Traction motor in the context of Elevator

A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that can operate on rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such as airplanes or helicopters), does not float on water (such as boats or ships), and is used for the transportation of people or cargo.

The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually a gasoline/diesel internal combustion engine or an electric traction motor, or some combination of the two as in hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. For legal purpose, motor vehicles are often identified within a number of vehicle classes including cars, buses, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, light trucks and regular trucks. These classifications vary according to the legal codes of each country. ISO 3833:1977 is the standard for road vehicle types, terms and definitions. Typically, to avoid requiring people with disabilities from having to possess an operator's license to use one, or requiring tags and insurance, powered wheelchairs will be specifically excluded by law from being considered motor vehicles.

An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. An EMU is usually formed of two or more semi-permanently coupled carriages. However, electrically powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as EMUs. The vast majority of EMUs are passenger trains but versions also exist for carrying mail.

EMUs are popular on intercity, commuter, and suburban rail networks around the world due to their fast acceleration and pollution-free operation, and are used on most rapid-transit systems. Being quieter than diesel multiple units (DMUs) and locomotive-hauled trains, EMUs can operate later at night and more frequently without disturbing nearby residents. In addition, tunnel design for EMU trains is simpler as no provision is needed for exhausting fumes, although retrofitting existing limited-clearance tunnels to accommodate the extra equipment needed to transmit electric power to the train can be difficult.

A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such as airplanes or helicopters), does not float on water (such as boats or ships), and is used for the transportation of people or cargo.

The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually a gasoline/diesel internal combustion engine or an electric traction motor, or some combination of the two as in hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. For legal purpose, motor vehicles are often identified within a number of vehicle classes including cars, buses, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, light trucks and regular trucks. These classifications vary according to the legal codes of each country. ISO 3833:1977 is the standard for road vehicle types, terms and definitions. Typically, to avoid requiring people with disabilities from having to possess an operator's license to use one, or requiring tags and insurance, powered wheelchairs will be specifically excluded by law from being considered motor vehicles.

A turbine–electric transmission, or turbine–electric powertrain, system includes a turboshaft gas turbine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors. No clutch is required.

Turbine–electric transmissions are used to drive both gas turbine locomotives (rarely) and warships.

An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a plug-in electric vehicle, typically a battery electric vehicle (BEV), which only uses energy stored in on-board battery packs, but broadly may also include plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), which can convert electric power from other fuels via a generator or a fuel cell.

Compared to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quieter, more responsive, have superior energy conversion efficiency and no exhaust emissions, as well as a typically lower overall carbon footprint from manufacturing to end of life (even when a fossil-fuel power plant supplying the electricity might add to its emissions). Due to the superior efficiency of electric motors, electric cars also generate less waste heat, thus reducing the need for engine cooling systems that are often large, complicated and maintenance-prone in ICE vehicles.

On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled together with side rods (also known as coupling rods); normally one pair is directly driven by the main rod (or connecting rod) which is connected to the end of the piston rod; power is transmitted to the others through the side rods.

On diesel and electric locomotives, the driving wheels may be directly driven by the traction motors. Coupling rods are not usually used, and it is quite common for each axle to have its own motor. Jackshaft drive and coupling rods were used in the past (e.g. in the Swiss Crocodile locomotive) but their use is now confined to shunter locomotives.

Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed.

Typically, regenerative brakes work by driving an electric motor in reverse to recapture energy that would otherwise be lost as heat during braking, effectively turning the traction motor into a generator. Feeding power backwards through the system like this allows the energy harvested from deceleration to resupply an energy storage solution such as a battery or a capacitor. Once stored, this power can then be later used to aid forward propulsion. Because of the electrified vehicle architecture required for such a braking system, automotive regenerative brakes are most commonly found on hybrid and electric vehicles.

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that couples a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) with one or more electric engines into a combined propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain, which has inherently better energy conversion efficiency, is intended to achieve either better fuel economy or better acceleration performance than a conventional vehicle. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each functions as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is hybrid electric passenger cars, although hybrid electric trucks (pickups, tow trucks and tractors), buses, motorboats, and aircraft also exist.

Modern HEVs use energy recovery technologies such as motor–generator units and regenerative braking to recycle the vehicle's kinetic energy to electric energy via an alternator, which is stored in a battery pack or a supercapacitor. Some varieties of HEV use an internal combustion engine to directly drive an electrical generator, which either recharges the vehicle's batteries or directly powers the electric traction motors; this combination is known as a range extender. Many HEVs reduce idle emissions by temporarily shutting down the combustion engine at idle (such as when waiting at the traffic light) and restarting it when needed; this is known as a start-stop system. A hybrid-electric system produces less tailpipe emissions than a comparably sized petrol engine vehicle since the hybrid's petrol engine usually has smaller displacement and thus lower fuel consumption than that of a conventional petrol-powered vehicle. If the engine is not used to drive the car directly, it can be geared to run at maximum efficiency, further improving fuel economy.

A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current collector. The use of overhead wire in a system of current collection is reputed to be the 1880 invention of Frank J. Sprague, but the first working trolley pole was developed and demonstrated by Charles Van Depoele, in autumn 1885.

A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that uses electrical energy exclusively from an on-board battery pack to power one or more electric traction motors, on which the vehicle solely relies for propulsion.

This definition excludes hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs; including mild, full and plug-in hybrids), which use internal combustion engines (ICEs) in adjunct to electric motors for propulsion; and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs), which consume fuel through a fuel cell or an ICE-driven generator to produce electricity needed for the electric motors. BEVs have no fuel tanks and replenish their energy storage by plugging into a charging station, electrical grid or getting a new battery at a battery swap station, and use motor controllers to modulate the output engine power and torque, thus eliminating the need for clutches, transmissions and sophisticated engine cooling as seen in conventional ICE vehicles. BEVs include – but are not limited to – all battery-driven electric cars, buses, trucks, forklifts, motorcycles and scooters, bicycles, skateboards, railcars, boat and personal watercraft, although in common usage the term usually refers specifically to passenger cars.