WO2016096042A1

WO2016096042A1 - Individual cooling fin and an electric motor having the same

Info

Publication number: WO2016096042A1
Application number: PCT/EP2014/078750
Authority: WO
Inventors: Erdem SEVGEN; Tunc ISCAN; Merve Ayca TELEMEZ; Caner ŞIMŞEK; Gokhan MALAKCI
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2014-12-19
Filing date: 2014-12-19
Publication date: 2016-06-23

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric motor (2) comprising a body (3) which encloses a stator and a rotor. The electric motor (2) of the present invention comprises a plurality of attachment means (4), each for individually and detachably attaching the individual cooling fin (1) of the present invention to the body (3). The individual cooling fin (1) of the present invention comprises a counterpart attachment means (5) which is configured to detachably attach to the attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2). The attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2) is configured to detachably attach to the counterpart attachment means (5) of the individual cooling fin (1).

Description

INDIVIDUAL COOLING FIN AND AN ELECTRIC MOTOR HAVING THE SAME

The present invention relates to an electric motor. The present invention particularly relates to the cooling facility of the electric motor. The present invention more particularly relates to the fins for cooling the electric motor.

Electric motors can be used both in industrial and domestic applications. For instance, an electric motor can be used to drive the rotating member of a household appliance. An electric motor generally comprises a rotating shaft, a stator and a rotor which is fixed to the shaft. The electric motor is usually provided with a cylindrical body and two covers which enclose the stator and the rotor so as to protect it from moisture and dirt. The forward end of the shaft is protruded out of the bearing in the front cover and can be connected, for instance, to the aforementioned rotating member. During the operation of the electric motor a large amount of heat is generated. Therefore, the electric motor must be suffiently cooled. In order to cool the electric motor, the body of the electric motor is provided with a plurality of fins as a cooling facility which radiates the thermal energy into the environment. In general, the body and the plurality of fins are integrally cast from a metal and the body with the cooling fins is fitted around the stator. To promote the cooling process, the cooling facility is also provided with a fan and a fan guard that convey the ambient air over the body of the electric motor, in particular through the gaps between the plurality of cooling fins. The rear end of the shaft is usually protruded out of the bearing in the rear cover and is directly connected to the hub of the fan. The cooling capacity of the cooling facility is of utmost importance in view of the thermal protection of the electric motor and its performance. Electric motors come with different powers. Therefore, the cooling capacities required for the electric motors vary accordingly. A drawback of the prior art electric motor is that the provision of the body with the fins that match the required cooling capacity and also the dimensions of the stator increases the production and assembly costs.

An objective of the present invention is to provide an individual fin for use in an electric motor and an electrical household appliance having the same which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art in a cost effective way and which enables an improved production and assemblage and an improved cooling performance.

This objective has been achieved by the individual cooling fin as defined in claim 1, the electric motor as defined in claim 11 and the electrical household appliance as defined in claim 14. Further achievements have been attained by the subject-matters respectively defined in the dependent claims.

The electric motor of the present invention comprises a plurality of attachment means, each for individually and detachably attaching an individual cooling fin according to the present invention to the body.

The individual cooling fin of the present invention comprises a counterpart attachment means which is detachably attachable to the attachment means of the electric motor.

In the present invention, the electric motor is preliminarily manufactured with a finless body. By virtue of the co-operating attachment means, the individual cooling fins can be subsequently attached to or detached from the body of the electric motor in accordance with the required cooling capacity. In practice, the required cooling capacity depends on the environmental conditions and also the specific application in which the electric motor is intended for use and thus may vary strongly. With the present invention, the individual cooling fins can be utilized so as to optimize the cooling capacity in accordance with actual conditions and the actual use of the electric motor. Thus, with the present invention, the cooling capacity can be more flexibly and precisely adjusted, namely can be increased or decreased by adding or removing one or more than individual cooling fin without the need of replacing the body. Thereby, an excessive use of the individual cooling fins can be eliminated or reduced as much as possible. In addition, the individual cooling fins can be used for retrofitting an existing electric motor which requires a higher cooling capacity. Thus, the waste of the valuable resources can be avoided. The individual cooling fins of the present invention can also be utilized with electric motors that have bodies with different dimensions. With the present invention, the electric motors can be more efficiently cooled. In addition, with the present invention, the production and assemblage of the electric motors have been improved and the costs have been comparatively reduced. Thereby, a consumer satisfaction can be increased.

In the co-operating attachment means of the electric motor and the individual cooling fin, any releasable connection mechanism can be used. In an embodiment, a slide slot and slide mechanism is used for the attachment of the each individual cooling fin to the body. The cross sections of the slide slot and the slide are T-shaped. Alternatively, the cross section may assume a dovetail-shape, an arc-shape or any other suitable shape. In alternative version of this embodiment, one of the slide slot and the slide is disposed onto the body and the other one of the slide slot and the slide is disposed onto the individual cooling fin.

In an alternative embodiment, a threaded connection mechanism is used for the attachment of each individual cooling fin to the body. In a version of this embodiment, the body and the individual cooling fin have screw holes which commonly receive a screw.

In other alternative embodiments, the cooling capacity of the individual cooling fin is differentiated by changing its size and shape and/or by manufacturing it from materials having different thermal conductivities. Thereby, several different individual cooling fins can be obtained in order to precisely adjust the cooling capacity of the electric motor.

The present invention also provides an electrical household appliance which has an electric motor according to the present invention.

Additional advantages of the individual cooling fin, the electric motor and the household appliance of the present invention will become more apparent with the detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 – is a perspective view of the finless electric motor according to an embodiment of the present invention, prior to mounting the plurality of individual cooling fins of the present invention to the body of the electric motor;

Figure 2 – is a front view of the finless electric motor of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 – is a perspective view of the electric motor which has a plurality of individual cooling fins according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 – is a front view of the electric motor of Fig. 3;

Figure 5 – is a perspective view of the electric motor which has a plurality of individual cooling fins according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 – is a front view of the electric motor of Fig. 5;

Figure 7 – is a perspective view of the electric motor which has a plurality of individual cooling fins according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8 – is a front view of the electric motor of Fig. 7;

Figure 9 – is a perspective view of the electric motor which has a plurality of individual cooling fins according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10 – is a front view of the electric motor of Fig. 9;

Figure 11 – is a perspective view of the electric motor which has a plurality of individual cooling fins according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12 – is a front view of the electric motor of Fig. 11.

The reference signs appearing on the drawings relate to the following technical features.

Fin
Motor
Body
Attachment means
Counterpart attachment means
Slot
Slide
Base
Screw hole
Screw
Counterpart screw hole
Groove
Side surface
Circumferential surface

The electric motor (2) comprises a body (3) which accommodates a stator (not shown) and a rotor (not shown).

The electric motor (2) of the present invention comprises a plurality of attachment means (4). Each attachment means (4) is suitable for individually and detachably attaching the individual cooling fin (1) of the present invention to the body (3) (Fig. 1 to 12).

The individual cooling fin (1) of the present invention is suitable for use in the electric motor (2). The individual cooling fin (1) of the present invention comprises a counterpart attachment means (5) which is configured to detachably attach to the attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2). The attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2) is configured to detachably attach to the counterpart attachment means (5) of the individual cooling fin (1).

The electrical household appliance (not shown) of the present invention comprises the electric motor (2) according to the present invention (Fig. 1 to 12).

In an embodiment, the attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2) comprises a slide slot (6). In this embodiment, the counterpart attachment means (5) of the individual cooling fin (1) comprises a slide (7) which is configured to match the slide slot (6) (Fig. 1 to 10).

In another embodiment, the slide slot (6) is formed into the body (3) of the electric motor (2).

In another embodiment, the individual cooling fin (1) comprises a base (8) configured to sit onto the body (3). In this embodiment, the slide (7) is formed into the base (8).

In another embodiment, the slide slot (6) and the slide (7) have T-shaped cross sections (Fig. 1 to 10).

In an alternative embodiment, the attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2) comprises at least one screw hole (9) and at least one screw (10). In this embodiment, the counterpart attachment means (5) of the individual cooling fin (1) comprises at least one counterpart screw hole (11) which is configured to receive the screw (10). The screw is inserted into the two screw holes (9, 10) so as to attach the individual cooling fin (1) to the body (Fig. 11 and 12).

In another alternative embodiment, the attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2) comprises two screw holes (9) and two screws (10). In this embodiment, the counterpart attachment means (5) of the individual cooling fin (1) comprises two counterpart screw holes (11).

In another alternative embodiment, each screw hole (9) is formed into the body (3) of the electric motor (2).

In another alternative embodiment, the individual cooling fin (1) comprises a base (8) configured to sit onto the body (3). The counterpart screw hole (11) is formed into the base (8) (Fig. 11 and 12).

In another embodiment, the individual cooling fin (1) comprises at least one groove (12) which increases the surface area thereof (Fig. 7 to 10).

In another embodiment, groove (12) has a triangular shape or a rectangular shaped such that the individual cooling fin (1) assume comb shaped side surfaces (13) or saw shaped side surfaces (13) respectively (Fig. 7 to 10).

In another alternative embodiment, the individual cooling fin (1) comprises flat-tapered side surfaces (13) (Fig. 3 to 6 and 11 to 12).

In another embodiment, the individual cooling fin (1) has a length which is equal to or shorter than the length of the axial length of the body (3) (Fig. 1 to 12).

In another embodiment, the individual cooling fin (1) is slightly shorter than half of the axial length of the body (3) (Fig. 5 and 6).

The present invention also provides a set which includes a plurality of individual cooling fins (1) according to the present invention. The set includes at least two individual cooling fins (1) which differ through one or more than one of the features including the length, the height, the thickness, the surface area, the profile and the thermal conductivity (Fig. 1 to 12).

In another embodiment, the attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2) are evenly disposed around the circumferential surface (14) of the body (3) (Fig. 1 to 12).

In another embodiment, the electric motor (2) comprises one or more than one individual cooling fin (1), each being detachably attached to the body through the attachment of the counterpart attachment means (5) to the attachment means (4) (Fig. 3 and 12).

Claims

An individual cooling fin (1) for use in an electric motor (2) comprising

- a body (3) for accommodating a stator and a rotor and

- a plurality of attachment means (4), each for individually and detachably attaching the individual cooling fin (1) to the body (3),

the individual cooling fin (1) being characterized in that

- a counterpart attachment means (5) which is configured to detachably attach to the attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2).
The individual cooling fin (1) according to claim 1, wherein at least one attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2) comprising a slide slot (6), the individual cooling fin (1) being characterized in that the counterpart attachment means (5) comprising a slide (7) which is configured to match the slide slot (6) of the attachment means (4).
The individual cooling fin (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that a base (8) configured to sit onto the body (3), wherein the slide (7) is formed into the base (8).
The individual cooling fin (1) according to claim 1, wherein at least one attachment means (4) of the electric motor (2) comprising one or more than one screw hole (9) and one or more than one screw (10), the individual cooling fin (1) being characterized in that the counterpart attachment means (5) comprising one or more than one counterpart screw hole (11) which is configured to receive the screw (10).
The individual cooling fin (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that a base (8) configured to sit onto the body (3), wherein counterpart screw hole (11) is formed into the base (8).
The individual cooling fin (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that one or more than one groove (12).
The individual cooling fin (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that comb shaped side surfaces (13) or saw shaped side surfaces (13).
The individual cooling fin (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that flat-tapered side surfaces (13).
The individual cooling fin (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a length which is equal to or smaller than the length of the axial length of the body (3).
A set of individual cooling fins (1) characterized in that a plurality of individual cooling fins (1) as defined in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the plurality of individual cooling fins (1) include at least two individual cooling fins (1) which differ through one or more than one of the features including the length, the height, the thickness, the surface area, the profile and the thermal conductivity.
An electric motor (2) comprising a body (3) which accommodates a stator and a rotor, characterized in that a plurality of attachment means (4), each for individually and detachably attaching the individual cooling fin (1) as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10 to the body (3), wherein the attachment means (4) is configured to detachably attach to the counterpart attachment means (5) of the individual cooling fin (1).
The electric motor (2) according to claim 11, characterized in that the plurality of attachment means (4) are evenly disposed around the circumferential surface (14) of the body (3).
The electric motor (2) according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that one or more than one individual cooling fin (1) as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein each individual cooling fin (1) is detachably attached to the body (3) through the attachment of the counterpart attachment means (5) to the attachment means (4).
An electrical household appliance characterized in that the electric motor (2) as defined in any one of claims 11 to 13.