WO2020025859A1

WO2020025859A1 - A modular electric vehicle system for transforming pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles into electric vehicles

Info

Publication number: WO2020025859A1
Application number: PCT/FI2019/050566
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael M. Richardson; Ioannis SOULTANIS; Ville ESKELINEN
Original assignee: Retro-Ev Oy
Priority date: 2018-08-03
Filing date: 2019-07-29
Publication date: 2020-02-06

Abstract

The invention relates to a modular electric vehicle, EV, system for transforming pre-existing fossil-fueled vehi- cles in to EVs. The modular EV system comprises at least one electric motor module, at least one power pod module, a virtual engine module, and one or more vehi- cle control units, VCUs. Each module comprises a plu- rality of sub-modules and the modules are arranged in- side at least one cavity within the existing structures of the vehicle

Description

A modular electric vehicle system for transforming pre-existing fossil- fueled vehicles into electric vehicles

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention concerns in general the technical field of electric vehicles. Espe- cially the invention concerns transforming pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles into electric vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Electric vehicles (EVs), including electric passenger cars, utility vehicles, trucks and busses, are becoming more and more popular globally, at least partly due to related technological developments in EV drive-trains, increased public inter est in sustainability and renewable energy, and growing government regulations mandating reductions in vehicle emissions. EVs have many benefits over con- ventional fossil-fueled vehicles, such as reduction of carbon emissions, reduc- tion of operating emission as the emissions associated with the EVs come from power plants generating electricity to charge the batteries of the EVs instead of tailpipe emissions, reduction of noise, lower operational costs, lower mainte- nance costs, the introduction of vehicle-to-grid energy balancing, etc.

Even considering these trends toward greater sustainability and reduced emis- sions, there are already hundreds of millions of existing fossil-fueled vehicles in operation globally. Making matters worse, every year millions of additional new fossil-fueled vehicles continue to be manufactured and put into service. Only a small percentage of the new vehicles being manufactured at this time are true zero-emission EVs, the vast majority of vehicles being deployed today continue to be fossil-fueled. This combined global fleet of fossil-fueled vehicles will con- tinue to have a service life of decades to come before these un-sustainable ve- hicles can be fully cycled out of the world’s operating fleet. It will simply take far too many years to follow the traditional model of allowing these existing vehicles to reach their end of service life first, and only then be replaced by new zero- emission EVs. Therefore, the imperative realities of climate change and the re- lated government mandates to enforce faster reduction of vehicle-related emis- sions in many parts of the world combine to creating an important new demand: the practical development of creative new ways to transform many millions of these pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles into zero-emissions EVs now. This new demand must be met by devising economically feasible new means to EV trans- form these existing vehicles, during the remainder of their original service lives. In this way, these existing vehicles can continue to provide valuable mobility services, but in zero-emissions form, to their owners in both consumer and com- mercial applications, also delivering an extended service life at the same time.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide basic under- standing of some aspects of various invention embodiments. The summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention nor to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description of exemplifying em- bodiments of the invention.

An objective of the invention is to present a modular electric vehicle (EV) system for transforming pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles in to EVs. Another objective of the invention is that the modular EV system for transforming pre-existing fos- sil-fueled vehicles in to EVs enables transforming a plurality of different pre-ex- isting fossil-fueled vehicles into EVs.

The objectives of the invention are reached by a modular EV system as defined by the respective independent claim.

According to a first aspect, a modular electric vehicle, EV, system for transfomn- ing pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles in to EVs is provided, wherein the modular EV system comprises: at least one electric motor module, at least one power pod module, a virtual engine module, and one or more vehicle control units, VCUs, wherein each module comprises a plurality of sub-modules and the mod- ules are arranged inside at least one cavity within the existing structures of the vehicle.

The modular EV system may further comprise a common cooling system for cooling the modules.

The modular EV system may further comprise at least one bus, preferably a CAN bus, configured to communicatively couple the modules and the one or more VCUs to each other. Each module may comprise: an internal cooling system connected to the com- mon cooling system; electrical components comprising at least one of the fol lowings: circuitry, wires, cable assemblies, high voltage connectors, low voltage connectors, fuses, relays; mechanical components comprising at least one of the followings: structural components, protective cover components, service ac- cess and assembly-support components; and/or logical components comprising at least one of the followings: one or more sensors, one or more detectors, one or more encoders, one or more switches, one or more indicators, one or more displays, one or more test points, wired and wireless communication units.

The electrical components and/or logical components of the modules may be provided with safety provisions, such as interlocks, RFI/EMC shielding, temper- ature monitoring, ground system monitoring, active or passive fire suppression components, leak detection, pressure monitoring.

The virtual engine module may comprise one or more of the following sub-mod- ules: an inverter; a charger; a DC/DC converter; a ground circuit monitoring unit; a ground fault detection and intervention unit; a battery management system, BMS, master; high voltage DC contactors; and/or other interconnection electron- ics.

Each at least one power pod module may comprise one or more of the following sub-modules: a plurality of battery sub-modules; battery management system, BMS; and/or internal fire detection and suppression unit.

Each battery sub-module may comprise a plurality of battery cells.

Each one or more electric motor modules may comprise one or more of the following sub-modules: electric drive motor, digital motor controller, resolvers / encoders, temperature monitoring devices, mechanical mounting and shock-ab- sorbing/vibration damping devices, mechanical interconnections for power transmission, and/or associated flexible joint structures.

Electrical, mechanical, and cooling fluid connections of the modules may be pro- vided so that each module is replaceable.

Alternatively or in addition electrical, mechanical, and cooling fluid connections of the sub-modules within each module may be provided so that each sub-mod- ule is replaceable. The common cooling system may comprise at least one cooling pump, radiator, one or more reservoirs, and cooling hoses between the modules.

The internal cooling system may comprise, cooling hoses between sub-mod- ules, cooling hoses of each sub-module, cooling fluid connectors to the common cooling system, and cooling fluid connectors of each sub-module.

The one or more electric motor modules may be directly connected to a differ ential through a drive shaft.

Alternatively, the modular EV system may further comprise a transmission mod- ule connected to the one or more electric motor modules.

Various exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments of the invention both as to constructions and to methods of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

The verbs“to comprise” and“to include” are used in this document as open limitations that neither exclude nor require the existence of unrecited features. The features recited in dependent claims are mutually freely combinable unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the use of“a” or“an”, i.e. a singular form, throughout this document does not exclude a plural ity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates an example of a pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicle with a mod- ular electric vehicle (EV) system installed according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 schematically illustrates an example of an electric motor module directly connected to a differential through a drive shaft.

Figures 3A-3E illustrate schematically examples of a virtual engine module.

Figure 4 illustrate schematically another example of a virtual engine module. Figure 5 illustrate schematically an example of a virtual engine module arranged inside a cavity within a chassis of an existing fossil-fueled vehicle.

Figure 6A illustrates schematically an example of a modular EV system corn- prising three power pod modules installed within the chassis of an existing fossil- fueled vehicle.

Figure 6B illustrates schematically an example of a modular EV system corn- prising two power pod modules installed within the chassis of an existing fossil- fueled vehicle.

Figure 7 illustrates schematically an example of a power pod module comprising three battery sub-modules.

Figure 8 illustrates schematically an example of an internal cooling system of virtual engine module.

Figure 9 illustrates schematically an example of an internal cooling system of a power pod module. Figure 10 illustrates schematically another example of an internal cooling sys- tem of a power pod module.

Figure 11 illustrates schematically another example of internal cooling systems of power pod modules.

Figure 12 illustrates schematically an example of a cooling circuit between power pod modules.

Figure 13 illustrates schematically a simplified example of VCU according to the invention.

Figure 14 illustrates schematically an example of an inter-module interlock sys- tem. Figure 15 illustrates one example of inter-module interconnections made possi- ble by the EV system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLIFYING EMBODIMENTS Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example of a pre-existing fossil-fueled ve- hicle with a modular electric vehicle (EV) system installed according to an em- bodiment of the invention. The EV modular system 100 may be arranged into a wide array of pre-existing vehicles in order to transform / convert, i.e. retrofit, pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles into timeless zero-emissions hi-tech EVs which can be periodically upgraded with newly available EV related technologies during their extended service life. The conversion process of a pre-existing fos- sil-fueled vehicle into EV differs totally from the design and manufacturing pro- cess of a new EV. The term“electric vehicle” refers to any vehicle that uses electric motors for propulsion, preferably an electric car, utility vehicle, bus or truck, etc.

The modular system 100 comprises at least one electric motor module 102, at least one power pod module 106a-106n, and a virtual engine module 108, one or more Vehicle Control Units (VCU’s) 1600 (not shown in Figure 1 ) and a com- mon cooling system (not shown in Figure 1 ). The modular EV system 100 further comprises at least one bus, preferably a CAN bus, configured to communica- tively couple the modules and the one or more VCUs 1600 to each other. Each module of the modular EV system 100 may comprise a plurality of sub-modules. Furthermore, each module of the modular EV system 100 may comprise:

• an internal cooling system connected to the common cooling system,

• electrical components, such as circuitry, wires, cable assemblies, high voltage (HV) connectors, low voltage (LV) connectors, fuses, relays, etc.,

• mechanical components, such as structural components, protective cover components, service access and assembly-support components, etc., and/or

• logical components, such as one or more sensors, one or more detec- tors, one or more encoders, one or more switches, one or more indica- tors, one or more displays, one or more test points, wired and wireless communication units, etc.

The electrical components and/or logical components of the modules may be provided with safety provisions, such as interlocks, RFI/EMC shielding, temper- ature monitoring, ground system monitoring, active or passive fire suppression components, leak detection, pressure monitoring etc. In order to convert pre-existing internal combustion engine (ICE) driven vehicles into EVs, the existing parts of the fossil-fuel drive-trains, such as the ICE, ex- haust and cooling systems of the ICE, fuel tank, etc., are removed. In some cases, the original transmission system may also be removed, as it has been in the illustrated examples. The modules of the modular EV system 100 may be arranged inside one or more cavities within the existing structures of the vehicle. In the illustrated examples, the vehicle was originally constructed using separate chassis and body structures, i.e. the chassis 1 10 of the vehicle exposes further usable cavities by removing the existing fossil-fuel drive-train of the vehicle. The modules of the modular EV system 100 may be deeply integrated in the vehicle by using the existing cavities within the chassis 1 10. The modular EV system 100 enables a flexible way to arrange the different parts of the EV system inside the vehicle, while maintaining the vehicle’s structural integrity. This system may also be applied to so-called“Uni-Body” or“Monocoque” vehicles, in which the body and chassis are partially, or fully, integrated structurally. In these cases, portions of the chassis and body may or may not be separable, and so alterna- tive means of exposing or exploiting the available internal volumes are em- ployed.

The chassis (or monocoque) 1 10 of the vehicle may be kept substantially origi- nal apart from an additional reinforced section(s) that may be added to the chas- sis 1 10, to support one or more modules of the modular EV system 100. Fur- thermore, the entire suspension and brake system may be kept original or may be upgraded with current technology for enhanced safety and reduced mainte- nance. For example, the front shock absorbers and springs may be replaced with fully adjustable coil overs so ride-height as well as stiffness may be ad- justed. The rear leaf spring may be kept original, but the rear shock absorbers may be replaced with pneumatic absorbers that have ride-height adjustment through air pressure. Alternatively, new suspension modules may be introduced, which may include fully independent suspension and disc brake features.

One objective of the invention is to maintain a near match with the original total weight, and maximum engine power specifications of the original vehicle. This is in order to ensure vehicle safety and structural integrity under driving condi- tions, and in case of road accidents, as well as to ensure that the resulting trans- formed EV will also be as compliant as possible with the applicable road and vehicle regulations across the EU, USA, etc. Another objective of the invention is that the modular EV system 100 may be implemented in a plurality of different pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles having different shapes, sizes etc. As a result, the cavities to which the modular EV system 100 may be arranged may have different shape and/or size and they may be located at different places within the chassis/body/monocoque struc- tures 1 10. The purpose of this unique modularity enables the EV system 100 to be flexibly scaled and adapted into a wide range of different pre-existing vehi- cles, basically into any type of vehicles, such as classic cars, sports cars, and utility vehicles (such as vans, trucks & busses), etc. This means that the dimen- sions of the modules may be designed so that the modules fit to almost any type of vehicles, or the dimensions of the modules may be scaled or adapted so that the modules may be produced to fit into almost any type of existing vehicle.

The original ICE may be replaced with one or more electric motor modules 102. The original drive shaft and differential 202 may be kept intact, but drive shafts 206 connecting wheels to a differential 202 may be replaced with new a drive shafts to handle the additional and constant torque generated by the electric motor. The one or more electric motor modules 102 may comprise a plurality of sub-modules, such as electric drive motor(s), digital motor controller(s) or DMC(s), often referred to as inverter(s), resolvers / encoders, temperature mon- itoring devices, mechanical mounting and shock-absorbing/vibration damping devices, mechanical interconnections for power transmission, such as drive shafts, stub shafts, transfer shafts, and associated flexible joint structures, in- cluding yolks, universal joints, and slip joints. In addition, the electric motor mod- ule 102 may often comprise HV and LV interconnections, for power and logic / control communications, as well as the possibility for multiple electric motor sub- modules to be directly integrated together in a‘stack’ or‘chain’ in order to multi- ply the force, torque, power output capabilities of the combined electric motor module.

The electric motor module 102 may also comprise, and be physically integrated with, the associated drive electronics, including DMC(s) for higher packaging flexibility, shorter HV cabling, reduced EMC, and weight reduction. In such cases, the cooling system of the electric motor module may also be shared with the DMC(s) for greater thermal and gravimetric efficiency of the combined elec- tric motor module. The one or more electric motor modules 102 may be directly connected to the differential 202 through a drive shaft 204, which is schematically illustrated in Figure 2. Alternatively, the original transmission (manual or automatic), or a new multi-speed electrically controlled transmission, or a fixed ratio reduction gear- box may also be employed. In the example illustrated in Figure 2 the electric motor module 102 is arranged inside the cavity left empty by the removed ICE and the drive shaft 204 is arranged between the electric motor module 102 and the differential 202 substantially in the middle of the vehicle in the lateral direc- tion.

Alternatively, the one or more electric motor modules 102 may be placed into any other cavity of the chassis 1 10, for example in the rear of the chassis 1 10, such the trunk and/or the original fuel tank area. According to one example, the modular EV system 100 may further comprise a transmission module connected to the electric motor 102. The transmission module may be a separate module, or it may be a sub-module of the electric motor module 102. Alternatively or in addition, the modular EV system 100 may further comprise a reduction gear module. The reduction gear module may be a separate module or it may be a sub-module of the electric motor module 102.

The electric drive motor may be one of many types; for example a hybrid syn- chronous alternating current (AC) motor (FISM), which is a permanent magnet assisted reluctance motor (PMARM) that brings together the advantages of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) and a synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM). The advantages of permanent magnet (PM) motors are their high performance at their nominal speed but their speed range is also narrow. Reluctance motors do not include magnet material on their rotors, which means there is no demagnetization risk which makes them suitable for high tempera- tures.

The one or more electric motor modules 102 is not directly controlled by the driver, but instead the torque request, speed limit and rotation direction are passed by the VCU 1600, that reads an accelerator pedal and driving direction switch, to the DMC. All communication to the electric motor module 102 is han- dled through the DMC. The rotation speed is limited when reversing and the torque is also limited when reaching and nearing the speed limit. The virtual engine module 108 may comprise a plurality of sub-modules, such as an inverter 1002, a charger 1004, and a DC/DC converter 1006, a ground circuit monitoring unit, a ground fault detection and intervention unit, a battery management system (BMS) master, high voltage DC contactors, and/or other interconnection electronics, etc. Figure 3A illustrates an example of the virtual engine module 108 (for sake of clarity the sub-modules of the virtual engine module are not shown in Figure 3A). Figures 3B-3E illustrate some non-limiting example placements of the sub-modules of the virtual engine module 108. Fig- ure 3B illustrates a non-limiting example placement of the inverter 1002 inside the virtual engine module 108. Figure 3C illustrates a non-limiting example placement of the DC/DC converter 1006 inside the virtual engine module 108. Figure 3D illustrates a non-limiting example placement of the AC to FIVDC On- Board Charger 1004 inside the virtual engine module 108. The On-Board Charger 1004 converts external high voltage AC to internally capable high volt- age DC (FIVDC). Figure 3E illustrates non-limiting example placements of some other components 1008 of the virtual engine module 108, for example ground circuit monitoring unit, ground fault detection and intervention unit, BMS master, FIVDC contactors and other interconnection electronics inside the virtual engine module 108.

The virtual engine module 108 may be placed next to the electric motor module 102 inside the cavity within the chassis 1 10 left empty by the removed original ICE as illustrated Figures 4 and 5. Alternatively, the virtual engine module 108 may be placed into any other cavity of the chassis, body, or monocoque struc- ture 1 10, for example in the rear of the chassis 1 10, such the trunk and/or the original fuel tank area.

The DC/DC-converter 1006 converts high voltage DC (FIVDC) energy stored in the battery sub-modules 802 contained within the power pod modules 106a- 106n of the vehicle to 12-24 VDC in order to charge the 12-24 VDC battery and also supply the low voltage (LVDC) electrical systems onboard the original ve- hicle. With the term low voltage here refers to the 12 -24 VDC systems found in existing vehicles. In general, there are two separate types of electrical systems in EVs: one is the battery sub-modules 802 contained within the power pod mod- ules 106a-106n of the vehicle (i.e. a FIVDC system), which stores energy and dispenses it to power the drive components. The other system is typically a low voltage (12-24 VDC) system (LVDC system) used to operate the rest of the sys- terns onboard the vehicle. The LVDC system typically also requires its own sep- arate 12-24 VDC battery to store enough energy to initiate all onboard opera- tions. A DC/DC converter is typically used to convert energy from the HVDC storage system into LVDC to recharge the LVDC battery(s) and operate the onboard LVDC components. These may include controllers, computers, lights and other power-assisted accessories (e.g. power steering, power brakes, cabin heater and cooling, infotainment systems, telemetry and communications sys- tems, etc.).

The HV systems/modules are always isolated from the grounds of the vehicle to prevent an electric shock from happening since there are always large currents at play as well as a high voltage. An insulation monitoring system (IMS) is usually implemented to constantly measure the insulation between HV and the grounds of the vehicle and rapidly and automatically disconnect said systems from the HVDC power source(s) in case any ground fault is detected, before significant damage can be caused.

The LVDC system is present to power the electronics within the powertrain com- ponents, the VCU 1600 and other possible electronic controllers as well as all the lights, radio and other things one would find in an ICE vehicle. The reason for this is that most electronics equipment cannot handle higher voltages directly and some cannot handle voltages above 3.3 V or 5 V and in these cases the higher voltage is regulated to a lower voltage that the device can handle. Also 12-24 VDC is universal in passenger vehicles as most automotive systems are built for it.

Each of the at least one power pod module (PPM), i.e. power source module or power supply module, 106a-106n comprises a plurality of sub-modules, such as a plurality of battery sub-modules, i.e. battery packs, 802; battery management system (BMS); internal fire detection and suppression unit; etc. Figure 6A illus trates an example of the modular EV system 100, wherein the system 100 corn- prises three power pod modules 106a-106n. The power pod modules 106a and 106b are integrated into the base of the chassis 1 10 on both sides of the drive shaft 204, and below the passenger cabin floor system to minimize lost volume in the passenger accessible areas of the existing vehicle (such as the interior seating space and the storage space available in the trunk). This improves dy- namic balance and evens the distribution of mass throughout the vehicle, provid- ing a very low center of gravity, which in turn improves the driving experience and safety of the existing vehicle in comparison to its original characteristics, while still preserving the original total weight limits of the vehicle.

The rear power pod module 106n is arranged in the position of the original fuel tank, beneath the trunk of the vehicle, to maximize useable original trunk space and keep the center of gravity low as well. An additional reinforced section may be added to the rear of the chassis 1 10, to protect the power pod module 106n arranged beneath the trunk in case of accidents occurring from the rear of the vehicle.

Alternatively or in addition, one or more power pod modules may be arranged to the front part of the vehicle, if there is space for the one or more power pod modules. The number of power pod modules and/or the locations of the power pod modules may vary depending on the size of the cavities within the existing chassis/body/monocoque structures 1 10 of the vehicle. In the example illus- trated in Figure 6A the floorboard power pod modules 106a and 106b comprise six battery sub-modules 802, and the rear power pod module 106n comprises two battery sub-modules 802.

Figure 6B illustrates an embodiment of the EV System 100 comprised of a front power pod module 106c, a rear power pod module 106n, and a virtual engine module 108 mounted above the front power pod module 106c. This configura- tion was chosen to be the optimal embodiment for the particular existing ICE vehicle being transformed because of the geometry of the available cavities in the front and rear of the vehicle.

In Figure 6B, there are two power pod modules 106c, 106n, one in the front of the vehicle (in the base of the original engine compartment, and containing 3 battery sub-modules 802), and one in the rear of the vehicle (occupying the space of the original fuel tank, spare tire and some trunk volume, and containing 4 battery sub-modules 802, as well as the on-board FIVAC-to-FIVDC charger sub-module).

Figure 7 illustrates an example wherein the power pod module 106a comprises three battery sub-modules 802. Each battery sub-module 802 may comprise a plurality of battery cells. For example, each battery sub-module 802 may corn- prise 168 battery cells. These individual battery cells may be connected in series or in parallel, as required in order to produce the needed voltage and current levels from the combined battery system. The number of battery sub-modules 802 possible is partially constrained by the limitation of the original total mass of the pre-existing vehicle. In order to maintain the total mass of the EV trans- formed vehicle (including the weight reductions by deletion of the ICE systems and the weight additions by integration of the EV systems replacing them) sub- stantially similar to the original total mass of the vehicle.

The BMS monitors the operation and ensures the continuous health of the bat- tery sub-modules 802 at all times and prevents damage to the battery sub-mod- ules 802. If predefined limits are crossed, the BMS can, for example disconnect the battery sub-modules 802from the rest of the HV system for safety purposes. The BMS is also responsible for rebalancing cell voltages to maintain all cell voltages within established limits. If the cell difference grows too much the BMS moderates charging and discharging as needed in order to minimize any cell differences to within those predefined limits.

Alternatively or in addition, the mechanical, electrical and cooling fluid connec- tions of the sub-modules are provided so that each sub-module may be replaced with another sub-module. This enables that each module and/or sub-module may be improved and upgraded continuously during the useful life of the vehicle. For example, if a new and better module or sub-module (e.g. battery cells that can provide longer driving range and/or support faster charging times) or any other sub-module or module improvements which will become available over time, because it is widely understood that all the EV-associated technologies are subject to rapid improvements in the decades to come is developed, the old module or sub-module may be replaced with the new module or sub-module. This also enables that components/sub-modules of different manufactures may be integrated to the modular EV system 100. By converting pre-existing vehicles into EVs, the service life of the vehicles will be greatly increased, and the re- placeability and upgradability of the EV system modules and/or sub-modules materially increases both the service life and the usefulness / capabilities of the vehicle even further.

Each module and sub-module comprises safety interlock provisions in order to enable very safe, easy and quick replacement of modules and/or sub-modules with minimal tools and time required to remove and replace the modules and/or sub-modules. This allows further that normal mechanical or service personnel may safely handle, move, store, replace etc., the modules and/or sub-modules without any special training and/or handling. Furthermore, the whole vehicle is not needed to be disassembled, when a component, module, and/or sub-module needs to be changed. This benefit of the modular approach is also multiplied in fleet service situations, wherein a service organization can maintain a reduced number of spare modules or sub-modules on-site, and wherein modules and sub-modules may also be interchangeable or reconfigurable for use in multiple EV transformed vehicle platforms / types / models.

The common cooling system comprises one or more cooling pumps 402a, 402b, on or more radiators 1012 (which may include integrated & digitally controlled cooling fans), one or more reservoirs 1014, and cooling hoses/connectors be- tween the modules. The one or more cooling pumps 402a, 402b may be ar- ranged to the virtual engine module 108 as can be seen in Figures 3A and 4, wherein the common cooling system comprises first cooling pump 402a for cool- ing the virtual engine module 108 and the electric motor module 102 and a sec- ond cooling pump 402b for cooling the at least one power pod 106a-106n.

In alternative configurations, the cooling circuit for the virtual engine module 108 may be separated from the cooling circuit of the one or more electric motor mod- ules 102. In all cases, a variety of working fluids may be utilized in these cooling systems, including water, cooling oils, air or other multiphase fluids/gasses. An example would include thermal integration with a Heat Pump System (HPS), wherein the working fluid of the HPS would be arranged to circulate throughout one or more modules of the EV System. In this case, the HPS controls would be integrated with the VCU 1600 and EV module systems in order to maintain each module (and its sub-modules) appropriately from a thermal management per- spective, including cooling and/or heating said modules or sub-modules in re- sponse to ambient and vehicle conditions year-round in all climates. The same HPS can then also be utilized to thermally manage the passenger compartment as well.

Furthermore, each module comprises internal cooling system connected to the common cooling system. The internal cooling system comprises, cooling hoses/connectors between sub-modules 1206, cooling hoses/connectors of each sub-module 1202, cooling fluid connectors to the common cooling system 1204, and cooling fluid connectors of each sub-module. The internal cooling system is integrated with all sub-modules and/or internal components of the modules. The common cooling system and the internal cooling systems may be liquid cooling based systems using non-conductive biodegradable oil as the cooling liquid.

Figure 8 schematically illustrates an example of the internal cooling system of virtual engine module 108 and the internal connections between the sub-mod- ules of the virtual engine module 108 and the connection to the internal cooling system of the electric motor module 102.

An example of the internal cooling system of a power pod module 106a-106n is illustrated in Figures 9-1 1 , wherein the cooling hoses 1202 of each battery sub- module 802 meander on top of the battery cells. In Figures 9 and 10 the cooling fluid connectors 1204 to the common cooling system are also illustrated. Figure 12 illustrates schematically an example how the cooling, i.e. cooling circuit, be- tween the power pod modules 106a-106n may be provided. Separate in/out coolant lines, i.e. cooling hoses/connectors (illustrated as the arrows in Figure 12), run to rear power pod module 106n. The cooling circuit may comprise ad- justable ball valves 1 102a-1 102c to tune the flow. The one or more reservoirs 1014 may operate under slight vacuum and the level may vary with pump speed.

Figure 13 illustrates schematically a simplified example of the VCU 1600 ac- cording to the invention. The VCU 1600 may comprise one or more processors 1602, one or more memories 1604 being volatile or non-volatile for storing por- tions of computer program code and any data values, a communication interface 1606 and/or one or more user interface units 1608. The processor herein refers to any unit suitable for processing information and control the operation of the EV, among other tasks. The operations may also be implemented with a micro- controller solution with embedded software. Similarly, the memory is not limited to a certain type of memory only, but any memory type suitable for storing pieces of information may be applied in the context of the present invention. The user interface 1608 may comprise hardware components such as a display, a touchscreen and/or an arrangement of one or more keys or buttons, etc. The communication interface 1606 provides interface for communication with any other units, such as the modules of the modular EV system 100. The communi- cation interface may have support for at least one CAN connections and support for CANopen-standard. It also may provide support for a serial connection through the RS-232-standard and local interconnect network (LIN) support. The VCU 1600 may be configured to act as a gateway between the BMS and traction network (powertrain components), read important CAN-messages from each module, sent control messages to the modules, read digital inputs and/or analog inputs by sensors, supplied a regulated voltage for sensors and supplied digital outputs, etc.

The VCU 1600 may be arranged for example to a dashboard of the vehicle. Alternatively, the VCU 1600 may be a distributed VCU comprising a plurality of units arranged in different parts of the vehicle, e.g. to different modules.

Figure 14 demonstrates one embodiment of the inter-module interlock system anticipated by the invention. In this case, a virtual engine module 108 is con- nected externally, via a modular connection“Phoenix Connector” 1702 to 3 sep- arate power pod modules 106a, 106b, 106n, a manually triggerable safety de- vice“MSD Interlock” 1704, a VCU 1600. In this manner, the entire integrated EV Modular System of‘n’ potential modules, is protected simultaneously from any sort of; external cabling or connection failure (which can be due to component failures, hostile ambient conditions, mechanical or electrical damage inflicted due to any possible vehicle accidents, immersion, intrusion, vandalism, natural disasters such as trees falling on vehicles, human errors such as users or ser- vice personnel inappropriately intervening with cabling, components or connec- tions, etc.

The interlock system is hardwired to various energy management and safety devices within multiple components, including electrical contactors, which can rapidly interrupt electrical connections throughout the HV system to isolate all components for HV energy sources. The interlock system is also integrated di- rectly to the VCU(s) and software logic managing the entire system such that disruption events can be simultaneously thwarted and also logged by the logical system in the event of an interlock triggering event, to inform appropriate soft- ware automation responses and data logging for future forensic analyses. The interlock system can therefore also respond multiply to simultaneous independ- ent sources of danger / failure in real-time.

Furthermore, the virtual engine 108 in this embodiment is also equipped with multiple interlock system connections internally (as all components can poten- tially be similarly equipped). In this case, the virtual engine module 108 contains drive motor connections P1 , power pod battery system connections P2, and rapid charging (CHAdeMO in this case) connections. In addition to these con- nections, the virtual engine module 108, as with any other module, can contain both HV and logic / control communications with these devices. In this way, the EV system-wide interlock system can simultaneously and effectively protect all the internal components of each module, as well as any number of interconnec- tions which may be necessary between all the various modules deployed to form the overall EV system.

Figure 15 demonstrates one example of the inter-module interconnections made possible by the EV system. In this case, the‘Phoenix Connector’, comprised of multiple connector sub-modules X1 and X2, which support and connect the list of functional connector pins described in the Pin Out Table shown above each respective connector sub-module.

X1 connects the following virtual engine internal sub-modules, contained within the virtual engine previously described) to the rest of the EV System Modules externally:

The rapid charging sub-module Inputs (CHAdeMO in this case)

The inverter sub-module (powers and controls the drive motor)

The 12-24VDC low voltage DC power system

X2 connects the following virtual engine internal sub-modules, contained within the virtual engine module 108 previously described, to the rest of the EV system modules externally:

- DC to DC converter, which recharges the 12-24 VDC chassis battery and supports operation of all low voltage systems on the vehicle

- The rapid charging sub-module Outputs (CHAdeMO in this case)

- The main CAN bus communications network, the main communications chan- nel between multiple modules and the VCU(s)

The on-board AC charger, which recharges the battery sub-modules within all external power pods from an external AC power source.

- The battery management system (BMS) governing the battery sub-modules within all external power pods This unified, modular and highly scalable interconnection structure allows for flexible configuration and distribution of multiple modules, each with, multiple internal sub-modules, in a harmonious, safe and maintainable EV system. This approach also facilitates production scale-up, independent module testing, di- agnosis and verification, as well as independent module upgrading during the entire service life of the EV transformed vehicle.

According to one example, a frame and an outer casing of a module may be manufactured from aluminum sheets by cutting and welding them into desired geometry. Furthermore, one or more aluminum profiles may be welded to the outer casing of the module in order to reinforce the module.

According to another example, the frame and the outer casing of the module may be manufactured from composite materials, for example by using vacuum injection molding.

According to yet another example, the frame of the module may be provided by using aluminum or pultrusion profile frame and the outer casing of the module may be provided by using aluminum or composite sheets attached to grooves of the aluminum profile frame.

The specific examples provided in the description given above should not be construed as limiting the applicability and/or the interpretation of the appended claims. Lists and groups of examples provided in the description given above are not exhaustive unless otherwise explicitly stated.

Claims

1. A modular electric vehicle, EV, system for transforming pre-existing fossil- fueled vehicles in to EVs, the modular EV system comprising:

- at least one electric motor module, - at least one power pod module,

- a virtual engine module, and

- one or more vehicle control units, VCUs, wherein each module comprises a plurality of sub-modules and the modules are arranged inside at least one cavity within the existing structures of the vehicle.

2. The modular EV system according to claim 1 , wherein the modular EV system further comprises a common cooling system for cooling the modules.

3. The modular EV system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the modular EV system further comprises at least one bus, preferably a CAN bus, configured to communicatively couple the modules and the one or more VCUs to each other.

4. The modular EV system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein each module comprising:

- an internal cooling system connected to the common cooling system,

- electrical components comprising at least one of the followings: circuitry, wires, cable assemblies, high voltage connectors, low voltage connectors, fuses, re- lays,

- mechanical components comprising at least one of the followings: structural components, protective cover components, service access and assembly-sup- port components, and/or

- logical components comprising at least one of the followings: one or more sen- sors, one or more detectors, one or more encoders, one or more switches, one or more indicators, one or more displays, one or more test points, wired and wireless communication units.

5. The modular EV system according to claim 4, wherein the electrical com- ponents and/or logical components of the modules are provided with safety pro- visions, such as interlocks, RFI/EMC shielding, temperature monitoring, ground system monitoring, active or passive fire suppression components, leak detec- tion, pressure monitoring.

6. The modular EV system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the virtual engine module comprises one or more of the following sub-modules: an inverter; a charger; a DC/DC converter; a ground circuit monitoring unit; a ground fault detection and intervention unit; a battery management system, BMS, master; high voltage DC contactors; and/or other interconnection electron- ics.

7. The modular EV system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each at least one power pod module comprises one or more of the following sub-modules: a plurality of battery sub-modules; battery management system, BMS; and/or internal fire detection and suppression unit.

8. The modular EV system according to claim 7, wherein each battery sub- module comprises a plurality of battery cells.

9. The modular EV system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each one or more electric motor modules comprises one or more of the following sub-modules: electric drive motor, digital motor controller, resolvers / encoders, temperature monitoring devices, mechanical mounting and shock-absorbing/vi- bration damping devices, mechanical interconnections for power transmission, and/or associated flexible joint structures.

10. The modular EV system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein electrical, mechanical, and cooling fluid connections of the modules are provided so that each module is replaceable.

1 1 . The modular EV system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein electrical, mechanical, and cooling fluid connections of the sub-modules within each module are provided so that each sub-module is replaceable.

12. The modular EV system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the common cooling system comprises at least one cooling pump, radiator, one or more reservoirs, and cooling hoses between the modules.

13. The modular EV system according to any of claims 4 to 12, wherein the internal cooling system comprises, cooling hoses between sub-modules, cooling hoses of each sub-module, cooling fluid connectors to the common cooling sys- tem, and cooling fluid connectors of each sub-module.

14. The modular EV system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more electric motor modules is directly connected to a differential through a drive shaft.

15. The modular EV system according to any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the modular EV system further comprises a transmission module connected to the one or more electric motor modules.