Alternator with dual axial air flow
AssigneeRemy International, Inc.
InventorMichael D. Bradfield
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle alternator comprises a rotor and a stator positioned within a housing. The housing includes a front face, a rear face, and a outer wall extending between the front face and the rear face. The front face includes a plurality of air inlet holes, and the rear face including a plurality of air outlet holes. The outer wall is void of air holes that extend through the outer wall. The rotor is positioned within the housing and configured to rotate about an axis. The stator is positioned within the housing between the rotor and the outer wall of the housing. The stator includes a core with an outer surface, a front end and a rear end. A plurality of substantially axial air passages are positioned between the outer wall of the housing and the outer surface of the stator core.
Claims20
An electric machine for a vehicle comprising:
- a housing;
- a rotor positioned within the housing and configured to rotate about an axis;
- a stator positioned between the rotor and an outer wall of the housing, the stator including a core comprising a front end, a rear end, an inner portion and an outer portion surrounding the inner portion, the stator further including stator windings positioned on the inner portion of the stator core;
- and
- a plurality of substantially axial air passages extending from the front end to the rear end of the stator core, the plurality of substantially axial air passages positioned between the inner portion of the stator core and the housing.
A method of cooling an electric machine in a vehicle, the method comprising:
- receiving an inlet stream of air through a first end of the electric machine;
- splitting the inlet stream of air into a first stream of air and a second stream of air flowing through the electric machine, the first stream of air flowing between an outer surface of a stator core and a non-porous outer wall of a housing, the second stream of air flowing through a rotor positioned radially inward from the stator core;
- and
- exhausting the first stream of air and the second stream of air through a second end of the electric machine.
An alternator comprising:
- a rotor configured to rotate about an axis;
- a stator positioned radially outward from the rotor, the stator including a stator core with a front end, a rear end, an inner portion configured to retain stator windings and an outer portion surrounding the inner portion;
- a housing with the rotor and the stator retained within the housing, the housing including a front face with a plurality of air inlet holes, a rear face with a plurality of air outlet holes, and a non-porous outer wall positioned between the front face and the rear face such that the housing is void of air passages between the front face and the rear face;
- and
- a plurality of air passages extending along the outer portion of the stator core between the front end and the rear end of the stator core.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.