Modular stator for downhole electric motors

A downhole motor comprising:

• an elongated cylindrical stator configured to generate magnetic fields directed radially inward;
• and
• a rotor which is concentrically positioned within a bore through the stator and is driven by magnetic fields generated by the stator to rotate within the bore;
• wherein the stator comprises a plurality of separable interconnected modular stator sections, wherein each of the modular stator sections comprises a corresponding stator housing having, at each end, a corresponding flange configured to secure the stator housing to the stator housing of the adjacent stator section, and wherein each corresponding stator housing defines a longitudinal length that is greater than an outer diameter of the corresponding stator housing;
• wherein each stator section has a set of connectors that engage a corresponding set of connectors of an adjacent one of the stator sections to electrically connect coils of magnet wire in the stator section to coils of magnet wire in the adjacent stator section, wherein each flange has a subset of the connectors mounted thereon such that the connectors engage simultaneously with the securing of the flanges and are isolated from an external wellbore environment;
• and
• wherein the stator comprises a gap between stator cores of each pair of adjacent stator sections, the stator further comprising a plurality of bearings that support a shaft of the rotor, wherein the bearings are positioned at axial locations which are coincident with the gaps between the stator cores of the adjacent stator sections.