Electrical generator or motor structure – Dynamoelectric – Rotary
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-21
2004-09-07
Le, Dang (Department: 2834)
Electrical generator or motor structure
Dynamoelectric
Rotary
C310S198000, C290S046000, C290S031000, C290S03600R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06787959
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an electrical machine of the type having a stator component and a rotor component, where the stator component has a winding with a plurality of coils and having an electronic power unit for controlling the machine. The invention also pertains to an electrical system with an on-board network including such an electrical machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical machines are usually rotating machines, which use a magnetic field to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy according to the motor principle or to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy according to the generator principle.
Electrical machines of this type, which can be designed as synchronous or asynchronous machines, for example, have an electrical assembly which comprises a rotor component and a stator component. The stator component is usually the stationary part, whereas the rotor component is the rotating part. Depending on the design of the electrical machine, the stator component consists, for example, of a stack of metal plates, forming a yoke and a number of teeth. In the slots between these teeth, an electrical winding is provided, which consists of a number of coils. When current flows through this winding, it produces the magnetic field of the electrical machine. The rotor component consists, for example, of a stack of plates, on which a number of magnets, possibly permanent magnets, are mounted. Electrical machines of the type indicated are in widespread use in the state of the art and have many different applications.
The electrical assembly of the electrical machine is usually contained inside a housing, which protects it from external influences and damage.
When the electrical machine is used in, for example, the drive train of a vehicle, it can function as a so-called “starter-generator”. A starter-generator is, for example, a synchronous machine with permanent excitation, which is installed in the drive train between the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine and the clutch or transmission. The starter-generator can be used to start the internal combustion engine, for example. In addition, while the vehicle is traveling, the starter-generator can also function as a generator and can therefore replace the starter and the generator in the vehicle. The housing of the starter-generator can be connected to the internal combustion engine or to the transmission.
Starter-generators of this type have been used for some time in passenger vehicles. There is now a tendency, however, to use starter-generators in commercial vehicles and busses and the like. In contrast to passenger vehicles, the required service life for starter-generators in commercial vehicles and busses is extremely long. In addition, the required reliability is also much higher than it is in the case of passenger vehicles.
In busses, for example, as also in the case of passenger cars, the power which the on-board network must handle has increased significantly in recent years. The reason for this is that, in addition to the normal electrical loads, new convenience functions are always being added. Examples which can be mentioned include air conditioners, galleys, televisions, new communications systems, and much more besides.
To supply power to these loads, up to four generators are currently being installed on the internal combustion engine. The generator in the on-board network of a bus, however, represents a weak link. It is true that, if a generator fails, the bus can still be driven without difficulty, because the loads will be handled by the other generators. To make this feasible, however, it is usually necessary to decrease the number of individual convenience functions. It can usually be guaranteed that the basic electrical components of an internal combustion engine such as the ignition system, electronic control devices, etc., will be supplied with the necessary power by the known system. When a generator fails, the bus is usually still able to return to its home base, even if it is on a long trip, so that the generator can be replaced at low cost by the bus company itself.
The components of a starter-generator system, however, also have only a limited service life. Therefore, it is not impossible that one of the individual components will fail during the extremely long useful life of a commercial vehicle or bus. Because only one starter-generator system is usually installed in an internal combustion engine, the failure of the starter-generator or of its electronic power unit would make it impossible for the commercial vehicle or bus to continue in operation. Whereas the electronic power unit can be replaced easily like a generator, this is not the case with a starter-generator machine. This reason for this is that the starter-generator machine is usually installed in the drive train of the vehicle, between the internal combustion engine and the clutch or transmission. Replacing the starter-generator is therefore very complicated and expensive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Proceeding from the state of the art explained above, the present invention is based on the task of providing an electrical machine and an electrical system by means of which the disadvantages described above can be avoided. In particular, an electrical machine is to be provided which has a long service life and a high degree of reliability and which at the same time occupies only a small amount of space.
This object is accomplished by an electrical machine wherein the stator component has two or more separate windings, and by an electrical system with an on-board network having such an electrical machine. Additional advantages, features, details, and effects of the invention can be derived from the specification, and from the drawings. Advantages, features, and details of the invention which are described in conjunction with the electrical machine apply also to the electrical system and vice versa.
According to the first aspect of the invention, an electrical machine is provided, which has a stator component and a rotor component, where the stator component contains the winding of the electrical machine and has a number of coils. The machine also has an electronic power unit for controlling the electrical machine. In accordance with the invention the stator component contains two or more separate windings to form two or more electrical sub-machines.
Each winding includes a plurality of coils and a plurality of linking conductors connecting the coils, the coils of all of the windings being arranged in a single ring.
With the electrical machine according to the invention, it is possible to achieve a significant increase in service life and reliability in comparison with the technical solutions known from the state of the art. At the same time, the electrical machine occupies only a small amount of space, which means that it can be integrated very easily into the drive train of a vehicle. The electrical machine is also easy to install, requires only a small amount of material, and has simple logistics, as will be described in greater detail later in the specification. The electrical machine according to the invention is also more efficient than conventional electrical machines, has a smaller voltage dip on startup, and suffers fewer problems involving electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).
One of the basic ideas of the invention is that the electrical machine is in fact divided into two or more sub-machines without any change in the amount of space it occupies. For this purpose, two or more separate windings are provided on the stator carrier. Each winding is connected, controlled, and operated separately from each of the others. The electrical windings are therefore separated electrically from each other, so that each electrical winding, and therefore each electrical sub-machine, can be operated independently of each of the other windings or sub-machines. When one of the sub-machines fails, it is not necessary to replace the entire electrical mach
Cohen & Pontani, Lieberman & Pavane
Mannesmann Sachs AG
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