Coil structure for electric motor

• US 5,623,178 A
• Filed: 07/05/1994
• Issued: 04/22/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Eiji, Miura, Tetsuya, Kawabata, Yasutomo
• Primary Examiner(s): LaBalle, Clayton E.
• Application Number:
  US08/266,869
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• Field of Search: 310/43, 310/179, 310/71, 310/201, 310/208, 310/260
• US Class Current: 310/260
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 2203/09 Machines characterised by wiring elements other than wires, e.g. bus rings, for connecting the winding terminations
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 3/12 arranged in slots
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 3/505 for large machine windings, e.g. bar windings H02K3/51 takes precedence

Abstract

Molded coil pieces inserted into a slot are separately connected to molded coil pieces belonging to another slot of the same phase as the former coil pieces by a connecting member. The connecting member has conductive members laminated in a direction perpendicular to a rotating shaft of the rotor in the motor via insulating layers, and the molded coil pieces are separately connected to each other by these conductive members, whereby the protrusion of a coil end from each slot can be reduced, which permits the miniaturization and the weight reduction of the motor. Furthermore, the dimensional accuracy of the connecting members can be improved by a simple constitution and manufacturing process, whereby the characteristics of the electric motor can be remarkably improved.

Claims

1. A multi-phase driving electric motor having a stator and a rotor arranged so as to confront the stator, said stator comprising:

(a) a stator core provided with a plurality of slots facing toward the rotor in a direction parallel with a rotating shaft of the rotor, and

(b) a coil having;

(b-1) a plurality of molded coil pieces inserted in to each slot, and

(b-2) a plurality of connecting members connecting the molded coil pieces in the slot to the molded coil pieces in another slot having the same phase as the former coil pieces, said connecting members being arranged on two edges of the stator in the direction parallel with rotating shaft of the rotor, and having an integral structure of plurality of conductive members laminated via insulating layers and said conductive members and insulating layers being perpendicular to the rotating shaft and layered in the direction of the rotating shaft.

2. A multi-phase driving electric motor having a stator and a rotor arranged so as to confront the stator, said stator comprising:

(a) a stator core provided with a plurality of slots facing toward the rotor in a direction parallel with a rotating shaft of the rotor, and

(b) a coil having;

(b-1) a plurality of molded coil pieces inserted in each slot, and

(b-2) a plurality of connecting members connecting the molded coil pieces in the slot to the molded coil pieces in another slot having the same phase as the former coil pieces, said connecting members being arranged on two edges of the stator in the direction parallel with rotating shaft of the rotor, and having a plurality of conductive members laminated via insulating layers in the direction perpendicular to the rotating shaft, wherein said connecting members have a plurality of conductive pipes, the end portion of one molded coil piece can be inserted into each conductive pipe, and the inserted molded coil piece is electrically connected to the conductive member corresponding to the molded coil piece but insulated from the conductive member corresponding to the other molded coil piece.

3. The electric motor of claim 2 wherein at least the end section of the molded coil piece which is inserted into the conductive pipe is hollow.

4. The electric motor of claim 3 wherein at least the end section of the molded coil piece which is inserted into the conductive pipe is hollow.

5. The electric motor of claim 2 wherein at least the end section of the molded coil piece which is inserted into the conductive pipe is hollow, and a caulking member is inserted into the hollow end section to electrically connect the molded coil piece to the conductive pipe.

6. The electric motor of claim 2 wherein the connecting members electrically connect the molded coil pieces of the same phase to each other and have an outer connecting member arranged on the outer periphery side in the radial direction of the motor and an inner connecting member arranged on the inner periphery side in the radial direction of the motor, and the inner connecting member and the outer connecting member are arranged at mutually different heights on the edge of the stator in a direction parallel with the rotating shaft of the rotor.

7. The electric motor of claim 6 wherein if a value of N×

M/2 is an even number, where N is an integer number of motor phases and M is an integer number of motor poles, the number of the outer connecting members is equal to that of the inner connecting members.

8. The electric motor of claim 6 wherein the molded coil piece is electrically connected to the conductive pipe into the molded coil piece is inserted, by soldering or welding.

9. The electric motor of claim 8 wherein at least the end section of the molded coil piece which is inserted into the conductive pipe is hollow.

10. The electric motor of claim 6 wherein at least the end section of the molded coil piece which is inserted into the conductive pipe is hollow, and a caulking member is inserted into the hollow end section to electrically connect the molded coil piece to the conductive pipe.

11. The electric motor of claim 2 wherein the connecting member arranged on one edge side of two edges of the stator has L×

2 conductive members, where L is an integer number of molded coil pieces into each slot, and the connecting member arranged on the other edge side has L×

2+1 conductive members laminated, and the molded coil pieces constituting the coil of each phase are electrically connected by these conductive members.