Ring-Wheel Drivetrains for Advanced Electric and Hybrid Vehicles and Opportunities to Overcome the Limitations and Vulnerabilities of Mechanical Drivetrains

Marcus Hays
Orbis Wheels, California, United States

Keywords: ring-wheels, ground robotics, advanced electric drive trains

This paper focuses on a patented in-wheel motor method which divides a wheel into two parts: a stationary hub and a rim or ring which rotates around the hub. Preliminary data demonstrates that a wheel divided into stationary hub and rotating ring can reduce polar moment of inertia by 50% or more. The resulting reduction in centripetal force can yield measurable improvements in vehicle efficiencies. With no penalty in unsprung weight, the ring-wheel drive configuration presents advantages over mechanical drivetrains and new opportunities for the development of wheeled vehicles with improvements in control technology and supply chain simplicity, manufacturability, sustainability, long endurance, tailorability. scalability, and cost savings in raw materials, manufacturing and uptime in the field.