Electric vehicle

“ If it were not that there is yet no really satisfactory form of accumulator for traction work on the market, the electric motor-car would long ago have won a complete victory. At present an electric car may be classed as a charming but expensive vehicle, almost as costly as horseflesh. The expense of running an electric carriage, including stabling, electricity, tyres, batteries and insurance, is 180l. ”

“ Just as the perfection of the gasoline motor spurred on the inventors to adapt the steam-engine for use in automobiles, so the inventors of the storage battery, which is the heart of an electric carriage, were stirred up to make electric propulsion practical.
The storage battery of an electric vehicle is practically a tank that holds electricity; the electrical energy of the dynamo is transformed into chemical energy in the batteries, which in turn is changed into electrical energy again and used to run the motors.
Electric automobiles are the most simple of all the self-propelled vehicles. ”

“ NEIGHBORHOOD ELECTRIC VEHICLE— The term `neighborhood electric vehicle' means a 4-wheeled on-road or nonroad vehicle that— " (A) has a top attainable speed in 1 mile of more than 20 mph and not more than 25 mph on a paved level surface; and " (B) is propelled by an electric motor and on-board, rechargeable energy storage system that is rechargeable using an off-board source of electricity. " (5) PLUG-IN ELECTRIC DRIVE VEHICLE— The term `plug-in electric drive vehicle' means a vehicle that— " (A) draws motive power from a battery with a capacity of at least 4 kilowatt-hours ”

“ Between the petrol-driven vehicle and the electric automobile there is an interesting series of links provided by 'petrol-electric' systems.
At one end of the chain, electricity plays an important part in supplying power to drive the car. At the other end, electrical apparatus is introduced merely as a form of transmission gear between the petrol engine and the driving axle. ”

“ An electric vehicle may be regarded as consisting of a body, a running gear, with one or two motors mounted on it and arranged to operate the driving wheels of the vehicle through speed reduction gearing, of a battery of accumulators carried on the car itself, of connections between this battery and the motors, and of a controller, the functions of which will be explained. ”

“ The Cantono Electric Fore Carriage is sold individually at the above price, which includes the attaching of same to any horse-drawn vehicle, converting it to an electric carriage. Complete vehicles are also marketed by this concern. ”

“ The introduction of demountable rims and power tire pumps further reduced the hard work in connexion with the operation of petrol cars as compared with solid-tired electric vehicles. The electric then became more and more a luxury vehicle, built only in expensive closed-body types and used mainly for town driving by people who owned a petrol car for coun- try driving in addition. > The electric commercial vehicle industry also was more or less stationary while the petrol commercial industry forged ahead rapidly. ”

“ Assuming a vehicle with running gear complete and motors mounted and geared to the driving-wheels, the motors have to be fed with energy in order that the car may be propelled— that is to say, we must in addition to the motors have a source of electric current present. A car with body, running gear, and motors geared in position, is a potentiality only. ”

“ On level, easy roads, where the power required falls below the maximum power exerted by the benzine motor, the electric motor changes automatically to a dynamo and the surplus force of the benzine motor is converted into current and stored. In running down hill or stopping the carriage, the momentum of the vehicle is also received by the electric motor acting as a dynamo and brake, and is stored as electricity in the battery, which is thus in an ordinary journey kept constantly charged. ”

“ On electric cars the motor is generally suspended from the wheel truck, and a small pinion on the armature shaft gears with a large pinion on a wheel axle. One great advantage of electric traction is that every vehicle of a train can carry its own motor, so that the whole weight of the train may be used to get a grip on the rails when starting. Where a single steam locomotive is used, the adhesion of its driving-wheels only is available for overcoming the inertia of the load ”

“ BATTERY— The term `battery' means an electrochemical energy storage system powered directly by electrical current. (3) ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY— The term `electric transportation technology' means— (A) technology used in vehicles that use an electric motor for all or part of the motive power of the vehicles, including battery electric, hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric, fuel cell, and plug-in fuel cell vehicles, or rail transportation ”

“ There are many people living who have been knocked down by carriages, cabs, omnibuses and vans, and have suffered little or no injury because they happened, by chance or design, to roll under the vehicle and thus escaped all four wheels. But if knocked down by one of the electric cabs no such escape would have been possible, as the accumulator was only a few inches from the ground, and would have crushed to death any one who got beneath it.
ELECTRIC CAB.
Many of our public vehicles are very badly lighted, but no such complaint could be made against the electric cabs. ”

“ Although the electric cab has the advantage of being a smaller vehicle and therefore more adapted to economical propulsion by storage batteries, the conditions of the cab service are not at all favourable to the system. The essential feature of a cab is that it should be available anywhere, to go anywhere at a moment's notice. An accumulator-driven vehicle, on the other hand, is tied by an invisible cord to the charging station. ”

“ Owing to the uniform control of speed afforded by the electric system, there is less jerking at starting or stopping than is general with a petrol-driven omnibus; but in spite of that advantage, tyre wear on a trolley omnibus must remain an important item. Something must also be allowed for the effect of vibration upon the car body and electrical equipment—an effect which is of course much less pronounced when a vehicle runs on rails. ”

“ Such systems include Vehicles which carry heavy batteries of accumulators, the current from which is utilized for the driving of the vehicle by means of electric motors. Other variations include the Hallford-Stevens system, shown in fig. 32, in which it may be seen the petrol engine drives a dynamo, and the current is then caused to drive an electric motor at each side of the chassis. Each motor drives one of the back road wheels, through a worm and worm wheel. ”

“ That any such ideas as to what electricity can accomplish are visionary and impracticable may seem to be the case to some; that they are so in reality is not believed by many who have given the subject impartial study. Some of these believe that, in the very near future electric cars will supplant horse-cars; and upon short lines like elevated roads, steam-locomotives ”

“ Steam and gasoline vehicles can be used to travel long distances from the cities, for water can be had and gasoline bought almost anywhere; but electric automobiles, driven by the third of the three powers used for self-propelled vehicles, must keep within easy reach of the charging stations. ”

“ But if a man buys a horse and gives it in charge of the gardener’s boy, he is likely to have trouble with his horse. In the same way, if a man buys an electric carriage and expects his coachman to look after it, he only naturally does have considerable trouble. There are several companies prepared to look after and maintain in continuous use, not only the batteries, but the complete carriages, and this is greatly improving the reliability of the electric car, and allaying the fears of those anxious to have such carriages. ”

“ The adaptability of electricity to motor-car work has hardly yet been sufficiently realised. People see the{xiii} luxurious electric brougham, described in this book, running on the streets of London and other large cities, but few have any idea that not only the wealthy aristocrat, but everyone will, before long, be able to ride in such carriages, possibly not so luxuriousy fitted up, but equally comfortable and speedy.
The usual cry at present is that electric cars are very nice, but the owners have great difficulties with the batteries. ”

“ Every month the electric street car is more and more displacing the horse car, with added comfort to passengers and diminished wear of our thoroughfares. Power is conveyed silently over wires from central stations and distributed wherever it may be required for manufacturing purposes, saving a vast outlay in separate boilers and engines, and greatly economizing space. In great telegraph centers the dynamo is displacing cell batteries for the production of current. ”

“ But the simple electric car will not be a universal favourite until either accumulators are so light that a very large store of electricity can be carried without inconvenient addition of weight, or until charging stations are erected all over the country at distances of fifty miles or so apart. ”

“ Its use by national, state and city governmental departments is growing rapidly, and the best evidence exists of its superior economy to the horse for many purposes. And when the high wave of motor truck use rolls in,118 the electric type will be found riding on its crest. Already there are upwards of 50,000 electric trucks alone in use. ”

“ A large sulphate of copper battery was employed, which could through the agency of a train of gears give only a very slow speed. This road carriage, however, only needed a storage battery to make it a well organized and efficient electric automobile. It is believed by many that electricity fulfills more of the necessary conditions of a successful motive power for motor carriages than any other power. It is clean, compact, noiseless, free from vibration, heat, dirt and gases, and is under perfect control. ”

“ Among such applications, and following closely the electric lighting, came the electric railway. A substitute for the slow animal, horse, and for the dangerous, noisy steam horse and its lumbering locomotive and train, was hailed with delight. Inventors came forward with adaptations of all the old systems they could think of for the purpose, and with many new ones. One plan was to adapt the storage battery—that silent chemical monster which carries its own power and its own machine—and place one on each car to actuate a motor connected to the driving wheels. ”

“ As electricity has been so successful in the street railway, where it has superseded all other forms of motive power, it might naturally be supposed that it would do equally well in the automobile; but when the difference in the conditions is taken into consideration it will be found that such a conclusion is not justified. In the street railway systems the cars run continuously over the same route, and on that account the electric current required to operate the motors can be conveyed to them from a central power station by means of wires. ”

“ It is now applied to about 85,000 cars in 22 countries; 32,000 of these cars being in Germany, 17,000 in Great Britain, and 15,000 in the United States. The electric light is as yet used only on a few of the finest express trains, the current being generated either from a steam engine and dynamo in the baggage car, or from a dynamo on each car, driven from one of the car axles. Storage batteries maintain the light when the cars are at rest. American cars were heated by stoves at a very early date, and this developed into the hot water system, with a stove and circulating pipes in each car. ”

“ The first step in the use of electricity on the automobile, in addition to the ignition system, consisted in the installation of an electric lighting system to replace the inconvenient oil or gas lamps which were satisfactory as far as the light they gave was concerned, but which had the disadvantage of requiring the driver to leave his seat, and light each lamp separately, often in a strong wind or rain which consumed many matches, time, and frequently spoiled his temper for the remainder of the evening. ”

“ Many of the troubles on a modern car are apt to be in connection with the electrical equipment—battery, lights, magneto, timer, self-starter, etc. Sooner or later, a boy who takes an interest, is apt to become more or less familiar with the principle of all these things, especially if his nerves and brain are not deadened by forced application. At any rate, this boy soon did. This led to an interest in other electrical things—the ringing of bells and buzzers about the house, and the installation of an electric motor which would run the sewing machine, or a grindstone, or a little lathe. ”

“ In stopping the car, this energy has to be absorbed or dissipated in some way or other. One method is to utilise the friction of brake blocks on the wheels, or of skids on the rails themselves. With the electric car, however, it is possible to absorb the energy by making it drive the motors as if they were dynamos. The moving car drives the wheels, which in turn drive the motors; and the current so generated may either be absorbed in electrical [Pg 68] 'resistances' or led to electro-magnets which are so placed that they exercise a retarding pull on the rails. ”