Strain-matched hub for motor/generator
First Claim
1. An electric machine, comprising:
- a hollow cylindrical rotor, which is part of a hollow cylindrical rotor assembly, the hollow cylindrical rotor assembly having a plurality of fastener openings; and
a hub connecting the hollow cylindrical rotor assembly to a shaft;
wherein the hub comprises a hub rim connected to a hub center region by a plurality of spokes, said hub rim having a plurality of fastener openings;
and wherein an imaginary circle through the hub rim'"'"'s fastener openings expands substantially uniformly around its circumference as the hub rotates.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A strain-matched hub for a motor/generator. The motor/generator preferably includes a cylindrical rotor surrounding a stator, and of larger diameter than a shaft. The hub, formed of a single material, connects the shaft to the rotor assembly, and contains a fastener circle whose expansion is matched to the rotor'"'"'s expansion, in operation. Like the rotor, the hub'"'"'s fastener circle expands uniformly around the fastener circle'"'"'s circumference.
Typically, a ring of keystone-shaped metal elements fits the hub to the rotor. The hub attaches to the keystone-shaped elements with a plurality of bolts or other fasteners, and the keystone-shaped elements fit to the rotor. The hub is formed of a single material and contains a plurality of spokes, each spoke positioned along a radius from the center of the hub to the center of a bolt. Each spoke is shaped to fit between two pairs of tangent-joined circles. For each pair of circles, the center of the circle that is formed in part by the inner curve of the hub rim is located radially outside the center of the circle that is formed by the outer curve of the hub'"'"'s center region.
-
Citations
17 Claims
-
1. An electric machine, comprising:
-
a hollow cylindrical rotor, which is part of a hollow cylindrical rotor assembly, the hollow cylindrical rotor assembly having a plurality of fastener openings; and
a hub connecting the hollow cylindrical rotor assembly to a shaft;
wherein the hub comprises a hub rim connected to a hub center region by a plurality of spokes, said hub rim having a plurality of fastener openings;
and wherein an imaginary circle through the hub rim'"'"'s fastener openings expands substantially uniformly around its circumference as the hub rotates. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
a stator, surrounded by the rotor;
an array of permanent magnets on the rotor that provide a uniform dipole field, such that the stator lies along the axis of the dipole field;
windings on the stator; and
an electric commutator which provides current to the windings;
wherein the array of permanent magnets comprises bars of identical permanent magnets assembled in a circle, wherein the bars are dipole elements, each bar of the bars having a vector direction of magnetization that rotates at a rate which is twice that of a vector, rotating about the circle, pointing from the center of the uniform dipole field to the center of the dipole elements.
-
-
10. An electric machine according to claim 1, further comprising:
-
a stator, surrounded by the rotor;
an array of permanent magnets on the rotor that provide a uniform dipole field, such that the stator lies along the axis of the dipole field;
windings on the stator; and
an electric commutator which provides current to the windings.
-
-
11. An electric machine according to claim 10, wherein the array of permanent magnets comprises bars of identical permanent magnets assembled in a circle, wherein the bars are dipole elements, each bar of the bars having a vector direction of magnetization that rotates at a rate which is twice that of a vector, rotating about the circle, pointing from the center of the uniform dipole field to the center of the dipole elements.
-
12. An electric machine according to claim 11, wherein the electric machine is surrounded by an aluminum containment vessel.
-
13. A hub, comprising:
-
a hub center region surrounding a central hole;
a hub rim connected to said hub center region by a plurality of radially-directed spokes, said rim including openings for receiving fasteners;
the hub having the quality that a fastener circle formed by the openings expands, under high speed rotation about a shaft extending through the central hole, substantially uniformly around the fastener circle'"'"'s circumference. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
-
Specification