Powered personal transportation systems and methods
A personal vehicle system including a control system and at least one wheel motor coupled to the personal vehicle system and subject to control by the control system. A control system for a personal vehicle system including steps for calibrating the control system, where the control system includes a sensor system having load sensors incorporated into the personal vehicle system and also having lean forward and lean backward outputs, a user interface that prompts a user to lean forward and backward and allows a user to input a sensitivity value, and an electronic hardware component for calculating a normalization value where the wheel motor current is controlled as a function of the normalization value.
1 . An electric wheel motor contained by a wheel, the electric wheel motor comprising:
a pin configured to couple to an axle of a truck;
a stator shaft fixed to the pin, the pin configured to prevent the stator shaft from rotating with respect to the axle of the truck;
a first support plate positioned on a first end of the stator shaft and rotationally coupled to the pin;
a second support plate on a second end of the stator shaft and rotationally coupled to the pin;
a rotor coupled to at least one of the first and second support plates, the rotor configured to rotate about the stator shaft;
a wheel positioned around the rotor and configured to rotate with the rotor; and
a single compressing connector configured to couple the electric wheel motor to the axle of the truck along a rotational axis of the wheel.
2 . The electric wheel motor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a stator fixed to the stator shaft; and
a flux canister, wherein an average of a first radius of an outer most circumference of the stator with respect to a wheel rotational axis and a second radius of an inner most circumference of the flux canister with respect to the wheel rotational axis is between 30% and 90%.
3 . The electric wheel motor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a stator fixed to the stator shaft; and
a flux canister wherein an average of a first radius of an outer most circumference of the stator with respect to a wheel rotational axis and a second radius of an inner most circumference of the flux canister with respect to the wheel rotational axis is between 50% and 75%.
4 . The electric wheel motor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a stator fixed to the stator shaft; and
a flux canister, wherein an average of a first radius of an outer most circumference of the stator with respect to a wheel rotational axis and a second radius of an inner most circumference of the flux canister with respect to the wheel rotational axis is greater than 60%.
5 . A truck package kit for use with a personal vehicle, the truck package kit comprising:
a wheel motor, the wheel motor comprising:
a pin configured to couple to an axle of a truck;
a stator shaft fixed to the pin, the pin configured to prevent the stator shaft from rotating with respect to the axle of the truck;
a first support plate positioned on a first end of the stator shaft and rotationally coupled to the pin;
a second support plate on a second end of the stator shaft and rotationally coupled to the pin;
a rotor coupled to at least one of the first and second support plates, the rotor configured to rotate about the stator shaft;
a wheel positioned around the rotor and configured to rotate with the rotor; and
a single compressing connector configured to couple the wheel motor to the axle of the truck along a rotational axis of the wheel; and
a truck assembly, wherein the truck assembly comprises:
a control system configured to coordinate operation of the wheel motor; and
at least one sensor configured to output signals to the control system,
wherein the control system and the at least one sensor are integrated into the truck.
6 . The truck package kit of claim 5 , further comprising an instruction manual describing modifying the personal vehicle with the truck package kit, the instruction manual further describing calibrating the control system.
7 . A wheel motor assembly comprising:
a stator fixedly coupled with a truck axle; and
a rotor assembly at least partially surrounding the stator, the rotor assembly comprising:
a flux ring offset from the stator and defining an inner surface;
one or more magnets coupled to the inner surface of the flux ring;
an endcap coupled to the truck axle and configured to allow the flux ring and the one or more magnets to rotate with respect to the truck axle, the endcap comprising at least one fin extending radially from a rotational axis of the truck axle, wherein the at least one fin is configured to increase heat transfer between the endcap and an external environment; and
a single compressing connector configured to couple the wheel motor assembly to the truck axle along a rotational axis of a wheel.