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What is an inverter?
An inverter controls the exchange of electricity between the battery and motor as soon as it receives signals that the driver has operated the accelerator or brake.
The inverter consists of semiconductor modules, condensers and a cooling system.
Downsizing an electric-powered vehicle
The inverter has to control more than 15 times the electrical current found, for example, in a home air conditioning system. Unsurprisingly, the amount of heat generated is equally large. So, due to the size of the cooling system needed for the Hyper-mini, Nissan's EV sold from 1999 to 2001, the inverter ought to be the size of a polyethylene jerry can. Nissan, however, has developed a drastically reduced inverter the size of a coffee cup. This permits Pivo 2's compact layout, which features a small inverter integrated with an electric motor installed inside each wheel.
How we did it
We adopted three engineering techniques to help us achieve our goal of a smaller inverter. We used compact and highly efficient semiconductor modules; we rethought packaging technology; and we adopted a downsized condenser.
