Records and patents have become a part of life for 89-year-old K.U. Varunny. The Thrissur-based mechanical engineer has secured his 16th patent for his invention of a ‘continuously variable dual drive system for vehicles with on line charging facility at minimum loss of energy.’
Out of the 16 patents of Mr. Varunny, two are U.S. patents. Mr. Varunny’s name has also been enrolled in the Limca Book of Records in 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2016 for the outstanding contribution in automobile sector.
A hybrid system
“The present patent includes a hybrid system, where two electric motors are simultaneously used for driving the vehicles, making use of a ‘planetary gear system’. During the initial stage, till the normal speed is attained, both the motors will be jointly driving the vehicle,” said Mr. Varunny.
“The primary motor will run at constant speed and the auxiliary motor will run at varying speed. When the normal running speed is attained, the primary motor will automatically stop and the vehicle will be driven by the auxiliary motor alone as directed by a microprocessor unit. During the normal run, the power required is only about 25%. During the normal run, the primary motor will be driven by the vehicle in the opposite direction to work as a generator and charge the vehicle battery,” explained Mr. Varunny, who won the NIP (National intellectual Property) award for the maximum number of patents in 2013.
The main problem in the present electrical vehicles is the possibility of the vehicle getting stopped if the battery charge is low and also the long time taken for recharging the battery. This problem is eliminated in the new system as it will get charged while running, he noted.
‘Reduce pollution’
“The system also eliminates the need for a reverse box. By increasing the speed of the primary motor beyond a certain range, the vehicle can run in reverse direction. The system can reduce the operational cost to a considerable extent and more particularly, can reduce the pollution to a large extend,” Mr. Varunny added
Mr. Varunny has five national awards in his kitty for technical inventions. This includes the NRDC (National Research Development Corporation) award in 1972 and 1990; Bharat Jyothi Award in 2006; and Mother Teresa Award in 2015.
Last year, he got his 15th patent for the hybrid bike he developed. An automobile power transmission system (patented in the U.S) and an anti-glare system for night driving that can be adjusted to the vision parameters of the driver are among his inventions.
Mr. Varunny, who finished his Mechanical Engineering degree in 1957 from the University of Madras had worked in many companies, such as ITC, Bangalore; Golden Tobacco, Baroda; Wimco Bombay; Akerlund and Rawsing, Hyderabad; and Jetco, Oman.
Mr. Varunny secured all these patents after his retirement as a general manager in Mulbox Ltd, Uganda, at the age of 60 in 1994.
