Electric bus
A low-floor electric bus includes a plurality of battery packs mounted under the floor of such that the floor inside the bus between a front axle and a rear axle of the bus is substantially flat. Each battery pack may include an enclosure and multiple battery modules positioned within the enclosure. And, each battery module may include a plurality of battery cells electrically connected together.
1 . A low-floor electric bus comprising:
a body comprising a composite material;
a floor including at least one compartment housing an electrochemical battery system; and
one or more battery packs of the electrochemical battery system mounted in the at least one compartment in the floor such that the floor inside the low-floor electric bus between a front axle and a rear axle of the low-floor electric bus is substantially flat, and wherein the battery packs are configured to be charged by an off board charging system.
2 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 1 , the composite material of the body comprises carbon fiber.
3 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 1 , wherein the composite material is a lightweight, non-metallic material.
4 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 1 , wherein the body is molded out of one piece.
5 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 1 , wherein the body is molded out of a plurality of pieces.
6 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 5 , wherein the one or more electrochemical battery packs comprise lithium.
7 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 6 , wherein each of the one or more battery packs is fluidly coupled to a cooling system of the bus.
8 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more battery packs has a height of 8 inches or less.
9 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 8 , wherein each of the one or more battery packs includes a cooling plate adapted to cool the battery pack.
10 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 1 , wherein the low-floor electric bus is a transit bus.
11 . The low-floor electric bus of claim 1 , wherein a passenger to driver ratio of the low-floor electric bus is configured to be greater than 15:1.
12 . A transit bus comprising:
a body including a composite material comprising carbon fiber, the body including multiple doors for passenger ingress and egress;
a substantially flat floor including multiple compartments for housing one or more electrochemical battery packs; and
the one or more electrochemical battery packs including a plurality of battery modules each including a plurality of lithium battery cells, the battery packs configured to be managed by a battery management system and mounted in the floor such that the floor inside the transit bus between a front axle and a rear axle of the transit bus is substantially flat, wherein the battery packs are configured to be charged by an off board charging system.
13 . The transit bus of claim 12 , comprising three doors for passenger ingress and egress.
14 . The transit bus of claim 12 , wherein the battery pack includes two rows of four battery modules in each row.
15 . The transit bus of claim 12 , wherein a main structure of the transit bus body comprises a composite material.
16 . The transit bus of claim 12 , wherein the transit bus comprises three axles.
17 . A low-floor electric transit bus comprising:
a body including one or more walls or a roof made of a composite material;
a floor including multiple compartments opening from below the bus for housing an electrochemical battery system; and
one or more battery packs of the electrochemical battery system configured to fit in one or more of the multiple compartments and each comprising a plurality of cells, the battery packs being mounted in the floor such that the floor inside the low-floor transit bus in an area between a front axle and a rear axle of the low-floor electric transit bus is substantially flat.
18 . The low-floor electric transit bus of claim 17 , wherein a capacity of each of the plurality of cells is greater than 50 Ah.
19 . The low-floor electric transit bus of claim 17 , wherein the low-floor electric vehicle body is made from composite materials and non-composite materials.
20 . The low-floor electric transit bus of claim 17 , wherein a capacity of the transit bus is greater than 35 people.