Electric pump system and method with hollow shaft and temperature sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12460635-B2
Application number	US-202318385307-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2023
Priority date	Jun 30, 2017
Publication date	Nov 4, 2025
Grant date	Nov 4, 2025

Abstract

An electric pump system and method of operating the same involves pumping a fluid through a fluid passageway defined in a mechanical pump from a pump inlet to a hollow shaft of a motor, through the hollow shaft to an internal motor cavity defined by a housing of the motor, and through another fluid passageway defined in the motor housing and mechanical pump that leads to a pump outlet. The system and method further involve pumping the fluid through another fluid passageway defined in the mechanical pump from yet another pump inlet to the pump outlet. The temperature of fluid exiting the hollow shaft can be assessed and used by an electronic control unit (ECU) of the electric pump system to control the same. The electric pump system can be part of a cooling and lubrication system for an electric vehicle transmission, gearbox, differential or transfer case, for example.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus for pumping a fluid comprising:
a motor including:
a stator;
a rotor comprising a hollow shaft; and
a housing around the stator and rotor and defining an internal motor cavity;
an electronic control unit connected to a first side of the motor, the electronic control unit comprising a microcontroller and a thermistor configured to measure a temperature of the fluid;
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to determine a change to an operation of a vehicle associated with said apparatus;
a mechanical pump comprising a first pump inlet, a second pump inlet, and a pump outlet, the mechanical pump connected to the motor through the second pump inlet;
a first fluid passageway from the first pump inlet to the pump outlet;
a second fluid passageway extending through the internal motor cavity to the pump outlet via the second pump inlet, wherein a fluid flow path extends through the second fluid passageway into the hollow shaft of the rotor from a shaft inlet to a shaft outlet into the internal motor cavity, past the stator and the rotor into a third fluid passageway that extends to the pump outlet, and wherein the thermistor is configured to measure the temperature of the fluid exiting the shaft outlet of the hollow shaft; and
a bypass inlet proximate to the first side of the motor, the bypass inlet being in fluid communication with a portion of the fluid flow path that flows past the stator and the rotor and through the motor housing into the third fluid passageway.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the first fluid passageway and the second fluid passageway is common.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mechanical pump is a gerotor.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the microcontroller controls the mechanical pump.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the change to the operation of the vehicle associated with said apparatus comprises a reduction of torque.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit includes cooling ribs.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the motor comprises a second side;
the mechanical pump connected to the second side of the motor through the first pump inlet and connected to the second side of the motor through the second pump inlet.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit comprises a PCB and a second thermistor, wherein the second thermistor is configured to measure a temperature of the PCB.

9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit comprises a plurality of mounting legs.

10 . A method of pumping a fluid in an electric pump system having a mechanical pump, a motor including a stator and a rotor comprising a hollow shaft, the motor having a first side and a pump side, and a motor housing defining an internal motor cavity, the method comprising:
controlling the mechanical pump via an electric control unit connected to the first side of the motor; pumping fluid along a first fluid flow path through a first fluid passageway from a first pump inlet of the mechanical pump to a pump outlet of the mechanical pump; pumping fluid along a second fluid flow path through a second fluid passageway from the internal motor cavity to the pump outlet via a second pump inlet of the mechanical pump, wherein the fluid along the second fluid flow path flows through the hollow shaft of the rotor from a shaft inlet to a shaft outlet into the internal motor cavity, past the stator and the rotor and through the motor housing into a third fluid passageway that extends to the pump outlet; pumping fluid into a bypass inlet which is in fluid communication with a portion of the second fluid flow path that flows past the stator and the rotor and through the motor housing into the third fluid passageway, the bypass inlet being proximate to the first side of the motor; detecting, via a temperature sensor located adjacent to the shaft outlet, a temperature of the fluid exiting the hollow shaft; and determining a required amount of heat that needs to be rejected from the fluid via evaluation of a plurality of corrective actions responsive to the detected temperature of the fluid exiting the hollow shaft; wherein the plurality of corrective actions comprises rejecting heat by the electric pump system or a change to a motor parameter of a motor associated with a vehicle.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the detected temperature of the fluid corresponds to a temperature of the fluid prior to the fluid entering the internal motor cavity.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the detected temperature of the fluid corresponds to a temperature of the fluid prior to the fluid being heated by the electric pump system by a threshold amount.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the change to the motor parameter of the motor associated with a vehicle comprises a reduction of torque.

14 . An apparatus for pumping a fluid comprising:
a motor including:
a stator;
a rotor comprising a hollow shaft; and
a housing around the stator and rotor and defining an internal motor cavity;
an electronic control unit connected to a first side of the motor, the electronic control unit comprising a microcontroller and a thermistor configured to measure a temperature of the fluid;
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to determine a change to an operation of a vehicle associated with said apparatus;
a mechanical pump comprising a first pump inlet, a second pump inlet, and a pump outlet, the mechanical pump connected to the motor through the first pump inlet and connected to the motor through a second pump inlet;
a first fluid passageway from the first pump inlet to the pump outlet;
a second fluid passageway extending through the internal motor cavity to the pump outlet via the second pump inlet, wherein a fluid flow path extends through the second fluid passageway into the hollow shaft of the rotor from a shaft inlet to a shaft outlet into the internal motor cavity, past the stator and the rotor into a third fluid passageway that extends to the pump outlet, and wherein the thermistor is configured to measure the temperature of the fluid exiting the shaft outlet of the hollow shaft; and
a bypass inlet proximate to the first side of the motor, the bypass inlet being in fluid communication with a portion of the fluid flow path that flows past the stator and the rotor and through the motor housing into the third fluid passageway.

15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein at least a portion of the first fluid passageway and the second fluid passageway is common.

16 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the microcontroller controls the mechanical pump.

17 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the change to the operation of the vehicle associated with said apparatus comprises a reduction of torque.

Assignees

• Tesla Inc

Inventors

• Graves Scott Michael
• Bellemare Eric
• Zhu Yufei
• Dellal Benjamin
• Silva Rodriguez Diego Alberto

Classifications

• F04C15/06

  Arrangements for admission or discharge of the working fluid, e.g. constructional features of the inlet or outlet · CPC title

• F04C15/0096 Primary

  Heating; Cooling (of machines or engines in general F01P) · CPC title

• F04C14/26

  using bypass channels · CPC title

• F04C2240/603

  with internal channels for fluid distribution, e.g. hollow shaft · CPC title

• F04C2/102 Primary

  the two members rotating simultaneously around their respective axes · CPC title