AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRIC MACHINE

• US 20100109455A1
• Filed: 11/05/2009
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ferrari SPA (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: Ferrari SPA (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Favaretto, Fabrizio
• Granted Patent: US 8,030,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 310/61
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 9/225 Heat pipes

Abstract

An automotive electric machine provided with: a stator; a rotor, which is rotationally mounted coaxially to the stator and inside the stator to rotate about a rotation axis; a shaft, which is rotationally mounted about the rotation axis, supports the rotor, and is hollow inside so as to have a longitudinal, central cooling channel filled with a cooling fluid; at least one pushing element, which is arranged inside the cooling channel, is integral with the shaft to rotate with the shaft itself about the rotation axis, and is helical-shaped to define at least one worm which extends within the cooling channel along the rotation axis to push the cooling fluid along the rotation axis due to its rotation.

Claims

1. An automotive electric machine including:

a stator;

a rotor that is rotationally mounted coaxially to the stator and inside the stator to rotate about a rotation axis;

a shaft that is rotationally mounted about the rotation axis, supports the rotor, and is hollow inside so as to have a longitudinal, central cooling channel filled with a cooling fluid;

at least a first pushing element that is arranged inside the cooling channel to rotate with the shaft about the rotation axis and to define at least one worm which extends within the cooling channel along the rotation axis to push the cooling fluid along the rotation axis and in a first direction due to its rotation; and

at least a second pushing element that is concentrically arranged inside the first pushing element to rotate with the shaft about the rotation axis and to define at least one worm which extends within the cooling channel along the rotation axis to push the cooling fluid along the rotation axis and in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

2. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least a first pushing element is integral with the shaft.

3. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least a first pushing element is helical-shaped.

4. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least a second pushing element is integral with the shaft.

5. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least a second pushing element is helical-shaped.

6. An electric machine according to claim 1 and comprising a partitioning body to rotate with the shaft about the rotation axis, the partitioning body arranged inside the cooling channel between the first pushing element and the second pushing element to define a first chamber accommodating the first pushing element and a second chamber accommodating the second pushing element.

7. An electric machine according to claim 6 wherein the partitioning body has a tubular shape.

8. An electric machine according to claim 6 wherein the partitioning body is integral with the shaft.

9. An electric machine according to claim 6, wherein the partitioning body has a longitudinal dimension smaller than the longitudinal dimension of the cooling channel so as to define an annular passing aperture between the two chambers between each end of the partitioning body and the corresponding end of the cooling channel.

10. An electric machine according to claim 1 and comprising a middle partition wall that is arranged inside the cooling channel to divide the cooling channel into two halves;

at least two first and two second pushing elements are provided, each of which is arranged in a corresponding half of the cooling channel.

11. An electric machine according to claim 10, wherein the halves are reciprocally, specularly identical.

12. An electric machine according to claim 10, wherein the two second pushing elements are reciprocally, specularly identical.

13. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein each pushing element comprises several helixes starting and ending on the respective same circumferences.

14. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the cooling channel of the shaft is isolated from a space outside the shaft.

15. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the shaft protrudes from at least one side of the stator and the rotor, with a heat exchanger thermally coupled to the shaft to remove heat from the shaft, the heat exchanger arranged at the end of the shaft and outside the stator and the rotor, wherein the cooling fluid is to carry heat produced inside the rotor towards the end of the shaft where the heat is transmitted to the heat exchanger.

16. An electric machine according to claim 15, wherein the shaft protrudes from both sides of the stator and the rotor, with two heat exchangers thermally coupled to the shaft to remove heat from the shaft, the two heat exchanger arranged at the two ends of the shaft with the two heat exchanger are arranged outside the stator and the rotor.

17. An electric machine according to claim 16 and including:

a partitioning body that has a tubular shape, is integral with the shaft to rotate with the shaft about the rotation axis and is arranged inside the cooling channel between the first pushing element and the second pushing element so as to define a first chamber accommodating the first pushing element and a second chamber accommodating the second pushing element; and

a middle partition wall, which is arranged inside the cooling channel to divide the cooling channel into two reciprocally, specularly identical halves;

two first and two second reciprocally, specularly identical pushing elements are provided, each of which is arranged in a corresponding half of the cooling channel.

18. An electric machine according to claim 17, wherein:

each first pushing element is concentrically arranged inside the second pushing element and is shaped to push the cooling fluid from one end of the cooling channel towards the middle of the cooling channel;

each second pushing element is concentrically arranged outside the first pushing element and is shaped to push the cooling fluid from the middle of the cooling channel towards one end of the cooling channel; and

the partitioning body has a longitudinal dimension smaller than the longitudinal dimension of the cooling channel so as to define an annular passing aperture between the two chambers between each end of the partitioning body and the corresponding end of the cooling channel.

19. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein:

the first pushing element is concentrically arranged inside the second pushing element and is shaped to push the cooling fluid from one end of the cooling channel towards the middle of the cooling channel; and

the second pushing element is concentrically arranged outside the first pushing element and is shaped to push the cooling fluid from the middle of the cooling channel towards one end of the cooling channel.

20. An electric machine according to claim 1, wherein cooling fluid is sealed in the shaft.