Electric drive module having motor with heat sink insert in rotor shaft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11626765-B2
Application number	US-201816751596-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 8, 2018
Priority date	Aug 8, 2017
Publication date	Apr 11, 2023
Grant date	Apr 11, 2023

Abstract

A motor drive assembly having an electric motor with a rotor that includes a rotor shaft and a heat exchanger received in the rotor shaft. The heat exchanger has an insert body with an outer insert surface that is engaged to an inside surface of the rotor shaft. The insert body includes a plurality of segments. Each of the segments defines a first through-hole, and a plurality of second through-holes. Each of the segments is fixedly coupled to one another. A first flow passage extends through the first through-holes in the plurality of segments. Each of the second through-holes defines a portion of a corresponding second flow passage. The second flow passages are disposed concentrically about the first flow passage.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A motor drive assembly comprising:
an electric motor having a stator and a rotor assembly that is received in the stator and rotatable about a rotational axis, the rotor assembly having a rotor shaft, an end wall and a means for circulating a cooling fluid in the rotor shaft, the rotor shaft having first and second axial ends and a shaft wall that is disposed circumferentially about the rotational axis, the shaft wall defining a hollow rotor space, the end wall being coupled to the rotor shaft and closing the hollow rotor space on the second axial end of the rotor shaft, the cooling fluid circulating means being received in the hollow rotor space and being fixedly coupled to the shaft wall, the cooling fluid circulating means having a first flow passage, which is disposed along the rotational axis and which extends into a void space in the rotor shaft that is disposed between the cooling fluid circulating means and the end wall, and a plurality of second flow passages that are disposed radially between the first flow passage and the shaft wall, the second flow passages intersecting the void space.

2. The motor drive assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cooling fluid circulating means comprises an insert that comprises a plurality of segments that are fixedly coupled to one another, each of the segments defining a first through hole and a plurality of second through holes, the first through holes of adjacent segments being disposed in fluid communication with one another such that the first through holes form the first follow passage, the second through holes of adjacent segments being in fluid communication with one another and forming the plurality of second flow passages.

3. The motor drive assembly of claim 2 , wherein the second through holes are slots that extend in a radial direction.

4. The motor drive assembly of claim 3 , wherein the slots are curved about the rotational axis.

5. The motor drive assembly of claim 4 , wherein each of the slots in one of the segments is in fluid communication with at least two slots in an adjacent one of the segments.

6. The motor drive assembly of claim 4 , wherein the slots in a first one of the segments are curved about the rotational axis in a first rotational direction, and wherein the slots in a second one of the segments that is adjacent to the first one of the segments are curved about the rotational axis in a second rotational direction that is opposite the first rotational direction.

7. The motor drive assembly of claim 2 , wherein adjacent segments are brazed to one another.

8. A motor drive assembly comprising:
an electric motor having a rotor with a rotor shaft, an end wall and a heat exchanger received in the rotor shaft, the rotor shaft having first and second axial ends through which a shaft aperture is disposed, the end wall being coupled to the rotor shaft and closing the shaft aperture on the second axial end of the rotor shaft, the heat exchanger having an insert body with an outer insert surface that is engaged to an inside surface of the rotor shaft, the insert body including a plurality of segments, each of the segments defining a first through-hole, and a plurality of second through-holes, each of the segments being fixedly coupled to one another, wherein a first flow passage extends through the first through-holes in the plurality of segments and terminates along the rotor shaft at a void space disposed proximate the end wall, and wherein each of the second through-holes defines a portion of a corresponding second flow passage, wherein the second flow passages are disposed concentrically about the first flow passage and terminate in the void space, the void space fluidly coupling the second flow passage to the first flow passage.

9. The motor drive assembly of claim 8 , wherein the first flow passage is defined at least partly by the first through-holes in the plurality of segments.

10. The motor drive assembly of claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of segments has a pair of opposite end faces, and wherein the end faces of adjacent pairs of the plurality of segments are fixedly coupled to one another.

11. The motor drive assembly of claim 10 , wherein the end faces of the adjacent pairs of the plurality of segments are brazed to one another.

12. The motor drive assembly of claim 9 , wherein the first flow passage is defined at least substantially by the first through-holes in the plurality of segments.

13. The motor drive assembly of claim 8 , wherein each one of the second flow passages is not in fluid communication with any of the other second flow passages at a location within the insert body.

14. The motor drive assembly of claim 8 , wherein each one of the second flow passages is in fluid communication with a plurality of the other second flow passages.

15. The motor drive assembly of claim 8 , wherein each of the segments in the insert body is identical.

16. The motor drive assembly of claim 8 , wherein each of the segments of the insert body is disposed in a common rotational orientation about a rotational axis of the rotor shaft.

17. The motor drive assembly of claim 8 , wherein the insert body is press-fit to the rotor shaft.

18. The motor drive assembly of claim 17 , wherein each of the segments is engaged to the inside surface of the rotor shaft.

Assignees

• American Axle & Mfg Inc

Inventors

• Ronning Jeffrey J
• Downs James P
• Morgante John
• Fischer Peter D
• Crecelius David
• Huang Zugang
• Valente Paul J

Classifications

• H02K5/1732

  radially supporting the rotary shaft at both ends of the rotor (H02K5/1737 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H02K1/2733

  Annular magnets · CPC title

• H02K7/083

  radially supporting the rotary shaft at both ends of the rotor (H02K7/086, H02K7/09 take precedence) · CPC title

• H02K1/32 Primary

  with channels or ducts for flow of cooling medium · CPC title

• H02K7/116

  with gears · CPC title