Patent CA-2647075-A1 (CA)
Title: Adapted trailer, designed to enable extended use of electric vehicles
Inventor: MOLLER FRANK
IPC: B62D63/06
Filed: 2008-12-04
Abstract: There should be a good and long future for this invention. It will most likely be some time, (probably years), before anyone can come up with an economical battery that can be recharged in fifteen/twenty minutes, as with a gasoline fill-up. The lithium-ion battery, the present leader in batteries is quite expensive, and lithium is not yet easily available in the large quantities that will be required to fill the 2012, and later battery needs. This new need has driven the prospecting efforts so that there will probably soon be additional mines producing the ore. But this, with the time needed to set up mining operations could be ten to fifteen years in the future, with all the many approvals required prior to starting.   Many of the new electric cars to be introduced will not have the hybrid capability where they can continue in use after the battery has run out of energy, so they will be limited to the 60 to 100 mile range that the battery will provide. This will limit potential buyers to those who have only short distances to drive on a regular basis. Many of those who have limited distance vehicules will solve this problem by having two cars, one for the short haul and one for long haul requirements. Having a car that can travel normaly short or long distances by the use of an electric trailer, will help in reducing the number of vehicules required.   The uses for this idea are numerous: an electric city bus going from one end of its route to the other, then changing to a recharged trailer, (carrying batteries only), making the return trip, traveling all day without a drop of fuel being used. While the bus is traveling its previous set of batteries will be recharged. There are many other scenarios similar to this where such a power trailer can be used. Then there is the owner of a purely electric car renting a trailer with only a diesel electric generator on board, providing energy to the car's motor and recharging the car batteries, driving from New York to Calgary, just filling up his fuel tank along the way and then turning the trailer in at a depot. The driver can then drive around Calgary for a few days on electricity only, recharging the car's batteries at nitght at his hotel. When the need to be in Calgary is over, just rent a trailer at the depot and drive back east.  Always only in his own electric car.   Visitors at the Automobile Show in Montreal recently saw a few purely electric cars (many in concept only), but one available now, www.voitureselectriques.ca in Montreal who take a standard car and install an electric engine in place of the gasoline one.  Several manufacturers are coming out in 2010/2011 with purely electric vehicles, namely, torontoelectric of Toronto, Ontario, The PHEV 2009, TOYOTA, the General Motors Electric Volt, advertised but did not show, the secondary highway certified ZENN car of Toronto, also available now, (Manufactured in Quebec), the Bluecar of Italy by Bolloré, the 'IT' Sedan by Dynasty Electric Vehicles of British Columbia, not on display, and even HYDRO  Quebec had a concept car on display. And from what is heard there will be a large flood of electric cars coming to the market in 2012, and the years following.   A trailer with a diesel generator on board could be on the market in just a very few months, in the most basic configuration of the idea. Which means that there could be a financial return in a very short time. Using a diesel motor is recommended rather than a gasoline motor because of the much lower risk of fire in the event of a rear end collision.   The knowledge of a trailer that could extend the distance available to purely electric vehicles will in all probability encourage many other manufacturers to proceed with the design and manufacture electric vehicles. This could have major positive impact on the volume of pollution being added to the air every day, and the rapid depletion of our limited oil resources. In fact reducing the pollution alone will be a driving force to the adoption of the electric trailer, and encouraging people to acquire electric only cars.