Elderly vehicles, also known as elderly electric vehicles, elderly commuting vehicles, and elderly electric scooters, are ideal vehicles for outdoor travel and commuting for the elderly. Its performance is relatively stable, the speed is slow, and it does not require refueling when using electricity, so it is also known as an environmentally friendly elderly car. There are many energy sources used in elderly electric vehicles, including lead-acid batteries (including lead-acid gel batteries), nickel hydrogen batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickel iron batteries, lithium-ion batteries (often referred to as lithium batteries), fuel cells, etc. Batteries directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy through electrochemical means. It does not undergo a thermal process, therefore it is not limited by the Carnot cycle and has a high energy conversion efficiency (40-60%); Almost no emissions of NOx and SOx are produced.

There are various so-called "elderly mobility scooters" on the current market, which not only confuse the eyes and ears of elderly friends, but also pose great safety hazards to elderly and disabled drivers. Local governments have successively introduced relevant policies and regulations to prohibit these "elderly mobility scooters" from driving on the road. (Mover supplier, nursing bed supplier, wheelchair supplier)

Strictly speaking, true electric scooters for the elderly should have evolved from electric wheelchairs originally classified as medical devices, and their design is more suitable for the driving habits of the elderly and disabled. And the target audience has expanded from the disabled population of electric wheelchairs to the elderly with limited mobility. The design and production of the product are based on the national standards for electric bicycles and electric wheelchairs. In some parameter indicators, it is even stricter than the above two national standards. The vehicle speed is designed to be within 10 kilometers per hour, the overall chassis height is 8cm, and the braking distance is within 0.5 meters. It is superior to the original electric wheelchair in all aspects and is an upgraded model of electric wheelchair. It can meet the travel and transportation needs of the elderly and provide more comprehensive safety protection.

Difference between Elderly Mobility Scooters and Electric Vehicles

Many electric vehicle merchants refer to electric vehicles as elderly mobility scooters and sell them to the elderly. But in reality, electric cars and elderly scooters are completely different in appearance and safety systems.

Electric vehicles must have a driver's license and upper row license on the road

Electric vehicles must have a driver's license and upper row license on the road

Moreover, elderly scooters do not require a license plate or driver's license when driving on the road, while electric vehicles must have a license plate and take a driver's license exam when driving on the road. Many businesses deceive customers by treating electric cars as elderly transportation vehicles, resulting in elderly people being caught by traffic police after buying a car and driving on the road. So when buying a car, be sure to remember that electric cars are not for elderly commuting.

component

Generally, elderly scooters consist of four major components: batteries, electric wheels, controllers, chargers, and body parts. For manufacturers with higher safety requirements, the overall design of the vehicle is based on the design concept of the car. The vehicle is generally divided into several parts, including the power supply system, front axle, rear axle, controller, and frame.

Due to the relatively high cost of lithium batteries, most manufacturers use lead-acid batteries, which are typically composed of multiple 12V batteries connected in series as a power supply system. According to relevant national regulations, the voltage of electric vehicles shall not exceed 48V;

Motor hubs are divided into: brushed toothed high-speed electric hubs (referred to as high-speed motors or audible motors), brushed toothless low-speed electric hubs (referred to as low-speed motors or silent motors), and brushless toothless programmable motors (referred to as programmable motors);

Controllers can be classified into four types based on their control methods: fully dynamic, intelligent, dual control, and non-zero start. The control system consists of a main controller, instrument display, speed control lever, and brake power-off lever. Its main functions include stepless speed regulation, brake power-off protection, undervoltage protection, and overcurrent protection; Chargers are classified by output plug into lotus plug type, regular computer plug type, and special computer plug type. Classified by charging performance, they are ordinary online maintenance chargers and fast charging online maintenance chargers. Classified by charging voltage as 24V, 36V, and 48V.

controller

Simply put, a controller is composed of peripheral devices and a main chip (or microcontroller). Peripheral devices are functional components such as resistors, sensors, bridge switch circuits, and devices that assist microcontrollers or dedicated integrated circuits in completing control processes, such as execution and sampling; A microcontroller, also known as a single-chip microcontroller, is a computer chip that integrates memory, a decoder with signal language conversion, a sawtooth wave generator, a pulse width modulation function circuit, a drive circuit that can turn on or off the power transistor of the switch circuit, control the conduction time of the power transistor through square waves to control the motor speed, input and output ports, etc. on an integrated chip. This is the intelligent controller for elderly electric vehicles. It is a high-tech product that appears as a "fool".

The design quality, characteristics, functions of the microprocessor used, power switch circuit, and layout of peripheral devices of the controller directly affect the performance and operating status of the vehicle, as well as the performance and efficiency of the controller itself. Controllers of different qualities, when used in the same vehicle with the same set of batteries in the same charging and discharging state, may sometimes show significant differences in driving ability.

Motor

The commonly used motors for elderly electric vehicles are generally DC motors, classified into two types: permanent magnet motors and series excited motors, with and without permanent magnets. The rotating part of the motor is called the rotor, and the non rotating part is called the stator. The rotor or stator of a permanent magnet motor consists of one permanent magnet and the other wire wrapped with enameled wire; The rotor and stator of the series motor are both wrapped with enameled wire. For motors of the same power, permanent magnet motors are more energy-efficient than series excited motors. The magnets of permanent magnet motors are sensitive to high temperatures, and those with poor quality will demagnetize at 110 degrees Celsius, while those with good quality can demagnetize at 140 degrees Celsius; The series motor does not have permanent magnets, so this problem does not exist.

The motor power of elderly electric vehicles on the market is generally between 400 watts and 900 watts, and they all use series excited motors, which belong to brushed motors. A three wheeled scooter with around 300 watts is sufficient, usually using a permanent magnet motor. The motor of elderly electric bicycles is generally 180-250 watts.