Spoked rotor with inner structural bridges providing low flux leakage

A rotor for use in an electric motor and rotatable about an axis, said rotor comprising:

• a core including a plurality of pole segments arranged arcuately about the axis;
• a plurality of arcuately arranged magnets alternating with the pole segments, such that each of the magnets is at least in part interposed between a pair of adjacent pole segments;
• and
• a support structure at least in part supporting the pole segments,
• said core further including a plurality of bridges,
• each of said bridges extending between and interconnecting a corresponding one of said pole segments to said support structure,
• each of said bridges comprising a plurality of axially spaced apart bridge segments,
• said core comprising a plurality of stacked laminations,
• said laminations cooperatively defining the pole segments and the bridges,
• each of said laminations comprising a plurality of arcuately arranged pole segment portions and a plurality of said bridge segments,
• each of said bridge segments portions extending from a corresponding one of said pole segment portions,
• each of said laminations comprising fewer of said bridge segments than said pole segment portions.

A rotor for use in an electric motor and rotatable about an axis, said rotor comprising:

• a core including a plurality of pole segments arranged arcuately about the axis;
• a plurality of arcuately arranged magnets alternating with the pole segments, such that each of the magnets is at least in part interposed between a pair of adjacent pole segments;
• and
• a support structure at least in part supporting the pole segments,
• said core further including a plurality of bridges,
• each of said bridges extending between and interconnecting a corresponding one of said pole segments to said support structure,
• each of said bridges comprising a plurality of axially spaced apart bridge segments,
• said core further including a plurality of outer bridges extending between and connecting adjacent ones of the pole segments,
• said pole segments at least in part cooperatively presenting an annular core face,
• said core face at least in part defining a core envelope,
• said core envelope defining a core radius,
• each of said pole segments including —
• a main body presenting a body face extending concentrically with the axis and disposed along the envelope,
• said body face presenting a pair of arcuately spaced apart body edges, and
• a pair of ears each extending generally arcuately outwardly from a corresponding one of the body edges,
• each of said ears presenting a substantially flat ear face extending directly from the corresponding one of the body edges,
• each of said ear faces defining a taper angle relative to a tangent plane defined at the corresponding one of the body edges,
• each of said ear faces being disposed radially inside the envelope and presenting a radially innermost ear edge disposed radially inwardly of said envelope by an ear recess distance,
• said taper angle being between about 4 degrees and about 8 degrees,
• said ear recess distance being between about 0.2 % and 0.5 % of said core radius.