AN INTEGRATED STARTER GENERATOR SYSTEM

Abstract

An Integrated Starter Generator System The present invention relates to an Integrated Starter Generator system (100) comprising a battery (110) and a three-phase brushless DC electric machine (130). The electric machine (130) has a stator (132) with 6n stator teeth (132′), ‘n’ being a natural number, and each stator tooth (132′) has a coil corresponding to one of the three phases. The electric machine (130) further has a rotor (134) with 6n±2 rotor poles (134′) facing the stator, and magnets on the rotor poles (134′) are disposed with an alternating sequence of magnet polarity facing the stator (132).

Claims

1. An Integrated Starter Generator system (100), comprising: a battery (110); and a three-phase brushless DC electric machine (130) having: a stator (132) with 6n stator teeth (132′), ‘n’ being a natural number, each stator tooth (132′) having a coil corresponding to one of the three phases; and a rotor (134) with 6n±2 rotor poles (134′) facing the stator, magnets on the rotor poles (134′) being disposed with an alternating sequence of magnet polarity facing the stator (132).

2. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein average width of each stator teeth (132′) is smaller than 1.2 times the diameter of the stator (132) divided by number of stator teeth (132′).

3. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein back-emf constant of the electric machine (130), is substantially between 25% of a nominal battery voltage and 75% of the nominal battery voltage.

4. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the battery (110) has the nominal battery voltage between 10V and 14V.

5. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stator (132) has 18n stator teeth (132′), and the rotor (134) has 18n±2 rotor poles (134′) facing the stator (132).

6. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein n=1 with the stator (132) having 18 stator teeth (132′), wherein teeth numbered 1, 3, 10 and 12 are wound with a coil corresponding to a first phase in a clockwise sense, teeth numbered 2 and 11 are wound with the coil corresponding to the first phase in an anti-clockwise sense, teeth numbered 4, 6, 13 and 15 are wound with the coil corresponding to a second phase in the clockwise sense, teeth numbered 5 and 14 are wound with the coil corresponding to the second phase in the anti-clockwise sense, teeth numbered 7, 9, 16 and 18 are wound with the coil corresponding to a third phase in the clockwise sense, and teeth numbered 8 and 17 are wound with the coil corresponding to the third phase in the anti-clockwise sense.

7. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein n=1 with the stator (132) having 18 stator teeth (132′) and the rotor (134) having 16 rotor poles (134′) facing the stator (132).

8. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein n=1 with the stator (132) having 18 stator teeth (132′) and the rotor (134) having 20 rotor poles (134′) facing the stator (132).

9. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stator (132) has 12n stator teeth (132′), and the rotor (134) has 12n±2 rotor poles (134′) facing the stator (132).

10. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein n=1, with stator having 12 stator teeth (132′), wherein teeth numbered 1 and 8 are wound with the coil corresponding to a first phase in a clockwise sense, teeth numbered 2 and 7 are wound with the coil corresponding to the first phase in an anti-clockwise sense, teeth numbered 4 and 9 are wound with the coil corresponding to a second phase in the clockwise sense, teeth numbered 3 and 10 are wound with the coil corresponding to the second phase in the anti-clockwise sense, teeth numbered 5 and 12 are wound with the coil corresponding to a third phase in the clockwise sense, and teeth numbered 6 and 11 are wound with the coil corresponding to the third phase in the anti-clockwise sense.

11. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein n=1 with the stator (132) having 12 stator teeth (132′) and the rotor (134) having 10 rotor poles (134′) facing the stator (132).

12. The Integrated Starter Generator system (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein n=1 with the stator (132) having 12 stator teeth (132′) and the rotor (134) having 14 rotor poles (134′) facing the stator (132).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.

[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of an Integrated Starter Generator system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates a sectional view of a three-phase brushless DC electric machine with 18 stator teeth and 16 rotor poles, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates a sectional view of a three-phase brushless DC electric machine 12 stator teeth and 14 rotor poles, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0022] FIG. 4 illustrates comparative stator teeth magnetic saturation for electric machines with thick stator teeth, against electric machines with thin stator teeth, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0023] FIG. 5 illustrates comparative back-emf voltage waveform of electric machines with a high back-emf constant and a low back-emf constant, for ISG systems comprising battery with 12V nominal voltage, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0024] FIG. 6 illustrates comparative torque-vs-speed characteristics of electric machine with a high back-emf constant as per conventional ISG systems, against the electric machine with relatively low back-emf constant, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0025] FIG. 7 illustrates comparative cranking speed during engine starting operation between electric machine with a high back-emf constant as per conventional ISG systems, against the electric machine with relatively low-back-emf constant, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0026] FIG. 8 illustrates comparative short-circuit current as a function of machine speed between electric machine with a low stator winding inductance as per conventional ISG systems, against electric machine with relatively high stator winding inductance, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] The present invention relates to an Integrated Starter Generator system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an Integrated Starter Generator system with an improved starting performance, improved generating performance, and being favourable for sensor-less operation.

[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of an Integrated Stater Generator system 100. As illustrated in the Figure, the Integrated Starter Generator system 100 comprises of a battery 110 having a nominal battery voltage and a three-phase brushless DC electric machine 130 powered by the battery 110. The Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) system 100 further comprises of an Electronic Control Unit 120 coupled to the battery 110 and the three-phase brushless DC electric machine 130. The Electronic Control Unit 120 is configured to apply commutations to the three-phase brushless DC electric machine 130 for a starter operation, and control the current generated by the three-phase brushless DC electric machine 130 for a generator operation through power switches.

[0029] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a sectional view of the three-phase brushless DC electric machine 130 (hereinafter referred to as “electric machine”). The electric machine 130 has a stator 132 and a rotor 134. The stator 132 of the electric machine 130 has 6n stator teeth 132′, where n is a natural number and each stator tooth 132′ receives a coil corresponding to one of the phases of the electric machine 130. The rotor 134 of the electric machine 130 has 6n±2 rotor poles 134′ facing the stator 132, where, as mentioned earlier, n is a natural number. Magnets forming the rotor poles 134′ are disposed in a manner that, the rotor poles 134′ are arranged with an alternating sequence of magnet polarity facing the stator 132. For example, a rotor pole corresponding to a first polarity is disposed between two rotor poles corresponding to a second polarity and vice versa.

[0030] In the embodiment referenced in FIG. 2, the stator 132 has 18n stator teeth 132′, and the rotor 134 has 18n±2 rotor poles 134′ facing the stator 132. The coils are connected in suitable series and parallel combinations, with suitable number of turns in each coil, as per the requirement.

[0031] In the embodiment specifically depicted in FIG. 2, n is equal to 1 with the stator 132 having 18 (eighteen) stator teeth 132′ and the rotor 134 having 16 (sixteen) rotor poles 134′ facing the stator 132. As illustrated, teeth numbered 1, 3, 10 and 12 are wound with a coil (A-A′) corresponding to a first phase in a clockwise sense, teeth numbered 2 and 11 are wound with the coil (A-A′) corresponding to the first phase in an anti-clockwise sense. Teeth numbered 4, 6, 13 and 15 are wound with the coil corresponding to a second phase in the clockwise sense, and teeth numbered 5 and 14 are wound with the coil corresponding to the second phase in the anti-clockwise sense. Finally, teeth numbered 7, 9, 16 and 18 are wound with the coil corresponding to a third phase in the clockwise sense, and teeth numbered 8 and 17 are wound with the coil corresponding to the third phase in the anti-clockwise sense.

[0032] In an alternative embodiment, n is equal to 1 with the stator 132 having 18 (eighteen) stator teeth 132′ and the rotor 134 having 20 (twenty) rotor poles 134′ facing the stator 132.

[0033] In the embodiment referenced in FIG. 3, the stator 132 has 12n stator teeth 132′, and the rotor 134 has 12n±2 rotor poles 134′ facing the stator 132. The coils are connected in suitable series and parallel combinations, with suitable number of turns in each coil, as per the requirement.

[0034] In the embodiment specifically depicted in FIG. 3, n is equal to 1 with the stator 132 having 12 (twelve) stator teeth 132′ and the rotor 134 having 14 (fourteen) rotor poles 134′ facing the stator 132. As illustrated, teeth numbered 1 and 8 are wound with a coil (A-N) corresponding to the first phase in the clockwise sense, and teeth numbered 2 and 7 are wound with the coil (A-N) corresponding to the first phase in the anti-clockwise sense. Teeth numbered 4 and 9 are wound with a coil (B-N) corresponding to the second phase in the clockwise sense, and teeth numbered 3 and 10 are wound with the coil (B-N) corresponding to the second phase in the anti-clockwise sense. Finally, teeth numbered 5 and 12 are wound with a coil (C-N) corresponding to the third phase in the clockwise sense, and teeth numbered 6 and 11 are wound with the coil (C-N) corresponding to the third phase in the anti-clockwise sense.

[0035] In an alternative embodiment, n is equal to 1 with the stator 132 having 12 (twelve) stator teeth 132′ and the rotor 134 having 10 (ten) rotor poles 134′ facing the stator 132.

[0036] It is understood that typical sensor-less position estimation methods rely on inductance variation of stator phase windings as a function of rotor position with respect to the stator. The inductance variation is significant if magnetic saturation of stator teeth varies significantly with rotor position. The magnetic saturation of stator teeth as a function of rotor position can be increased by reducing the thickness of stator teeth, resulting in increase in the magnetic flux density in the stator teeth. FIG. 4b illustrates magnetic flux density in the machines known in the prior art while, FIG. 4a illustrates increased magnetic flux density in thinner stator teeth 132′ of the present invention as compared to conventional thick stator teeth, wherein other features of the electric machines, such as number of winding turns per stator teeth, are kept the same. The increased magnetic flux density results in increase in stator winding inductance variation as a function of rotor position, therefore resulting in the electric machine 130 as per the present invention being favorable for sensor-less operation. In an embodiment, to obtain thinner stator teeth 132′ and obtain increased magnetic flux density, average width of each stator teeth 132′ is kept smaller than 1.2 times the diameter of the stator 132 divided by number of stator teeth 132′.

[0037] Reference is made to FIG. 5, wherein in an embodiment, the battery 110 of the ISG system 100 has a nominal voltage substantially between 10V to 14V. In an embodiment, back-emf constant of the electric machine 130 is substantially between 25% of the nominal battery voltage and 75% of the nominal battery voltage, wherein back-emf constant is defined as amplitude of the line-to-line back-emf voltage when the electric machine 130 is rotated at a 1000 RPM. Further, it is well established that amplitude of back-emf voltage of a three-phase brushless DC electric machine varies linearly with rotating speed of the machine, and therefore, as the RPM of the electric machine 130 is increased, the back-emf constant will increase accordingly. FIG. 5 illustrates line-to-line back-emf voltage waveforms of two electric machines being rotated at 1000 RPM in ISG systems with 12V nominal battery voltage. The waveform depicted by dotted line represents the electric machine having relatively high back-emf constant as used in conventional ISG systems, while the waveform depicted by solid line represents the electric machine 130 having relatively low back-emf constant in accordance with the present invention. As shown, the electric machine with high back-emf constant has amplitude of line-to-line back-emf greater than 9V, that is 75% of 12V. The electric machine 130 with low back-emf constant has amplitude of line-to-line back-emf voltage between 3V and 9V, that is between 25% and 75% of 12V.

[0038] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the electric machine 130 with low a back-emf constant as per present invention can produce higher torque at higher machine speeds, compared to conventional electric machines with high back-emf constant. Torque producing capability of electric machines reduce as the difference between battery voltage and induced back-emf voltage reduces. For a given machine speed, the difference, between battery voltage and induced back-emf, is higher in the electric machine 130 with low back-emf constant, compared to electric machines with high back-emf constant. This results in higher torque producing capability of the electric machine 130 with low back-emf constant as per the present invention, especially as machine speed increases.

[0039] It is known that starting operation of IC engines requires the crankshaft of IC engine to be rotated at a reasonable speed. The probability of self-sustaining combustion, resulting in engine starting increases as the cranking speed of IC engine increases. FIG. 7 illustrates higher cranking speed achievement when using the electric machine 130 with low back-emf constant as per the present invention, as compared to lower cranking speed achievement when using conventional electric machines with high back-emf constant. This illustrates that the probability of engine starting in an ISG system is higher while using electric machine 130 with low back-emf constant as per the present invention.

[0040] It is further known that short-circuit current of the electric machine is a good indicator of efficiency of an ISG system when the electric machine is acting as a generator. The efficiency of the system is higher if short-circuit current is lower. FIG. 8 illustrates a reduction in short-circuit current for the electric machine 130 in accordance with the present invention, in comparison to conventional electric machines used in ISG applications. Assuming substantially equal back-emf constant of two electric machines, the short-circuit current is lower for the electric machine 130 with higher stator winding inductance as per the present invention.

[0041] The flux linkage in stator winding is provided by the maximum value of f(a)=∫.sub.0.sup.2πN(θ)B(θ+α)dθ, where N(θ) is the winding function, and B(θ) is the fundamental component of magnetic field caused by the rotor poles in the air gap. To achieve substantially equal flux linkage in the electric machine 130 of the present invention, and therefore achieve a substantially equal back-emf compared to a conventional electric machine, the number of turns in the electric machine 130 should be increased compared to the conventional electric machine. Since inductance of machine varies quadratically with number of turns, the inductance of the electric machine will be significantly increased and higher than the conventional electric machine for similar back-emf constant.

[0042] Advantageously, the present invention provides an ISG system with a three-phase brushless DC electric machine with increased magnetic flux density, resulting in increased stator winding inductance variation as a function of rotor position and rendering the electric machine favorable for sensor-less operation.

[0043] Further, the present invention provides the electric machine with low back-emf constant where the difference between battery voltage and induced back-emf is higher, resulting in higher torque producing capability of the ISG system in a starting operation. The electric machine of the ISG system of the present invention also achieves higher cranking speed.

[0044] Furthermore, the electric machine as per the present invention has a reduced short-circuit current due to increased stator winding inductance, thereby having an increased efficiency when the ISG system is acting as a generator. The reduced short circuit current also results in reduction of heat generation in the power switches of the Electronic Control Unit.

[0045] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.