Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110084561 | OIL COOLED MOTOR/GENERATOR FOR AN AUTOMOTIVE POWERTRAIN - An oil-cooled motor/generator for an automotive powertrain located outside of the transmission is provided, such as a BAS motor/generator. The motor/generator may have a stator, a rotor circumscribed by the stator, and a motor shaft on which the rotor is mounted for rotation. A housing assembly may surround the stator and the rotor, with a bearing positioned between the housing assembly and the motor shaft. A flow control member may at least partially circumscribe the rotor axially adjacent the stator. A bearing retainer may be positioned axially adjacent the bearing. A rotor end ring may be axially adjacent the rotor. The housing assembly may have an inlet configured to receive cooling oil. The housing assembly, the flow control member, the bearing retainer and the rotor end ring may be configured to distribute the cooling oil from the inlet to cool the stator, the rotor and the bearing. | 04-14-2011 |
20120122622 | ELECTRICALLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION - A hybrid transmission having an input member, an output member, and a single motor/generator is characterized by a plurality of fixed-ratio modes of operation and at least one electrically variable mode of operation. In the fixed-ratio modes of operation, the speed ratio between the input member and the output member is independent of the speed of the motor/generator. In the electrically variable mode of operation, the speed ratio between the input member and the output member is dependent upon the speed of the motor/generator. | 05-17-2012 |
20120187797 | STATOR ASSEMBLY HAVING A PHASE-TO-PHASE INSULATOR, AND A METHOD OF ASSEMBLYING A STATOR ASSEMBLY - An insulator assembly for a stator assembly of an electric machine includes an annular ring attached to a stator core, and a plurality of coil separators supported by the annular ring and extending from the annular ring axially along a longitudinal axis. One of the coil separators is disposed between each adjacent pair of the coils to prevent contact between adjacent coils having a different electrical phase. The coil separators are slideably inserted between the adjacent pairs of coils, with the annular ring positioning and supporting the coil separators. | 07-26-2012 |
20120226483 | MOTOR TEMPERATURE ESTIMATION BASED ON THERMAL MODEL - A vehicle includes a power source, a motor, and a computing device. The power source provides electrical energy to the motor, and the motor generates rotational motion from the electrical energy received. The computing device is configured to estimate a temperature of the motor in real time based at least in part on a thermal model of the motor. The thermal model includes a plurality of nodes and at least one thermal resistance. Each node represents a region of the motor and each thermal resistance represents a heat transfer path between at least two of the nodes. A method includes solving one or more energy balance equations to determine a temperature change at each node and estimating the temperature of the motor in real time based at least in part on the temperature change at each node and at least one of the thermal resistances in the thermal model. | 09-06-2012 |
20130076175 | CONNECTION MODULE FOR A BAR WOUND STATOR ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A BAR WOUND STATOR ASSEMBLY - A bar wound stator assembly includes a connection module attached to a stator core at a weld end of the stator assembly. The connection module provides all required electrical connections to connect shaped plurality of hairpin bar connectors of the stator assembly within a first pole pair of a winding set of conductors. All of the hairpin bar conductors include an identical span. The connection module completes each phase of the winding set, to connect each phase of the winding set to define a connection configuration, e.g., a wye or a delta connection configuration, and to connect the stator assembly to all external connections. | 03-28-2013 |
20130090791 | VEHICLE MOTOR TEMPERATURE DETERMINATION - Methods, systems, and vehicles are provided pertaining to the determination of a temperature of a vehicle motor having an ignition when the ignition is turned on following a period of time in which the ignition had been turned off. A memory stores a function having a boundary condition that comprises a prior temperature from when the ignition was turned off. A processor is coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to determine an amount of time for which the ignition has been turned on and determine the temperature of the motor using the function if the amount of time for which the ignition has been turned on is less than a predetermined threshold. | 04-11-2013 |
20130152892 | ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLUID PREHEATER - An electric vehicle powertrain includes a battery configured to couple with an external power source, a power plant including at least one three-phase electric motor, and a power controller configured to receive electrical energy from the battery and to controllably provide electrical energy to the at least one electric motor. The electric motor includes a stator having a plurality of electrical windings and a rotor having a magnetic field orientation, with the rotor being configured to rotate relative to the stator. The power controller is configured to warm an engine fluid by determining the position of the rotor relative to the stator; determining a DC current for each of the three motor phases such that the electromagnetic field of the stator mirrors the magnetic field orientation of the rotor; and by providing the determined DC currents to the electric motor to resistively heat the fluid. | 06-20-2013 |
20130328454 | ROTOR HUB ASSEMBLY WITH NON-MAGNETIC RESOLVER SHIELDING RING - A hub assembly for an electric machine includes a rotor hub and a machine rotor. Rotation of the machine rotor generates an electromagnetic (EM) field. The hub assembly includes a resolver rotor that encodes an angular position of the machine rotor as a set of resolver signals. An EM field barrier ring between the resolver rotor and the rotor hub adds a magnetic barrier between the machine rotor and the resolver rotor to reduce noise in the resolver signals. The resolver rotor may be bonded to the EM field barrier ring. The EM field barrier ring may have an L-shaped cross section, and may be press-fitted into a pocket of the rotor hub. A vehicle includes a transmission having an input member and an electric machine having a rotor shaft connected to the input member of the transmission. The electric machine includes the hub assembly noted above. | 12-12-2013 |
20130342052 | ELECTRIC MACHINE WITH CIRCUMFERENTIAL ROTOR AND HOUSING FINS - An electric machine is provided with a rotor core rotatable about a central axis. A first end ring is operatively connected to one end of the rotor core. A first housing component at least partially encloses the rotor core. At least one first rotor fin extends from the first end ring in a first direction which may be substantially parallel to the central axis. At least one first housing fin extends from the first housing component in a second direction that is substantially opposite to the first direction. The first rotor and housing fins extend circumferentially around the central axis. The first rotor fin and the first housing fin are configured to interleave, thereby enhancing heat transfer between the first rotor and housing fin, and cooling the rotor core. | 12-26-2013 |
20140210392 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING AN ELECTRIC MOTOR EMPLOYED TO POWER A FLUIDIC PUMP - An electric motor powers a fluidic pump fluidly connected to a hydraulic circuit. Operating the electric motor includes determining a heat transfer coefficient for the electric motor based upon a temperature of hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic circuit. A temperature of the electric motor is determined based upon the heat transfer coefficient. Operation of the electric motor is controlled based upon the temperature of the electric motor. | 07-31-2014 |
20150035391 | APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR COOLING AN ELECTRIC MOTOR - An apparatus for providing a coolant to a stator and a rotor of an electric motor in a vehicle having a coolant pump is provided. The apparatus includes a base defining a plurality of first openings through at least one of which the coolant is flowable to the stator. The apparatus also includes at least one wall extending from the base to define a cavity configured to receive the coolant from the coolant pump. The apparatus further includes at least one first raised member within the cavity that extends from the base. The at least one first raised member defines at least one second opening substantially aligned with one of the first openings to form a first passageway through which the coolant is flowable to the rotor. The apparatus may be located above the electric motor such that the coolant is flowable by gravity to the stator and/or the rotor. | 02-05-2015 |
20150035470 | ELECTRIC POWER ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE - An electric power assembly for a vehicle is disclosed. An electric motor includes a stator and a rotor being rotatable about a pivot axis relative to the stator. An inverter is coupled to the electric motor and includes a power switching device that outputs an electrical signal from the inverter at a first frequency and having interference at a second frequency. The second frequency is a byproduct of the electrical signal creating the first frequency. The stator is electrically connected to the inverter to receive the first frequency such that the stator produces a first magnetic field. A frequency filter is attached to the rotor and directs the portion of the electrical signal having the second frequency to the rotor such that the rotor produces a second magnetic field that interacts with the first magnetic field to rotate the rotor about the pivot axis relative to the stator. | 02-05-2015 |