ROTOR BEARING ARRANGEMENT FOR VOLTAGE ENGINE

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a generator with a rotor bearing arrangement for a flow power plant.

[0002] Current power plants, such as tidal power plants or power plants located in rivers, as well as wind turbines, use generators that, in the case of tidal power plants or hydroelectric power plants, are completely submerged in the flowing water and are often cooled by the surrounding water. This particularly applies to generators in which the stator is supported by a housing and the rotor must be mounted on a stationary axle journal that is non-rotatably connected to the housing. To protect this bearing from the surrounding water and / or contaminants, the bearing is sealed using special seals, such as a seawater seal, which interacts with the axle journal.

[0003] Bearings themselves, in particular for wind turbines - see DE102014201465 A1, or water turbines - see WO2008 / 031426 A2 or EP3628858 A1, are known, but the problem with such arrangements is that, for example, when servicing the bearing, a complex disassembly of the components, in particular the sealing arrangement or housing parts, is necessary, during which water can also penetrate into the sensitive interior of the bearing, which can lead to increased corrosion.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a generator for a flow power plant with a rotor bearing arrangement which can be assembled and disassembled easily and quickly and in which the bearing interior is reliably protected against the ingress of water.

[0005] This object is achieved by a generator with a rotor bearing arrangement according to claim 1.

[0006] The following describes a generator for a flow power plant with a stator and an internal rotor arranged in a housing, wherein the stator is connected to the housing in a rotationally fixed manner and the rotor has a rotor carrier which is designed to support rotor laminated cores or permanent rotor magnets radially on the outside and defines a cylindrical rotor interior radially on the inside. Furthermore, the rotor can be positioned relative to the stator with the aid of a rotor bearing arrangement, wherein the rotor bearing arrangement has a stationary axle journal which is designed to spatially arrange a rotor in a stator and to hold it at a predetermined distance from the stator. Furthermore, the rotor bearing arrangement comprises a bearing arrangement which is designed to rotatably mount the rotor on and around the axle journal, wherein the bearing arrangement has a bearing carrier which can be connected to the rotor in a rotationally fixed manner and has a hollow cylindrical bearing carrier section.This bearing carrier section defines a bearing carrier interior into which the axle journal extends.

[0007] In order to enable the rotor bearing arrangement to be installed and removed from the generator as easily as possible, the hollow-cylindrical bearing support section is dimensioned such that it can be inserted into a rotor interior defined by the rotor and detachably connected to the rotor, so that the axle journal and the bearing arrangement are designed as an assembly unit which, as a whole, can be inserted into the rotor interior and removed from the rotor interior. Furthermore, the generator housing further comprises a radially inwardly extending housing section which, in the operating state, is connected to the axle journal of the rotor bearing arrangement. The generator further comprises at least one locking device which is designed to cooperate with a locking device on the rotor, so that, in the installed state, the rotor can be locked in its predetermined position in the stator.

[0008] This allows the rotor bearing assembly to be removed from the generator as a complete unit, allowing the housing or generator to remain in place, especially underwater, and only removing the rotor bearing assembly and transporting it to land or the ground for maintenance. The locking device also ensures that when removing the rotor bearing assembly, the rotor does not collide uncontrollably with the stator due to magnetic forces, which would require the entire generator to be disassembled and reassembled.

[0009] According to an advantageous embodiment, the bearing arrangement has at least one bearing unit, which comprises at least one inner ring and one outer ring, and which is arranged between the axle journal and the bearing carrier. The axle journal is arranged such that the at least one inner ring is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the axle journal and the at least one outer ring is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the bearing carrier. This makes it possible for the bearing carrier, the at least one bearing unit, and the axle journal to be designed as a common unit that can be assembled and disassembled together. The bearing units themselves therefore do not have to be removed from the bearing carrier or the axle journal during disassembly or assembly of the rotor bearing arrangement in order to remove or insert the entire assembly into or out of the generator.

[0010] The bearing units themselves can be roller bearings or plain bearings. It is particularly preferred that the bearing units be designed as rolling bearings, in particular tapered roller bearings, which are designed to bear high loads and withstand tilting moments.

[0011] In particular, an embodiment is preferred in which two bearing units are provided, which are arranged at a distance from one another and are arranged on the axle journal. According to a further preferred exemplary embodiment, the two spaced-apart bearing units are arranged with respect to the rotor such that both are arranged radially inside and axially overlapping in the rotor interior, in particular within a rotor carrier. They are preferably axially equally spaced in the center of the rotor and in particular in the center of a rotor center axis. The bearing units are preferably tapered roller bearings in an O arrangement. This enables particularly stable, tilt-proof, and precisely positioned mounting of the rotor relative to the stator.

[0012] In addition to the design of the bearing units with an inner or outer ring, it is of course also possible for the bearing support or the axle journal itself to be designed as an inner or outer ring element. In this case, the bearing support and / or the axle journal can, in particular, have raceways on which rolling elements roll.

[0013] However, since the bearings are wearing parts, it is preferable to design the bearing carrier and axle journal as separate elements and to attach the bearing units or the corresponding inner / outer ring to the bearing carrier or axle journal.

[0014] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the axle journal further comprises a radially extending flange designed to be connectable to a stationary housing surrounding the generator. This allows the generator interior to be sealed off from the outside environment. However, it can be provided that the surrounding fluid, in particular water, can penetrate into the generator interior via the connection between the flange and the housing to act as a coolant for the generator.

[0015] It is particularly preferred that the flange and / or the housing have at least one, preferably several, circumferentially distributed through-opening(s). These through-openings allow access, in particular assembly access, to the interior of the generator. For example, a tool can be guided through the through-openings to a fastener with which the bearing assembly is attached to the rotor in order to release the connection between the bearing carrier and the rotor. This also allows work to be carried out inside the generator without disassembling the entire generator.

[0016] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the bearing support has at least one radially extending flange section, which has a plurality of circumferentially distributed, axially extending fastening means receptacles, so that the bearing support can be fastened to the rotor by means of axially extending fastening means. The bearing support flange thus enables the bearing support to be fastened to an axially accessible end face of the rotor, so that accessibility is not obstructed or restricted by the stator arranged radially on the outside.

[0017] With such axial accessibility, it is also particularly preferred that the through-openings provided in the flange and / or in the housing also extend axially and are preferably aligned with the multiple circumferentially distributed fastening means receptacles of the bearing support. The axially extending or aligned fastening means are then accessible via correspondingly aligned through-openings in the housing or the flange of the axle journal, so that to disassemble the rotor bearing assembly, only the fastening between the axle journal flange and the housing and between the rotor and the bearing support needs to be loosened in order to remove the entire rotor bearing assembly from the generator interior or to fasten it in a similar manner in the generator interior.

[0018] Preferably, the passage openings configured in this way can be covered by a cover. The cover can be designed to be watertight. Alternatively, the cover element can also not completely seal against water ingress, particularly if the generator is cooled by the surrounding water. In this case, the cover merely prevents contaminants from entering the generator interior, but does not completely prevent water from entering.

[0019] According to a further preferred embodiment, the rotor bearing arrangement further comprises at least one sealing arrangement which is designed to seal the bearing carrier interior against the ingress of water. Even if water is preferred as a coolant in the generator interior of underwater generators, the ingress of water into the bearing unit or into the bearing carrier interior itself must be avoided, as this damages the bearing units and can lead to a reduced service life. The reason for this is the increased corrosion of a bearing unit that is exposed to water. The sealing arrangement is arranged on at least one axial side of the bearing arrangement, preferably on the side equipped with the flange. On this side, the axle journal enters the bearing carrier interior and thus opens the bearing carrier interior to the outside environment, so that water ingress is possible here.

[0020] However, since water can also diffuse into the bearing interior via the connection between the bearing support and the rotor, it is further advantageous to provide a radially extending cover element that is attached to the hollow cylindrical bearing support section and seals off the bearing support interior. Preferably, the cover element is arranged on the side facing away from the sealing arrangement. This ensures that water that diffuses into the rotor interior between the bearing support and the rotor cannot penetrate into the bearing support interior.

[0021] Of course, it is also possible to form the cover element in one piece with the bearing support. The bearing support then has a pot shape, with the radially extending cover element forming the pot base. This allows for a particularly secure seal for the bearing assembly.

[0022] With the help of the seal assembly and the cover element, the bearing assembly is designed as a so-called cassette bearing assembly, in which the bearing units are arranged in a completely enclosed bearing carrier interior. The bearing carrier interior is thus completely sealed off from the environment radially by the bearing carrier and the journal, and axially by the cover element and the seal. The entire unit can be removed from or inserted into the generator interior without water penetrating the sensitive bearing carrier interior.

[0023] According to a further preferred embodiment, the sealing arrangement can have a sealing lip carrier that carries a plurality of sealing lips and an optional guide sleeve against which the plurality of sealing lips abut. The guide sleeve can also be formed, for example, over the axle journal. Such a sealing arrangement has proven particularly resistant to water ingress, since the plurality of sealing lips can reliably prevent water from entering the sensitive bearing interior. Furthermore, the sealing lip elements and the guide sleeve can be easily replaced when worn.

[0024] Such a sealing arrangement can have rotating sealing lips that are attached to a rotating seal carrier and engage a stationary thrust sleeve, or stationary sealing lips that are attached to a stationary seal carrier and engage a rotating thrust sleeve. As shown in a particularly preferred embodiment, the sealing lip carrier can be attached to the axle journal and the thrust sleeve to the bearing carrier, or the sealing lip carrier can be attached to the bearing carrier and the thrust sleeve to the axle journal. As mentioned above, the thrust sleeve and / or the sealing lip carrier can also be formed integrally with the axle journal and / or bearing carrier.

[0025] Of course, other sealing arrangements are also possible, including a combination of rotating and stationary sealing lips. The only important thing for the sealing arrangement is that it can prevent as much water as possible from entering the sensitive bearing interior.

[0026] Furthermore, the described generator enables a stable and precisely positioned arrangement of the rotor in the stator, while simultaneously allowing easy maintenance of the rotor bearing assembly if the seal and / or bearing units need to be replaced. Furthermore, such a generator can essentially remain in its position in a nacelle on a wind turbine tower or underwater, even if maintenance work needs to be performed on the rotor bearing assembly.

[0027] If the rotor bearing assembly is to be removed from the generator, as mentioned above, the generator housing is provided with a radially inwardly extending housing section which, in the operating state, is connected to the axle journal, preferably to the optionally formed flange of the axle journal of the rotor bearing assembly, and furthermore has at least one locking device which is designed to interact with a locking device on the rotor, so that, in the assembled state, the rotor can be locked in its predetermined position in the stator. By means of this locking device, it can be ensured that even when the rotor bearing assembly is removed, the rotor does not collide uncontrollably with the stator due to the magnetic forces, which would result in the entire generator having to be disassembled and reassembled.

[0028] The locking device can be implemented, for example, via a simple screw fastening, in which a screw can be screwed into a screw receptacle provided on the rotor, whereby the screw can extend through a through-hole in the housing section of the generator. Of course, multiple locking devices can also be present, or the locking device can, for example, have multiple screw connections.

[0029] Further advantages and advantageous embodiments are set forth in the description, the drawings, and the claims. In particular, the combinations of features set forth in the description and the drawings are purely exemplary, so that the features may also be present individually or in other combinations.

[0030] The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings. The exemplary embodiments and the combinations shown in the exemplary embodiments are purely exemplary and are not intended to define the scope of the invention. This scope is defined solely by the appended claims.

[0031] They show: Fig. 1: a schematic sectional view of a generator designed as an underwater generator for a flow power plant according to a first preferred embodiment; and Fig. 2: a schematic sectional view of a generator designed as an underwater generator for a flow power plant according to a second preferred embodiment.

[0032] In the following, identical or functionally equivalent elements are identified by the same reference symbols.

[0033] The Figures 1 and 2show schematically a sectional view through a generator, in particular through an underwater generator, 1 with a stator 2 and a rotor 4. The stator 2 has laminated cores 6 and is carried by a housing 8. The housing 8 is stationary and can, as in Figure 1 and 2 shown, be composed of several parts 8a, 8b.

[0034] The rotor 4 is designed as an internal rotor and arranged radially inside the stator 2. It has permanent magnets 10 that are carried by a rotor carrier 12, wherein the permanent magnets are in particular screwed or glued onto the rotor carrier 12. The permanent magnets are preferably made of neodymium and have a particularly high magnetic force. Instead of the preferred permanent magnets, the rotor can also have laminated cores that are carried by the rotor carrier 12. In the illustrated embodiments, the rotor carrier 12 has a radially outer and a radially inner, axially extending section 12a, 12b, which are connected to a radially extending disc-shaped element 12c. The rotor laminated cores 10 are carried by the radially outer, axially extending rotor carrier section 12a.The radially inner, axially extending rotor support section 12b forms a rotor interior 13 and is further configured such that it is non-rotatably connected to a rotor input shaft 14, for example, via fastening means 16, so that the entire rotor 4 can be set in rotation. The rotor input shaft 14 is non-rotatably connected, for example, to the rotor blades (not shown) driven by a flow. In the case of other flow power plants, such as a wind turbine, the rotor input shaft 14 can also be connected to a gearbox.

[0035] As continues the Figures 1 and 2As can be seen, the housing section 8b extends radially inward in the direction of the rotor input shaft 14 and carries a sealing arrangement 18 at its radially inner end 8c, which cooperates with the rotor input shaft 14 to prevent contaminants from the outside environment from penetrating into a generator interior 20 defined by the housing 8. In the exemplary embodiments shown in the figures, the sealing arrangement 18 is designed from a plurality of sealing lips which run stationary against a run-up sleeve 21 which is designed to rotate on the rotor input shaft 14. Of course, it is also possible to fasten the sealing lips to the rotor input shaft 14 and to have them run against the housing section 8c.

[0036] The rotor 4 itself is secured in its position relative to the stator 2 via a rotor bearing arrangement 100. The rotor bearing arrangement 100 comprises a stationary axle journal 22 having a cylindrically extending portion 22a and a radially extending flange portion 22b. The radially extending flange portion 22b of the stationary axle journal 22 is in turn connected to the housing 8 via fastening elements 24, so that the generator chamber 20 is closed off. In the illustrated embodiments, the housing 8 has a further, radially inwardly extending housing portion 8d, which cooperates at its radially inner end with the flange portion 22b of the axle journal 22.

[0037] The rotor bearing assembly 100 further comprises a bearing assembly 25 with a bearing support 26, which is dimensioned such that it can be introduced into the rotor interior 13. The bearing support 26 comprises a hollow cylindrical bearing support section 26a and an axially extending flange section 26b. The cylindrical outer surface of the bearing support section 26a contacts the cylindrical inner surface of the rotor support section 12b. It is further shown that the axially extending flange section 26b of the bearing support extends along an end face of the rotor support 12 and is fastened to the rotor support 12 by means of fastening means 28, so that the bearing support 26 is designed to rotate. It is particularly preferred that the fastening means 28 extend axially, so that they are accessible from the axial outside in order to release the connection between the bearing support 26 and the rotor support 12b.

[0038] To ensure such accessibility to the fastening means 28, the axle journal flange 22b further comprises through-openings 30 through which a tool can be introduced into the generator interior in order to loosen or tighten the fastening means 28. Depending on the design, such a through-opening can also be formed in the radially extending housing section 8d. If radial accessibility is selected instead of axial accessibility of the fastening means, the through-opening(s) is / are preferably arranged in the axially extending housing section 8a.

[0039] During operation, the through openings 30 can be closed by means of cover elements 32.

[0040] Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, two bearing units 34, 36 are provided between the bearing support 26 and the axle journal 22, which rotatably support the rotating components consisting of the rotor 4 and the bearing support 26 relative to the stationary axle journal 22. The bearing units 36, 38 can be roller bearings, as shown, but it is also possible for the bearing units to be plain bearings.

[0041] Preferably, as shown in the figures, the two spaced-apart bearing units 34, 36 are arranged relative to the rotor 4 such that both are arranged radially inside and axially overlapping with the rotor carrier 12a and are arranged axially to the left and right of the axial center of the rotor carrier, for example, the disc-shaped connecting element 12c. Preferably, the bearing units 34, 36 are tapered roller bearings in an O-arrangement.

[0042] In the illustrated embodiment, each bearing unit 36, 38 comprises an inner ring 40, 42, which are connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the axle journal 22, and outer rings 44, 46, which are connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the bearing carrier 26. In the illustrated embodiment, rolling elements 48, 49 are present between the inner rings and outer rings, which roll on the inner rings 40, 42 and outer rings 44, 46, respectively. Since the bearing carrier 26 can be completely detached from the rotor 4 and the housing 8 via the fastening means 28, and the axle journal 22 can be completely detached from the housing 8 via the fastening means 24, the rotor bearing assembly 100 can be removed in its entirety from the generator interior 20.

[0043] As mentioned above, in the case of underwater generators, the generator interior 20 can be flooded with water, which acts as a coolant for the generator. However, since this water is harmful to the bearings 36, 38 and can also enter the generator interior 20 during removal or installation, during maintenance, and / or generally when loosening the fastening means 24 or 28 and damage the bearings 36, 38, it is further provided that a bearing support interior 50, which is formed by the hollow cylindrical section 26a of the bearing support, is completely sealed off from the outside environment, in particular the generator interior 20. For this purpose, the bearing support 26 has a cover element 52 at its end facing the rotor input shaft 14, which is sealingly attached to the bearing support 26. Alternatively, the cover element 52 can be formed integrally with the bearing support 26.

[0044] On the side facing away from the rotor input shaft 14, however, a sealing device 54 is provided which interacts with the axle journal 22 or the bearing carrier 26, so that here too the bearing interior 50 is completely sealed from the outside environment.

[0045] This provides a cassette-shaped rotor bearing arrangement 100 which can be removed from or inserted into the generator 1 even underwater, without running the risk of exposing the sensitive bearing interior 50 to a high risk of corrosion due to water ingress.

[0046] The sealing arrangement 54 itself comprises, as in Fig. 1 and 2 shown, several sealing lips 56, which are attached to a sealing lip carrier 58 and run against a thrust sleeve 60. The sealing lip carrier 58 can be connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the axle journal 22, in particular to the flange area 22b of the axle journal 22, as in Figure 1shown, however, it is also possible to design the sealing lip carrier 58 in a rotationally fixed manner with the bearing carrier 26, as in Figure 2 shown.

[0047] In the Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, a stationary sealing lip arrangement 56 is thus presented, which runs against a rotating thrust sleeve 60, wherein the thrust sleeve 60 in this case is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the bearing carrier 26, while in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 In the case shown, a rotating sealing lip arrangement 56 is presented, which runs against a stationary starting sleeve 60, which in this case is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the axle journal 22.

[0048] Of course, other designs of the sealing arrangement are also possible; however, it should be ensured that no water can penetrate the sensitive bearing interior 50 via the sealing arrangement 54. Since both the sealing lip carrier 58 and the thrust sleeve 60 are attached in their entirety to the axle journal 22 and the bearing carrier 26, respectively, the entire sealing arrangement 54 is also part of the rotor bearing arrangement 100 and can be removed from the generator interior 20 together with the bearing arrangement and the axle journal. This makes it possible to provide a completely sealed rotor bearing arrangement 100, which can be installed in or removed from the generator in its entirety.

[0049] To enable such disassembly, it is further provided that the positioning between stator 2 and rotor 4 can be fixed by means of a locking device 62, even if the rotor bearing arrangement 60 is removed from the generator. In the illustrated embodiment of the Figures 1 and 2The locking device 62 is formed via a through-opening 64 in the stationary housing 8d, which extends axially. This through-opening 64 is aligned with a corresponding receptacle 66 in the rotor carrier 12. If locking is required, a locking element, for example a screw element 68, can be introduced through the opening 64, which extends into the receptacle 66 for locking and thus secures the rotor 4 in its position relative to the stator 2 or generally in its position in the generator interior 20. Radial, axial, or circumferential displacement of the rotor 4 is no longer possible once the fastening means 68 has been introduced into the locking device 62. This, in turn, allows the entire rotor bearing assembly 100 to be removed from the generator interior without any displacement of the rotor in the generator that could damage the generator. In particular, the strong permanent magnets carried by the rotor, e.g.Made of neodymium, they develop enormous tensile force, so removing the rotor 4 is normally only possible with extreme effort. Should the magnets 10 touch the stator 2, separation is virtually impossible due to the tensile force.

[0050] Overall, the rotor bearing assembly presented here provides a unit that is easy to assemble and disassemble, allowing it to be easily installed and removed from a generator, especially an underwater generator, without requiring special waterproofing precautions to protect the water-sensitive bearing units. For example, it is also possible to replace the rotor bearing assembly directly at the installation position of the generator, such as the underwater position, or generally to remove the rotor bearing assembly from the generator without a complex drying process. The enclosed nature of the rotor bearing assembly ensures that the entire bearing unit is protected from the harmful corrosion effects of water. List of reference symbols

[0051] 1 Generator 100 Rotor bearing arrangement 2 Stator 4 Rotor 6 Stator laminated core 8 Housing 10 Permanent magnets 12 Rotor carrier 13 Rotor interior 14 Rotor input shaft 16 Fasteners 18 Sealing arrangement 20 Generator interior 22 Axle journal 24 Fasteners 25 Bearing arrangement 26 Bearing carrier 28 Fasteners 30 Through-hole 32 Cover element 36, 38 Bearing unit 40, 42 Inner ring 44, 48 Outer ring 48, 49 Rolling elements 50 Bearing interior 52 Cover element 54 Sealing arrangement 56 Sealing lip arrangement 58 Sealing lip carrier 60 Thrust sleeve 62 Locking device 64 Through-hole 66 Receiving opening 68 Locking element

Claims

1. Generator (1) for a continuous-flow power plant having a stator (2) and an internal rotor (4), which are arranged in a housing (8), wherein the stator (2) is connected to the housing (8) so as to rotate with it and the rotor (4) has a rotor support (12), which is designed to support rotor laminated cores or rotor permanent magnets (10) radially on the outside and defines a cylindrical rotor interior (13) radially on the inside, wherein the rotor (4) can further be positioned relative to the stator (2) with the aid of a rotor bearing arrangement (100), wherein the rotor bearing arrangement (100) has a stationary spindle (22), which is designed to arrange the rotor (4) spatially in the stator (2) and keep it at a predetermined distance from the stator (2), and a bearing arrangement (25), which is designed to support the rotor (4) rotatably on and around the spindle (22), wherein the bearing arrangement (25) has a bearing support (26), which can be connected to the rotor (4) so as to rotate with it and has a hollow-cylindrical bearing support section (26a) which defines a bearing support interior (50), and the spindle (22) extends into the bearing support interior (50), wherein the hollow-cylindrical bearing support section (26a) is dimensioned in such a way that it can be inserted into a rotor interior (13) defined by the rotor (4) and can be detachably connected to the rotor (4), so that the spindle (22) and the bearing arrangement (25) are formed as an assembly unit which can be inserted in its entirety into the rotor interior (13) and can be removed from the rotor interior (13), and the generator housing (8) further has a radially inwardly extending housing section (8d), which is connected to the spindle (22) of the rotor bearing arrangement (100) in the operating state, and the generator (1) further comprises at least one locking device (62), which is designed to interact with a locking device (66) on the rotor (4), so that the rotor (4) can be locked in its specified position in the stator (2) in the assembled state.

2. Generator (1) according to Claim 1, wherein the bearing arrangement (25) further comprises at least one bearing unit (36; 38) having an inner ring (40; 42) and an outer ring (44; 46), the bearing unit being arranged between the spindle (22) and the bearing support (26), and wherein the spindle (22) is arranged in such a way that the at least one inner ring (40; 42) is connected to the spindle (22) so as to rotate with it and the at least one outer ring (44; 46) is connected to the bearing support (26) so as to rotate with it.

3. Generator (1) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the spindle (22) further has a radially extending flange (22b), which is designed to be connectable to the stationary housing (8), which surrounds the generator (1).

4. Generator (1) according to Claim 3, wherein the housing (8) and / or the flange (22b) has at least one passage opening (30), wherein a plurality of circumferentially distributed passage openings are preferably provided.

5. Generator (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bearing support (26) further has a radially extending flange section (26b), which preferably has a plurality of circumferentially distributed, axially extending fastening means receptacles (28), so that the bearing support (26) can be fastened to the rotor (4) by means of axially extending fastening means.

6. Generator (1) according to Claims 4 and 5, wherein the at least one passage opening (30) is formed as an axially extending passage opening, which is arranged coaxially in relation to the axially extending fastening means receptacles (28) of the bearing support (26).

7. Generator (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one sealing arrangement (54), which is designed to seal off the bearing support interior (50) against the ingress of water, is further provided on at least one axial side, preferably on the side equipped with the bearing flange (26b), of the bearing arrangement (25).

8. Generator (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a radially extending cover element (52), which is fastened to the hollow-cylindrical bearing support section (26a) and closes off the bearing support interior (50), is further provided, wherein the cover element (52) is preferably arranged on the side facing away from the sealing arrangement (54).

9. Generator (1) according to any of Claims 6 to 8, wherein the sealing arrangement (54) has a sealing lip support (58), which supports a plurality of sealing lips (56) and has a run-on sleeve (60) on which the plurality of sealing lips (56) run.

10. Generator (1) according to Claim 9, wherein the sealing lip support (58) is fastened to the spindle (22) and the run-on sleeve (60) is fastened to the bearing support (26), or the sealing lip support (58) is fastened to the bearing support (26) and the run-on sleeve (60) is fastened to the spindle (22).