Electric machine

• US 7,772,738 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2005
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Switch Electrical Machines OY
• Original Assignee: Switch Electrical Machines OY
• Inventors: Huppunen, Jussi, Pyrhönen, Juha, Kurronen, Panu
• Primary Examiner(s): Leung; Quyen
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, LEDA T
• Application Number:
  US11/632,722
• Publication Number:
  US 20070284959A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,860 Days
• Field of Search: 310/216.001, 310/216.007, 310/216.019, 310/216.029, 310/216.034, 310/216.051, 310/216.055, 310/216.058, 310/216.108, 310/216.109, 310/91, 310/89
• US Class Current: 310/216.001
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 1/16 Stator cores with slots for windings
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 1/185 to outer stators
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 2213/12 Machines characterised by the modularity of some components
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49012 Rotor

Abstract

An electric machine which has an arched stator and a cylindrical rotor fitted inside it and in which the flux flows in the radial direction between the stator and the rotor as in a permanent-magnet radial-flux synchronous electric machine, and in which the stator of the machine consists of stator segments (2), each of which has an independent stator core and winding, and the stator segments are arranged to be physically separate from each other so that the stator consists of stator segments arched according to the radius of the rotor and working electromagnetically independently like a linear machine, each stator segment having a stator core and a winding separate from the other stator segments, and that it comprises an overhead supporting frame structure separate from the stator cores and consisting of several longitudinal ribs (41) and parts (42) between them.

Claims

1. An electric machine comprising:

an arched stator and a cylindrical rotor fitted inside the arched stator and in which flux flows in the radial direction between the stator and the rotor as in the case of a permanent-magnet radial-flux synchronous electric machine,

wherein the stator of the machine comprises stator segments, and

the stator segments are arranged to be physically separate from each other so that the stator comprises stator segments arched according to the radius of the rotor and working electromagnetically independently like a linear machine, each stator segment having a stator core and a winding separate from the other stator segments, the windings being arranged to fill a smaller portion of each winding slot formed in edge portions of each stator than slots in a middle portion of the respective stator segment, and

an overhead supporting frame structure separate from the stator cores comprising several longitudinal ribs and parts between the longitudinal ribs.

2. The electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the supporting frame structure is provided with magnetic flux bridge elements placed between the linear machines to alleviate the end phenomena of the linear machines, or a magnetic circuit is widened at the ends of the linear machines so as to produce the same effect.

3. The electric machine according to claim 1, wherein stator packs of the linear machines are secured to the frame with a T-bar and its counterparts.

4. The electric machine according to claim 1, further comprising independent segments working like a linear machine, which, when connected mechanically in series, form a segmental structure.

5. The electric machine according to claim 4, wherein the stator comprises independent linear machines, one or more of which can be deactivated, removed or replaced.

6. The electric machine according to claim 1, wherein the degree of windings filling in the winding slots in the edge portions of each stator segment is at most 50%.

7. The electric machine according to claim 1, wherein electric machine is a three-phase electric machine;

and

wherein first and last slots for each phase (U, V, W) in each stator segment are only partially filled.

8. The electric machine according to claim 2, wherein stator packs of the linear machines are secured to the frame with a T-bar and its counterparts.