Multiple wound rotor for electric machine

An electric machine, comprising:

• a stator;
• a rotor configured for rotating within the stator, the rotor including a plurality of circumferentially spaced rotor protrusions and a plurality of rotor slots shaped between each adjoining rotor protrusions, with at least an inner rotor winding and an outer rotor winding wrapped around each of the rotor protrusions, the inner and outer rotor windings being independently excitable;
• a power transfer circuit operable for independently controlling electrical excitation of the rotor windings;
• and
• a cooling system configured for dissipating heat away from an interior of the rotor protrusions, the cooling system includes one or more cooling channels disposed within each of the rotor slots and a coolant source configured for circulating a coolant through the cooling channels to dissipate heat therefrom.

A motor vehicle, comprising:

• a vehicle body;
• multiple drive wheels mounted to the vehicle body;
• and
• a synchronous electric machine mounted to the vehicle body and operable to drive one or more of the drive wheels to thereby propel the motor vehicle, the synchronous electric machine including:
• a stator including a plurality of stator windings configured for generating a magnetic field;
• a rotor configured for rotating within the stator according to a torque induced by the magnetic field, the rotor including a plurality of electrically independent rotor windings sets wrapped around each of a plurality of circumferentially spaced rotor protrusions, the rotor winding sets include an inner set and an outer set;
• a power transfer circuit operable for independently controlling an excitation of each of the rotor winding sets, the power transfer circuit operable for providing an inner current operable for electrically exciting the inner set and an outer current operable for electrically exciting the outer set;
• and
• a cooling system configured for dissipating heat away from the rotor protrusions, the cooling system includes one or more cooling channels disposed within each of the rotor slots and a coolant source configured for circulating a coolant through the cooling channels to dissipate heat therefrom,
• wherein the rotor includes a plurality of rotor slots shaped between each adjoining rotor protrusions, the rotor slots are shaped to include an inner wall, an outer wall, an upper sidewall, and a lower sidewall such that the inner set is proximate the inner wall and the outer set is proximate the outer wall,
• wherein the cooling channels are shaped to dissipate heat from a middle gap coinciding with a middle area between the inner and outer sets, from an inner gap coinciding with an inner area between the inner set and the inner wall associated, and from an outer gap coinciding with an outer area between the outer set and the outer wall associated therewith.