Abstract: Eddy current brake equipment includes a stator assembly and a rotor assembly adapted to be mounted on a transmission shaft of a vehicle. One of those assemblies includes inductor windings and the other assembly includes an armature facing the inductor windings. The inductor windings are selectively excited from an electricity source of the vehicle in response to a power feed setting. A processor is provided to estimate the braking torque that the equipment can provide as a function of the speed of rotation of the rotor assembly, of the temperature armature, and of the temperature of the inductor windings, and of at least one value for the power feed setting.

Abstract: The equipment comprises control device that establish a power feed setting for selectively exciting the stator windings as a function of the position of a control lever while also taking the temperature of the rotor armature into account. This temperature is evaluated in real time by a processor included in the control device. At each evaluation instant, the computation variables comprise the speed of rotation of the rotor, the power feed setting, the temperature of the armature as obtained for the preceding evaluation instant, and optionally the temperature of the stator. The invention can be used to make better use of the electrical power delivered to the stator while avoiding the need to measure armature temperature directly.

Abstract: This concerns a rotor armature of an electromagnetic retarder, comprising at least one disk (2) axially prolonged over one of its faces by a plurality of fins (9), each fin being delimited by two faces which are parallel or substantially so, and are inclined with the corresponding radii, the tips of these fins being connected together by an annular flange (11) and the assembly of the disk, of the fins and of the flange being formed all in one piece molded from a ferromagnetic material. This rotor comprises, between the disk (2) and the flange (11), between the fins (9) molded in one piece with the disk and the flange, a plurality of thermally conductive independent inserts (13) extending parallel to the axis of the rotor and whose axial end edges (15) are embedded to a small depth in respectively the two mutually opposite transverse faces of the disk and the flange.

Abstract: The invention provides an armature rotor for electromagnetic retarder, comprising at least one disc (2) extended axially on one of its faces by a plurality of fins (9), each fin being defined by two parallel or substantially parallel faces slanted with respect to the corresponding radii, the tips of the fins being connected together by an annular flange (11) and the assembly formed by the disc, the fins and the flange being made as a single moulded block from ferromagnetic material. The fins (9) of said rotor are particularly thin, numerous and so close together, the thickness of each fin being less than 5 mm and the width of the gap between two consecutive fins, in its narrowest zone, considered perpendicularly to the facing faces of the fins, being less than 10 mm.

Abstract: To improve the cooling of the rotor armature disc of an electromagnetic brake, connecting to an external web by a ring of arms forming ventilation fins, the web bounding with the disc and the portions of fins which connect it to this disc, channels for ventilation air, on one at least of the surface bounding the channels internally, striae or ondulations are provided constituted by ribs extending in directions inclined to the direction of flow of the air in the channels. The ratio between the spacing of the sucessive ribs and the height of these ribs is comprised between 5 and 15.

Abstract: An armature rotor for an electromagnetic retarder includes at least one disk (2) made from a ferromagnetic material connected to an inner fixing ring (7) by an annulus of arms (9) forming ventilation fins, the largest diameter portions of these arms projecting axially from the face of the disk opposite the air gap (E), and the crests of these portions being joined together by an annular web (10), the assembly formed by the disk, the ring, the arms and the web being formed of a single molded block. The maximum outer diameter of the ventilation stucture formed by the arms and the web is greater than the outer diameter of the disk, considered at the level of the mean plane of this disk. Two thin collars (13 and 14) defining therebetween a groove (15) extend the two axial faces of the disk radially outwardly.