Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Alfredo R Munoz

Michael W Degner

Edward Chan-Jiun Jih

Guangyin Lei

Akash Changarankumarath Pradeepkumar

Feng Liang

Man Prakash Gupta

Franco Leonardi

Joel A Hetrick

Leyi Zhu

Prasad Dev Hanumalagutti

Myung Ki Sung

Dengfu Zhang

Brian Christian Orr

Nicholas B Chase

Edward Jih

Wen Ouyang

An electric machine including a stator core having an outer circumferential surface and an axial row of raised projections that extend radially outboard from the outer surface. The raised projections are axially spaced from each other to define circumferential channels therebetween. A housing defines a cavity that receives the stator core. The housing has an inner circumferential surface in contact with the raised projections and radially spaced from the outer surface of the core to define a void space in fluid communication with the channels. The void space and the channels cooperate to form a fluid circuit that overlays the outer circumferential surface such that the fluid is in direct contact with the stator core.

Electric machine thermal management

A vehicle power module assembly including first and second power modules is provided. The first power module may include a first lock feature extending from a lower portion of a first minor side at a first central axis. The second power module may include a second lock feature at an upper portion of a second minor side at a second central axis. The lock features may be sized for interlock with one another to secure the power modules to one another. The first lock feature may be a loop element defining a through-hole and the second lock feature may be a wedge. The through-hole may be sized for the wedge to extend therein and to interlock the first power module and the second power module to one another. The first lock feature may be a flexible hook element and the second lock feature may be a slot.

Vehicle power module assembly

This disclosure describes liquid cooled electrical connectors for connecting components of electrified vehicles or components of any other type of power connection/power transfer system. Exemplary electrical connectors include integrated cooling circuits that employ heat exchanger channels for circulating a fluid for convectively cooling bus bars of the connector.

Liquid cooled electrical connectors

This disclosure relates to thermal management for an electric machine, such as an electric motor, of an electrified vehicle. An example assembly includes a stator having a core and a jacket at least partially surrounding the core. The jacket radially encloses a slot and is configured to permit fluid to flow within the slot from a first face of the stator to a second face of the stator. The assembly further includes a first end cover covering the first face of the stator. The first end cover has an inlet port and is configured to direct fluid from the inlet into the slot. Further, the assembly includes a second end cover covering the second face of the stator and configured to direct fluid that exits the slot.

End covers configured to direct fluid for thermal management of electric machine for electrified vehicle

An electric machine includes a stator and a rotor. The stator has a yoke fitted over a ring that has a plurality of teeth with gaps therebetween for fitting metal windings. The ring of teeth has an inner circumference that is closed and to connect the teeth, and an outer circumference with open gaps or slots between the teeth. The metal windings are fitted through the open outer circumference. Regions of the closed inner circumference between the teeth are treated such that the region's magnetic permeability is reduced relative to the remainder of the stator. The reduction in magnetic permeability provides a magnetic flux barrier between the teeth.

Electric machine having magnetically modified region

An electric vehicle power supply includes a housing, a power supply, and a plurality of fasteners. The housing defines an internal cavity and has inwardly protruding tabs that extend into the cavity. The power assembly has a front cover and an end cover. The power assembly also has an array of electrical switching units arranged horizontally between the front and end covers. The front and end covers have outwardly protruding tabs. Each of the plurality of fasteners extend vertically, engage one inwardly protruding tab, and engage one outwardly protruding tab to secure the power assembly to the housing.

Power supply device

A power-module assembly includes a plurality of power modules each including a power stage having a substrate and a transistor-based switching arrangement supported on the substrate. The power modules are arranged in a stack that defines coolant chambers interleaved with the power stages and defines a pair of coolant-supply manifolds disposed on opposing sides of the stack and extending along a length of the stack. For each power module, the substrate defines a network of cooling channels connecting the supply manifolds to a corresponding one of the chambers. The network includes first channels each configured to receive coolant from the pair of coolant-supply manifolds, second channels substantially parallel to the first channels and each opening into the corresponding one of the chambers, and third channels crisscrossing the first and second channels to connect the first and second channels in fluid communication.

Power-module assembly with cooling arrangement

A vehicle power module assembly including an array of stacked switch unit assemblies, a front cover, first and second side rails, and an end cover is provided. Each of the assemblies may include a power stage frame having a mid-cutout located at a substantially central side frame region such that a mid-cutout region is defined along each side of the array. The front cover may be disposed at a first end of the array. The first and second side rails may each extend from the front cover and each may be disposed within one of the mid-cutout regions such that an outer surface of each side rail is substantially flush with an outer surface of a respective power stage frame. The end cover may be arranged with the front cover to retain the assemblies therebetween. The assembly may further include a clamping plate and a spring element.

According to one embodiment, a power-module assembly includes a power-module stack having coolant chambers interleaved with power modules and supply and return manifold channels extending axially along the stack. An endcap has a major side defining recessed inlet and outlet manifold cavities aligned with the channels and inlet and outlet ports disposed on one or more minor sides that are perpendicular to the major side.

Power-module assembly with endcap

A vehicle power supply includes a housing, a backing plate, a power assembly, and a clamp. The housing has a bottom wall and a side wall. The backing plate extends from the bottom wall. The power assembly has an array of electrical switching units that extend from the side wall to the backing plate. The clamp extends from the backing plate and is configured to engage a backside of the array such that a frontside of the array is forced into engagement with the side wall.

An electric machine having a stator surrounding a rotor with an air gap therebetween. The stator has slots in its inner margin for accommodating stator coil windings. Stator teeth defined by the slots have irregular shapes to modify a variable flux flow pattern in the air gap to reduce harmonic torque components with minimal effect on an average value of rotor torque.

Stator for an electric machine

A permanent magnet electric machine with optimum motoring efficiency is disclosed. It is adapted for use in a hybrid electric vehicle powertrain. An asymmetric magnetic flux distribution pattern in the rotor of the machine is established by asymmetrically positioning rotor openings relative to rotor magnets to improve operating efficiency of the machine when it is in a motoring mode.

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

Alfredo R Munoz