ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: protomech on January 09, 2014, 03:35:58 AM
-
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/07/finsix-tiny-laptop-adapter/ (http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/07/finsix-tiny-laptop-adapter/)
1/4 the weight, 1/6 the size of a conventional laptop charger. Engadget doesn't have many details, but they say it's using a VHF switching technology (up in the tens of megahertz, instead of hundreds of kilohertz) developed at MIT.
65W, 45g and 2.4 in^3 (39 cm^3), it produces 1.4 kW/kg, 1.65 kW/L.
Compare to an Elcon 2500W:
2500W, < 7 kg, and 9.54L .. or ~0.36 kW/kg, 0.26 kW/L. So about the same 1/4 weight, 1/6 size as the Elcon.
Imagine if it could be scaled linearly - a 6 kW charger would be significantly lighter and more compact than stock 2012/2013 Zero chargers.
-
Why bother when we have a perfectly good AC-DC converter mounted to the bike already, in the form of the controller. If Renault can charge at 43KW by using the controller in reverse then why can't Zero do the same.
-
Nothing is more elegant in motorcycle design than using one component for multiple functions. If the controller could also be the charger the weight savings would be great and it should also allow for faster charging.
As my friend always says, " everything is easy when you don't know what you are talking about." I am sure that there are a lot of challenges to using the controller for a charger but it would seem worthy of some effort.
-
A wise friend.
I do believe however that Mission use the controller on their bike as a charger too.
-
And AC propulsion before them.
-
Tesla used AC Propulsion's design for the 2008 Roadster. After 2008 they went to a different design (don't know if a discrete charger or not).
The Model S uses discrete chargers, 10 kW per I believe. Incidentally, the Supercharger stations use 9 10 kW chargers (90 kW) or 12 10 kW chargers (120 kW), I believe.