A driving device of an electric-motor four-wheel drive vehicle includes a propeller shaft, a first differential mechanism, a second differential mechanism, a first decoupling mechanism, a second decoupling mechanism, a first motor, and a second motor. The propeller shaft transmits power between front wheels and rear wheels. The first differential mechanism is disposed in a drive shaft of the front wheels. The second differential mechanism is disposed in a drive shaft of the rear wheels. The first decoupling mechanism decouples the first differential mechanism from the propeller shaft. The second decoupling mechanism decouples the second differential mechanism from the propeller shaft. The first motor is coupled to the propeller shaft via a part closer to the front wheels than the first decoupling mechanism or a part closer to the rear wheels than the second decoupling mechanism. The second motor is coupled between the first and second decoupling mechanisms.

A transmission mechanism is provided with an output gear drivingly coupled to at least one of a pair of output members and placed coaxially with the pair of output members. A direction in which a rotating electrical machine and an inverter device are arranged side by side in an axial view is defined as a first direction. A direction perpendicular to both an axial direction and the first direction is defined as a second direction. A first output member that is one of the pair of output members is placed between the rotating electrical machine and the inverter device in the first direction, at a position in the second direction where both the rotating electrical machine and the inverter device are placed. The output gear is placed in such a manner as to overlap each of the rotating electrical machine and the inverter device in the axial view.

There are presented various embodiments disclosed in this application, including methods and systems of arranging permanent magnets to switch from a first configuration designed for a first torque output to a second configuration designed for a second torque output.

A motor has stator windings arranged on a circumference of a stator, a rotor with rotor magnetic poles provided by N- and S-poles, and rotor windings arranged in a circumferential direction of the rotor magnetic poles. Multiple-phase currents are supplied to the stator windings. A current is supplied to rotor windings. The multiple-phase currents include torque current components, which are arranged to be opposite in directions to torque current components of the current. By this mutually opposite-directional current arrangement, a magnetomotive force based on a sum of both torque current components becomes a local minimum. It is possible to reduce influence of the torque current components on the field magnetic fluxes of the motor. In the motor, circumferential magnetic flux components can be collected to an airgap and a portion therearound, so that a larger amount of torque can be obtained, and constant output control can be performed more easily.

A rotary electric machine is disposed coaxially with an input member and is disposed more toward a first side in an axial direction than a first gear that meshes with a second gear. A third gear that rotates integrally with second and fourth gears that mesh with third gear are disposed more toward second side in axial direction than first and second gears. An axis of a counter gear mechanism is disposed below both axis of rotary electric machine and axis of differential gear mechanism. An inverter device is disposed more toward first side in axial direction than fourth gear and above axis of differential gear mechanism while being disposed at such position that inverter device overlaps fourth gear as seen in axial direction. A specific portion of inverter device is disposed between rotary electric machine and fourth gear in axial direction, at such position that specific portion overlaps counter gear mechanism as seen in up-down direction and overlaps rotary electric machine as seen in axial direction.

This invention provides a brushless dc dynamo, which is characterized by using semiconductor switches to replace commutators used in conventional brush DC dynamo, wherein the periodically mechanical contact of the armature and different electrodes are replaced with static electronic switching array to periodically switch electrically without any mechanical contact switching between the armature and electrodes. Meanwhile, the armature can work as conventional mode to always maintain the distribution of the armature current such that the magnetic field of the rotator is perpendicular to the magnetic field of the stator during rotating, and the damage of switched contacts caused by mechanical contact of the armature and electrodes can be avoided.

An axial gap motor includes a rotor, a first stator, a second stator, a stator moving unit, and a rotor vibration detector. The rotor is supported by a rotation shaft. The first stator faces the rotor with a predetermined gap in a longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft. The second stator faces the first stator with the rotor being disposed therebetween. The second stator is disposed on an opposite side to the first stator. The second stator faces the rotor with a predetermined gap. The stator moving unit is configured to change a relative position between the first stator and the second stator in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft. The rotor vibration detector is configured to detect a vibration state of the rotor. The stator moving unit is configured to rotate at least one of the first stator or the second stator with respect to the other around an axis according to a change in the vibration state of the rotor.

An electric machine includes a stator rotatably supporting a rotor, the rotor includes a stacked rotor laminations forming a rotor core with cavities having magnets arranged in the cavities through at least two adjacent rotor laminations and parallel to a rotor central axis, each lamination including an outer edge having grooves or scallops arranged asymmetrically about the circumference to reduce torque ripple. At least one groove or scallop may be arranged along a q-axis and at least one groove or scallop may be arranged between a q-axis and a d-axis of the rotor core. The laminations may be substantially identical with a first group of laminations flipped or rotated about a diametric axis relative to a second group of laminations. An electrified vehicle includes an electric machine powered by a traction battery, the electric machine having a rotor core with stacked rotor laminations having a scalloped outer edge.

A rotary electric machine includes a rotor, a stator, and stator windings. The stator winding has a plurality of slot conductor groups having a plurality of slot conductors of the same phase. A plurality of slot conductors of the slot conductor group are inserted into a predetermined number (Ns) of slots continuously arranged in a circumferential direction of the stator core such that the slot and the layer are adjacent to each other. The predetermined number (Ns) is set to “Ns=NSPP+1,” where “NSPP” denotes the number of slots per pole per phase.

An electric rotating machine according to an embodiment includes a stator element, a rotor element, and a housing. The rotor element is rotatable about a rotation axis. The housing houses the stator element and the rotor element, and is provided with an electric insulating portion on a part of or whole of an inner surface including a surface facing at least one of the stator element and the rotor element.