compare the determined current and/or voltage with the predefined overloading threshold. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the predefined overloading threshold may be 31 amperes.
[0050] At step 512, if the controller 114 determines that the current and/or voltage drawn from the battery 110 is greater than or equal to the predefined overloading threshold, then the method 500 may proceed to step 514, otherwise the method 500 may return to the step 508.
[0051] At the step 514, the controller 114 may deactivate the motor 106 resulting in a halt of the electric scooter 100.
[0052] While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and various embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
[0053] This written description uses examples to disclose the disclosure, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope the disclosure is defined in the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements within substantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.