Wheel motor with rotating outer rotor
AssigneeEmpire Technology Development LLC
InventorVelayutham Kadal Amutham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An in-wheel motor having an inner stationary portion (the stator), and an outer rotating portion (the rotor) that rotates around the stator and drives a wheel directly attached to the rotor. The stator may comprise an inner support structure around which a plurality of magnets having windings are disposed in a circumferential fashion. The rotor circumferentially surrounds the stator, and includes permanent magnets placed at an interval along a surface of the rotor. An intermediate layer between the rotor and the stator is comprised of a bearing that allows movement of the rotor relative to the stator. By attaching a wheel directly to the outer surface of the rotor, a compact and efficient wheel-mounted electrical motor may be provided.
Claims20
An in-wheel motor comprising:
- an inner stationary stator including a plurality of magnets comprised of a plurality of windings, the magnets arranged at an outer circumference thereof;
- an outer rotor surrounding the inner stationary stator and including a plurality of rotor magnets arranged circumferentially thereon;
- a bearing layer positioned between the inner stationary stator and the outer rotor and configured to allow rotational movement of the outer rotor relative to the inner stationary stator, and further configured to distribute forces applied to the outer rotor;
- a plurality of switches, each switch arranged correspondingly to a winding of the plurality of windings;
- and
- a controller configured to apply a switching pattern to the plurality of switches to cause the outer rotor to rotate, wherein the switching pattern comprises substantially simultaneously energizing of two opposite windings of the plurality of windings, wherein the two opposite windings are positioned on opposite sides of an axis about which the outer rotor is configured to rotate.
An in-wheel motor comprising:
- an inner stationary stator including a plurality of magnets comprising a plurality of windings, the magnets arranged at an outer circumference thereof, and wherein the inner stationary stator further includes an inner support ring attached to the plurality of magnets and extending in a direction parallel to a central axis of the in-wheel motor away from the plurality of magnets;
- an outer rotor surrounding the inner stationary stator and including a plurality of rotor magnets arranged circumferentially thereon, wherein the outer rotor further includes a rotor projection portion extending in the direction parallel to the central axis of the in-wheel motor so as to surround the inner support ring;
- a bearing layer positioned radially between the inner support ring of the inner stationary stator and the rotor projection portion and allowing rotational movement of the outer rotor relative to the inner stationary stator, wherein the bearing layer is configured to distribute forces applied to the outer rotor;
- a plurality of switches, each switch arranged correspondingly to a respective winding of the plurality of windings;
- and
- a controller configured to apply a switching pattern to the plurality of switches to cause the outer rotor to rotate about an axis and around the inner stationary stator, wherein the switching pattern comprises substantially simultaneously energizing two opposite windings of the plurality of windings, and wherein the two opposite windings are positioned on opposite sides of the inner stationary stator and on opposite sides of the axis about which the outer rotor is configured to rotate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.