Patents by Inventor Steven VANHEE

Steven VANHEE has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 12278539
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for an electric axle in a vehicle. An electric axle comprises an electric motor having a stator and a rotor, a coolant manifold mounted to an end plate of the rotor, wherein the coolant manifold is configured to flow coolant to rotor coolant lines extending axially through the rotor, and a first spray ring arranged adjacent to the coolant manifold and a second spray ring arranged distally to the coolant manifold, wherein the first spray ring receives coolant from the coolant manifold via an interior passage and the second spray ring receives coolant from the coolant manifold via an outer passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: DANA TM4 INC.
    Inventors: Carl Trudel, Steven Vanhee, Luke Miller
  • Publication number: 20250119022
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided to cool an electric machine rotor. The electric machine fluid cooling system includes, in one example, one or more air vents in fluidic communication with one or more radial cooling passages of a rotor shaft. In the system, the radial cooling passages are in fluidic communication with one or more rotor shaft cooling passages that extend through the rotor shaft and an inlet cooling passage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2024
    Publication date: April 10, 2025
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Jaywant S. PAWAR, Maarten DEBROUWERE, Sam LEROY
  • Publication number: 20250096626
    Abstract: Systems are provided for an electric motor. In one example, the electric motor includes a stator comprising a coolant passage shaped in stator laminations. The coolant passage is non-linear and configured to flow coolant in two or more planes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2024
    Publication date: March 20, 2025
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Jaywant S. PAWAR, Joachim DRUANT
  • Patent number: 12208667
    Abstract: An electromagnetic propulsion unit for a land-based wheeled or tracked vehicle is provided. The propulsion unit includes a balancing plate assembly with an outer plate designed to couple to a rotor assembly. In the balancing plate assembly, the outer plate includes a lip that, during rotor assembly rotation, pumps one or more fluids from an air gap formed between the rotor assembly and a stator and the outer plate is constructed out of a non-electrically conductive material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: DANA BELGIUM N.V.
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Stephan Schlimpert, Bart Peremans, Bram Robberechts, Jasper Nonneman
  • Patent number: 12206291
    Abstract: An electromagnetic propulsion unit for a land-based wheeled or tracked vehicle is provided. The propulsion unit includes a rotor stack, a rotor shaft, and a balancing plate assembly. The balancing plate assembly include a base plate fixating the rotor stack to the rotor shaft, where the base plate includes an air channel that axially extends through the base plate and a planar channel formed between the rotor stack and the base plate and in fluidic communication with the air channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: DANA BELGIUM N.V.
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Stephan Schlimpert, Bart Peremans, Bram Robberechts, Jasper Nonneman
  • Patent number: 12184157
    Abstract: Systems are provided for an electronic drive unit. In one example, the electronic drive unit comprises a cooling passage integrally arranged therein, wherein the cooling passage is sealed via laminations of the stator. The laminations are further shaped to jet oil from the cooling passage onto end-windings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: DANA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS GROUP, LLC
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Joachim Druant, Thibault Devreese
  • Publication number: 20240380281
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided to cool an electric machine rotor. The electric machine fluid cooling system includes, in one example, an air vent in fluidic communication with a radial coolant passage of a rotor shaft. In the system, the radial coolant passage is in fluidic communication with a rotor shaft coolant passage that extends through a rotor shaft and an inlet coolant passage that extends through a rotor shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2024
    Publication date: November 14, 2024
    Inventors: Jaywant S. PAWAR, Steven VANHEE, Maarten DEBROUWERE, Sam LEROY, Laurens VAN EYKEREN
  • Patent number: 12132381
    Abstract: Systems for removing excess coolant oil and air from a radial air gap between a stator and a rotor of an electric motor are provided. In one example, the systems may include a ring covering the radial air gap, the ring configured to route coolant out of the radial air gap via one or more channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: DANA LIMITED
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Dolf Vandamme
  • Publication number: 20240333054
    Abstract: Systems are provided for a cooling system for an electric vehicle. In one example, a system includes a shaft assembly comprising a shaft, a shaft end cap, and an insert, wherein the insert is arranged in a cavity shaped by the shaft and the shaft end cap.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2024
    Publication date: October 3, 2024
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Maarten DEBROUWERE, Carl TRUDEL, Jaywant S. PAWAR, Alexandre PARE
  • Patent number: 12074506
    Abstract: An electric machine system is provided. The system includes a stack of a plurality of stator laminations with at least a portion of the plurality of stator laminations each including a plurality of holes that are arranged radially outward from a plurality of teeth, where the plurality of holes include a first set of holes, a second set of holes, and a third set of holes, where the first, second, and third sets of holes has a different profile and/or area, where the second set of holes are positioned radially inward from the third set of holes; and where a plurality of oil channels are formed by an alignment of holes in adjacent stator laminations in the portion of the plurality of stator laminations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Assignee: DANA BELGIUM N.V.
    Inventors: Joachim Druant, Steven Vanhee
  • Patent number: 12066084
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a transmission for a vehicle having a power source, the transmission comprising: an input member for receiving power from the power source; an output member for outputting power to at least one component of the vehicle; at least one power split gear set having a plurality of members and operatively connected between said input member and said output member; an electromagnetic variator having a stator, an outer rotor and an inner rotor; wherein the inner rotor is at least partially received in the outer rotor and the electromagnetic variator is configured to provide variable torque transmission ratios between the outer rotor and inner rotor; and wherein said first and second rotors are each operatively connectable to different ones of said members of said power split gear set and are each operatively connectable to the input member to be driven thereby.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: DANA BELGIUM N.V.
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Bert Hannon, Joachim Druant
  • Patent number: 12046955
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided to cool an electric machine. In one embodiment, an electric machine includes a rotor assembly that includes a rotor shaft and a stack of rotor laminations. The rotor assembly further includes one or more nozzles designed to receive pressurized coolant from a rotor shaft coolant passage and deliver the coolant to a set of open coolant channels in the stack of rotor laminations, wherein the set open coolant channels includes outlets that are profiled to direct the coolant towards a groove in a balancing plate that is coupled to the rotor assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Assignee: DANA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS GROUP, LLC
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Joachim Druant, Thibault Devreese, Carl Trudel, Luke Miller, Jaywant S. Pawar
  • Patent number: 12034352
    Abstract: A cooling jacket surrounding the stator of an electric machine, having an inlet and a plurality of outlets disposed at ends of the cooling jacket, distributed in circumferential direction and configured to create liquid jets exiting the cooling jacket in a radial direction towards end windings at the axial ends of the machine. Coolant liquid flow guiding elements within the cooling jacket are configured so as to create a circumferentially homogeneous or more homogenous axial liquid flow towards the liquid outlets and/or towards the liquid jet devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: DANA BELGIUM N.V.
    Inventor: Steven Vanhee
  • Patent number: 12027943
    Abstract: An electric motor cooling jacket enclosing a surface of an electric motor stator and having protuberances adapted for contact with the surface of the stator, with fluid passageways formed by the cooling jacket body, the protuberances, and the surface of the electric motor stator, wherein the fluid passageways are arranged to permit a cooling fluid to flow in a serpentine path across the surface of the stator to remove heat from the stator. Spray rings are fluidly coupled with the fluid passageways so as to permit the cooling fluid to flow into the fluid passageways, across the outer circumference of the electric motor stator, and out from orifices in the spray rings to cool the windings of the stator. The protuberances are formable using a pair of mold halves aligned anti-symmetrically with one another so that a serpentine fluid path is formed when casting the cooling jacket body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2024
    Assignee: DANA HEAVY VEHICLE SYSTEMS GROUP, LLC
    Inventors: Maximilian Hombsch, Steven Vanhee, Darren J. Ziskovsky
  • Patent number: 12009723
    Abstract: Systems and methods for cooling an electric motor in an electric drive unit are provided. In one example, the electric drive unit includes electric motor with a housing with a water jacket arranged therein, a stator that includes a plurality of stator laminations positioned within the housing, and an oil inlet mounted to and extending through the housing. The plurality of stator laminations includes a radial opening that is designed to receive oil from the oil inlet and direct oil to one or more oil ducts that axially extend through at least a portion of the plurality of stator laminations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2024
    Assignee: DANA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS GROUP, LLC
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Joachim Druant, Thibault Devreese, Luke Miller
  • Publication number: 20240178724
    Abstract: Methods and systems for an electric machine. The electric machine includes, in one example, a stator with end windings and a stator core and a cooling assembly with a spray ring that is directly coupled to an axial face of the stator core. In the electric machine, the spray ring is configured to spray a coolant at the end windings and includes a first section that extends down the axial face of the stator core and a second section that extends axially away from the stator core.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2022
    Publication date: May 30, 2024
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Joachim DRUANT
  • Publication number: 20240146154
    Abstract: Systems and methods for electric machine cooling. The electric machine, in one example, includes a rotor that includes an outer circumferential surface with one or more spiral grooves, a stator that circumferentially surrounds the rotor and includes end windings, and an air passage radially extending from the stator to an air gap between the stator and the rotor. The electric machine further includes a cooling assembly configured to spray a coolant towards the end windings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2022
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Joachim DRUANT
  • Publication number: 20240146156
    Abstract: Systems and methods for electric machine cooling. The electric machine, in one example, includes a cooling assembly with a coolant inlet that flows coolant into a first sealed chamber that is formed around end windings on a first axial side of the electric machine. The cooling assembly further includes a coolant outlet that receives coolant from a second sealed chamber that is formed around end windings on a second axial side of the electric machine and a coolant channel extending through a stator core and in fluidic communication with the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2023
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Jaywant S. PAWAR
  • Patent number: 11973398
    Abstract: Methods and systems for cooling an electric motor are provided. An electric motor system, in one example, comprises a rotor with a plurality of axial air conduits, a first balancing plate positioned on a first axial side of the rotor, the first balancing plate comprising an inlet air duct and an outlet air duct, and a second balancing plate positioned on a second axial side of the rotor, the second balancing plate comprising an inlet air duct and an outlet air duct. In the electric motor system, the inlet air duct in the first balancing plate is radially offset from the inlet air duct in the second balancing plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: DANA BELGIUM N.V.
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Shawn P. A. Jackson, Maximilian Hombsch
  • Patent number: 11967888
    Abstract: An electric motor and inverter assembly and a method of assembly therefor, the electric motor and inverter assembly having a motor housing portion, a DC bus bar for electrically connecting a DC power source to an inverter power module where the DC bus bar is mounted on the housing portion, and a cooling channel disposed in between the housing portion and the DC bus bar for cooling the DC bus bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: DANA BELGIUM N.V.
    Inventors: Joachim Druant, Steven Vanhee