Synchronous electric machine with reconfigurable rotor and stator poles

An electric machine with reconfigurable machine poles, comprising:

• a stator having a plurality of stator windings arranged into a first stator leg, a second stator leg, a third stator leg, a fourth stator leg, a fifth stator leg, and a sixth stator leg;
• a rotor having a plurality of rotor windings arranged into a first rotor leg and a second rotor leg;
• a power transfer circuit configured for providing:
• a first quantity of machine poles by delivering excitation currents to the first, fourth, and fifth stator legs with a first polarity and a first phase sequence, to the second, third, and sixth stator legs with the first polarity and a second phase sequence, and the first rotor leg with the first polarity and to the second rotor leg with the first polarity;
• a second quantity of machine poles by delivering excitation currents to the first, fourth, and fifth legs with the first polarity and a third phase sequence, to the second, third, and sixth legs with a second polarity and a fourth phase sequence, to the first rotor leg with the first polarity and to the second rotor leg with the second polarity.

A vehicle, comprising:

• a plurality of wheels;
• a powertrain;
• and
• a magnet-free synchronous electric motor with reconfigurable rotor and stator poles configured for converting electrical power to mechanical power for purposes of propelling the vehicle, the electric motor including a rotor shaft coupled with a rotor to the plurality of wheels via the powertrain,
• wherein the electric motor includes:
• a stator including a plurality of stator windings wrapped around a plurality of circumferentially spaced stator protrusions, wherein a first stator winding set of the stator windings are wrapped relative to a first stator protrusion set of the circumferentially spaced stator protrusions and a second stator winding set of the stator windings are wrapped relative to a second stator protrusion set of the circumferentially spaced stator protrusions, wherein the first stator winding set and the second stator winding set together include a first leg, a second leg, a third leg, a fourth leg, a fifth leg, and a sixth leg;
• a rotor including a plurality of rotor windings wrapped around a plurality of circumferentially spaced rotor protrusions, wherein a first rotor winding set of the rotor windings are wrapped relative to a first rotor protrusion set of the circumferentially spaced rotor protrusions and a second rotor winding set of the rotor windings are wrapped relative to a second rotor protrusion set of the circumferentially spaced rotor protrusions;
• and
• a power transfer circuit configured for controlling a polarity and/or a phase sequence of excitation currents used in exciting the first and second stator and rotor windings and thereby respectively generated stator and rotor poles, including providing a first quantity of stator poles and a second quantity of stator poles each with at least four phase sequences, including:
• a first phase sequence that includes an A-phase, a B-phase, and a C-phase, with the first leg receiving the A-phase, the fourth leg receiving the B-phase, and the fifth leg receiving the C-phase;
• a second phase sequence that includes an A′-phase, a B′-phase, and a C′-phase, with the second leg receiving the A′-phase, the third leg receiving the B′-phase, and the sixth leg receiving the C′-phase;
• a third phase sequence that includes the A-phase, the B-phase, and the C-phase, with the first leg receiving the A-phase, the fourth leg receiving the C-phase, and the fifth leg receiving the B-phase;
• and
• a fourth phase sequence that includes the A′-phase, the B′-phase, and the C′-phase, with the second leg receiving the A′-phase, the third leg receiving the C′-phase, and the sixth leg receiving the B′-phase.