INTERCONNECTION ARRANGEMENT FOR AN ELECTRICAL MACHINE

Abstract

An interconnection for an electric machine with hairpin winding, having a plurality of connection pins, the interconnection includes connection conductors that extend over a portion of the circumference in each instance. The interconnection has a carrier that supports the connection conductors and insulates the connection conductors relative to one another. Each connection pin is electrically conductively connected to a connection conductor. The carrier has supporting arms at the outer circumference thereof, in that the supporting arms are inclined relative to a radially extending plane as well as relative to a rotational axis of the electric machine, and the supporting arms have clamping surfaces by which they are clampable between a housing or stator carrier and a bearing shield.

Claims

1.-14. (canceled)

15. An interconnection for an electric machine with hairpin winding having a plurality of connection pins, wherein the interconnection comprises: a plurality of connection conductors that each extend at least over a portion of a circumference; a carrier that supports the plurality of connection conductors and at least insulates the plurality of connection conductors relative to one another; and a respective connection conductor electrically conductively connected to each connection pin; wherein the carrier comprises: a plurality of supporting arms at an outer circumference thereof, the plurality of supporting arms are inclined relative to a radially extending plane and relative to a rotational axis of the electric machine, and the plurality of supporting arms have clamping surfaces by which they are clampable between a housing or stator carrier and a bearing shield.

16. The interconnection according to claim 15, wherein the clamping surfaces are arranged parallel to or on a radially extending plane.

17. The interconnection according to claim 15, wherein at least some of the clamping surfaces have at least one projection, which is deformable to compensate for manufacturing tolerances during assembly.

18. The interconnection according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of connection conductors run coaxially or in axial direction parallel to one another.

19. The interconnection according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of connection conductors are formed annularly extending over an entire circumference.

20. The interconnection according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of connection conductors have respective contact points in a radially inner region or a radially outer region which protrude from the carrier for connecting to the connection pins.

21. The interconnection according to claim 20, wherein the contact points in each instance run axially parallel to a connection pin at least in a partial area.

22. The interconnection according to claim 15, wherein the carrier wraps around the plurality of connection conductors to form a positive engagement.

23. The interconnection according to claim 15, wherein the carrier is produced by overmolding the plurality of connection conductors.

24. An electric machine comprising: a hairpin winding; and an interconnection for the electric machine with the hairpin winding having a plurality of connection pins, wherein the interconnection comprises: a plurality of connection conductors that each extend at least over a portion of a circumference; a carrier that supports the plurality of connection conductors and at least insulates the plurality of connection conductors relative to one another; a respective connection conductor is electrically conductively connected to each connection pin; wherein the carrier comprises: a plurality of supporting arms at an outer circumference thereof, the plurality of supporting arms are inclined relative to a radially extending plane and relative to a rotational axis of the electric machine, and the plurality of supporting arms have clamping surfaces by which they are clampable between a housing or stator carrier and a bearing shield; and the clamping surfaces are clamped between a housing or stator carrier and a bearing shield of the electric machine.

25. The electric machine according to claim 24, wherein the hairpin winding has hairpin ends that are welded to one another, the hairpin ends are covered by an insulating unit, and the interconnection lies on the insulating unit.

26. A method for producing an electric machine, comprising providing a hairpin winding; positioning an interconnection on the hairpin winding, wherein the interconnection comprises: a plurality of connection conductors that each extend at least over a portion of a circumference; a carrier that supports the plurality of connection conductors and at least insulates the plurality of connection conductors relative to one another; and a respective connection conductor electrically conductively connected to each connection pin; wherein the carrier comprises: a plurality of supporting arms at an outer circumference thereof, the plurality of supporting arms are inclined relative to a radially extending plane and relative to a rotational axis of the electric machine; and the plurality of supporting arms have clamping surfaces by which they are clampable between a housing or stator carrier and a bearing shield; positioning the plurality of supporting arms of the interconnection with their clamping surfaces on a housing or stator carrier; connecting the connection pins to the plurality of connection conductors; and mounting and connecting a bearing shield on the housing or stator carrier, wherein the plurality of supporting arms are clamped with their clamping surfaces between the housing or stator carrier and the bearing shield.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising: mounting an insulating unit on the hairpin winding before the interconnection, wherein hairpin ends are positioned in the insulating unit and the connection pins are electrically conductively conducted to the interconnection axially through or past the insulating unit.

28. The method according to claim 26, wherein a potting compound is applied before or after mounting the interconnection in order to insulate hairpin ends.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The invention will be described more fully in the following referring to figures Like or similar component parts are designated by consistent reference numerals. In particular, the figures show:

[0037] FIG. 1 is a section through an embodiment form in the installed state;

[0038] FIG. 2 is a partial section of a perspective view of an embodiment form; and

[0039] FIG. 3 is a top view of an embodiment form of an interconnection.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] FIG. 1 shows an upper partial region of a stator with winding head in section. In this regard, the winding head 5 is the one hairpin winding in which a plurality of shaped rods are arranged with their contact ends correspondingly in pairs and are electrically conductively connected to one another so as to form the hairpin ends 7. As a result of the connections at the hairpin ends 7, the coils of the hairpin winding are formed from the shaped rods, these coils having individual connection pins 6 at the coil ends. The hairpin ends 7 are received in the continuous openings 3 of the base body 2 of the insulating unit. The hairpin ends 7 terminate inside the openings 3 and accordingly do not protrude over the base body 2. In contrast, the connection pins 6, which are also received in openings 3 protrude over the base body 2.

[0041] The connection pins 6 are connected to an interconnection 10, which is mounted on the insulating unit 1 and by which the various connection pins 6 are correspondingly interconnected to one another and to power electronics. In the depicted example, the interconnection 10 is formed from a plurality of connection conductors 12, which are arranged adjacent to one another in axial direction and are insulated with respect to one another and which have contact points 13 protruding in direction of the connection pins 6. The contact points 13 are electrically conductively connected, preferably welded, to the connection pins 6. The interconnection 10 can be constructed differently, for example, with coaxially arranged conductor sleeves, depending on the design of the electric machine.

[0042] The interconnection 10 is placed on the axial spacers 4 of the base body 2 of the insulating unit 1. The spacers 4 ensure that a free gap remains between the interconnection 10 and base body 2 so that when introducing a potting compound, not shown, air can escape from the openings 3 and potting compound can flow into the openings 3, respectively. In this way, it is ensured that no air pockets can form in the potting compound, which could reduce the insulating effect.

[0043] In the depicted example, the interconnection 10 comprises additional supporting arms 14 supported at the housing 8 of the electric machine in order to facilitate positioning of the interconnection 10. The supporting arms 14 extend at least partially at an inclination relative to an axial direction so as to improve stiffness relative to axial and radial forces. In this way, relative movements between the interconnection 10 and winding head 5 are prevented and mechanical loading of the connection between connection pin 6 and contact point 13 during operation is reduced. Alternatively or additionally, the supporting arms 14 can have stiffeners 18, for example, in the form of ribs or the like.

[0044] At their radially outer end, the supporting arms 14 have clamping surfaces 15 on the sides thereof located in axial direction. These clamping surfaces 15 are provided between contact surfaces of nonmoving component parts of the electric machine and are clamped thereby. In FIG. 1, a contact surface 15 lies on a shoulder of the housing 8 or of the stator carrier. During assembly of the electric machine, a bearing shield, not shown, is connected the housing 8. An abutment surface of this bearing shield, or a protruding annular shoulder which can also be utilized for centering, comes in contact with the opposite clamping surface 15 and accordingly fastens the latter.

[0045] In the depicted embodiment example, a projection 16 is provided on the clamping surface 15 remote of the housing 8. The projection 16 has a triangular cross section in FIG. 1, although other cross-sectional shapes are also possible. During assembly, the bearing shield initially comes in contact with the tip of the projection 16 and deforms the latter due to assembly forces. Any deviation in the component parts coming in contact with the clamping surfaces 15 because of manufacturing tolerances can be compensated by the projections 16, since a fastening of the interconnection 10 can already be achieved through contact with the projection 16 regardless of the degree to which the latter is deformed.

[0046] The embodiment example shown in FIG. 2 is formed substantially analogous to FIG. 1 and the preceding description may be referred to in this regard. FIG. 2 shows the flange 9 of the housing 8 to which a bearing shield, not shown, is screwed.

[0047] The supporting arms 14 are likewise arranged at the outer circumference in the axially upper region and extend upward at an inclination. It is also possible to arrange the supporting arms at the upper front side of the interconnection 10. Similarly, the supporting arms 14 can be provided so as to incline downward depending on the available installation space. The supporting arms 14 distributed along the circumference can also be provided at different locations such as at a different axial height at the circumferential region or different radii on the front side in order to provide different angles of inclination, distributed preferably symmetrically along the circumference, between supporting arm 14 and interconnection 10 or so as to conform to installation space restrictions.

[0048] In this instance, the projections 16 at the clamping surfaces 15 are provided at the end in radial direction. By arranging at the end, the material deformed during a deformation of the projections 16 can escape not only along the clamping surface 15 but also in possibly existing intermediate spaces in radial direction between supporting arm and housing 8.

[0049] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment example of an interconnection 10 in a top view, i.e., from the side remote of the winding head 5, in which only the interconnection 10 and the connection pins 6 connected to it are shown. The supporting arms 14 protrude radially from the carrier 11.

[0050] In addition, power terminals 17 are provided at the inner circumferential surface that are electrically conductively connected to the respective connection conductors 12 and by which the connection conductors 12 are connected to power electronics, not shown, and supplied with electric current. The power terminals 17 are preferably formed analogous to the contact points 13 so as to be connected to a connection conductor 12 in each instance, these power terminals 17 having a larger cross section than the contact points 13. The power terminals 17 are arranged relatively close together to facilitate a connection via a plug or a shared cable if required. The power terminals 17 can also be provided depending on the installation space and arrangement of the connection conductors 12 in the interconnection 10 at the outer circumferential surface and/or the upper end face. In the depicted example, three power terminals 17 are shown for, e.g., a three-phase electric machine. The quantity of power terminals 17 can vary depending on the electric machine, in particular the quantity of phases or the maximum power that can be transmitted per power terminal 17.

[0051] The invention is not limited to the described embodiments. As stated above, advantageous features may be provided merely singularly, or various exemplary features may be combined.

[0052] Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.