Vehicle comprising a bifunctional structural part

• US 10,046,666 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2016
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ningbo WISE Digital Technology Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ningbo WISE Digital Technology Company Limited
• Inventors: Wei, Xibo, Li, Yuanyuan, Wei, Jingjing
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P
• Application Number:
  US15/344,547
• Publication Number:
  US 20170050533A1
• Time in Patent Office: 646 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/10 Air crafts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/40 using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/64 Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/00 Fuselages; Constructional features common to fuselages, wings, stabilising surfaces or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 2001/0081 from metallic materials
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/19 using electrically powered motors
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/30 Supply or distribution of electrical power
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/34 In-flight charging photovoltaics B64U50/31
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/04 Hybrid capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/08 Structural combinations, e.g. assembly or connection, of hybrid or EDL capacitors with other electric components, at least one hybrid or EDL capacitor being the main component
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/22 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/66 Current collectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/82 Fixing or assembling a capacitive element in a housing, e.g. mounting electrodes, current collectors or terminals in containers or encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 12/04 composed of a half-cell of the fuel-cell type and of a half-cell of the primary-cell type
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 4/463 Aluminium based
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/249 specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/13 Energy storage using capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 : Weight reduction

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle comprising a power source such as a primary battery, a secondary battery, and a supercapacitor. The power source includes a plurality of components. At least one of the plurality of components serves as at least a portion of the structural part of the vehicle. The power source is integrated with the structure of the vehicle, and improves the endurance of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising a power source and a structural part, wherein the power source includes a plurality of components, and at least one of the plurality of components serves as at least a portion of the structural part,

wherein the power source comprises a metal-air battery including a metal anode or an alloy anode, wherein said anode serves as said at least a portion of the structural part, and wherein the structural part is non-essential for the vehicle'"'"'s mobility and is replaceable between trips of the vehicle,

wherein said anode is oxidized or consumed during a trip of the vehicle,

wherein said vehicle is selected from an aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a spacecraft, a watercraft including sub-surface watercraft, and a land vehicle e.g. an electrical car or truck, and

wherein the non-essential part is selected from aircraft fuselage, aircraft skin, watercraft hull, car floor, car roof, car fender, car bumper, car decklid, car rocker, car door, vehicle window frame, vehicle door frame, main hatch, under the hatch before, quadrotor frame, camera mounting frame, landing bar, and landing gear.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said power source further comprises a primary battery, a secondary battery, a film capacitor, or a supercapacitor.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said at least one of the plurality of components in the power source comprises an electrode, an anode, a cathode, a current collector, a wire, a housing, a bipolar plate, a negative plate, a positive plate, or any combination thereof;

and wherein the structural part is selected from aircraft wings, aircraft fuselages, aircraft skin, valve body, watercraft hull, connecting rod, car floor, car roof, car fender, car bumper, car decklid, car rocker, car door, vehicle window frame, vehicle door frame, pipe, rod, car chassis, wheel spacer, main hatch, under the hatch before, tail pipe, horizontal tail, vertical tail, quadrotor frame, camera mounting frame, landing bar, and landing gear.

4. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said at least one of the plurality of components is made of a metal, an alloy, a conductive polymer, a conductive composite material, a carbon fiber or graphite reinforced polymer (CFRP), graphene, carbon nanotube reinforced polymer (CNRP), or any combination thereof.

5. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the metal or the alloy comprises Aluminum, Iron, Lithium, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Zirconium, Chromium, Titanium, Scandium, Silicon, Germanium, Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, Tin, or any combination thereof.

6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the metal-air battery is aluminum-air (Al-air) battery.

7. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the metal-air battery includes an air cathode having a current collector, and said current collector serves as said at least a portion of the structural part.

8. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the secondary battery includes an electrode made of an aluminum alloy, and said electrode serves as said at least a portion of the structural part.

9. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises 0.1%˜

0.5% (by weight) of scandium, and the electrode functions as the skin of an airplane.

10. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises zinc (7.3˜

8.3% by weight), magnesium (2.2˜

3.0% by weight), copper (1.6˜

2.4% by weight), zirconium (0.05˜

0.15% by weight), silicon, iron, manganese, chromium, and titanium, and the electrode functions as a valve body or connecting rod in the vehicle.

11. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises by weight 5.6˜

6.1% zinc, 2.1˜

2.5% magnesium, 1.2˜

1.6% copper, and less than 0.5% of silicon, iron, manganese, titanium and chromium; and

the electrode functions as the skin of an airplane.

12. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises lithium;

and the electrode functions as the wings and fuselages of an aircraft.

13. The vehicle according, to claim 8, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises by weight 0.2˜

0.6% silicon, 0˜

0.35% iron, 0˜

0.10% copper, 0˜

0.10% manganese, 0.45˜

0.9% magnesium, 0˜

0.10% chromium, 0˜

0.10% zinc, and 0˜

0.10% titanium; and

the electrode functions as window frame and door frame in a vehicle.

14. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises copper or lithium;

and the electrode functions as the wings and fuselages of an aircraft.

15. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said aluminum alloy comprises by weight 0.4˜

0.8% silicon, 0˜

0.7% iron, 0.15˜

0.4% copper, 0˜

0.15% manganese, 0.8˜

1.2% magnesium, 0.04˜

0.35% chromium, 0˜

0.25% zinc, and 0˜

0.15% titanium; and

the electrode functions as the wings and fuselages of an aircraft, or the wheel spacer of a land vehicle.

16. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said film capacitor includes electrodes made of a metal or alloy such as aluminum or zinc, and an insulating, plastic dielectric film 78 selected from polypropylene (PP), polyester, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polystyrene (PS), and polycarbonate (PC).

17. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said supercapacitor utilizes electrostatic double-layer capacitance, electrochemical pseudocapacitance, or a hybrid of the both.

18. The vehicle according to claim 17, wherein activated carbon electrodes are used for electrostatic double-layer capacitance, wherein transition metal oxide and conducting polymer electrodes are used for electrochemical pseudocapacitance, and wherein current collectors of said supercapacitor serve as said at least a portion of the structural part.