Modular Pancake Generator Stator Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pancake style motor/generators face challenges in balancing size, performance, power, and manufacturability/serviceability, requiring innovative design solutions to optimize their performance, manufacturability, and cost for specific applications.
Innovation Solution
A modular pancake-type electrical generator design featuring a rotor with spaced-apart magnets and a modular stator comprising coil modules, supported by a housing with molded receptacles and mechanical keying for phase alignment, allowing for easy assembly, disassembly, and individual module replacement, which simplifies manufacturing and servicing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a traditional pancake-style motor/generator is designed to optimize performance and power, then the size and complexity of the device increases, making manufacturing and servicing difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The stator is divided into multiple independent coil modules that can be manufactured separately and assembled into the housing. Each coil module is a discrete unit that can be produced using standard winding techniques, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining the required power output through modular scalability.
2Volume of moving object
If the pancake-style motor/generator is designed for compact size, then accessibility for maintenance and repair becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The coil modules are designed as independent, removable units that can be accessed individually through the housing. This segmentation allows maintenance personnel to service or replace specific coil modules without disassembling the entire device, improving serviceability while maintaining a compact overall size.
Solution Approach 2:
The coil modules are extracted from a traditional integrated stator design and positioned within the housing as separate, accessible units. This extraction allows individual coil modules to be removed and replaced independently, significantly improving ease of repair while keeping the generator compact.
3Ease of manufacture
If the pancake-style motor/generator uses a modular design for easier manufacturing, then the number of parts and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stator is segmented into coil modules that can be manufactured using standard, well-established winding techniques. This segmentation allows each module to be produced independently using conventional equipment and methods, improving ease of manufacture without requiring specialized assembly processes despite the increased number of parts.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The modular design enhances reliability, reduces maintenance, and provides economic advantages by enabling automatic electrical connections and easy replacement of coil modules, improving the generator's performance and longevity across various applications.
Implementation Method 1
the rotor often uses permanent magnets and is not externally excited, while the stator comprises a series of externally-excited conductive windings
Data Source
AI summary
According to an example embodiment, a modular pancake-type electrical generator includes a rotor and a modular stator, along with a support for the modular stator. The rotor includes a plurality of spaced-apart magnets around its perimeter, while the modular stator comprises a plurality of coil modules. The support is configured for receiving and retaining the plurality of coil modules and it comprises a plurality of support sections. The support sections form a circular array, for surrounding the rotor. Each support section comprises an interior receptacle formed in a generator housing, and includes a set of coil module mounting points and electrical contacts that are molded into or otherwise anchored within the interior receptacle. The receptacles and coil modules may be keyed, e.g., according to electrical phase, such that a coil module is installable only in receptacles having the correct complementary keying.