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).

  • Publication number: 20230223801
    Abstract: Systems and methods for cooling an electric motor in an electric drive unit are provided. In one example, the electric motor includes a stator and an inverter power module positioned within a motor housing. The inverter power module forms an interface with a peripheral surface of an outer section of stator laminations of the stator, and the stator laminations include a plurality of cutouts forming axially extending oil ducts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2022
    Publication date: July 13, 2023
    Inventors: Joachim DRUANT, Steven VANHEE, Thibault DEVREESE
  • Publication number: 20230187991
    Abstract: Systems are provided for stator slots with multiple rectangular layers of differing widths. In one example, a system may include a stator including a plurality of segmented slots included around an inner circumference of the stator. Each segmented slot may contain within it legs of hairpin wires, the legs within each slot including differing widths.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2021
    Publication date: June 15, 2023
    Inventors: Joachim DRUANT, Steven VANHEE
  • Publication number: 20230155452
    Abstract: Various methods and systems are provided for a system for cooling an electric motor that includes a rotor shaft rotatably mounted inside a motor housing, a lamination stack integrally connected to the rotor shaft, an encoder-end balance plate integrally connected to a first end of the lamination stack and a first end of the rotor shaft, an output-end balance plate integrally connected to a second end of the lamination stack and a second end of the rotor shaft, an oil supply coupled to the output-end balance plate and the rotor shaft. A closed-looped coolant pathway is formed between the transmission, the rotor shaft, the encoder-end balance plate, the lamination stack, and the output-end balance plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2023
    Publication date: May 18, 2023
    Inventors: Shawn P.A. JACKSON, Steven VANHEE
  • Publication number: 20230127634
    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: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2021
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Stephan SCHLIMPERT, Bart PEREMANS, Bram ROBBERECHTS, Jasper NONNEMAN
  • Publication number: 20230126006
    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: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2021
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Stephan SCHLIMPERT, Bart PEREMANS, Bram ROBBERECHTS, Jasper NONNEMAN
  • Patent number: 11626776
    Abstract: Various methods and systems are provided for a system for cooling an electric motor that includes a rotor shaft rotatably mounted inside a motor housing, a lamination stack integrally connected to the rotor shaft, an encoder-end balance plate integrally connected to a first end of the lamination stack and a first end of the rotor shaft, an output-end balance plate integrally connected to a second end of the lamination stack and a second end of the rotor shaft, an oil supply coupled to the output-end balance plate and the rotor shaft. A closed-looped coolant pathway is formed between the transmission, the rotor shaft, the encoder-end balance plate, the lamination stack, and the output-end balance plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Dana Belgium N.V.
    Inventors: Shawn P.A. Jackson, Steven Vanhee
  • Publication number: 20230092822
    Abstract: Various methods and systems are provided for a system for cooling an electric motor. The cooling system includes a primary coolant passage through a rotor shaft linked to a plurality of secondary passages though lamination stacks of a rotor configured to receive coolant at a central region of the lamination stacks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2021
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Inventors: Thibault DEVREESE, Steven VANHEE, Joachim DRUANT
  • Publication number: 20230093220
    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: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2021
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Joachim DRUANT, Thibault DEVREESE, Luke MILLER
  • Patent number: 11611259
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for a cooling jacket for an electric motor. In one example, a system may include a channel extending along a circumference of an inner surface of the cooling jacket between an inlet and an outlet of the cooling jacket. A cross-section of the channel may gradually change from the inlet to the outlet along the circumference in order to compensate an increase in coolant temperature by an increase in convective heat transfer such that cooling is balanced around a circumferential surface of the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Dana Belgium N.V.
    Inventors: Louis Lambourg, Steven Vanhee
  • Publication number: 20230071523
    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: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2021
    Publication date: March 9, 2023
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Dolf VANDAMME
  • Publication number: 20230054487
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for operating an electric motor including multiple rotor and stator sections. In one example, a system may include the multiple rotor sections configured to be mechanically coupled and decoupled from each other concurrently with multiple stator sections configured to be electrically coupled and decoupled from each other, within certain regimes of operation of the electric motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Inventors: Joachim DRUANT, Steven VANHEE
  • Publication number: 20230017636
    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: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2021
    Publication date: January 19, 2023
    Inventors: Steven VANHEE, Joachim DRUANT, Thibault DEVREESE
  • Patent number: 11515756
    Abstract: Methods and systems for cooling an electric motor are provided. An electric motor cooling system, in one example, includes a stator at least partially surrounding a rotor and an inner passage extending axially through the rotor and including an inlet and an outlet. The cooling system further includes an outer passage including an inlet in fluidic communication with the outlet of the inner passage and an outlet in fluidic communication with an inlet of the inner passage and a phase change material in the inner passage and the outer passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Dana Belgium N.V.
    Inventors: Steven Vanhee, Maximilian Hombsch
  • Publication number: 20220352782
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for an electric axle in a vehicle. The 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 spray ring comprising coolant lines coupled to the coolant manifold, wherein coolant flowing from the coolant manifold to the spray ring flows in a direction angled to an axial direction, wherein the spray ring is positioned circumferentially about axial stator end windings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2022
    Publication date: November 3, 2022
    Inventors: Carl TRUDEL, Steven VANHEE, Luke MILLER
  • Publication number: 20220348063
    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: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2022
    Publication date: November 3, 2022
    Inventors: Carl TRUDEL, Steven VANHEE, Luke MILLER
  • Publication number: 20220209618
    Abstract: Various systems and methods are provided for an electric motor of a vehicle, and particularly to an electric motor including a coolant spray ring. In one example, a spray ring for an electric motor comprises an outer circumferential surface including a plurality of axial grooves, an inner circumferential surface including a plurality of nozzle orifices in fluidic communication with the plurality of axial grooves, and a plurality of nozzle guide surfaces formed through the spray ring and extending from the plurality of axial grooves to the plurality of nozzle orifices in a direction toward a central opening of the spray ring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2020
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Inventors: Darren J. ZISKOVSKY, Steven VANHEE, Louis LAMBOURG
  • Publication number: 20220200413
    Abstract: The present document relates to an electric drive unit, comprising: a stator configured to produce a stator magnetic field, at least a first rotor including first rotor windings, the first rotor windings for instance including multi-phase windings, and at least a first inverter electrically connected with the first rotor windings and configured to produce an electric current in the first rotor windings for producing a first rotor magnetic field. The stator magnetic field is configured to interact with the first rotor magnetic field to exert a torque on the first rotor. The present document further relates to a method of operating the electric drive unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2021
    Publication date: June 23, 2022
    Inventors: Joachim DRUANT, Steven VANHEE
  • Publication number: 20220190684
    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: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2021
    Publication date: June 16, 2022
    Inventors: Joachim DRUANT, Steven VANHEE
  • Publication number: 20220140697
    Abstract: Various methods and systems are provided for thermal management of an electric motor via a coolant flow around portions of the electric motor, where the coolant flow is disrupted by an arrangement of pin-fins. In one example, an electric motor comprises: a casing including a coolant inlet arranged opposite to a coolant outlet across a central axis of the electric motor; a stator housed within the casing and forming a plurality of pin-fins extending straight outward radially, relative to the central axis, from outer circumferential surfaces of the stator in a staggered arrangement around an entire perimeter of the stator; and a plurality of clearances formed between adjacent pin-fins of the plurality of pin-fins, the plurality of clearances adapted to flow a coolant from the coolant inlet to the coolant outlet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2020
    Publication date: May 5, 2022
    Inventors: Jaywant S. PAWAR, Chetan PRASHANT, Amol G. THAKARE, Steven VANHEE
  • Publication number: 20220045576
    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: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Inventors: Joachim DRUANT, Steven VANHEE