Electric Machine Cooling System and Method
AssigneeRemy Technologies, L.L.C.
InventorMichael D. Bradfield
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of the invention provide an electric machine module and a method for cooling an electric machine. The apparatus and method include providing the electric machine including a rotor and a stator with stator end turns and enclosing at least a portion of the electric machine within a housing. The method also includes introducing a coolant into a machine cavity, directing the coolant toward the stator end turns, and returning a portion of the coolant which flows past the stator end turns back toward the stator end turns using a rotating agitator member operatively coupled to the rotor.
Claims20
An electric machine module capable of being cooled by a coolant, the electric machine module comprising:
- an electric machine including
- a rotor with generally opposing end faces, and
- a stator with stator end turns;
- and
- an agitator member operatively coupled to the rotor adjacent the generally opposing end faces and extending substantially axially outward along at least a portion of an axial length of the stator end turns.
A method for cooling an electric machine comprising:
- providing the electric machine including
- a rotor with generally opposing end faces, and
- a stator substantially circumscribing the rotor and including stator end turns;
- substantially enclosing at least a portion of the electric machine within a housing,
- defining at least a portion of a machine cavity with an inner wall of the housing;
- introducing a coolant into the machine cavity;
- directing the coolant toward the stator end turns;
- and
- returning a portion of the coolant which flows past the stator end turns back toward the stator end turns for cooling using a rotating agitator member operatively coupled to the rotor near the generally opposing end faces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.