# US 12,009,729 B1 · Modular electric motor assembly > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,009,729 B1 - Document ID: US12009729B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 18/451,745 - Filed: 2023-08-17 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2023-08-17 - Assignees: Flyer Next, LLC - Applicants: Flyer Next, LLC - Inventors: Bruce Churchill Falls; Scott Kochan; Oded Nechushtan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12009729B1 ## CPC - H02K 7/116: with gears - B60K 1/02: comprising more than one electric motor - H02K 5/203: {specially adapted for liquids, e.g. cooling jackets} - H02K 9/19: for machines with closed casing and closed-circuit cooling using a liquid cooling medium, e.g. oil - H02K 11/33: Drive circuits, e.g. power electronics (H02K11/38 takes precedence) - H02K 16/00: Machines with more than one rotor or stator {(machines for transmitting mechanical power from a driving shaft to a driven shaft and comprising structurally interrelated motor and generator parts H02K51/00; permanent magnet machines with multiple rotors or stators relatively rotated for vectorially combining the excitation fields or the armature voltages H02K21/029)} - B60K 1/00: Arrangement or mounting of electrical propulsion units (B60K7/00 takes precedence; arrangement or mounting of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion B60K6/00) - H02K 2211/03: Machines characterised by circuit boards, e.g. pcb - H02K 2213/06: Machines characterised by the presence of fail safe, back up, redundant or other similar emergency arrangements - H02K 2213/12: Machines characterised by the modularity of some components - H02K: DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINES (dynamo-electric relays H01H53/00; conversion of DC or AC input power into surge output power {H03K3/53}) - B60K: ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES ## Abstract An electric motor assembly is disclosed. The electric motor assembly can include a plurality of electric motors coupled to a common gear assembly. Individual motors within the electric motor assembly can be dynamically controlled to increase motor efficiency at a given torque and RPM output. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electric motor assembly, comprising: a housing comprising a plurality of cavities; a gear assembly, comprising: an output gear coupled to a rotatable output shaft configured to transfer a torque to an external gear assembly, and adjacent gears coupled to the output gear; a plurality of electric motors at least partially within the plurality of cavities, the plurality of electric motors comprising: a first electric motor coupled to the output gear, and adjacent electric motors coupled to the adjacent gears; and a controller to activate and deactivate one or a pair of motors of the plurality of electric motors. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electric motor assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cavities comprises peripheral cavities arranged around a central cavity. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The electric motor assembly of claim 2, wherein the adjacent electric motors comprise an even number of electric motors. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The electric motor assembly of claim 1, wherein upon failure of a portion of the plurality of electric motors, operability of the electric motor assembly is maintained. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The electric motor assembly of claim 1, further comprising a cooling feature configured to simultaneously cool at least one motor of the plurality of electric motors and a printed circuit board (PCB) connected to the at least one motor. ### Claim 6 An electric drive system, comprising: an electric motor assembly, comprising: a gear assembly comprising an output gear and one or more gears coupled to the output gear, the output gear being coupled to an output shaft, and a plurality of electric motors, each of the plurality of electric motors coupled to a gear of the gear assembly; a control system to activate and deactivate one or more motors of the plurality of electric motors; an energy storage system coupled to the electric motor assembly; and a power demand system to communicate a torque need to the control system to activate or deactivate the one or more motors, wherein the control system is configured to activate and deactivate the one or more motors based on the torque need such that a number of simultaneously activated motors of the plurality of electric motors depends on the torque need. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The electric drive system of claim 6, wherein the electric motor assembly further comprises a housing comprising a plurality of cavities. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The electric drive system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of electric motors is at least partially within the plurality of cavities. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The electric drive system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of cavities comprises peripheral cavities arranged around a central cavity. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The electric drive system of claim 6, wherein the plurality of electric motors comprises: a first electric motor coupled to the output gear, and one or more adjacent electric motors coupled to the one or more gears. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The electric drive system of claim 10, wherein the one or more adjacent electric motors comprise an even number of electric motors. ### Claim 12 (depends on 6) The electric drive system of claim 6, wherein the number of simultaneously activated motors of the plurality of electric motors is a maximally efficient number of motors, given the torque need. ### Claim 13 A method, comprising: installing an electric motor assembly in an electric drive unit, the electric motor assembly comprising: a housing comprising a plurality of cavities; a gear assembly, comprising: an output gear coupled to a rotatable output shaft configured to transfer a torque to an external component, and adjacent gears coupled to the output gear; a plurality of electric motors at least partially within the plurality of cavities, the plurality of electric motors comprising: a first electric motor coupled to the output gear, and adjacent electric motors coupled to the adjacent gears; and a controller to activate and deactivate one or a pair of motors of the plurality of electric motors. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of cavities comprises peripheral cavities arranged around a central cavity. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the adjacent electric motors comprise an even number of electric motors. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the electric motor assembly further comprising a cooling feature configured to simultaneously cool at least one motor of the plurality of electric motors and a printed circuit board (PCB) connected to the at least one motor. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, further comprising selecting a number of electric motors to be included in the plurality of cavities based on a use environment. ### Claim 18 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the electric drive unit is installed on a vehicle. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein the vehicle is an electric vehicle. ### Claim 20 A vehicle comprising: an electric motor assembly, wherein the electric motor assembly comprises: a housing comprising a plurality of cavities; a gear assembly, comprising: an output gear coupled to an output shaft, and adjacent gears coupled to the output gear; a plurality of electric motors at least partially within the plurality of cavities, the plurality of electric motors comprising: a first electric motor coupled to the output gear via the output shaft, and adjacent electric motors coupled to the adjacent gears; and a controller to activate and deactivate one or a pair of motors of the plurality of electric motors.