Rotor assembly having a coolant agitation system and method
AssigneeRemy Technologies, L.L.C.
InventorPaul Martin Dedrich
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotor assembly for an electric machine. The rotor assembly includes a shaft that defines a longitudinal axis of the electric machine, and a rotor body including a rotor hub supported by the shaft. The rotor body includes a first axial end and an opposing, second axial end. A coolant agitation system is provided on the rotor body. The coolant agitation system includes one or more coolant agitator members extending from one of the first and second axial ends. Each of the one or more coolant agitator members includes a first section that extends along the longitudinal axis and a second section that extends relative to the first section at a non-zero angle relative to the longitudinal axis.
Claims20
A rotor assembly for an electric machine comprising:
- a shaft that defines a longitudinal axis of the electric machine;
- a rotor body including a rotor hub supported by the shaft, the rotor body including a first axial end and an opposing, second axial end;
- and
- a coolant agitation system provided on the rotor body, the coolant agitation system including one or more coolant agitator members extending from one of the first and second axial ends, each of the one or more coolant agitator members including a first section that extends along the longitudinal axis and a second section that extends at a non-zero angle relative to the longitudinal axis.
An electric machine comprising:
- a housing including an inner surface that defines an interior portion, and a coolant sump provided in the interior portion;
- a stator fixedly mounted relative to the inner surface of the housing;
- a rotor assembly rotatably mounted relative to the stator, the rotor assembly including a shaft that defines a longitudinal axis of the electric machine, and a rotor body including a rotor hub supported by the shaft, the rotor body including a first axial end and an opposing, second axial end;
- and
- a coolant agitation system provided on the rotor body, the coolant agitation system including one or more coolant agitator members extending from one of the first and second axial ends, each of the one or more coolant agitator members including a first section that extends along the longitudinal axis and a second section that extends at a non-zero angle relative to the longitudinal axis, at least one of the first and second sections being configured and disposed to agitate a coolant in the sump.
A method of agitating coolant in an electric machine, the method comprising:
- rotating a rotor body relative to a stator, the rotor body including a coolant agitation system having one or more coolant agitator members;
- guiding the one or more coolant agitator members into a coolant contained within a sump of the electric machine;
- and
- agitating the coolant in the sump.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.