Piaggio&c. S.p.a.

Paolo Capozzella

Luca Carmignani

Jury Cantini

Walter Mariotti

Luca Nuti

Jeanpaul Milani

Alessandro Caleo

Giorgio Prosperini

Maurizio Marcacci

Federico Martini

Roberto Bernardini

Alessio Sisi

Emiliano Guidi

An electric drive motorcycle (), comprises: a front portion comprising one or more front wheels () and a handlebar (); a rear portion comprising a saddle (), a shell body () arranged below said saddle (), and a rear wheel () arranged below said shell body (); an intermediate portion () extending as a connection between said front portion and said rear portion; an electric drive unit () connected to said rear wheel (); a power supply unit feeding said electric drive unit (); and a helmet carrying compartment () placed in the shell body () below the saddle (), wherein said power supply unit is arranged in a position below said helmet carrying compartment (), so that said saddle (), said helmet carrying compartment () and said power supply unit are substantially stacked on each other, being said helmet carrying compartment () and said power supply unit arranged inside the shell body (), wherein said supply unit comprises a battery unit () or a battery unit () and an electric motor/generator, wherein a control unit apt to control said drive unit () and said battery unit () is provided, said control unit comprising a case () arranged below the battery unit (), wherein a rear fork () jointed to the shell body () is provided, said rear fork comprising at least a fork arm () extending between said shell body () and said drive unit (), and wherein said rear fork () is placed beside and/or surrounds said case ().

Electric drive motorcycle

An electric drive motorcycle () allows a suitable configuration of all the components deputed to the electric supply of the motorcycle electric drive, and comprises: a front portion comprising one or more front wheels () and a handlebar (); a rear portion comprising a saddle (), a shell body () arranged below said saddle (), and a rear wheel () arranged below said shell body (); an intermediate portion () extending as a connection between said front portion and said rear portion; an electric drive unit () connected to said rear wheel (); and a hybrid supply unit supplying said electric drive unit (), comprising at least a battery unit () and a combustion engine () actuating an electric generator () apt to supply said battery unit () and/or said electric drive unit (), wherein said shell body () defines a housing space apt to receive at least said battery unit () and said combustion engine (), with the related electric generator (), placed side by side therebetween.

An electric drive motorcycle (), allows an effective arrangement of the battery unit thereof, optimizing the available space, and comprises: a front portion comprising one or more front wheels () and a handlebar (); a rear portion comprising a saddle (), a shell body () arranged below said saddle (), and a rear wheel () arranged below said shell body (); an intermediate portion () extending as a connection between said front portion and said rear portion; an electric drive unit () connected to said rear wheel by means of a transmission unit; and a power supply unit feeding said electric drive unit and comprising at least a battery unit (), wherein said battery unit () is shaped so as to have a polyhedral shape comprising at least a first side () tilted with respect to a vertical plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the motorcycle (), wherein the battery unit () occupies a position below a helmet carrying compartment () arranged below the saddle (), and wherein the battery unit () extending transversally from side to side in its own portion of a housing space existing in said shell body ().

An electric drive motorcycle () allows a suitable and effective cooling of the battery unit when the electric motor is operated, and comprises: a front portion comprising one or more front wheels () and a handlebar (); a rear portion comprising a saddle (), a shell body () arranged below said saddle (), and a rear wheel () arranged below said shell body (); an intermediate portion extending as a connection between said front portion and said rear portion; an electric drive unit () connected to said rear wheel (); and a hybrid supply unit supplying said electric drive unit (), comprising at least a battery unit () and a combustion engine () actuating an electric generator () apt to feed said battery unit () and/or said electric drive unit (), wherein the combustion engine () drives a cooling fan () arranged so that, when this is drawing a flow of cooling air through an inlet mouth (), such flow wets the battery unit (), before being drawn, wherein the combustion engine () comprises a crankshaft which is arranged transversally to said front-rear direction, said crankshaft having a first end keyed to an electric generator () arranged adjacent to the wall of the shell body (), and a second end thereto said cooling fan () is keyed, and wherein the sucking mouth () of the cooling fan () is faced towards the battery unit ().

An electric drive motorcycle () is competed with a filter box in the rear portion thereof, without limiting the space available for the batteries, comprises: a front portion comprising one or more front wheels and a handlebar; a rear portion comprising a saddle (), a shell body arranged below said saddle (), and a rear wheel arranged below said shell body; an intermediate portion extending as a connection between said front portion and said rear portion; an electric drive unit () connected to said rear wheel (); and a hybrid supply unit supplying said electric drive unit (), comprising at least a battery unit () and a combustion engine () actuating an electric generator (), said combustion engine () comprising an exhaust duct () with an expansion chamber () and a filter box () for feeding air to the combustion engine (), wherein said electric generator () is apt to supply said battery unit () and/or said electric drive unit, wherein, inside the shell body () and below the saddle (), a housing space is provided extending from one side to the other one of the shell body () and which receives the hybrid supply unit, in a first portion thereof, and wherein said filter box () and said exhaust duct () are arranged on the same side of the motorcycle.

Propulsion unit for an electric, pedal-assisted bicycle comprising an electric machine having a stator and a rotor, rotatable about a motor axis, said rotor being operatively connected to a crank pin, defining a crank axis, mechanically connected to pedals, and coaxial with the motor axis, wherein the rotor is coaxial and external with respect to the stator so as radially enclose the rotor. The propulsion unit comprises at least one electronic unit for operating and controlling the functioning of the electric machine, and at least a pair of housings that define a containment space which houses the electric machine and at least partially the crank pin.

Propulsion unit for an electric pedal-assisted cycle and pedal-assisted cycle thereof

A control system and method for a powertrain unit of a pedal assisted electrical bicycle, the powertrain unit including an electrical motor, a DC/AC converter to supply the motor from a battery wherein the following steps are taken: starting the electrical machine in order to rotate the rotor; estimating a back electromotive force produced by the electrical machine; estimating the angular position of the rotor with respect to the stator winding starting from the estimation of the back electromotive force; controlling the DC/AC converter based on said estimated angular position in order to make it supply the stator winding so that said electrical machine delivers a torque.

Control method of a powertrain unit of an assisted pedal bicycle and related assisted pedal bicycle

Propulsion unit for an electric pedal assisted cycle (EPAC) comprising an electric machine having a stator and a rotor, rotatable about a motor axis, said rotor () being operatively connected to a crank pin, defining a crank axis, mechanically connected to the pedals, wherein the propulsion unit comprises at least an electronic unit for operating and controlling the functioning of the electric machine, wherein the propulsion unit comprises at least a pair of housings defining a containment space which houses the electric machine and at least partially the crank pin, wherein the propulsion unit comprises transmission means of the motion from the rotor to the crank pin, wherein the electronic unit is contained and supported inside said containment space by an intermediate support element.

An electric motor for starting internal combustion engines and a relative starting control system of such engine comprising said electric motor of the type with permanent magnets allows a more effective and simpler management of the internal combustion engine thereto the electric motor is connected, wherein a monitoring unit of the electric motor (EMU) and a monitoring unit of the internal combustion engine (ECU) are provided, wherein the electric motor comprises a direction sensor () providing a signal representing the rotation direction of the rotor () of the electric motor, which is connected to said monitoring unit of the internal combustion engine (ECU).

Permanent magnet electric motor for an internal combustion engine and related starting control system

A process for starting an internal combustion engine, providing the use of an electric motor acting on the driveshaft of the internal combustion engine, provides a positioning step, activated upon switching-off the engine, and a switching-on step, activated after a starting control, wherein said positioning step comprises: a forward rotation by a predetermined forward rotation angle; a detection of a possible stall state followed, in negative case, by an additional forward rotation until reaching a predetermined maximum forward rotation angle; an inverse rotation by a predetermined angle; and a detection of a possible stall state followed, in negative case, by an additional inverse rotation until reaching a predetermined maximum inverse rotation angle.

Process for starting an internal combustion engine

A three-phase permanent magnet electric motor-generator includes a stator having a plurality of teeth, each provided with a respective electric winding implemented by a conducting wire and with a respective heading polar expansion, divided into groups each one corresponding to a phase, by obtaining at the same time a reduced short-circuit current. The distance between adjacent polar expansions is the minimum one so as to allow the passage of a conducting wire. By identifying a first magnetic circuit comprising two adjacent teeth, the respective rotor and stator yokes, the thicknesses of the respective permanent magnets and the corresponding air gap, and a second magnetic circuit having two adjacent teeth, the respective rotor yokes, the respective halves of the faced polar expansions of said adjacent teeth and the distance between such polar expansions, the magnetic reluctances of the first and second circuit have the same order of magnitude.

Permanent magnet electric motor and generator and hybrid motor comprising it in a scooter

The present invention relates to a management method of the functioning mode of a hybrid drive assembly for vehicles, in particular scooters, and a hybrid drive assembly, comprising at least one internal combustion engine and an electric machine, using the method. The method according to the invention comprises the phases of determining a desired torque and a vehicle state on the basis of a set of received input parameters and/or commands and is characterized in that it comprises the phases of operating the internal combustion engine so that it does not provide torque and operating the electric machine so that it functions as generator for charging an accumulator.

Control method of a hybrid drive assembly for vehicles and a hybrid drive assembly using said method

Herein described is a hybrid propulsion and transmission system for a motorcycle of the type comprising at least an internal combustion engine () and at least one driving wheel (). The system comprises a first electric machine (), provided with first mechanical connection means () to the internal combustion engine (), and a second electric machine (), coupled with first electric machine () through electric and/or electronic connection means () and/or through second mechanical connection means (), and coupled with the driving wheel () through second mechanical connection means ().

Growing community of inventors

Pontedera, Italy

Paolo Capozzella