Prestolite Electric Inc.

Allied Corporation

United Technologies Motor Systems, Inc.

Robert David Hall

Jeffrey T Major

James David Plenzler

Aleksandar Hrnjak

Andrew Cawse

Clive Harley

Michael J Hanchett

Marc Noga

Certain embodiments provide systems and methods for cooling a drive end bearing. The system may include an alternator including a drive end bearing, a drive end fan and a front housing face. The drive end fan may include a shaft aperture and auxiliary air flow inlet apertures positioned circumferentially around the shaft aperture. The front housing face may include auxiliary fins coupled to the drive end bearing. The auxiliary fins may protrude from the front housing face. The auxiliary fins may be arrayed axially on the front housing face. In various embodiments, the drive end fan is rotated to draw air through the auxiliary air flow inlet apertures and adjacent to at least a portion of auxiliary fins of the front housing face. The at least a portion of the auxiliary fins transfers heat from the drive end bearing to the air.

Systems and methods for cooling a drive end bearing

Soft-start systems and methods for vehicle starters are provided. Embodiments provide a solenoid including: a first coil that receives power when an ignition switch is closed; a first plunger actuated when the first coil receives power; a first terminal configured to be abutted by a contact bar of the first plunger; a second coil that receives power when the contact bar of the first plunger abuts the first terminal; a second plunger actuated when the second coil receives power; and a second terminal configured to be abutted by a contact bar of the second plunger. Such a solenoid is configured to provide power at a first level to an attached motor when the contact bar of the first plunger abuts the first terminal and at a second level that is higher than the first level when the contact bar of the second plunger abuts the second terminal.

Soft-start systems and methods for vehicle starters

A vehicle transfer case for changing between two- and four-wheel modes of operation has a transmission with an inventive stop. The stop extends radially outwardly beyond the nominal height of gear teeth on a worm gear in the transmission. The stop engages a worm which is part of the transmission at a location outside of a primary contact area between the worm and worm gear. When the stop contacts the worm it stops further rotation of the worm gear. The motor for the worm gear is reversible such that both the worm and worm gear can rotate in either direction. A single stop defines two circumferentially spaced ends of travel. Since the stop contacts a moving surface on the worm, there is a reduced likelihood of seizure when compared to the prior art.

End of travel stop for transfer case actuator

An armature assembly 50 for an electric motor 10 is inherently balanced despite the presence of a secondary shaft 74 extending from a primary armature shaft 72 longitudinally along an eccentric axis 75 offset radially from the longitudinal axis 15 of the primary armature shaft 72. A lamination stack 60 mounted on the armature shaft 70 is formed of a plurality of lamination plates 62 arrayed in abutting face-to-face relationship. The lamination plates 62B and 62C provided at the respective ends of the stack 60 are modified in that some of the radially directed spokes 66 are removed along a selected portion or spaced portions 63,67 of the circumferential extent of the hub portion 64 so as to provide counterweight lamination plates having a spoke pattern which is not symmetric about the longitudinal axis 15 of the primary shaft 72.

Counterbalanced electric motor

A low profile ring-shaped motor has a housing, a bearing support attached to the housing and supporting a rotating shaft carrying a ring-shaped rotor. A ring-shaped stator is secured to the housing and is concentric and between the legs of the U-shaped rotor. The stator is formed by a continuous strip of magnetic material wound and laminated in a toroid and having helical windings therearound. On the inside of the legs of the rotor are mounted a plurality of permanent magnets forming the poles of the motor. Radially opposite magnets are of the same polarity. Control of the switching of the current through the windings is by means of Hall Effect devices sensing the change in polarity of a ring shaped magnet means having the same number of poles as does the permanent magnets.

Low profile ring-shaped motor

A dynamoelectric machine having a rotor formed from a continuous strip of ferrous material and a continuous helically formed conductor thereon. The rotor having a rectangular cross section is mounted on the periphery of a web member. The web member is axially mounted for rotation about a frame and supports a fan. The stator of the machine is axially aligned with the outer circumferential surface of the rotor and provides support for pairs of permanent magnets and an equal number of pairs of brushes. The field magnets are positioned to magnetically link with the winding on the rotor. The brushes are equally and angularly spaced in the frame and operative contact with a commutator integrally formed with the rotor winding.

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Berkey, OH, United States of America

Robert David Hall