An apparatus for improving ride comfort of a vehicle includes: a sensing unit to sense whether an obstacle is present in a traveling direction of the vehicle and a quantity of behavior of the vehicle; a control value calculation unit to calculate control values for controlling the vehicle in a vertical direction and a pitch direction based on information sensed by the sensing unit; and a driving controller to control at least one of front wheels or rear wheels of the vehicle based on the calculated vertical-direction control values and pitch-direction control values. In particular, each of the vertical-direction control value and the pitch-direction control value includes a control value related to driving and braking the vehicle.

An electric vehicle comprises a vehicle chassis extending along a longitudinal axis and a rotatable vehicle drive axle disposed along a transverse axis and having opposed ends that are configured for attachment of a pair of opposed drive wheels. The electric vehicle also comprises a selectively movable electric propulsion motor comprising a rotatable motor shaft rotatable about a motor axis, the electric propulsion motor configured to be mounted within the vehicle chassis and operatively coupled to the rotatable vehicle drive axle and opposed drive wheels, the motor axis configured to be oriented in a substantially vertical direction.

An electric or hybrid electric vehicle comprises a vehicle chassis extending along a longitudinal axis and a rotatable vehicle drive axle disposed along a transverse axis and having opposed ends that are configured for attachment of a pair of opposed drive wheels. The electric vehicle also comprises a selectively movable electric propulsion motor comprising a rotatable motor shaft rotatable about a motor axis, the electric propulsion motor configured to be mounted within the vehicle chassis and operatively coupled to the rotatable vehicle drive axle and opposed drive wheels, the motor axis configured to be oriented in a substantially vertical direction, a selectively movable differential disposed on the drive axle and configured to operatively couple motive power of the electric propulsion motor that is transmitted to the rotatable motor shaft to the drive axle, and a motor actuator operatively coupled to the electric propulsion motor and the vehicle chassis.

A powertrain for a vehicle may include a vehicle chassis, a rotatable vehicle drive axle, at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor having a rotatable motor shaft rotatable about an axis defined by the rotatable vehicle drive axle, a motor actuator connected to the at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor, and a control system in communication with the motor actuator. The control system may include a memory device in communication with the control system having instructions that when executed by the control system causes the control system to receive at least one input from at least one sensor and instruct the motor actuator to rotate the at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor based on the at least one input from the sensor.

The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods in which a suspension strut is integrated with a motor. The suspension strut preferably includes a damper having a tube and a piston, which damper can be partially disposed below the motor, or within the motor. Wires providing electrical power to the motor are preferably positioned such that the wires do not contact the coil spring. It is also contemplated that the suspension strut can comprise a multi-stage reduction gear, and independently, can include an oil reservoir, oil circulation pump, and oil distribution pathway configure to cool the motor.

The invention relates to an assembly (1) of a frame member (2) for an electric vehicle comprising a transverse member (14) with at each end a housing (10,10) connected to the transverse member (14) and two in-wheel motors (3,3) connected to a respective housing. Each motor comprises a brake drum (35) connected to a rotor (24), extending coaxially within the housing (10,10) near an inner surface a circumferential wall (8) of the housing. A brake shoe assembly (51,52,55,56) is movable in a radial direction R against the brake drum (35), and an actuator (18,18) is placed on an outer surface (17,17) of the circumferential wall (8,8) of the housing (10,10), connected to the brake shoe assembly (51,52,55,56). The assembly provides a low-floor portal frame member, with two in-wheel motors and a brake system that has relatively small axial dimensions and provides a reduced space envelope at the vehicle side.

A vehicle suspension system may include a deadbeam extended between a first wheel at a first end of the deadbeam and a second wheel at a second end of the deadbeam, an electric motor disposed forward of the deadbeam, a lateral link operably coupling the deadbeam to a chassis of the vehicle, a first half shaft operably coupled to the first wheel and the electric motor, a second half shaft operably coupled to the second wheel and the electric motor, a first suspension assembly operably coupling the first wheel to the chassis, and a second suspension assembly operably coupling the second wheel to the chassis.

A low-profile vehicle chassis comprising at least one chassis section comprising an upper side, a lower side spaced from the upper side and a cavity defined between the upper and lower sides of the chassis. At least one drivetrain and/or power component of the vehicle is contained within the cavity. Also, a vehicle comprising such a chassis. Also provided is a drivetrain module for an electric vehicle, the drivetrain module comprising a housing, at least one electric motor within the housing, a gearbox within the housing and having an input connected to the at least one electric motor to receive drive from the at least one electric motor, and at least one drive shaft connected to an output of the gearbox to transmit mechanical drive from the gearbox.

A vehicle, in particular a single-track vehicle, has a small track width in relation to the vehicle height, and three or four wheels. In order to provide a vehicle which allows for a high traffic flow speed at a high traffic density, the vehicle has automatically controlled tilt kinematics, in which the vehicle body and the wheels tilt about a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

A cradle assembly for housing and supporting a motor and a gearbox of an electric axle assembly. The cradle assembly has generally an open air design which provides a space for a motor and/or gearbox to be positioned within a pre-assembled cradle assembly and allows for easy access to the motor and gearbox for maintenance. The cradle assembly includes two end caps, a plurality of tube portions connecting the end caps and a plurality of motor mounts for supporting the motor and gearbox.