Methods, systems, and apparatuses for passive end-turn cooling for an electric motor using gravity

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12015327-B2
Application number	US-202117305639-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 12, 2021
Priority date	Jul 12, 2021
Publication date	Jun 18, 2024
Grant date	Jun 18, 2024

Abstract

In various embodiments, methods, systems, and vehicle apparatuses are provided. A system provides a gravity drive to distribute coolant oil flow including a nozzle for directing a flow of coolant oil over a surface of an electric motor wherein the flow of the coolant oil is caused by a gravity drive; a connector that is coupled to the nozzle that enables the nozzle to sway in response to external forces encountered by a vehicle operation and to distribute coolant oil over the exterior surface of the electric motor; and a counterweight that is coupled to the nozzle that provides a countermeasure to the external forces encountered by the vehicle operation to cause the nozzle to sway in a manner that enables the coolant oil distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system that provides a gravity drive to distribute coolant oil flow in an apparatus, comprising:
a nozzle for directing a flow of coolant oil over an exterior surface of an electric motor wherein the flow of the coolant oil is caused by the gravity drive;
a connector coupled to the nozzle that enables the nozzle to sway in response to external forces encountered by an operation of the apparatus, and to distribute coolant oil over the exterior surface of the electric motor; and
a counterweight that is coupled to the nozzle that provides a countermeasure to the external forces encountered by the operation to cause the nozzle to sway in a manner that enables the coolant oil to be distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
the nozzle coupled to the connector, the connector comprises a pivot to enable the nozzle to swing in an opposite direction to torque applied from the counterweight in response to external forces encountered by the operation.

3. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:
the counterweight coupled to a set of gears that provides a counterclockwise and a clockwise torque in response to the external forces to cause the nozzle to sway in the manner that enables the coolant oil distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

4. The system of claim 3 , further comprising:
the exterior surface of the electric motor comprises winding end turns of a stator wherein the end turns are distributed with coolant oil evenly by nozzle sway controlled in part by the counterweight.

5. The system of claim 4 , further comprising:
the counterweight comprises a passive device that senses apparatus movement and actuates a countermeasure by providing a counterclockwise and clockwise torque in response to the external forces to cause the nozzle to sway in the manner that enables the coolant oil distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

6. The system of claim 5 , further comprising:
a link that couples the set of gears to the counterweight to reverse the direction of the nozzle sway in response to the external forces to the nozzle generated by the operation.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the set of gears comprises a first gear that is coupled to the counterweight that provides a counterclockwise torque, and a second gear coupled to the first gear and to the link that provides a clockwise torque driver to counter the external forces that cause the nozzle sway to receive a reverse directional force.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the connector comprises a rubber connector.

9. A vehicle apparatus comprising:
a gravity drive to distribute coolant oil flow from a nozzle over an exterior surface of an electric motor;
a connector coupled to the nozzle that enables the nozzle to sway in response to external forces encountered by a vehicle operation and to distribute coolant oil over the exterior surface of the electric motor; and
a counterweight that is coupled to the nozzle that provides a countermeasure to the external forces encountered by the vehicle operation to cause the nozzle to sway in a manner that enables the coolant oil to be distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

10. The vehicle apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising:
the nozzle coupled to the connector that comprises a pivot to enable the nozzle to swing in an opposite direction by torque applied from the counterweight in response to external forces encountered by the vehicle operation.

11. The vehicle apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising:
the counterweight coupled to a set of gears that provides a counterclockwise and a clockwise torque in response to the external forces to cause the nozzle to sway in the manner that enables the coolant oil distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

12. The vehicle apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising:
the exterior surface of the electric motor comprises winding end turns of a stator wherein the end turns are distributed with coolant oil evenly by nozzle sway controlled in part by the counterweight.

13. The vehicle apparatus of claim 12 , further comprising:
the counterweight comprises a passive system that senses vehicle movement and actuates a countermeasure by providing a counterclockwise and clockwise torque in response to the external forces to cause the nozzle to sway in a manner that enables the coolant oil to be distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

14. The vehicle apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising:
a bar that couples the set of gears to the counterweight to reverse the direction of the nozzle sway in response to the external forces to the nozzle generated by the vehicle operation.

15. The vehicle apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the set of gears comprises a first gear that is coupled to the counterweight that provides a counterclockwise torque, and a second gear coupled to the first gear and to the link that provides a clockwise torque driver to counter the external forces that cause the nozzle sway to receive a reverse directional force.

16. The vehicle apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the bar acts like a sway bar to counter nozzle movement.

17. A method to distribute coolant oil evenly across an exterior surface of an electric motor of an apparatus, comprising:
directing a flow of coolant oil by a nozzle using a gravity drive over the exterior surface of the electric motor;
coupling the nozzle to a rubber connector that enables the nozzle to sway in response to external forces encountered by a movement of the apparatus and to distribute coolant oil over the exterior surface of the electric motor wherein the external forces are resultant from gradients and apparatus accelerations; and
coupling a counterweight to the nozzle to provide a countermeasure to the external forces to cause the nozzle to sway in a manner that enables the coolant oil to be distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
wherein the rubber connector comprises a pivot mechanism to enable the nozzle to swing in an opposite direction by torque applied from the counterweight in response to external forces.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
coupling the counterweight to a set of gears that provides a counterclockwise and a clockwise torque in response to the external forces to cause the nozzle to sway in a manner that enables the coolant oil distributed evenly across the exterior surface of the electric motor.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
wherein the exterior surface of the electric motor comprises winding end turns of a stator; and
wherein the end turns are distributed with coolant oil evenly by nozzle sway controlled in part by the counterweight.

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Keum Seunghwan
• Kang Jun-Mo
• Chang Insu
• Kim Young J

Classifications

• B05B3/008

  comprising a wobbling or nutating element, e.g. rotating about an axis describing a cone during spraying (B05B3/043 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B05B13/0405

  with reciprocating or oscillating spray heads (B05B13/0436, B05B13/0442, B05B13/0447, B05B13/0468 take precedence) · CPC title

• H02K9/19 Primary

  for machines with closed casing and closed-circuit cooling using a liquid cooling medium, e.g. oil · CPC title