Intelligent Motors offers specialist electric hybrid power train engineering design incorporating fuel cells, micro turbines, advanced batteries and super-capacitors. The company also offers turn-key vehicle body and other structural design incorporating filament winding.

Body Structures | Conversions | Drive Trains | Telematics

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Body Structures

The new body construction is based on the concept of winding road vehicle bodies on a winding machine using hybrid thermoplastic / glass filament winding and foam sandwich structure i.e. all composite materials. "Wound" vehicle bodies may be considered applicable for any "box" style vehicle examples of which include buses, large box vans, mobile homes, security vehicles etc. Winding of vehicle bodies may not be applicable where the styling imposes complex surface geometry.

The vehicle bodies are wound on a mandrel which has the cross section profile of the interior dimensions and shape of the vehicle body. The mandrel is rotated at a pre-determined speed or speeds (depending on weave pattern, geometry and the fibre material (tension). The winding head is powered to traverse the full length of the body winding.

The winding itself is a precise pattern and the fibre wall is uses state-of-the-art fusion technology to meet the application requirements.

The vehicle body structure in cross section is made up of an interior gel coat, interior fibre winding, a foam filling, an exterior fibre winding and the final surface coating. This is referred to as a single wall sandwich structure the detail of which depends upon the precise application.

The exterior surface finish and the use of thermo-plastic hybrid filament winding technology are unique to the Company and subject to patent protection by its Parent.

Design and Processing

Generally, body structures maybe constructed from continuous glass, carbon fibre, aramid and other materials in continuous rovings or fibre cords. It can also incorporate fibre tape / bandage (with a choice of material (s)) which is/are pre-designed and woven to meet the specific design criteria of the vehicle body structure geometry. The engineers have a number of other material criteria to consider, bonding impregnation, tension, geometry etc. for a particular vehicle body design. The structural design involves many 100,000s of calculations to ensure the mechanical integrity of the finished product. The resulting winding process is a precise pattern with the pre-determined fibre wall thickness to meet the very specific application requirements.

Clearly, the choice of material (s) and how it (they) is (are) used and the manufacturing processes determine the commercial and technical viability of the finished design.

Expertise in viable design is critical to the success of the project and this gives rise to copyright design.

The precise technical specification for each body structure will be determined by the vehicle design and specification, typically from the following;

- multi-axial tapes

- continuous fibre wound in helical pattern

- E / S / R-glass, glass-Polyester, glass-PET, Vinylester, Carbon fibre -Kevlar

- various epoxy resins in matrix

- single sandwich from 10mm. wall thickness

- double sandwich or triple sandwich structures

- geometric designs no convex or concave sections

- no tapering from front top rear

- minimum inner radius of 10cm.

- foam core in PUR, PVC, PMI, Urea Formaldehyde and others.

Conversions

An aspect of its Engineering Services is the design engineering and implementation of power train conversions. These may include diesel to hybrid or diesel to trolleybus, reducing emissions and improving operational energy efficiency.

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Drive Trains

Batteries

A number of advanced battery technologies are beginning to be commercially viable, and the choice of battery sytem for any particular vehicle is determined by application, operational duty cycle, dimensional envelope and cost.

The philosophy of Intelligent Motors is to supply viable battery technologies as they become available, reducing the risk of being trapped by changes in battery and fuel cell viability, and to induce real long-term competition by our battery vendors.

Battery Chargers

Intelligent Motors has experience in the application of a number of battery charger solutions these include:

- conventional mains frequency off-vehicle chargers (stationary charger stations)

- high frequency on-vehicle chargers

- mains frequency induction chargers (industrial vehicles)

- high frequency induction chargers (now variable frequency to maximise efficiency)

- smart chargers with "intelligence" systems

The company is interested to investigate your needs and proposed the most effective solutions.

Drives

Intelligent Motors has considerable know-how in the application of advanced traction drives and has access to true leading-edge technology. Generally speaking we propose,

- invertor fed brushless drives

- switch reluctance drives

Depending on application and operational requirements.

Systems are usually oil cooled and have a near maintenance free, operational life of some 15 to 20 years, with an operating efficiency of up to 97%.

Fuel Cells

The Company will integrate fuel cells into zero emmission powertrains incorporating advanced batteries and/or super capacitors

The need for fuel cells

The world's population of motor vehicles currently standing at some five hundred million units and, at current trends, set to increase to some nine hundred million units during the next decade as developing nations continue to achieve the per-capita incomes rising to the car owning threshold.

It is the view of the company that such trends are going to be impossible with current thermal engine technology. Not only because the resultant near doubling of air pollution coupled with the reduction of the rain forest (the world's lungs) will result in catastrophic pollution levels but also because thermal engines are only some 34% efficient and the probable impossibility of near doubling hydrocarbon fuel supply in a decade.

The company has the firm belief that two new technologies are bound by the forces of economics, destruction of habitat, pollution, public health and other factors not least of which is technical viability are bound to make their mark in most forms of transport. The two technologies are;

(a) The gas powered micro-turbine

(b) Photon Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

The micro-turbine is relevant because it is the most likely alternative where greater than 100kW is required for powering buses, heavy trucks, and similar vehicles in an hybrid power train. Micro-turbines reduce power train weight typically by fifty percent and in lightweight vehicles can reduce energy demand by some forty to fifty percent with the consequent saving in the need for fuel. Pollution levels will be reduced by considerably more than fifty per because by using gas either LPG or CNG there is a considerable reduction in pollutants in comparison with diesel for example.

This report is focused on the PEM fuel cell which has a fuel conversion efficiency in excess of sixty percent and a theoretical efficiency of some ninety-one percent and with falling costs, is driving fuel cells into commercial viability.

The overall conversion efficiency from hydrocarbon to mechanical power is currently over fifty percent. Hydrogen can be reformed on-board the vehicle or on demand at fuel stations preferably with a combined heat and power capability thereby efficiently using "waste heat" from the process. Natural gas is a particularly attractive source of hydrocarbon because of its low sulphur content (sulphur degrades the catalyst) and its transport through a pipeline grid reduces the need to distribute fuel by road.

How a fuel cell works

Fuel cells produce electricity directly from a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen triggered by a platinum catalyst. Each cell voltage is low about 1.0Volt at zero load reducing to 0.75V at full load s therefore cells are electrically connected and stacked in series to produce sufficient voltage and electrical power to power the load. In a vehicle the load is one or more electric traction motor drives, as well as the other on-board systems and accessories.

For vehicles the prime source of energy maybe a number sources including gasoline (petrol) which are converted to hydrogen, carbon dioxide and water by means of an on-board fuel processor (reformer) in a multi-stage chemical reaction. A fuel vaporiser converts the fuel from a liquid to a gas which ensures cleaner, soot-free combustion.

The vaporised petrol is processed in a partial oxidation (POX) reactor, essentially a metal canister with a spark plug. By limiting the amount of air in this low-pressure environment, hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO) are produced. Sulphur in the petrol is converted into hydrogen sulphide gas and filtered away.

Since CO poisons fuel cells, it must be eliminated or reduced to minute levels of less than 10ppm. (parts per million). Water is introduced as steam and, acting with copper oxide and zinc oxide catalysts, converts nearly all the CO to carbon dioxide (C02). Additional hydrogen is also produced in this stage.

While the vapour has been converted from about 30% CO to a hydrogen-rich gas containing only about 1% CO in the previous water stage, that still gives 10,000ppm. In the preferential oxidation (PROX) stage, air is injected into this gas which reacts with the remaining CO over a platinum catalyst to produce carbon dioxide, leaving only a trace of CO - less than 10 ppm.

This process requires heat exchangers to maintain effective performance since the clean gas must then be cooled to about 80oC, the temperature at which the fuel cell operates best.

On-board Fuel Cell Systems

For on-board storage of hydrogen the company believes the answer is composite filament wound storage tanks, they are light-weight, have a very high mechanical and physical integrity, not easily damaged or ruptured, can be precisely dimensioned to the application and are easy to produce in volume.

Fuel cells are only suitable to operate at constant load. Varying load demands, peak demand for hill climbing or surplus energy, driving down-hill in a regenerative mode are best achieved by the inclusion of an interface battery and more recently a super-capacitor.

The fuel cell - battery - super capacitor maybe best described as an "electric hybrid power train".

The interface battery / capacitor or capacitor only is electronically controlled and monitored so that the parameters of the overall vehicle management are observed.

Examples of which would be to cut-off the air-conditioning or electric heating for the period of peak demand so as minimise demand and to electronically control down hill speed so that the maximum pre-set vehicle speed is observed. Electo-chemical (super) capacitors have a number of unique and ideal properties which the company is fully exploiting in its hybrid power train design. They include electrical robustness, response time, transient suppression (both voltage and power) and long-life.

Furthermore, because of the fuel cell low voltage a considerable number of "cells" have to be stacked in series to achieve a 300 / 360 system voltage. Fuel cells may be described as low-voltage heavy-current devices whereas preferred batteries and capacitors are high voltage - low current devices there is need for power matching.

The company, has a policy of high voltage systems.

High system voltages are preferred because heavy current give rise to heavy copper cable, EMC problems, and expensive power electronics.

Fuel cells do provide cleaner energy generation they do not produce oxides, nitrogen or sulphur.

MicroTurbines

Over the last decade or so, there has been considerable debate in the technical press describing the relative merits and drawbacks of parallel, series and more complex drive lines.

However, most of this debate has been based on the implication of using diesel or petrol engines as the thermal engine source.

Micro turbines can be run on alternative fuels which include CNG / LPG, alcohol, Kerosene, recycled oil, possibly vegetable oil which reduce dependence on diesel or petrol. It is the replacement of a conventional thermal engine by a micro turbine which is the principle technical innovation.

Generally, we propose a series hybrid solution in preference to any other because; it allows us to offer a modular power train solutions that are compatible with fuel cell or redox battery power sources, it enables the micro turbine to run at constant speed and maximum efficiency.

The micro turbine is rated to provide the constant / average load and the batteries or super capacitors provide instant peak power for acceleration and gradients. The design algorithm is rated to allow for the constant recharging of the batteries it provides the best overall economic solution.

Super Capacitors

A super-capacitor is an electro-chemical device designed to store cache energy. In vehicular applications it can be described as a solid state flywheel in that it stores energy quickly and efficiently and allows this energy to be used to supplement the other source available. They effect high energy system efficiency and improve very significantly vehicle performance particularly in hybrid power trains.

The Company has access to state-of-the-art technology from Japan, Russia and the US.

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Telematics

Intelligent Motors have the ability to advise clients, undertake technical feasibilty studies and commercial viability investigation on the use of commerial viability investigation on the use of telematics. The Company can act as technical engineering consultants for the imlementation on a turn key basis.

Automatic Location - Satellite Positioning

Using an on-board unit that can identify the vehicle, linked to global positioning system, GPS, and data communication within the global system for mobile telecommunications, GSM, a number-of automatic vehicle-location systems are now on the market. At present, these are relatively expensive and used primarily to track commercial fleet movements.

Such systems increase fleet operational flexibility and reduce empty runs in payload carrying vehicle fleets. Such dynamic systems allows for near immediate response to customer demands and improves vehicle fleet utilisation because at any time the operator knows the location of his fleet and the payload capability of each vehicle in real-time.

Route planning is another benefit of a GPS/GSM telematic infrastructure. Avoiding road repairs, congestion, forecasting optimum route planing, comprehensive vehicle breakdown information and related issues can improve customer service and fleet operational profitability.

An advanced system is already operating in Warsaw, using this technology for both for public transport management and providing information to passenger.

Tracker systems in which hidden radio transmitters can be activated if a vehicle is reported stolen and can be connected to GPS devices to report the vehicle's location, or traced by strategically placed readers with tags hidden in the vehicles, are on the market now. A typical supplier is Taridan Communications (Dallas, Texas, USA), marketed by Teletrack USA. Clearly, with all such long-range controller devices, the management of air time is a critical factor. Users on the network are effectively competing for air time on commonly shared frequency resources.

Controllers are needed to ensure that interference and "radio signal" collisions are minimised, regulating the timing of transmissions so that a participant in the network can only initialise a transmission when the channel is not in use. This technology is generally known as carrier sense multiple access and centrally synchronised polling.

GSM and its successor global navigation system satellite do however, provide an alternative type of link.

VDO-Kienzle G.m.b.H., a Mannesmann has an on-board multiplex systems which, in Europe, can be linked to their telematic commercial vehicle fleet system.

In the UK there has been the opportunity to subscribe to the system made by TrafficMaster, Milton Keynes, UK which provides on-line dynamic mapping of traffic congestion. There are other facilities made by other service providers.

A low cost intelligent transportation systems the use of the provision of road data on their radio, which alerts drivers to impending traffic problems. The RDS system.

Many up-market vehicles may in-vehicle route guidance systems, whereby an on-board CD (compact disc) provides a detailed road map. This, is linked to a global positioning satellite (GPS) reference of your position, thus providing route guidance down to one metre and corrects itself if you ignore it or make a wrong decision.

In the very near future, using dynamic on-line traffic information, it will also help one to plot a way around traffic congestion even in unfamiliar territory.

Remote Diagnostics

Improving vehicle utilisation is a major factor in fleet operational profitability and therefore regular on-line diagnostic checks reducing unscheduled repairs and emergency breakdowns are growing essential fleet management requirements.

An optimised service routine and integrated diagnostics reduce costs, parts inventory and improves customer services.

A Group company is developing an induction charger complete with full service telematics through which as the vehicle is returned to a charge location (whether or not the on-board battery needs charging) the on-board systems are interrogated fort the following;

- earth leakage

- low tyre pressure

- brake wear

- traction system preventive fault diagnostics

- battery monitoring

Such a system will greatly enhance fleet operator monitoring and reduction in service costs.

Fleet Operational Management

Through the provision of instantaneous information such as; traffic congestion, major road incidents, vehicle breakdown, driver illness, the fleet operator has the ability to deal with such emergency situations including road assistance and provision of information to the customer again improving customer service.

Vehicles can also be fitted with email capability for on-line instructions and information.

Security Control using a RF Tag system

This capability is ideal for vehicles operating in and out of security sensitive areas. Examples being airports or educational establishments.

The system involves two elements, one on-board the vehicle and the other will be stationary at the appropriate interrogation zones. Each vehicle has a unique RF tag fitted into its body structure, this tag when interrogated indicates the presence of a the vehicle.

Alternatively, the system can be based on a high performance RF tag which provides each vehicle with a unique identification code which could be the vehicle number plate registration. This code may have say up to 115 alpha numeric characters and can be read up to a distance of 2.0 metres by the detector.

The stationary element will comprise RF detector which may be mounted horizontally in or above the entrance or alternatively, by the side of the entrance. The function of the detector is to create an inductive interrogation field in which the passing vehicle tag is read and hence identified. Interrogation takes place at reduced vehicle speed.

The detector relay the identification data via a decoder in the correct protocol either to an on-line central computer in real time or to a local micro computer which in turn sends to the central computer at pre-programmed times when the data transmission lines are available.

The system may be operational 24 hours per day. There is no action is required by the driver.

The static detector and the on-board tags are robust and will be designed to operate in hostile environments including but not limited to; dirt, water ice and snow, vibration, extreme heat, proximity to metal, complete darkness, salt spray.

Telematics for Public Service Vehicles

Call-a-bus Capability.

This capability involves two elements, one on-board the public service vehicle (bus) and the other stationary at approved locations (which may include normal bus stops) .

The stationary element will give out a radio frequency signal of a specific code which in turn is only identified by the bus operating that area.

The driver will see from an on-board display screen that a passenger is waiting at a the identified bus stop, and takes appropriate action.

Advanced Ticketing and Cashless Operations

Advanced ticketing can be offered by telephone using a credit or debit card or smartcard at convenient terminals and appropriate bus-stops, and no on-board capability is thought necessary. To operate a cashless passenger payment system there are four possibilities.

(a) Smartcard or Decremented Card

This would mean a transfer of value from a card owned by the passenger to the on-board bus reader. At the end of each day the operator would then transfer by way of an automated equipment the value into his account directly or indirectly.

(b) Cashcard

This system would mean a transfer of value from a cashcard owned by the passenger and the system would operate in a similar manor to that above.

(c) Credit or Chargecard

This system would mean a transfer of value from a creditcard owned by the passenger and the system would operate in a similar manor to those above.

(d) Token

This system would enable the passenger to purchase tokens one at a time or in volume and on entering the bus would deposit the token in a sealed box and in such a manor that the driver knew a valid fare had been paid.

The advantages of such systems include a positve cashflow, reduced accounting administration and reduced risk of loss.

Real-time Passenger Information.

This capability may involve two elements, one on-board the bus for passengers and can be in the form of an on-line screen display or pre-recorded voice or both.

The other element will be stationary at approved bus stops, advising pending passengers of expected arrival time, change of route, congestion delays etc.

This system may give rise to the need for RF tag interrogation, but would most likely be a satellite based system.

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Intelligent Motors is a company dedicated to develop intelligent vehicles

Click here for enquiry. Tel: (852) 2896-9320 Fax: (852) 2558-3111