Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Hybrids as per cafe

Power Split Hybrid

The Power Split hybrid (PSHEV) is described as a full or a strong hybrid since it has the ability to move the vehicle on electric power only. It replaces the vehicle’s transmission with a single planetary gear and a motor/generator. A second, more powerful motor/generator is directly connected to the vehicle’s final drive. The planetary gear splits the engine’s torque between the first motor/generator and the final drive. The first motor/generator uses power from the engine to either charge the battery or supply power to the wheels. The speed of the first motor/generator determines the relative speed of the engine to the wheels. In this way, the planetary gear allows the engine to operate independently of vehicle speed, much like a CVT. The Toyota Prius and the Ford Hybrid Escape are two examples of power split hybrid vehicles.

2-Mode Hybrid

The 2-mode hybrid (2MHEV) is another strong hybrid system that has all-electric drive capability. The 2MHEV uses an adaptation of a conventional stepped-ratio automatic transmission by replacing some of the transmission clutches with two electric motors, which makes the transmission act like a CVT. Like the Power Split hybrid, these motors control the ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed. But unlike the Power Split system, clutches allow the motors to be bypassed, which improves both the transmission’s torque capacity and efficiency for improved fuel economy at highway speeds. This type of system is used in the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid.

Plug-In Hybrid

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) are very similar to other strong hybrid electric vehicles, but with significant functional differences. The key distinguishing feature is the ability to charge the battery pack from an outside source of electricity (usually the electric grid). A PHEV would have a larger battery pack with greater energy capacity, and an ability to be discharged further (referred to as “depth of discharge”). No major manufacturer currently has a PHEV in production, although both GM and Toyota have publicly announced that they will launch plug-in hybrids in limited volumes by 2010.





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Thursday, February 19, 2009

The new electric era : 2010

Every car maker asking money to govt, what went wrong ? and whatz next

Yes its new era beginning, people are looking for EVs ( electric vehicles ). Its all about locally generated renewable energy. 

As of now a lot manufactures are plotting plans to come with EVs

Mini EV is already on roads
Plug in Prius is getting ready
I Miev is getting ready to be launched
Nissan plans its launch on 2010.

and Volt from GM

Volt looks like a normal car with 100 mph top speed and only 40 miles range, where volt can run with an   petrol after that.

I was also thinking ICE engine to a generator and then to a battery and then to electric motor, how this is going to be more efficient than a Ice engine connected to wheels because it has some elements in between and everywhere there is energy losses. 

Yes i was also thinking this way till i started reading that the ICE engine in normal driving conditions have only 20% efficiency. so ?

The max efficiency is at highways when its cruising. Another aspect which was mind blowing was it requires only around 47hp when you are cruising. The only place we use the HP is merging to highway or uphill or some other conditions and we never used to use the full HP of and engine.

Here is the advantage of the electric motor configuration comes. 

We can operate the ICE engine at its max efficiency when its operating to generate to electric power. 

We can store the power in ultra capacitors/ batteries

We can generate additional  power from regenerative shocks and breaks.

We can control the power distribution with software logic when we are using electric motors.

We can optimize the power distribution with software logic and its upgradable as time passes.

What this translates to ?

Yes a 120 mpg. The Ice engine with gives a 40 mpg is translated to a 120 mpg with the serial hybrid config

Yes the logic  behind Volt is simple, translate the formulas to a never imagined MPG, If you drive only less than 40 miles /64 km them you charge your car and drive - complete renewable energy, and if you drive more, efficient use of energy which takes 3 fold by intelligent algorithms

Yes Lets welcome the new ERA of Volt , Way to go GM  (if  the these numbers matches with your tests ). Its totally green  !!


© yankandpaste®

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Loading IOS image via TFTP in ROMMON

Always a pain in the backside, isn’t it, when you’re stuck with a router that has no image on it. Even if you up the baud rate to 115,200 it still takes an age to download an image over the serial port to the thing.

More recent routers seem to have a TFTP client built-into the ROMMON software though. Not entirely sure how recent a router has to be in order to have this facility, but it’s very handy and saves a lot of time.

You basically set a few environment variables so that the router knows what its IP address is, where the server is and what the file it should download is. After that, just issue the “tftpdnld” command and off it goes. Here’s what you do:

rommon 11 > IP_ADDRESS=192.168.1.5
rommon 12 > IP_SUBNET_MASK=255.255.255.0
rommon 13 > DEFAULT_GATEWAY=192.168.1.1
rommon 14 > TFTP_SERVER=192.168.1.10
rommon 15 > TFTP_FILE=c1841-advipservicesk9-mz.124-13a.bin
rommon 16 > tftpdnld
.
IP_ADDRESS: 192.168.1.5
IP_SUBNET_MASK: 255.255.255.0
DEFAULT_GATEWAY: 192.168.1.1
TFTP_SERVER: 192.168.1.10
TFTP_FILE: c1841-advipservicesk9-mz.124-13a.bin
TFTP_MACADDR: 00:13:80:7b:20:1e
TFTP_VERBOSE: Progress
TFTP_RETRY_COUNT: 18
TFTP_TIMEOUT: 7200
TFTP_CHECKSUM: Yes
FE_PORT: 0
FE_SPEED_MODE: Auto Detect
.
Invoke this command for disaster recovery only.
WARNING: all existing data in all partitions on flash will be lost!
Do you wish to continue? y/n: [n]: y

Receiving c1841-advipservicesk9-mz.124-13a.bin from 192.168.1.10 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
….
File reception completed.
Validating checksum.
Copying file c1841-advipservicesk9-mz.124-13a.bin to flash.
program load complete, entry point: 0×8000f000, size: 0xc100
.
Initializing ATA monitor library…….
.
Format: Drive communication & 1st Sector Write OK…
Writing Monlib sectors.
……………………………………………………………………..
………………
Monlib write complete
Format: All system sectors written. OK…
Format: Operation completed successfully.
Format of flash: complete
program load complete, entry point: 0×8000f000, size: 0xc100
Initializing ATA monitor library…….
rommon 17 >

Once that’s done, just issue a reset command and it should boot into IOS.


from : http://dataplumber.wordpress.com/2007/03/16/loading-ios-image-via-tftp-in-rommon/
© yankandpaste®

Saturday, January 24, 2009

HOW IS AN E-REV DIFFERENT FROM A HYBRID?

While it seems like there are only minor differences, the truth is an E-REV is substantially different than a hybrid. Essentially, a hybrid is a vehicle that is designed to use gasoline as its primary fuel and electricity as a supplement. At lower speeds and light engine loads, some hybrids use only electricity. At higher speeds or rates of acceleration, they operate in a “blended” mode, with both the larger gas engine and smaller electric motor running. Even the most efficient hybrids on the road only get a battery-powered boost at low speeds, while most of the time still burning gas. So while a hybrid is more efficient than a conventional internal combustion engine, under normal driving conditions it will use more gas than an E-REV operating in all-electric mode.


Volt would be the first car to flip that equation. In fact, Volt's unique advanced design has helped establish a new category — Extended-Range Electric Vehicles or E-REVs. Basically, an electric motor would drive the vehicle at all times. So you'll be accelerating, driving on the highway, going uphill — all the normal driving requirements — propelled by electric power. A small gasoline engine and a generator would kick in when the battery power is depleted after driving up to 40 miles. The gas engine and generator then produce all the electricity needed to keep driving for hundreds of miles. It's this range-extending technology that makes EREV so unique. Think of EREV as an electric car that can generate its own electricity, allowing you to continue efficiently without any worry of running out of power.


Volt would be the first car to flip that equation. In fact, Volt's unique advanced design has helped establish a new category — Extended-Range Electric Vehicles or E-REVs. Basically, an electric motor would drive the vehicle at all times. So you'll be accelerating, driving on the highway, going uphill — all the normal driving requirements — propelled by electric power. A small gasoline engine and a generator would kick in when the battery power is depleted after driving up to 40 miles. The gas engine and generator then produce all the electricity needed to keep driving for hundreds of miles. It's this “range-extending” technology that makes Volt so unique. Think of Volt as an electric car that can generate its own electricity, allowing you to continue efficiently without any worry of running out of power.

Because the engine drives a generator that will run at a constant speed, the power band can be optimized for maximum fuel efficiency and lower emissions. The engine will not fully charge the battery (this would be an inefficient use of gasoline). Rather, it will provide enough juice to keep the car going until it can be fully charged in a household outlet. This kind of advanced propulsion system means there are fewer demands on the engine, which can be sized, engineered and controlled to operate in a narrow range of rpm and at peak efficiency.


Because the engine drives a generator that will run at a constant speed, the power band can be optimized for maximum fuel efficiency and lower emissions. The engine will not fully charge the battery (this would be an inefficient use of gasoline). Rather, it will provide enough juice to keep the car going until it can be fully charged in a household outlet. This kind of advanced propulsion system means there are fewer demands on the engine, which can be sized, engineered and controlled to operate in a narrow range of rpm and at peak efficiency.

Extraordinary technological breakthroughs have helped Volt capture the public's imagination. But the real story of the Volt is how all that fuel-saving, emissions-reducing technology will help fundamentally change the way we drive, without affecting the driving patterns and habits that we're used to.

from : http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/articles/index.jsp?id=3

© yankandpaste®

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Fantastic Cheese…

Bob claims he has invented a cheese that is so unique and wonderful (the “Fantastic Cheese”) that his Fantastic Cheese will make all other traditional cheese options commercially obsolete.
Bob’s reputation is one of being a smart technical innovator. Bob previously worked as an engineer at a large company doing work that is related to how Fantastic Cheese will be manufactured.


Bob has received some financial backing from a respected venture capital firm called New Ideas Capital. New Ideas Capital states in their Investing Policy Statement that they are focusing on investing in cheese related companies because New Ideas Capital believes that cheese is a future growth sector however New Ideas Capital will not discuss their investment in Bob’s Fantastic Cheese.


A large respected military food packaging and catering company called War Food’s, Inc. has provided some funding to Bob to help Bob further develop Fantastic Cheese. Bob has agreed provide War Food’s Inc an exclusive for Fantastic Cheese for certain military food products.
Nobody has seen or tasted Bob’s Fantastic Cheese although Bob has started to build his Fantastic Cheese factory.


An independent company has certified that Bob’s factory is capable of propagating Bob’s proprietary baseline cheese starter bacterial culture. Bob claims his cheese starter bacterial culture contains a unique balance of enzymes that interact in the curdling process in such a way that the cheese becomes Fantastic Cheese.


An independent company has certified that Bob’s factory contains cooking vats capable of maintaining a constant temperature within one quarter of one degree centigrade. Bob claims it is critical to be able to maintain an exact temperature during the cooking process to manufacture Fantastic Cheese.


A very large portion of the cheese produced worldwide is used for pizza toppings. Therefore the potential worldwide market for Fantastic Cheese as a pizza topping is fantastic if Fantastic Cheese is as fantastic as Bob claims. Every pizza maker will want Fantastic Cheese because Fantastic Cheese will render all other cheeses obsolete.

Given all the above facts, why would Bob license his Fantastic Cheese to a small pizza operator under terms that allows the small pizza operator to be the only pizza operator to use Fantastic Cheese?

from : http://gm-volt.com/2009/01/04/eestor-gets-a-trademark-patent-on-eesu-and-provides-specs-for-a-24v-eesu/ Read comments

© yankandpaste®

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Linux can't cure a stupid and it's not a medicine for stupidity

These were the words, i saw in one of the start up company, written on white board with some marker. I did talk to the person who wrote it.

Long story short :  

It was a start up company and the products on mac platform (Xserves). They got venture funding and was hiring best for making the best. The person controlling engineering was a Solaris fan and he was from a big company. 

As there is enough money the first plan was t make the product carrier grade and so first step is to port from mac to Solaris. The major problem was network guys were much comfortable with the disk imaging and back and restore procedures. Any way, they ordered a lot of Solaris machines and started porting. 

Porting on the way and they hired next engineering top person. He was from a big company and he said that the big company makes products in Linux and CTO was a fan of the "big company" decided to switch products to Linux. 

The company ordered a lot new machines and now again new installs , porting and no revenue ...  

This was the time the writing came to board.  
By this time one of the competitor went on some product related issues and the company was forced to withdraw all the products. Here we go .. 

The start up we were talking, run out of money and left with all the hardware and software they brought. No money for a future R&D for a product and not a new business plan. Tried hard with lot new block diagrams and plans from some hired talent to get more money in and failed.

Finally the start up got closed.  

Lets be back to 2 points :  

Skills you need for a start up is not that of a big organization.

Hire selectively if you need to survive.

In big organizations, i have met a lot people who don't have the skills to survive in a start up.  

Start up is a sort of lottery, lot are just surviving. Think how many times you got the bumper prize. Plans may be nice and mostly it's by somebody who don't have much idea but guts to start a business. it's not all about business, it has more things. Experience is also not the only thing to successes. This is for individuals, do you really have the drive to take you there ?

So think multiple times, if you want to switch to a start up career .I have a lot friends who started and then back to big business and have some people who still stick to the initial/revised plan and making small steps towards the future. There is a difference between process and innovation.


© yankandpaste®

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Resoures Era 2.0

We had Resources era where people were looking for resources, then it came Industrial era and the came computer era( yes it was only 30+ years and ended with bill gates and official end 2010 ) and now we back to resources era.

Whatz special about this era this time ?

In first era 1.0 people traveled for more trade routes, discovery of countries, invasions and extraction of resources etc. Now we are almost run out of resources

Oil we have but we cant afford, we need cheap and its not clean air technology.so we need clear alternatives ( we need renewable energy and all our out next gen utilities should be using the electricity ). So we need more ways to produce, store electricity and should be affordable.

Second, we cant eat electricity as of now. We need more food. We have more people and less land, so we need to make more food from less. Another potential area for next gen.


Health, Last day i was watching a movie on clones. The theme was like, when you take insurance policy, they will take a sample and make a clone of you. Once you need any organ or something else, they use the clones one ( saying you won a lottery move them to an island and kill them ). To be true i fear this movie is going to be true in this era.


Lets see what all this era offers but as first ones, yes battery technologies are hot now, now computer is a normal thing and its no longer the high pay job.Its a skill every one need to make your work better.


Lets be back to manufacturing and research. Make more resources.

As i was reading the land is mars is good for asparagus, We can expect an era where asparagus is made in mars and space shuttles running back and forth for transportation.


© yankandpaste®