Marine drives having an electric motor assembly and methods for making the same
AssigneeBrunswick Corporation
InventorsWilliam W. McEathron, Vinodh Kumar Balakrishnan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A marine drive includes a torpedo housing having an open end and an electric motor assembly with an electric motor configured to power a propulsor for propelling the marine drive in water. The electric motor assembly includes a motor housing which is nested in the open end such that such that a first portion of the motor housing extends into the torpedo housing and such that a second portion of the motor housing extends from the torpedo housing and is exposed to the water for cooling thereof. The torpedo housing defines an opening which partially exposes the first portion of the motor housing to the water for cooling thereof.
Claims18
A marine drive comprising:
- a torpedo housing that axially extends between a closed end and an open end, an internal cavity being defined between the closed end and the open end;
- an electric motor configured to power a propulsor for propelling the marine drive in a body of water, the electric motor having a motor housing with a first portion located inside the internal cavity and a second portion located outside the internal cavity so that the second portion is directly exposed to the body of water, wherein the torpedo housing defines an opening that directly exposes a portion of the first portion of the motor housing that is aligned with the opening to the body of water, and further comprising a groove in a radially outermost surface of the motor housing that facilitates flow of the water through the opening and between the torpedo housing and the motor housing.
A marine drive comprising:
- a torpedo housing that axially extends between a closed end and an open end, and an internal cavity being defined between the closed end and the open end;
- an electric motor configured to power a propulsor for propelling the marine drive in a body of water, wherein the electric motor includes a motor housing having a first portion located inside the internal cavity and a second portion located outside of the internal cavity so that the second portion is directly exposed to the body of water, wherein the torpedo housing defines an opening that directly exposes a portion of the first portion of the motor housing that is aligned with the opening to the body of water;
- and
- a plurality of grooves in a radially outermost surface of the motor housing, the plurality of grooves configured to facilitate flow of the water through the opening and between the torpedo housing and the motor housing from the first portion of the motor housing to the second portion of the motor housing.
A marine drive comprising:
- a torpedo housing that axially extends between a closed end and an open end, an internal cavity being defined between the closed end and the open end;
- and
- an electric motor configured to power a propulsor for propelling the marine drive in a body of water, wherein the electric motor includes a motor housing having a first portion located inside the internal cavity and a second portion located outside of the internal cavity so that the second portion is directly exposed to the body of water,
- wherein the torpedo housing defines an opening that directly exposes a portion of the first portion of the motor housing that is aligned with the opening to the body of water, and wherein the motor housing has a radially outer surface with a cutout that is aligned with the opening such that together the portion of the first portion of the motor housing and the cutout provide a contiguous recessed area that is directly exposed to the body of water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.