Battery Box & Controller all in One

I was doing a bit of thinking as i do....my bank and college fees only allows me to think and dream at the moment...

I am planning and i have set myself a period of 4-5 months to get the cash to set my ebike up.

The issue I have (other then lack of money) is that my college is in the middle of Sydney City...a bit in the dodgy end (things tend to go missing) anyway I am trying to make a battery come controller box that will allow me to remove the whole system off the bike minus the motor when I go to uni and be able to leave the bike outside without it looking like a prime target to go missing...

Anyway to the design...as most of you know I do 3d animation/modelling for uni...this is not by anyway shape or form my best work..its rushed and I was more going for accurate scale and size then detail.

2x 36 volt LIPO (solarbbq) havn't decided if i want the 11ahr or the 18ahr...it depends on if brett gets the plastic cased 18ahr which is much lighter and cheaper. (also need to double check the size of the batteries..was using his sizes off his website but that was for 24volt not the 36volt pack.)

2x LED Digital Volt meters one for each battery's (i will also transplant the charger LED's to the top so the status of charging can be seen).

The white piece under the volt meters will be the stripped lipo chargers, i don't know what sizes they will be so i have just left it as is...

The Plugs at the front..left to right

Keyed Switched (on-off)
Charging Socket
Phase Wires (Will use a reversed IEC plug, so nobody plugs 240ac into the phase wires)
Main DC Power Load
(I am sure i am missing plugs here (BrainDrain Plug)...this is by no means final and i would like to hear people thoughts on it)

Next Layer
Ok sitting between the fans will be the controller,
Could somebody possibly open their controller give me the dimensions of just the board in the controller? Pref in Metric

the fans will run via a temperature switch which will turn the fans on after the controller or batteries reach a certain temp, there will also be a cut off switch that will disconnect the entire system if x temperature is exceeded.

Other stuff...the round tubes where just a quick idea on how to mount the box. I was thinking of modding the rear rack so that the system could just slide on over two tubes, but I will need to make friends with a fabricator if i want to to that...

The system won't be water tight because of the air vents, but they are all mounted on the underside so therefore should be rain proof...the only worry would be if water was to spray up from underneath...


Andrew

Good concept.

It has to be light enough to easily carry.
A suitcase handle on the top would be handy.

The wire connections tend to be problematic. Use high quality connectors.

The controller 'guts' are not much smaller than the outside dimensions of the case. You could only save a few mm.

Everything has to be vibration resistant, so keep that in mind.

The mounting system will be very important too. It needs to be very strong, yet easy to detach. Perhaps a key lock would be good as well for those times you can't take it with you.

Ok just In case anyone else thinks I am crazy...(thank BiGh)

This box idea is not just for me...I am hoping that if this does turn out a success at least in prototype that there could be a market for these boxes..a plug and play system where all you need to buy is the motor and this box..plug and play the two together..easy connectors and a mounting system for the rear rack and away you go...

fechter said:

Good concept.

It has to be light enough to easily carry.
A suitcase handle on the top would be handy.

The wire connections tend to be problematic. Use high quality connectors.

The controller 'guts' are not much smaller than the outside dimensions of the case. You could only save a few mm.

Everything has to be vibration resistant, so keep that in mind.

The mounting system will be very important too. It needs to be very strong, yet easy to detach. Perhaps a key lock would be good as well for those times you can't take it with you.

Click to expand...

Thanks Fechter, dam I forgot to add the handle...I did have one on the lid but i deleted it when i wanted to get pictures inside the box.

Well inside it would be all soldered down, but yes your right..IEC may not be the best connector...I will have to go browsing at work... I love working in an electronics shop for this reason, At least i can test things on the company wallet without huge expense to myself.

I was thinking for the mounting system...instead of a traditional parcel rack it would be a thicker pipe metal that would come out in a Y and have to two metal pipes that go back...i would work in rear supports by cutting a sliver out of the tubes on the box end so it can slide over the rear mounts..and then as you say a locking system..have a key system that forces pins into the boxes tubing assuming its lined up with the correct holes, therefore securing to the bike and making it extra steady...

Vibration wise..every component board is to be screw/bolted to the chassis of the box and the batteries will be secured in with support bars.

You might explore equipment cases that are the size you need. they could already have some padding to handle the vibration.

Small mass components can be rigidly attached, but larger stuff like the batteries will need some give, otherwise the whole thing will rattle apart in short time. Surviving a drop from 1m would also be a good goal to design for.

Pelican Cases are a good example of light weight and durablity.

I agree the Pelican cases are a good model. Nice tough material and waterproof. Easy to drill for connectors / vent holes.

Someone posted pics of them used for this purpose. Was that Bob? ... I forget.

Great minds appear to be working. Consolidation in a lockable, tote able all in one box that will snap on and off the bike coupled with foolproof plug in connectors, wow. Are you trying to get rich or what!

Packaged in 24, 36, 48 volt configurations with a fool proof rack, I think you've got it.

Good luck,

Mike

So are the main power wires and phase wires the connections for the motor ?

Not sure of what motor you have/plan but usually the cables coming from the motor are quite short (300 mm or so) have you consider controller connector ?
You may be planning on extending the cables from the motor but If you could have some sort of cover on the unit with the opening to the bottom so you could have your controller wires cycle analyst and what ever acc's you want sort of like a zippy box from DSE with a partial cutout at the bottom?

Perfectly ordinary bicycles are prime targets for theft at any college I know of. Some people remove their front wheels entirely to prevent the bike from being stolen, and even seatposts are sometimes removed (happened to me). It's ridiculous.

numberonekiwi said:

So are the main power wires and phase wires the connections for the motor ?

Not sure of what motor you have/plan but usually the cables coming from the motor are quite short (300 mm or so) have you consider controller connector ?
You may be planning on extending the cables from the motor but If you could have some sort of cover on the unit with the opening to the bottom so you could have your controller wires cycle analyst and what ever acc's you want sort of like a zippy box from DSE with a partial cutout at the bottom?

Click to expand...

Yeah i was planning on having extensions that would run to the motor...however, since my rack idea was a bit of an after thought, i could config the rack and box so that the connectors run through the rear support for the rack therefore you won't have to run wires down the side...