A speed control system for electric bicycles includes a bicycle having pedals, a motor and a battery which provides electric power to the motor. The bicycle includes a speed detector to detect speed of the bicycle to create a current speed value. A controller is electrically connected to the motor, the battery and the speed detector. The controller has a preset constant-speed setting value. The controller receives the current speed value from the speed detector, and compares the current speed value with the preset constant-speed setting value to adjust output of the motor and the battery. The controller changes the output of the motor and the battery according to the current speed so that the motor assists the rider to operate the bicycle instantly.

A bicycle configured for communication with other bicycles, a centralized server, client computing devices and third party servers allows the rider to be connected with friends, coaches/trainers, and third party vendors including vendors associated with lodging, food, and other conveniences, vendors associated with bike servicing, equipment, warranties, and other bike related products and services, and vendors associated with routes, areas or destinations. Information may be communicated in real time or stored in memory and communicated to servers, client devices, other riders, etc., at a later date. Information may be communicated to the bike controller for route planning, service scheduling, training purposes and the like. Information communicated to or from the bicycle may be performed as indicated by the rider or there may be predetermined rules or guidelines for what information is collected and to whom the information may be sent to or received from.

A vehicle control system to configured to operate a vehicle autonomously while keeping a safe distance from a preceding vehicle is provided. The vehicle control system is configured to operate the vehicle autonomously to follow a preceding vehicle while keeping a predetermined distance, and to determine a presence of a passenger in the vehicle. If the vehicle is operated autonomously to follow the preceding vehicle while carrying a passenger, the vehicle control system selects a longest distance from the preceding vehicle.

An ECU is applied to a hybrid vehicle that is equipped with an internal combustion engine and a second motor-generator, which are configured to output a driving force for running. The hybrid vehicle is configured to run with the internal combustion engine in intermittent operation. Also, the ECU is configured to calculate an amount of dilution water that is mixed into oil in the internal combustion engine to dilute the oil. The ECU is configured to operate the internal combustion engine when the amount of the dilution water becomes larger than a first threshold.

An off-board charging device disposed to electrically charge an electric energy storage system via an electrical charging system on-board a vehicle is described. This includes an electric machine electrically connected to the electric energy storage system and is disposed to supply propulsion effort to the vehicle. A method for controlling the off-board charging device includes determining severity of a drive cycle that occurs prior to a charging event for the electric energy storage system. A charging profile is determined based upon the severity of the drive cycle. A controller commands operation of the off-board charging device based upon the charging profile.

An Engine Start and Battery Support Module for a vehicle is provided that utilizes a bank of Ultra Capacitors (UCs) charged with or without running the vehicle's alternator to levels that support both engine starting assistance and hotel load support. The UCs' per-cell charge can be adjured and raided during periods of low temperatures and even higher during ultralow temperatures. The adjustment, which can be dynamic and/or automatic, increases the UC energy storage capability. Further, the release of energy from the UCs is controlled by a pulse width modulation (PWM) controller based on the DC bus voltage. The UCs can be charged either from an onboard DC/DC converter, an AC hook up, or from smartly switching the banks of UCs between parallel and serial configurations.

A shovel according to embodiments of the present invention includes a lower travelling body, an upper swivel body, an operation attachment, an engine, a motor generator which is connected to the engine, a hydraulic pump which is connected to the motor generator and supplies hydraulic oil to the operation attachment, a swiveling electric motor which is mounted on the upper swivel body, a power storage device, a DC bus which electrically connects the power storage device and the swiveling electric motor to each other, and a control device, in which the control device decreases a charging/discharging limit value of the power storage device and changes a discharging requirement value which is the maximum value of power which is supplied from the power storage device to the swiveling electric motor, according to a decrease of temperature.

Systems and methods for charging an electric bus having a charging interface on its roof may include determining that an approaching bus is supposed to be charged at the charging station, lowering the charging head of the charging station to land on the roof of the bus, and moving the bus with the charge head on its roof to engage the charging head with the charging interface.

A transport system has a wheeled, steerable, self-powered, self-navigating carrier vehicle, having a substantially planar support frame, an on-board, rechargeable, battery-based power system, control circuitry, including GPS circuitry, on-board the carrier vehicle, adapted to drive and steer the carrier vehicle, and an upward-facing carrier interface adapted to the support frame, the carrier interface having first physical engagement elements, and a passenger pod adapted to carry both packages and persons, the passenger pod having a structural framework, a rechargeable, battery-based power system, and a downward-facing pod interface adapted to the structural framework, the carrier interface having second physical engagement elements. The passenger pod, placed upon the carrier vehicle, engages the downward-facing pod interface to the upward-facing carrier interface by the first and second physical engagement elements.

The object of the invention is a method and an apparatus in an electric propulsion arrangement of a sailing vessel, wherein the sailing vessel has a traction device provided with an electric motor and with a propeller mechanism, the electric motor of traction device is arranged to be used, if necessary, in forward drive and reverse drive as well as during sailing as a generator for charging the accumulators of the sailing vessel. The propeller mechanism comprises a propeller hub with blades, a hollow propeller shaft fixed at its first end to the propeller hub, a shaft controlling the pitch angles of the propeller blades, said control shaft rotating inside the propeller shaft, and a servomotor rotating the control shaft. The servomotor is fixed to the second end of the propeller shaft to be rotatable along with the propeller shaft.