FR3107794A1 - Assembly comprising an electric machine and a signal connector decoupled - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an assembly (1) for a hybrid vehicle, comprising a rotating electric machine (10) and a signal connector (50) arranged to be electrically connected to said electric machine (10), characterized in that it comprises in besides an elastic return member (5) arranged to decouple the signal connector (50) from the electric machine (10). Figure for the abstract: Fig. 4

Description

Assembly comprising a decoupled electrical machine and signal connector

The present invention relates to an assembly comprising a rotating electrical machine and a signal connector. The invention finds applications in the field of rotating electrical machines for vehicles, in particular automobiles and, in particular, in the field of high-power reversible electrical machines that can operate in alternator mode and in motor mode coupled with a gearbox.

In a manner known per se, rotating electrical machines comprise a stator and rotor secured to a shaft. The rotor may be integral with a driving and/or driven shaft and may belong to a rotating electrical machine in the form of an alternator, an electric motor, or a reversible machine that can operate in both modes.

The stator is mounted in a housing configured to rotate the shaft, for example via bearings. The rotor comprises a body formed by a stack of sheet metal sheets held in the form of a package by means of a suitable fastening system. The rotor comprises poles formed for example by permanent magnets housed in cavities formed in the magnetic mass of the rotor. Alternatively, in a so-called "salient" pole architecture, the poles are formed by coils wound around the arms of the rotor.

Furthermore, the stator comprises a body consisting of a stack of thin laminations forming a crown, the inner face of which is provided with slots open inwards to receive phase windings. These windings pass through the notches of the body of the stator and form buns projecting on either side of the body of the stator. The phase windings are obtained for example from a continuous wire covered with enamel or from conductive elements in the form of pins connected together by welding. These windings are polyphase windings connected in star or in delta whose outputs are connected to an electrical control module.

A power connector called an interconnector and a signal connector are typically arranged between the electrical machine and the electrical control module in order to ensure an electrical connection between an incoming/outgoing signal from the electrical machine and an incoming/outgoing signal from the module.

In certain types of motor vehicle traction chains, a high-power reversible rotating electrical machine is coupled to the vehicle gearbox or to a train of the motor vehicle. The electric machine is then able to operate in an alternator mode in particular to supply energy to the battery and/or to the on-board network of the vehicle, and in a motor mode, not only to ensure the starting of the combustion engine, but also to participate in the traction of the vehicle alone or in combination with the internal combustion engine.

During operation of the rotating electrical machine, the signal connector which is in direct contact with the electrical machine, will vibrate at the same frequency as the latter and at a frequency different from the electrical control module. Thus, at the connection between the signal connector and the electrical control module, friction will exist, causing contact wear. By vibrating at different frequencies, all the electrical connections are degraded, which can lead to electrical cuts and therefore a loss of signal.

The aim of the invention is to propose an assembly making it possible to avoid contact wear at the level of the signal connector.

To this end, the subject of the invention is an assembly for a hybrid vehicle, comprising a rotating electric machine, a signal connector arranged to be electrically connected to said electric machine and an elastic return member arranged to decouple the signal connector from the machine electric.

The elastic return member thus acts as a decoupling member making it possible to avoid the undesirable transfer of energy from the electrical machine to the signal connector. Since the electrical machine and the signal connector are decoupled, they will no longer vibrate at the same frequency. Indeed, the elastic return device makes it possible not to transmit the vibrations of the electrical machine to the signal connector.

In the description and the claims, the terms "external" and "internal" as well as the "axial" and "radial" orientations will be used to designate, according to the definitions given in the description, elements of the rotor, of the stator and/or of the electric machine. By convention, the "radial" orientation is directed orthogonally to the axial orientation. The axial orientation refers, depending on the context, to the axis of rotation of the rotor, the stator and/or the electrical machine. The "circumferential" orientation is directed orthogonally to the axial direction and orthogonal to the radial direction. The terms "external" and "internal" are used to define the relative position of an element in relation to another, in relation to the reference axis, an element close to the axis is thus qualified as internal as opposed to to an external element located radially at the periphery.

In the rest of the description, the orientation from front to back of the electric machine corresponds to an orientation going from left to right in FIG. the splined end of the shaft of the machine and by "rear" element an element located on the opposite side, that is to say on the side of the interconnector or the electrical control module.

According to one embodiment, the assembly further comprises an electrical control module comprising a complementary connector element intended to be electrically connected to said signal connector, said elastic return member also being arranged to bring the module and the connector into contact of signal so that they vibrate at the same frequency. Indeed, the elastic return member will exert a return force which will keep the signal connector and the electrical control module in contact. Since the signal connector is in contact with the electrical control module and decoupled from the electrical machine, it will vibrate at the same frequency as the electrical control module.

Advantageously, the electrical control module comprises an inverter.

According to one embodiment, the signal connector is of the female type and said complementary connector element is of the male type. Alternatively, the signal connector is of the male type and said complementary connector element is of the female type.

According to one embodiment, the electric machine is cooled by water or by oil, preferably by water.

According to one embodiment, the elastic return member is in oblong form.

According to one embodiment, the elastic return member comprises an inner lip. This lip is deformed during the installation of the return member on the connector and thus makes it possible not to modify the stiffness of the return member as such.

According to one embodiment, the elastic return member is an elastomer, preferably a silicone elastomer. Advantageously, the elastomer is free of sulphide. Indeed, when the material contains sulfides and heats up, there will be an emanation of sulfides which can cause damage to the silver connections.

• un rotor monté sur un arbre s’étendant suivant un axe X,
• un stator monté autour du rotor et muni d’un corps et d’un bobinage, le bobinage comportant une pluralité d’enroulements de phase,
• un palier monté à une extrémité du rotor et du stator et recevant l’arbre, et
• un interconnecteur fixé sur ledit palier et recevant les enroulements de phase,

ledit organe de rappel élastique étant en appui contre le connecteur de signal et une face d’appui dudit interconnecteur.According to one embodiment, the electric machine comprises:

• a rotor mounted on a shaft extending along an X axis,
• a stator mounted around the rotor and provided with a body and a winding, the winding comprising a plurality of phase windings,
• a bearing mounted at one end of the rotor and the stator and receiving the shaft, and
• an interconnector fixed to said bearing and receiving the phase windings,

said elastic return member bearing against the signal connector and a bearing face of said interconnector.

According to one embodiment, the connector comprises a shoulder on which said elastic return member bears so that it is crushed between said bearing face of the interconnector and said shoulder.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description and on examining the accompanying figures. These figures are given only by way of illustration but in no way limit the invention.

shows a perspective view of an assembly according to the present invention.

shows a longitudinal sectional view of the rotary electrical machine of Figure 1.

shows a top view of the rear part of the electric machine of figure 2.

shows a partial sectional view illustrating the connection between the signal connector and the interconnect according to the present invention.

represents a partial sectional view illustrating the connection between the signal connector and the complementary connector element of the electrical control module according to the present invention.

shows a perspective view of the signal connector visible in Figure 3.

shows a perspective view of the signal connector of Figure 5 with the elastic return member.

Identical, similar or analogous elements retain the same reference from one figure to another.

FIG. 1 represents an assembly 1 for a hybrid vehicle, comprising a rotary electric machine 10 and an electric control module 55. Advantageously, the electric control module 55 is arranged on a rear end face of the rotary electric machine 10. The module electrical control 55 preferably comprises a power inverter.

FIG. 2 represents the electric machine 10 comprising a polyphase stator 11 surrounding an X-axis rotor 12 mounted on a shaft 13. The stator 11 of the machine 10 surrounds the rotor 12 with the presence of an air gap between the internal periphery of the stator 11 and the outer periphery of the rotor 12. The stator 11 is carried by a casing 14 provided with a front bearing 17 and a rear bearing 18. The bearings 17 and 18 each comprise a bearing 15 in order to ensure mounting in rotation of the shaft 13 relative to the casing 14 of the electric machine 10. Preferably, the bearings 17, 18 are made of steel or aluminum.

The assembly of the electric machine 10 is carried out from the rear by means of fixing tie rods 19 allowing the maintenance of all the bearings 17 and 18, of the stator 11, and of the rotor 12. Four tie rods are preferably used. 19 spaced two by two at an angle of 90 degrees plus or minus 10 degrees, as shown in Figure 1. One of the bearings 17 or 19 may also include attachment lugs to an element of a gearbox or to another component of the motor vehicle.

The rotor 12 - bearings 17 and 18 - fixing tie rods 19 assembly is mounted on the same side of the electric machine 10 (from the rear to the front). It is thus possible to implement a simplified, standard, and automated assembly method.

The shaft 13 is equipped with straight, helical or smooth splines with clamping to achieve the coupling with a gearbox, or a motor vehicle train differential.

This electric machine 10 may be intended to be coupled to a gearbox belonging to a motor vehicle traction chain. The machine 10 is then capable of operating in an alternator mode in particular to supply energy to the battery and to the on-board network of the vehicle, and in an engine mode, not only to ensure the starting of the heat engine of the vehicle, but also to participate in the traction of the vehicle alone or in combination with the internal combustion engine. The power of machine 10 may be between 10kW and 50kW. Alternatively, the electric machine 10 could be installed on an axle of the motor vehicle, in particular a rear axle.

More precisely, the rotor 12 comprises a body 19 in the form of a stack of laminations to reduce eddy currents. Permanent magnets are implanted in openings of the body 19. The magnets can be implanted in a V configuration. Alternatively, the magnets are implanted radially inside the cavities, the facing faces of two adjacent magnets being of the same polarity. It is then a flux concentration configuration. The magnets may be rare earth or ferrite depending on the applications and the desired power of the machine 10. Alternatively, the poles of the rotor 12 may be formed by coils.

In addition, the rotor 12 comprises two flanges 22 each pressed against an axial end face of the rotor 12. These flanges 22 provide axial retention of the magnets inside the cavities and also serve to balance the rotor 12. A spring may also be inserted inside each cavity in order to radially hold the magnets inside the cavities.

Furthermore, the stator 11 comprises a body 20 constituted by a bundle of laminations as well as a winding 21. The body 20 is formed by a stack of sheets of laminations independent of each other and held in the form of a bundle by means of a suitable fastening system. The stack of laminations is provided with notches, for example of the semi-closed type, equipped with notch insulation for mounting the winding 21 of the stator 11. The body 20 is provided with teeth delimiting two by two notches for the assembly of winding 21 of stator 11.

The winding 21 comprises a set of phase windings 48 passing through the notches of the body 21 of the stator 11 and forming buns 25 projecting from either side of the body 20 of the stator 11. The phase windings 48 are obtained here from conductive elements in the form of pins connected together for example by welding. These windings are for example three-phase windings connected in star or in triangle. The outputs of the phase windings 48 are connected to the electrical control module 55, preferably a power inverter, via an interconnector 54. This module comprises power elements, such as MOFSET type transistors, connected to the phase and neutral outputs, as well as an electronic circuit for controlling said power elements.

As represented in FIG. 3, the interconnector 54 comprises two blocks of inputs/outputs 48a, 48b of the phase windings 48, each block comprising three inputs/outputs of the phase windings 48. These phase windings 48, which the can also be called more simply phase inputs/outputs can be phase inputs through which the bearings of the stator are electrically powered or phase outputs through which the power generated by the windings is collected. The phase inputs/outputs 48 can also be neutral points, in particular in the case of a star connection.

Those skilled in the art will understand that a rotating electrical machine operating in single three-phase comprises a single block of inputs/outputs, that a rotating electrical machine operating in double three-phase - as in the example of the present invention - comprises two blocks of inputs/outputs, that a rotating electrical machine operating in triple three-phase comprises three input/output blocks, etc.

The rear bearing 18 further comprises a plurality of openings for the passage of the phase inputs/outputs 48.

The interconnector 54 is fixed on a face of the rear bearing 18 facing the outside of the electric machine 10. It will be possible to provide indexing means to guarantee correct positioning of the interconnector 54 with respect to the bearing 18, in particular to guarantee the phase outputs 48 and the neutral outputs next to the corresponding stations of the interconnector 54.

The means for fixing the interconnector 54 to the bearing 18 may consist of fixing members 57, such as screws, passing through fixing holes made in the interconnector and located in coincidence with tapped holes made in the rear bearing 18 .

The interconnector 54 comprises a body 53 overmoulded on phase and neutral conductive tracks. Each track is embedded in the body 53 with the exception of portions of free ends 49. In this case, the free ends 49 are folded axially upwards with respect to the molded connecting portion. The body 53 is advantageously made of an insulating material, in particular plastic. The body 53 has an annular shape substantially coaxial with the shaft 13.

Furthermore, as can be seen in Figure 3, an inlet 34 and an outlet (not visible on the cutting plane) of cooling liquid are arranged to allow the circulation of the liquid inside a chamber 38 s extending along the outer periphery of the stator 11 (see Figure 2). The coolant may for example be water or oil, preferably water-based. The chamber 38 is delimited by the outer periphery of the front bearing 17 and by the inner periphery of the rear bearing 18. Two seals 39 are located at the axial ends of the chamber 38 to ensure its sealing.

As illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the interconnector 54 is intended to be electrically connected with a signal connector 50. The signal connector 50 is intended to be inserted inside a cavity 66 provided in a projecting part 58 of the interconnector 54. The fixing of the signal connector 50 with the interconnector 54, in particular with the part 58 can be achieved for example by snap-fastening using locking means 59, such as two clips 59 visible in Figure 4. These clips thus make it possible to hold the signal connector 50 in position before it is itself connected to the electrical control module 55 which will compress it to the bottom of the cavity 66 (see Figure 5 ). In other words, the signal connector 50 is in contact with the interconnector 54 only through these clips 59 and only when it is not connected with the electrical control module 55. When the connector connector 50 is connected with the electrical control module 55, the clips 59 no longer serve to lock the signal connector 50 in the cavity 66 of the interconnector 54.

As can be seen in Figure 5, the signal connector 50 is intended to be electrically connected with a complementary connector element 60 belonging to the electrical control module 55.

The signal connector 50 conveys the low voltage control signals, such as signals relating to the angular position of the rotor coming for example from a Hall effect sensor or temperature signals coming for example from a sensor integrated in the stator of the electric machine 10.

The assembly 1 further comprises an elastic return member 5 arranged to decouple the signal connector 50 from the electrical machine 10. The elastic return member thus makes it possible to separate these two parts. In the example considered, the elastic return member 5 bears against the signal connector 50 and the interconnector 54, in particular a bearing face 80 of said interconnector 54.

As illustrated in Figures 4 to 7, the signal connector 50 has a shoulder 51 on one face of which is mounted in support an elastic return member 5. The elastic return member 5 goes around the signal connector 50 , in particular of a protruding part 52 located forwards, and has an oblong shape.

The elastic return member 5 is a material based on elastomer, and/or rubber and/or silicone, preferably a silicone elastomer.

Furthermore, it should be noted that when the signal connector 50 positioned inside the cavity 66 of the interconnector 54 cooperates with the complementary connector element 60, the elastic return member 5 comes to bear against the inner bearing face 80 of interconnector 54 so as to be crushed between bearing face 80 of interconnector 54 and said shoulder 51.

In a variant not shown, the elastic return member 5 can bear against the signal connector 50 and a bearing face of the bearing 18.

In addition, the elastic return member 5 comprises an inner lip 6 placed in contact with the projecting part 52 of the signal connector 50.

In the example considered, the signal connector 50 is of the female type and said complementary connector element 60 is of the male type. The connector element 60 comprises terminals connected to switching elements of the control module 55 and intended to cooperate with the power terminals of the signal connector 50.

The connector element 60 also comprises electrical terminals connected to a control unit and intended to cooperate with the terminals of the signal connector 50 conveying the control signals.

Of course, the foregoing description has been given by way of example only and does not limit the scope of the invention, which would not be departed from by replacing the various elements with any other equivalents.

Further, the various features, variations, and/or embodiments of the present invention may be associated with each other in various combinations, so long as they are not mutually exclusive or mutually exclusive.

Claims (10)

Assembly (1) for a hybrid vehicle, comprising a rotary electric machine (10) and a signal connector (50) arranged to be electrically connected to the said electric machine (10), characterized in that it further comprises an elastic return member (5) arranged to decouple the signal connector (50) from the electrical machine (10). Assembly (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises an electrical control module (55) comprising a complementary connector element (60) intended to be electrically connected to said signal connector (50), said elastic return (5) also being arranged to bring the module (60) and the signal connector (50) into contact so that they vibrate at the same frequency. Assembly (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the said signal connector (50) is of the female type and the said complementary connector element (60) is of the male type. Assembly (1) according to Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the electric machine is water-cooled. Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastic return member (5) is oblong. Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastic return member (5) comprises an inner lip (6). Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastic return member (5) is an elastomer, preferably a silicone elastomer. Assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electric machine (10) comprises:

• a rotor (12) mounted on a shaft (13) extending along an axis (X),
• a stator (11) mounted around the rotor and provided with a body (20) and a winding (21), the winding comprising a plurality of phase windings (48),
• a bearing (18) mounted at one end of the rotor and the stator and receiving the shaft (13), and
• an interconnector (54) fixed to said bearing (18) and receiving the phase windings (48),

said elastic return member (5) bearing against the signal connector (50) and a bearing face (80) of said interconnector (54). Assembly (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said connector (50) comprises a shoulder (51) on which said elastic return member (5) bears so that it is crushed between said bearing face (80) of the interconnector (54) and said shoulder (51). Assembly (1) according to Claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the interconnector (54) comprises means (59) for locking the signal connector (50).