A structure for mounting a battery and a spare tire may include a battery bracket fixing the battery to an accommodating compartment recessed in a rear floor of a vehicle, and a tire mounting bracket fastened to the spare tire, disposed at an upper side of the battery, through a tire bolt, and fixing the spare tire to the rear floor, in which the battery bracket and the tire mounting bracket are separated so that a load applied to the spare tire is not transmitted to the battery.

Vehicles are disclosed which have a lower center of gravity than existing all-terrain, amphibious, and unmanned ground vehicles due to the location of propulsion units and other vehicle components inside the wheels of the vehicle. The vehicles can climb over large obstacles yet are also able to corner at high speeds. The vehicles can be configured for direct manual operation or operation by remote control, and can also be configured for a wide variety of missions.

A battery-electric system for a utility vehicle. The battery-electric system includes a wheel rim and at least one toroidal battery arrangement that is accommodated in a free region of the wheel rim. The at least one toroidal battery arrangement has, in a fastening region that is designed for attachment to a vehicle axle, an interface for releasably establishing a rotation-independent electrical and/or fluidic communication connection to a vehicle-based operating system.

A wheel assembly for a vehicle has a rotor housing adapted to be supported on wheel bearings of the vehicle, a stator support structure adapted to be affixed to a non-rotatable portion of the vehicle, and an energy storage module affixed to the stator support structure. The rotor housing has a support structure connected to a rotor. The rotor has permanent magnets therein. The stator support structure has windings therein. These windings are spaced from the permanent magnets of the rotor housing by an air gap. The energy storage module is cooperative with the windings of the stator support structure so as to receive energy from the windings and transmit energy to the windings relative to a motion of the vehicle.

A wheel assembly for a vehicle has a rotor housing adapted to be affixed to a non-rotatable portion of the vehicle, a stator housing adapted to be affixed to a wheel hub of the vehicle so as to be rotatable relative to the rotor housing, and an energy storage module affixed only to the stator housing. The stator housing has a support structure having a wheel rim. The rotor housing has permanent magnets therein. The stator housing has windings therein. The windings of the stator housing and the permanent magnets of the rotor housing define an air gap therebetween. The air gap extends concentric to an axis of rotation of the wheel hub. The wheel assembly is cooperative with the windings of the stator housing so as to receive energy from the windings and transmit energy to the windings relative to a motion of the vehicle.

The vehicle includes: a chassis which includes a front cross-member and a rear cross-member; a nacelle receiving a person or a load, pivotally mounted relative to the central part of the cross-members about a substantially longitudinal hinge axis, the center of gravity of the nacelle being situated below said hinge axis; a front train and a rear train, each including two movement supports on the ground, each movement support being connected to the end part of the corresponding cross-member by a connecting system; the cross-members, situated in the upper part of the nacelle, being separate pieces linked together only by the nacelle, via the hinge axis, so as to be able to pivot about the hinge axis independently of one another.

Vehicles are disclosed which have a lower center of gravity than existing all-terrain, amphibious, and unmanned ground vehicles due to the location of propulsion units and other vehicle components inside the wheels of the vehicle. The vehicles can climb over large obstacles yet are also able to corner at high speeds. The vehicles can be configured for direct manual operation or operation by remote control, and can also be configured for a wide variety of missions.

To provide a vehicle drive device capable of efficiently driving a vehicle by using in-wheel motors without falling into the vicious cycle between enhancement of driving via the motors and an increase in vehicle weight. The present invention is a vehicle drive device that uses in-wheel motors to drive a vehicle and includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the travel speed of a vehicle, in-wheel motors that are provided in wheels of the vehicle and drive the wheels, and a controller that controls the in-wheel motors, in which the controller controls the in-wheel motors so as to generate driving forces when the travel speed of the vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor is equal to or more than a predetermined first vehicle speed that is more than zero.

A vehicle includes a chassis, a body assembly, and a plurality of battery cells. The chassis includes a plurality of frame members. The body assembly is coupled to the plurality of frame members of the chassis. A bottom periphery of the body assembly is defined by a point at which the body assembly couples or contacts a top of the chassis. An uppermost periphery of the plurality of battery cells is spaced a distance below the bottom periphery of the body assembly. At least a portion of the plurality of battery cells extends lower than the plurality of frame members of the chassis.

Vehicles are disclosed which have a lower center of gravity than existing all-terrain, amphibious, and unmanned ground vehicles due to the location of propulsion units and other vehicle components inside the wheels of the vehicle. The vehicles can climb over large obstacles yet are also able to corner at high speeds. The vehicles can be configured for direct manual operation or operation by remote control, and can also be configured for a wide variety of missions.