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Taxis often have to shuffle forward at airports and outside of taxi ranks. This usually means them either leaving their engines running, or starting them up, moving a few feet, then switching off again. Both methods are wasteful and sources of increased pollution.
In some cities, drivers can be seen
pushing their taxis forward by hand. That's not a great idea either for many reasons. Tiny T.I.M. solves this simple problem.
Tiny T.I.M. is a simple extra electric motor that engages with the main drive axle on demand, and inches the car forwards or backwards at less than one mile per hour.
It doesn't provide much strain on the battery as it's not intended to move the car more than about 20 feet at any time. Distances further than that cause the main engine to start automatically, to preserve the battery's charge.
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Annotation:
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Or just install the system that most car washes use.
That way the cab's not carrying a spare motor the
rest of the time. |
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Or an inclined ramp covered in treacle? You'd have to find a way to stop people trying to lick it off the tyres when stuck in traffic. |
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Hybrids work just great as taxis. Ask any owner-
driver of a Hybrid Camry taxi. |
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How'bout a different gearing for the starter motor instead ? [+] |
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I don't really see how this is different from a hybrid. |
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// why haven't we got combined dynamo/starters these days ? // They do, but every time the engineers design one, the marketing deparment slaps a "hybrid" label on the trunk. |
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Around here, it seem like half of the Taxis are Priuses. |
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//That's not a great idea either for many reasons// What reasons? When I had a car I often did this to adjust parking positions etc. |
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Love it, but, could the creeper motor be flywheels spun up to speed by the vehicles initial deceleration? |
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No, because frictional losses on a flywheel would
result in all of the energy being lost by the time the
car needs to move again. What is needed in this
situation, is a giant spring that gets wound up when
the car stops that can turn the drive shaft later
when it's needed. |
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// frictional losses on a flywheel // |
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Frictionless bearings with permanent magnets. Just don't
make any sharp turns. |
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Install a BFM (Big Freakin' Magnet) at the front of the line and switch it on whenever you want the row of taxis to move toward it. |
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It can also be switched on when you want to see how much loose change you can collect from the drivers' pockets! |
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