The development history of in-wheel motor （hub motor) technology

Most of you have saw or use the hub motors and understood how they work. You will know the basic concept of converting stored electrical energy into power: providing electric current through tightly coiled wires located between the poles of magnets. It rotates around the coil, creating a force that turns the wheel through gears or chains,ultimately driving the machine. The basic principles of hub motors and ordinary motors are the same.

In the past, most electric vehicles (electric cars, electric bicycles, electric wheelchairs, etc.) used on-board batteries and an ordinary electric motor to drive. But later some new electric cars, electric bicycles, automatic wheelchairs, etc. have adopted a new way of working. Instead of using an engine to drive the wheels through gears or chains, an engine is installed directly on the hub of each wheel. This is what we call a hub motor or in wheel motor.

A brief history of the development of in-wheel motors

1. In 1883, Wellington Adams of St. Louis, Missouri, first initiated the project for an electric hub motor that he thought could be used to operate railroad cars and various light machines, such as sewing machines and dental instruments. .
2. In 1895, Ogden Bolton of Ohio invented an electric bicycle with a front hub motor.
3. In 1900, Professor Ferdinand Porsche developed the world’s first hybrid electric car, the Lohner Porsche. Each of its front wheels had a hub motor, each producing 2 kilowatts of power (2.7 horsepower). ).
4. In 1947, James J. Tully invented the aircraft landing gear equipped with a hub motor.
5. In 1962, T.G. Wilson of Duke University and P.H. Trickey of Wright Machinery Company announced their solid-state commutated DC motor, which was the first brushless DC motor.
6. From 1971 to 1972, the Apollo Lunar Rover was the first electric car in space. Although it was not a hub car, it popularized the concept of four-wheel cars driven by independent motors.
7. In 1980, Robert Lordo of Powertron was awarded US Patent 4453097: Permanent Magnet DC Motor with Embedded Magnet, which is a high-power brushless DC motor.

The structure of a car driven by an in-wheel motor will be simpler than a traditional car (no complex mechanical structure). It will save more space than most existing motor-based electric cars and can provide more storage space. , while also making the vehicle lightweight. In-wheel motors highly integrate wheels, power, transmission, brakes, etc., and their working principle is similar to that of permanent magnet synchronous motors.

Although in-wheel motors have many benefits, they also have many disadvantages. The wheels of in-wheel motors will be larger and heavier than ordinary wheels, which will change the operation method. The hub generates a lot of heat and is difficult to dissipate heat. With the continuous development of in-wheel motors, we look forward to better designs to solve this problem in the future.

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