An aeronautical car includes a ground-travel system including a drivetrain; an air-travel system including a detachable portion configured to house a propulsion device configured to provide thrust and to be driven by the drivetrain when the detachable portion is connected to the aeronautical car, and at least one flight mechanism configured to provide lift once the aeronautical car is in motion; and a weather manipulation device. The weather manipulation device may be configured to manipulate at least one aspect of a weather condition while the aeronautical car is in the air.

A solar-powered vehicle that includes a body having opposing sides and defining a cavity; two or more wheels; a first and second solar panel assembly respectively disposed on the opposing sides of the body; one or more electric motor disposed within the cavity of the body between the first and second solar panel assemblies, the one or more electric motors configured to rotate at least one of the two or more wheels; and one or more electric battery disposed within the cavity of the body between the first and second solar panel assemblies, the one or more electric batteries configured to power the one or more electric motors and to be charged by electric current generated by the first and second solar panel assemblies.

A system and methods are provided for a wing stabilizer charging system for recharging onboard batteries during operation of an electrically powered vehicle. The wing stabilizer charging system comprises a wing stabilizer configured to be coupled with a rear of the vehicle. One or more air inlets are disposed in the wing stabilizer and configured to receive an airstream during forward motion of the vehicle. Wind turbines are disposed within the wing stabilizer and configured to be turned by the airstream. A circuit box is configured to combine electricity received from the wind turbines into a useable electric current. A power cable extends from the circuit box and is configured to supply the useable electric current to any one or more electronic devices, such as any of an onboard battery for powering the vehicle, mobile phones or smart phones, portable music players, tablet computers, cameras, and the like.

The invention relates to a piezoelectric energy harvesting system (10) configured to be installed on a vehicle (1), characterized in that the system (10) comprises: —an inner panel (12); —an outer panel (14) slidably movable relative to the inner panel (12); —at least one deformable piezoelectric element (16) disposed between the inner panel (12) and the outer panel (14), said piezoelectric element (16) being capable of producing electrical power when it is deformed; —a plurality of impact elements (18) fixedly connected to the outer panel (14) and adapted to apply a compression force on the at least one piezoelectric element (16) when the outer panel (14) and the inner panel (12) are close enough to each other, said compression force causing a mechanical deformation of the at least one piezoelectric element (16); —repulsion means (22) adapted to move the outer panel (14) away from the inner panel (12); —an electrical power storage unit (24); —a one-way electrical circuit (26) connecting the at least one piezoelectric element (16) to the electrical power storage unit (24), said one-way electrical circuit (26) being adapted to charge the electrical power storage unit (24) with the electrical power produced by the at least one piezoelectric element (16) while preventing the application of an electrical charge to the at least one piezoelectric element (16) from the electrical power storage unit (24).

A vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes a solar generator; a first battery configured to supply power for driving at least one load; and perform a recharge; a first charge amount detector configured to detect a charge amount of the first battery; and a controller configured to perform charging control on the first battery using electric energy generated by the solar generator in a parked state; determine whether the detected charge amount of the first battery is greater than or equal to a first reference charge amount during the charging control of the first battery; and perform charging termination control on the first battery when the detected charge amount of the first battery is determined to be greater than or equal to the first reference charge amount.

A transportation vehicle may be equipped with electrical energy harvesting systems to harvest electrical energy for use. By way of example, in the transportation vehicle, a Venturi system may be used to receive an air flow and the speed of the air flow increase in a constricted area of the Venturi system, the air flow containing a large amount of kinetic energy. A plurality of electrical energy harvesting systems is disposed in the Venturi system and is configured to convert the kinetic energy contained in the accelerated air flow into electrical energy that can be used to power on-board electronics as well as one or more on-board batteries in the transportation vehicle, as the transportation vehicle is in motion.

A vehicle-mounted solar power generation device includes a solar panel, a solar battery that is a battery temporarily storing electric power, and a controller configured to perform control by switching between an electric power generation mode in which the solar battery is charged with a generated electric power of the solar panel and an electric power saving mode in which at least the charging of the solar battery is stopped such that power consumption is suppressed in comparison with the electric power generation mode. The controller determines to switch between modes based on the output voltage of the solar panel. In the electric power saving mode, the controller restricts a switch to the electric power generation mode based on any of the frequency of switching between modes, the amount of electric power stored in the solar battery, and the state of stoppage of a vehicle.

A transportation refrigeration system (100, 200, 300) includes a refrigeration system component (110), a linear generator (104, 202, 310) electrically connected to the refrigeration system component (110), and a linkage (142, 214). The linkage (142, 214) is operably connected to the linear generator (104, 202, 310) to convert movement of the transportation refrigeration system (100, 200, 300) into electrical power for communication to the refrigeration system component (110). An electric transportation refrigeration system used to cool a trailer box are also described.

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle sunroof comprising an energized sunroof glass, and to a vehicle. The energized sunroof glass comprises a rear glass and a front glass (1) being slidable relative to the rear glass. The vehicle sunroof further comprises a movable wire harness (6). one end of the movable wire harness (6) is electrically connected to the front glass (1). and the other end of the movable wire harness (6) is electrically connected to a main wire harness of the vehicle sunroof. A hard guiding member (6d) is disposed inside the movable wire harness (6) and penetrates through at least part of the length of the movable wire harness (6) to guide the movable wire harness (6) to be rolled up or spread when the front glass (1) slides. The movable wire harness connection structure of the vehicle sunroof is small in size, and has fewer components but high integration. Further, the movable wire harness is not easy to get tangled and has a good self-guiding function during operation of the sunroof.

A method of controlling a vehicle includes: determining whether a condition for entry into a refresh mode of a battery in the vehicle is satisfied; when the condition is satisfied, predicting an amount of power generated by a solar generator; determining whether to perform the refresh mode based on the predicted amount of power; when the refresh mode is determined to perform, charging the battery using the power generated by the solar generator; identifying a charge amount of the battery; when the identified charge amount is greater than or equal to a first reference charge amount, terminating charging the battery; when an ignition-on command is received, determining whether the charge amount of the battery is greater than or equal to the first reference charge amount; when the charge amount of the battery is less than the first reference charge amount, charging the battery using power generated by an alternator.