TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to a charger unit. More particularly but not exclusively the present subject matter relates to the charger unit for a vehicle. BACKGROUND

[0002] Generally, in an electric vehicle, one or more batteries are used as power source to drive the vehicle by powering a traction motor. During vehicle traction, the battery gets discharged and is required to be replaced or recharged. Replacing the battery is not a preferable option for the user of the vehicle due to heavy weight of the battery. Therefore, for customer ease, manufacturers are providing rechargeable type batteries, so that the user of the vehicle can easily charge it whenever required. In order to charge the battery, a power supply is needed either from a charging station or a household power supply. A charger unit is required for connecting the battery and the power source and to enable charge transfer from the charging station/household power supply to the battery. The charger units are mainly of two types off-board chargers and on-board chargers. The off-board chargers are required to be carried along by the user and requires storage space in the vehicle. Off-board chargers are generally bulky in size and are not convenient to carry along. Therefore, on-board chargers are preferred. [0003] However, in a compact layout, particularly in a two wheeled vehicle it becomes a challenge to package the charger unit as well as to mount the charger unit at a convenient location. Particularly in electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles additional electrical parts are involved, that results in further difficulty in packaging of the vehicle. In step through electric vehicles, style panels cover all the vehicular components which further limits the available space for packaging.

[0004] The size of the charger unit is proportionate to the battery size, i.e. for higher capacity vehicles bigger batteries are required for which bigger charger units are needed, which further complicates the packaging challenge from space requirement as well as assembly time requirement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The details are described with reference to an embodiment of a saddle type two wheeled scooter along with the accompanying figures. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference similar features and components. Figure 1 exemplarily illustrates a two-wheeled vehicle.

[0006] Figure 2 exemplarily illustrates the mounting location of the charger unit. [0007] Figure 3 exemplarily illustrates a partial front perspective view of the vehicle having a charger unit.

[0008] Figure 4 exemplarily illustrates a partial rear perspective view of the two wheeled vehicle.

[0009] Figure 5 exemplarily illustrates an exploded view of a utility box along with the charger unit.

[00010] Figure 6 exemplarily illustrates a magnified local perspective view of the charger unit with the charger assembled in the vehicle.

[00011] Figure 7 exemplarily illustrates the cooling arrangement of the charger unit placed at the rear portion of the vehicle.

[00012] Figure 8 exemplarily illustrates partial rear exploded perspective view of the vehicle with charger assembled inside a casing on the vehicle.

[00013] Figure 9 (a) and 9 (b) exemplarily illustrates the perspective and side view of the charger.

[00014] Figure 10 exemplarily illustrates perspective view of the casing of the charger unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0001] Generally, in the two-wheeled electric vehicles, a battery is placed in a rear region of the vehicle and a charger unit is either placed in front, middle, and rear region of the vehicle . In a scenario, where the charger unit is placed in vehicle front, some power loss occurs due to long cable length connecting the battery and the charger unit also referred as wiring harness losses. In another case, where the charger unit is placed at the middle region of the vehicle, accessibility and serviceability of the charger unit is difficult. In a case, where the charger unit is disposed in the rear region of the vehicle, then the utility space gets compromised. [0002] In addition, visual appearance of the vehicle is also a major factor for the customers to consider buying a vehicle. Therefore, compact packaging of the vehicle should be done efficiently without compromising the outer appearance of the vehicle.

[0003] Therefore, there is a need for an improved layout and configuration of a charger unit on a compact vehicle which overcomes all above problems and other problems of known art. An improved location and mounting arrangement for the charger unit is required that fulfils requirements related to charger stability, minimum connection length of charger with the battery, accessibility of the charging slot to the user, capable of being assembled within an existing layout of the electrical two-wheeled vehicle, and involves minimum assembly and servicing time.

[0004] In order to achieve one or more of the above-mentioned objectives and other related objectives, the present invention provides a vehicle powered by a battery as a power source, having a charger unit disposed at a safe and secure location where it gives optimal performance. Also, the mounting location and mounting configuration of the charger unit facilitates ease of accessibility, assembly with lesser number of parts, and serviceability. The charger unit provided in the present invention involves lesser number of parts configured such that charger durability is higher, cooling of the charger is efficient and results in light weight. [0005] The present invention provides a two-wheeled vehicle including a frame and a charger unit. The frame includes a front portion and a rear portion. The charger is disposed at the rear portion of the frame. The charger unit is placed in an inclined position such that a first imaginary line extending in a vehicle longitudinal downwardly forward direction, from a bottom surface of the charger unit, intersects with a second imaginary line, passing through a steering axis, in a region lying ahead of a front axle point of a front wheel when seen in the side view of the vehicle . The charger unit is oriented in the inclined position when viewed from the side view of the vehicle ensuring that a utility space of a utility box and a clearance of a rear wheel is not compromised for unhindered functioning of the two-wheeled vehicle. If the charger is placed in a horizontal orientation, inline to the vehicle longitudinal direction, then the charger unit consumes some of the utility space of the storage box leading to reduced or compromised size of the utility box. If the charger is placed in a vertical orientation, perpendicular to the vehicle longitudinal direction, then the charger unit interferes with the available clearance for the rear wheel which is undesirable. So, configuring the charger unit in an inclined orientation, between the horizontal and vertical plane, makes the packaging and mounting of the charger unit possible within a compact space and in a compact layout without compromising on the layout and disposition of parts in the region.

[0006] In an embodiment of the present subject matter, the rear portion of the frame includes a left rear frame and a right rear frame, and the charger unit is disposed between the left and the right rear frame. In another embodiment of the present subject matter, the battery charger unit is disposed below a seat assembly and between a pair of rear shock absorber. The battery charger unit is placed laterally offset from the centre of the two-wheeled vehicle.

[0007] Another embodiment of the present subject matter is to provide a charging input port at a rear side of the charger unit placed at the rear portion of the vehicle making it accessible for charging purposes. To ensure the accessibility of the charging input port, an opening is provided at the rear portion of a rear panel of the vehicle placed below a pillion handle and above a rear tail lamp assembly of the two-wheeled vehicle. The mounting configuration of the charger unit eliminates the undesirable bending of the charging input port cable and thus facilitates direct connection of the charging input port with a charging gun/point. This reduces the usage wear of the cable and the input port, increasing their life.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the mounting of the charger unit is achieved using minimum number of parts. The charger unit is mounted by a single mounting in front portion of a rear cross bridge and a plurality of mountings is provided in a rear portion of the rear cross bridge member and the rear cross bridge is placed between the left and the right rear frame member of the two-wheeled vehicle. This mounting configuration enables efficient mounting of the charger unit on the vehicle such that the mounting scheme uses minimum number of mounting means. If the charger unit is placed in the horizontal orientation instead of inclined orientation, then it requires more than three mounting means to secure the charger unit in place. Thus, the mounting scheme and layout as per the present configuration reduces the number of attachment means required to support the charger unit.

[0009] Another embodiment of the present subject matter is to provide a fan for forced cooling of the charger unit mounted on an upper portion of a rear fender. The axis of cooling fan is normal to the bottom surface of the charger unit. The above configuration guides fresh air inside the charger unit for cooling. The charger unit is provided with a plurality of cut-outs in vicinity of the cooling fan, so that hot air is expelled out of the charger unit keeping the charger unit cool. However, in an alternate embodiment, the fan can be mounted in any other location in the rear portion of the two-wheeled vehicle, such that the air can reach and exit the charger unit for cooling purposes.

[00010] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the fan is placed in an inclined position along with the charger unit such that hot air exiting from the charger unit spreads in an open space available around the charger unit. This aids in lowering the temperature of surrounding elements of the charger unit. [00011] Another aspect the present subject matter is to provide the charger unit for the two-wheeled vehicle having a charger, an input extension protruding out from a rear end of the charger unit, an output extension protruding out from a front end of the charger unit, and a casing housing the charger which includes a first slot for the input extension, a second slot for the output extension.

[00012] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, a plurality of cooling fins is provided on the charger. The cooling fins are disposed together to form a trapezoidal shape in a side view so that the charger unit fits inside the casing. The cooling fins, thus disposed provides sufficient cooling for the charger along with improved packaging within the charger unit.

[00013] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the charger input extension includes a first projection lug surface and a second projection lug surface. The casing includes a plurality of cut-outs for flow of air to ensure cooling of the charger placed inside the casing. The plurality of cut-outs incorporated in the casing additionally act as an arrestor, restricting the rotation of the charger unit.

[00014] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the first slot of the casing includes a first casing surface and a second casing surface which are perpendicular to each other. The first casing surface abuts the first projection lug surface, and the second casing surface abuts the second projection lug surface of the charger input extension, to arrest a degree of freedom of the charger unit. This ensures that the charger unit do not move inside the casing and thus arrests its motion.

[00015] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the charger unit having the casing includes an upper part and a lower part attached to each other. The lower part has a bottom surface and a plurality of side surfaces extending upward from the bottom surface of the casing. The lower part is open from one side of the casing. The upper part extends inclinedly upward from front surface of the lower part towards the rear of the casing creating space to accommodate the charger inside the casing. The casing includes the plurality of cut outs provided on the upper part and the lower part. These cut-outs made in the casing also reduce the weight of the casing and thus makes it a light weight charger unit.

[00016] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the first slot for the input extension and the second slot for the output extension is provided at the joining point of the bottom surface of the casing and the plurality of side surfaces.

[00017] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the casing is provided with a mounting point on the top portion of the upper part which is inclinedly positioned and a two point mounting is disposed on the rear end of the lower part which extends in upward direction from the surface of the lower part. [00018] According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the charger unit includes a front mounting means provided on a front part of the rear cross bridge member at one end and a plurality of second mounting means provided on a distal end of a rear cross bridge member. Dismantling the distal end mounting means enables pivotal rotation of the charger unit along the front point mounting which facilitates swing movement of the charger unit for ease of assembly and disassembly from a compact space. The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to an embodiment in a scooter type two wheeled electric vehicle along with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the present embodiments.

[00019] Fig. 1 exemplarily illustrates a two-wheeled vehicle 100. The two-wheeled vehicle 100 have a front portion F and a rear portion R. The front portion F of the vehicle 100 includes a head pipe (not shown) a down tube (not shown) extending from the head pipe (not shown), a front shock absorber (not shown), a steering assembly (not shown) and a front wheel 106. The rear portion R of the vehicle 100 includes a left rear frame (not shown), a rear right frame (not shown), a seat assembly 105, a rear wheel 107, a pair of shock absorbers 109 (one shown), a swingarm 108, and a pillion handle 144. The front portion F further includes a pair of horizontal extension extending rearwards from the downtube (not shown), the rear portion R includes an inclined rearward upward extension moving rearward in a horizontal direction from the horizontal extension extending from the downtube (not shown). The front portion F of the two-wheeled vehicle 100 has a front panel 103 to cover the front part of the vehicle 100. The downtube (not shown) of the vehicle 100 along with the front suspension (not shown) is connected to the front wheel 106. The seat assembly 105 is mounted on the pair of left and right rear frame members (not shown). The portion below the seat assembly 105 is covered by a side panel 151 and a rear panel 104. The rear portion R having the pair of shock absorber 109 connected to the rear frame of the vehicle 100 at one end and the other end of the shock absorber 109 is connected to an axle of the rear wheel 107. The swingarm 108 is connected to the frame of the vehicle 100 at one end in longitudinal direction of the vehicle 100 and the other end is connected to the axle of the rear wheel 107. The pillion handle 144 is provided at the rear portion R of the seat assembly 105 for the support of the pillion rider of the vehicle 100.

[00020] Fig. 2 exemplarily illustrates the mounting location of a charger unit 112. The charger unit 112 is placed in an inclined orientation such that a first imaginary line 119 extending in a vehicle longitudinal downwardly forward direction, from a bottom surface 115 of the charger unit 112, intersects at a point 121 with a second imaginary line 120 passing, through the axis 122 of the steering assembly 145, lying ahead of an front axle point of the front wheel 106. This inclined mounting configuration reduces the number of mountings which further reduces the cost of the part. In addition, the packaging and mounting of the charger unit 112 is possible in existing layout without necessitating any modification or displacing any of the existing aggregate systems of the vehicle. Also, it provides better utility space or can accommodate bigger charger unit 112.

[00021] Fig. 3 exemplarily illustrates a partial front perspective view of the vehicle 100 having a charger unit 112 and Fig. 4 exemplarily illustrates a partial rear perspective view of the two-wheeled vehicle 100. The two-wheeled vehicle 100 includes the right rear frame 110(a) and the left rear frame 110(b) connected by the rear cross bridge 111 at the end of the rear portion R of the vehicle 100. The charger unit 112 includes a charger 114 used to charge a battery (not shown) by using an external power source (not shown) and connecting it with a charging port 118 to commence the charging for the battery (not shown). In order to facilitate the connection between the charger unit 112 and the external power source, the charging port 118 is provided at the rear side of the charger unit 112. An opening 116 (shown in figure 4) in the rear panel 104 of the rear portion R of the vehicle 100 is provided below the pillion handle 144 (shown in figure 3) which supports a pillion rider. The charging port 118 is taken out from the opening 116 section to connect it with the external power source. The charger unit 112 has the charging port 118 connected to the side of the charger unit 112 to connect the charger 114 to a charging gun/a charging point at a charging station/ a household power supply. This opening 116 in the rear portion R provides ease of accessibility during the charging of the vehicle 100.

[00022] Fig. 5 exemplarily illustrates a partial exploded perspective view of the vehicle with a utility box 117 along with the charger unit 112. The charger unit 112 is placed laterally offset from the centre of the two-wheeled vehicle 100 and is disposed below the seat assembly (not shown) between the pair of rear shock absorber (not shown in this figure). The charger unit 112 is disposed in an inclined orientation with the help of a plurality of fasteners so that it does not hinder into the utility space of the utility box 117. The mounting of charger unit 112 also ensures that it does not interfere with the rear wheel 107 and thereby does not lead to any compromise in the rear wheel well clearance. So, placing the charger unit 112 in an inclined position, between the horizontal and vertical plane, makes the packaging and mounting of the charger unit 112 possible within a compact layout using minimal space and within an existing layout without re-locating any of its neighbouring parts. Present mounting location ensures ease of accessibility and serviceability to the customer. During serviceability, the utility box 117 is taken out in order to reach to the charger unit 112. After dismantling the utility box, a plurality of charger unit mountings 124 (b) in rear are removed and then the charger unit is rotated about a front mounting 124 (a) which acts as a hinge and then the charger unit is removed from the vehicle. In the whole process, no side panels (not shown) are required to be removed from the vehicle 100 and only the utility box 117 is removed in order to reach as well as dismantle the charger unit 112. Dismantling the utility box is typically easy in terms of access and easy to remove with simple tools.

[00023] Fig. 6 exemplarily illustrates a magnified local perspective view of the charger unit 112 with the charger 114 assembled in the vehicle. The charger unit 112 is mounted using the plurality of fasteners. The charger unit 112 is mounted by the front mounting 124 (a) in a front part of the rear cross bridge 111 and two charger unit mountings 124 (b) in a rear part of the rear cross bridge 111 placed between the right rear frame 110 (a) and the left rear frame 110 (b) of the two wheeled vehicle 100. This mounting configuration achieves a safe as well as secure mounting with minimum number of mounting provisions. Additionally, existing part like rear cross bridge 111 is configured with charger unit 112 mounting provision on the vehicle 100 without necessitating any additional part to be added to the vehicle 100. If the charger unit 112 is placed in the horizontal orientation instead of inclined orientation, then it will require more than three mounting positions to secure the charger unit 112 in place. Thus, the mounting location as per the present invention significantly reduces the number of fasteners to support the charger unit 112. The charging port 118 is provided at sides of the charger unit 112 so that the cable 146 of the charging port 118 is not bend during its operation ensuring long life of the cable 146 of the charging port 118 as well as least transmission losses in the wiring harness. Also, a shock absorber mounting bracket 147 is provided on the right rear frame 110(a) and the left rear frame 110(b) of the vehicle 100 in proximity to the charger unit 112. The shock absorber mounting bracket 147 ensures that vibrations or shocks are distributed evenly and over the frame and do not affect the charger unit 112.

[00024] Fig. 7 exemplarily illustrates the cooling arrangement of the charger unit 112 placed at the rear portion of the vehicle 100. A cooling fan 150 is provided at the inner portion of the rear fender 148 above the rear wheel 107 for cooling the charger unit 112. The axis 152 of cooling fan 150 is normal to the bottom surface of charger 115 (shown in Fig 2) of the charger unit 112. This configuration paves path for fresh air 153 to go inside the charger unit 112 for cooling the charger 114. The casing (not shown separately) is provided with cut-outs or openings so that the hot air 154 is expelled out of the charger unit 112. The hot air 154 that are projected towards the utility box 117 is deflected by the rear wall of the utility box 117 and is directed downwards, towards the ground. The hot air 154 leaving the charger unit 112 escapes from all the cut-outs provided in multiple directions ensuring that the temperature of the charger unit 112 is minimum. The position of the cooling fan 150 on the rear fender 148 protects it from water or any foreign material. In addition to this, a wheel hugger 149 also protects the cooling fan 150 from mud, water splash etc. and restricts the foreign material from the rear wheel 107 or from its surrounding from reaching to the cooling fan 150. The cut-outs provided in the charger unit 112 also helps in mass reduction and thus weight as well as cost reduction. In another embodiment, the cooling fan 150 is mounted on a lug that is integrally formed with rear fender 148 which helps to minimize the number of parts for mounting the cooling fan 150. The present mounting location configuration is possible with different shape and size of the charger unit 112.

[00025] Fig. 8 exemplarily illustrates partial rear exploded perspective view of the vehicle with charger 114 assembled inside a casing 113 on the vehicle and Fig. 9(a) and 9(b) exemplarily show the perspective and side view of the charger 114. The charger unit 112 includes the charger 114, an input extension 125 protruding out from a rear end of the charger 114, an output extension 126 protruding out from a front end of the charger 114, and the casing 113. The charger 114 is disposed inside the casing 113 and is mounted on the rear cross bridge (not shown) of the rear frame of the two-wheeled vehicle 100. The charger 114 is configured with a plurality of cooling fins 129 on its surface for cooling the charger unit 112. As per an embodiment, the height of cooling fins 129 gradually increases, then remains constant for a fixed length, and then gradually decreases to form a trapezoidal shape. The trapezoidal shape of the cooling fins 129 allows the charger 114 to be easily guided to slide inside the casing 113 in a compact manner while maximizing the number of cooling fins. The cooling fins 129 provide sufficient cooling and ensure that the cooling efficiency is maintained by having varied size of the cooling fins 129 which facilitates improved packaging space for the charger 114 and also ensures optimum cooling of the charger unit 112. However, the structure of cooling fins 129 and shape of the casing 113 of battery charger unit 112 may vary based on the layout requirement of the vehicle 100. The casing 113 is provided with plurality of cut-outs 132 for allowing the flow of air to ensure cooling of the charger 114 placed inside the casing 113. The casing 113 housing the charger 114, includes a first slot 127 for the input extension 125, a second slot 128 for the output extension 126. The input extension 125 includes a first projection lug surface 130 and a second projection lug surface 131. The first slot 127 of the casing 113 includes a first casing surface 133 and a second casing surface 134 perpendicular to each other. The first casing surface 133 abuts the first projection lug surface 130, and the second casing surface 134 abuts the second projection lug surface 131 of the input extension 125 to arrest a rotation degree of freedom of the charger unit 112. This ensures that the charger unit 112 do not moves inside the casing 113 and thus arrests its motion securing the charger unit 112 inside the casing 113.

[00026] Fig.10 exemplarily illustrates perspective view of the casing 113 of the charger unit 112. The casing 113 as per an embodiment is made up of polymer material that has a cavity shape to accommodate the charger unit (not shown). The polymer material gives the casing 113 required strength and flexibility to the casing 113 for mounting of charger unit (not shown) on the vehicle 100. The casing 113 includes an upper part 135 and a lower part 136 attached to each other. The attachment of the lower part 136 and the upper part 135 of the casing 113 can be integral or detachably attachable. The lower part 136 has a bottom surface 137 and a plurality of side surfaces extending 138 orthogonal from the bottom surface 137. In the present embodiment, the lower part 136 has three side surfaces and the lower part 136 is open from one side of the casing 113. The three side surfaces arrest the charger (not shown) inside the casing 113 so as to prevent the charger (not shown) from falling at its side. The charger (not shown) is slidably inserted from the open side of the casing 113. The upper part 135 extends inclinedly upward from a front surface 139 which is towards the rear of the casing 113 and is part of lower part 136. This creates space to accommodate the charger (not shown) inside the casing 113. The casing 113 includes the plurality of cut-outs 132 provided on the upper part 135 and the lower part 136 for cooling purposes. The first slot 127 for the input extension (not shown) and the second slot 128 for the output extension (not shown) is provided at the joining point of the bottom surface of the casing 137 and the plurality of side surfaces 138. The first slot 127 and the second slot 128 is provided at the joining point of the bottom surface so as to facilitate the wiring connections making sure that the wiring (not shown) is not twisted or turned thus securing its durability over its life span. The casing 113 is provided with a mounting point 140 on the top portion of the upper part 135 which is inclinedly positioned and a two- point mounting 141 is disposed on the distal end of the lower part 136 which extends in upward direction from the surface of the lower part 136. Many other improvements and modifications may be incorporated herein without deviating from the scope of the invention.

List of Reference numerals: 100: Two-wheeled vehicle

101: Frame

F : Front portion of 101 R: Rear portion of 101 102: Downtube of 101 103: Front panel of F

104: Rear panel of R 105: Seat assembly of 100 106: Front wheel of 100 107: Rear wheel of 100 108: Swing arm of 100

109: Rear Shock absorber of 100 110 (a): Left rear frame of 100 110 (b): Right rear frame of 100 111: Rear cross bridge of 100 112: Charger unit

113: Casing of 114 114: Charger of 112 115: Bottom surface of 112 116: Opening on 104 117: Utility box

118: Charging input port of 114 119: First imaginary line passing from 115 120: Second imaginary line passing from 122 121: Intersecting point of 119 and 120 122: Axis of the steering assembly 123: Rear side

124 (a): Front mounting 124 (b): Plurality of charger unit mountings 125: Input extension of 114 126: Output extension of 114 127: First slot provided on 113

128: Second slot provided on 113 129: Cooling fins provided on 114 130: First projection lug surface of 125 131: Second projection lug surface of 125 132: Plurality of cut-outs for cooling

133: First casing surface of 127 134: Second casing surface of 127 135: Upper part of 113 136: Lower part of 113 137: Bottom surface of the casing

138: Plurality of side surface of 113 139: Front surface of 113 140: Mounting point on 113 141: Two-point mounting on 113 143: Rear fender of 100 144: Pillion handle at R 145: Steering assembly at F 146: Cable of 112

147: Shock mounting bracket of 109 148: Rear fender

149: Wheel hugger 150: Cooling fan for 112 151: side panel of 100 152: Axis of 150 153: Fresh air from 150

154: Hot air existing from 150