US6177734B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Starter/generator for an internal combustion engine, especially an engine of a motor vehicle
Assignee: Gruendl und Hoffmann GmbH Gesellschaft fuer Elektrotechnische Entwicklungen
•
Filing: 1998-02-27
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Granted: 2001-01-23
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Expires: 2018-02-27
Abstract
Abstract The invention concerns a starter/generator for an internal combustion engine ( 1 ), especially that of a motor vehicle, with an electric rotary-field machine ( 4 ), which exercises the starter and generator function; and at least one invertor ( 17 ) for generating the voltages and/or currents of variable frequency, amplitude and/or phase required for the magnetic fields of the electric machine ( 4 ); wherein the electric machine ( 4 ) starts the internal combustion engine ( 1 ) by merging in from standstill.
Inventors
- 👤 Ullrich Masberg
- 👤 Thomas Pels
- 👤 Klaus-Peter Zeyen
- 👤 Andreas Gr{umlaut over (u)}ndl
- 👤 Bernhard Hoffmann
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 18:28
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60K; B60K6/00; B60K6/20; B60K6/22; B60K6/26; B60K28/00; B60K28/10; B60K28/16; B60K6/38; B60K6/387; B60K6/42; B60K6/48; B60K6/485; B60L; B60L50/00; B60L50/10; B60L50/16; B60L7/00; B60L7/003; B60L7/28; B60T; B60T1/00; B60T1/02; B60T1/10; F; F02; F02B; F02B67/00; F02B67/04; F02B75/00; F02B75/06; F02N; F02N11/00; F02N11/04; F02N11/08; F02N11/0862; F02N11/0866; F16; F16F; F16F15/00; F16F15/10; F16F15/12; F16F15/129; F16F15/1292; F16F15/18; H; H02; H02K; H02K51/00; H02K7/00; H02K7/10; H02K7/108; H02M; H02M7/00; B60K1/00; B60K2001/003; B60K2006/262; B60K2006/268; B60L2220/00; B60L2220/50; B60L2220/52; B60L2240/00; B60L2240/40; B60L2240/44; B60L2240/443; B60W; B60W2510/00; B60W2510/06; B60W2510/0657; F02D; F02D2250/00; F02D2250/18; F02D2250/24; F02N2011/0881; F02N2011/0885; F02N2011/0888; F02N2011/0896; F16H; F16H61/00; F16H61/04; F16H61/0403; F16H2061/0422; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T10/00; Y02T10/60; Y02T10/62; Y02T10/64; Y02T10/70; Y02T10/7072; Y10; Y10S; Y10S903/00; Y10S903/902; Y10S903/903; Y10S903/904; Y10S903/906; Y10S903/912; Y10S903/914; Y10S903/946; Y10S903/947; Y10S903/96
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
183 words
Starter/generator for an internal combustion engine ( 1 ) of a motor vehicle, wherein the improvement comprises an on-board network having a first voltage level; an electric rotary-field machine ( 4 ), which exercises the starter and generator function; and at least one invertor ( 17 ) to generate the voltages and currents having at least one variable including frequency, amplitude, and phase required for the magnetic fields of the electric machine ( 4 ) by sine-evaluated pulse modulation with a clock frequency greater than 10 kHz; wherein the inverter ( 17 ) has an intermediate circuit with a second voltage level; wherein the inverter ( 17 ) in the intermediate circuit is outfitted with an energy accumulator ( 19 , 24 ) to store up energy for the starter operation; wherein the second voltage level is higher than the first voltage level; and wherein both the energy withdrawal from the intermediate circuit in the starter operation of the electric machine ( 4 ) and the energy storage in the intermediate circuit in the generator operation take place at the second voltage level.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
183 words
Starter/generator for an internal combustion engine ( 1 ) of a motor vehicle, wherein the improvement comprises an on-board network having a first voltage level; an electric rotary-field machine ( 4 ), which exercises the starter and generator function; and at least one invertor ( 17 ) to generate the voltages and currents having at least one variable including frequency, amplitude, and phase required for the magnetic fields of the electric machine ( 4 ) by sine-evaluated pulse modulation with a clock frequency greater than 10 kHz; wherein the inverter ( 17 ) has an intermediate circuit with a second voltage level; wherein the inverter ( 17 ) in the intermediate circuit is outfitted with an energy accumulator ( 19 , 24 ) to store up energy for the starter operation; wherein the second voltage level is higher than the first voltage level; and wherein both the energy withdrawal from the intermediate circuit in the starter operation of the electric machine ( 4 ) and the energy storage in the intermediate circuit in the generator operation take place at the second voltage level.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
A starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) starts the internal combustion engine ( 1 ) by movement from standstill.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
A starter/generator per claim 2 , in which the relative rotary speeds of internal combustion engine ( 1 ) and electric machine ( 4 ) are equal in the starter and in the generator operation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) is directly coupled to a drive shaft ( 10 ) of the internal combustion engine or a drive train.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
A starter/generator according to claim 4 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) is mounted on the drive shaft ( 10 ) and firmly joined to it.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) is an induction machine.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which one rotary field generating element (stator 8 ) of the electric machine ( 4 ) has 8 to 16 poles ( 39 ).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) has a maximum pole reversal frequency between 300 and 1600 Hz.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the stator ( 8 ) of the electric machine ( 4 ) has stator plates with a thickness of 0.35 mm or less.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
45 words
A starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) has winding heads which have an axial projection between 5 mm and 25 mm on each side of the stator ( 8 ) of the electric machine ( 4 ).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
A starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the air gap between rotor ( 9 ) and stator ( 8 ) of the electric machine ( 4 ) is between 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
A starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the back thickness of the stator ( 8 ) of the electric machine ( 4 ) is between 15 mm and 30 mm.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) has an internal fluid cooling.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
42 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) works far into the magnetic saturation region at a current coverage (or maximum torque) of at least 400 to 1000 A/cm air gap length in the circumferential direction.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
30 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) has a high torque density—in terms of the maximum torque greater than 0.01 Nm/cm 3 .
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which electronic switches ( 43 , 47 , 50 ) of the invertor ( 17 ) are boiling bath cooled.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which several electronic switches ( 43 ) of the invertor ( 17 ) are connected in parallel.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the invertor ( 17 ) contains semiconductor switches, of at least one of the following type: field effect transistors, bipolar transistors, and bipolar transistors with insulated gate (IGBTs).
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
34 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which auxiliary machines such as air conditioners ( 29 ), servo-drives ( 30 ), pumps, are electrically operated at the second voltage level from the intermediate circuit.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
23 words
A starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) also serves as a generator for heating purposes.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which a car battery is provided in the on-board network on the first voltage level.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
26 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) can produce or sustain an acceleration and/or braking of the drive shaft.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
26 words
Starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) works as an electromagnetic coupling in the drive train ( 2 ).
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
28 words
A starter/generator according to claim 1 , in which the electric machine ( 4 ) also serves to reduce rotational nonuniformities by generating a quickly alternating opposite-phase torque.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-01-23 | 2004-07-24 | 2005-01-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-01-23 | 2008-07-24 | 2009-01-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-01-23 | 2012-07-24 | 2013-01-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |