|
The cost to produce each wheel motor would be about the same as the cost of producing the brake assembly it replaces. Actual manufacturing costs in mass production on a dedicated assembly line $100 per unit.
That does not consider the cost of all the rest of the power train components that are eliminated, several hundred parts per vehicle. Costs, thousands of dollars.
A decent accumulator of 5 gallons capacity brand new is about 1k retail. Cost to manufacture is probably $300.
Low pressure accumulator is very low cost.
High strength seamless steel pipe with an 1/8 th inch wall thickness can handle almost 3000 PSI with ample reserve capacity. That's not very heavy parts in each wheel drive.
The drive pistons can also be hollow.
Now if you want to get expensive then make the accumulator 12,000 PSI, and the energy density increases by 400%, but it really is not necessary, cost effective, or a significant weight savings considering the weight of the whole vehicle.
In fact you could build the whole power train including a decent power engine and not weigh a lot more than the transmission and transfer case assembly on a Nissan D21 4 wheel drive pickup.
About 500 pounds for the complete power train including the brakes.
Here is a drawing from the as yet unpublished patent.
Notice the two bearings and the axle and hub. Those components are necessary even if it was just a trailer axle. The cylinders and pistons as well as the adjustable journal are the additional components that constitute the complete IVT wheel drive. External hydraulic actuation of the journal changes the stroke position.
This drive should approach 94% efficiency by itself, possibly higher, maybe even 97%. No way to tell until you have actually built and tested one.
Virginia Tech calculated the horsepower and torque at 35 HP and 380 pounds feet of torque, per wheel from 0 speed, comparable to an electric motor of substantial size.
regards
Mech
|