Stator Connector Layout for Compact End Turns and Rotor Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stators for electrical machines face challenges in achieving a compact, space-saving arrangement of connectors at the axial end face and allowing for the insertion of a rotor from both sides.
Innovation Solution
The stator design incorporates further connectors manufactured from sheet metal by cutting and bending, with specific orientations and shapes that allow for a compact arrangement of stator winding sections while leaving space for rotor insertion, using a cylindrical coordinate system to define regions and employing various types of connectors that extend in directions normal or at small angles to the machine axis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If connectors are arranged to connect stator winding sections, then electrical connectivity is achieved, but space for rotor insertion is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The connectors are designed with bridge sections that extend in the axial direction (parallel to machine axis) rather than only in radial or circumferential directions. This three-dimensional arrangement allows connectors to route around the rotor insertion path, maintaining electrical connectivity while preserving the central bore space needed for rotor insertion from both sides.
Solution Approach 2:
The connectors are divided into multiple sections: contact regions for electrical connection, bridge sections for spatial routing, and connection regions for joining windings. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized for its specific function, with bridge sections specifically designed to navigate around the rotor insertion path.
2Reliability
If connectors are made larger to ensure reliable electrical connection, then electrical connectivity is improved, but space utilization is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing connector size in the radial plane, the design extends connectors in the axial dimension through bridge sections. This allows reliable electrical connections to be maintained while keeping the radial footprint compact, optimizing space utilization at the axial end face.
Solution Approach 2:
The connectors have different sectional properties optimized for local functions: contact regions with sufficient area for reliable electrical connection, bridge sections with compact cross-sections for spatial routing, and connection regions for joining. This local optimization ensures reliability where needed while minimizing overall space consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A stator for an n-phase electrical machine includes a plurality of first end connectors of a first connector type arranged to electrically connect first ends of shaped strands arranged in stator slots, and a plurality of second end connectors arranged to electrically connect second ends, thereby forming stator winding sections of the electrical machine. A plurality of further connectors is arranged to connect further first ends and thereby to connect stator winding sections to form at least one of parallel and serial arrangements of stator winding sections. Therein, the further connectors are each manufactured from a piece of sheet metal by cutting and bending, and they each have at least one bridge section in which a surface normal to the original sheet surface is parallel to the machine axis.