JP2022120961A - Rotary electric machine system - Google Patents

Abstract

To miniaturize a rotary electric machine system and enhance a cooling efficiency thereof.SOLUTION: A rotary electric machine system 10 includes a casing 14 which accommodates a rotary electric machine 12 and in which first ends (46a to 46d) of heat pipes (44a to 44d) are inserted, and a radiator 16 connected to second ends (48a to 48d) of the heat pipes. The heat pipe encloses a heat medium (82) therein, and heat is taken from this heat medium at the second ends connected to the radiator 16, whereby the heat medium is condensed. The radiator 16 is arranged near an end portion of the casing 14 in the axial direction. The radial center of the casing 14 and the radial center O of the radiator 16 substantially overlap each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a rotating electric machine system including a rotating electric machine housed in a casing and a radiator.

A rotating electrical machine is well known as comprising a rotor containing a rotating shaft and holding permanent magnets, and a stator containing electromagnetic coils. A rotating electrical machine functions as a generator when it extracts current generated in an electromagnetic coil as the rotor rotates. If you get it, it will be a motor. In recent years, there has been a demand to increase the output while reducing the size of this type of rotary electric machine. To achieve this, it is thought that the rotor should be rotated at high speed, but in this case, the amount of heat generated in the rotating electric machine increases. When the amount of magnetic flux of the permanent magnet is reduced due to this heat, the output of the rotating electric machine is lowered.

Therefore, as described in Patent Document 1, attempts have been made to house a rotating electric machine and a liquid-phase cooling medium in a casing, and to cool the rotating electric machine with the cooling medium. Note that the cooling medium is in a liquid phase at room temperature, and changes to a gas phase by cooling the rotating electric machine. The heat of the cooling medium in gas phase is taken by another cooling medium (such as cooling water) flowing through the flow passages formed in the casing. As a result, the cooling medium condenses into a liquid phase capable of re-cooling the rotating electric machine.

Further, Patent Document 2 proposes winding a plurality of heat pipes around a casing (a “heat collecting jacket” referred to in Patent Document 2). In this case, the cooling medium enclosed in the heat pipe absorbs heat from the rotating electric machine and changes to gas phase. The heat of the cooling medium in the vapor phase is dissipated by the heat pipe radiator provided by gathering the ends of the heat pipes together at a position separated from the casing. As a result, the cooling medium returns to the liquid phase, moves to the portion wound around the heat collection jacket (heat pipe heat receiving portion), and recools the rotating electric machine.

JP 2006-14522 A JP 2017-38489 A

In order to condense the cooling medium with another cooling medium as described in Patent Document 1, equipment or a mechanism for circulating and supplying the other cooling medium to the casing is required. Accordingly, the scale of the rotating electric machine system including the rotating electric machine is increased, and the running cost is increased.

On the other hand, in the heat pipe described in Patent Document 2, in the cooling medium enclosed in the heat pipe, the part that becomes a gas phase in the rotating electric machine that is the heat source passes through the main passage in the heat pipe and reaches the heat dissipation part. It moves spontaneously, and the liquid phase in the heat radiation part moves spontaneously to the rotating electric machine through the wick in the heat pipe. Therefore, there is no need to use another cooling medium to condense the cooling medium in the heat pipe, and no equipment or mechanism for circulating and supplying another cooling medium is required. However, when the heat pipe heat radiating portion is provided as described in FIGS. 2 to 5 of Patent Document 2, the heat pipe heat radiating portion extends outward in the diameter direction of the heat collection jacket. Therefore, the rotating electric machine system including the heat collection jacket and the heat pipe becomes large.

If the size and shape of the rotary electric machine system are large, when the rotary electric machine system is mounted on a mounting object such as a vehicle, the degree of freedom in layout of the rotary electric machine system and other mounted equipment is reduced. Therefore, it is required to improve the cooling efficiency while downsizing the rotary electric machine system as much as possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rotating electric machine system which can be downsized and has excellent cooling efficiency of the rotating electric machine.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, in a rotating electric machine system in which a rotating electric machine having a stator and a rotor is housed in a substantially cylindrical casing,
a first end inserted into the casing, in which a heat medium that takes heat from the cooling medium that has cooled the rotating electrical machine in the casing and undergoes a phase change from a liquid phase to a gas phase is sealed; a heat pipe having a second end exposed outside the casing;
a radiator coupled to the second end for extracting heat from and condensing the heat medium in the heat pipe;
with
The radiator has a substantially annular shape, and the radial center of the casing and the radial center of the radiator substantially overlap when viewed from the axial direction of the casing. A rotating electric machine system arranged nearby is provided.

According to the present invention, the radiator for taking heat from the heat medium in the heat pipe is arranged near the axial end of the casing. As a result, the rotating electric machine system is prevented from increasing radially outwardly of the casing. That is, it is possible to reduce the size of the rotary electric machine system. For this reason, when the rotating electric machine system is mounted on the mounting object, restrictions on the mounting locations of the rotating electric machine system and other devices are reduced. That is, the degree of freedom in layout of the rotary electric machine system and other devices is improved.

In addition, since the radiator has a substantially annular shape, the rotating shaft of the rotor can pass through the radiator. Therefore, the rotary shaft is prevented from interfering with the radiator. That is, since the rotating shaft is prevented from becoming unrotatable by arranging the radiator at the axial end of the casing, it is also possible to attach a predetermined member to the tip of the rotating shaft protruding from the radiator. . Furthermore, since the radiator has a substantially annular shape, it is lighter than a solid radiator such as a circle or square.

Moreover, the cooling medium for cooling the rotating electrical machine is housed in the casing, and the cooling medium that has taken heat from the rotating electrical machine is quickly cooled by the heat medium in the heat pipe. The heat transferred to the heat medium along with this is quickly dissipated via the radiator. Therefore, the heat medium quickly becomes capable of cooling the cooling medium. Therefore, even when the rotor is rotated at high speed, the rotating electric machine can be efficiently cooled. As a result, it is possible to improve the output of the rotating electrical machine while miniaturizing the rotating electrical machine system.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a rotary electric machine system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the inside of a casing that constitutes the rotating electric machine system, viewed from the radiator side; FIG. 2 is a schematic plan sectional view along the axial direction of the rotating electric machine system; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of a heat pipe; FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a case where the heat pipe is bent radially inward of the casing near the axial end of the casing.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of a rotary electric machine system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, "left" and "right" particularly refer to the left and right in FIGS. , do not specify the direction in which the rotating electric machine system is actually used. On the other hand, "lower" and "upper" particularly refer to downward and upward directions in FIGS. 1 and 2, and are preferably downward and upward directions when the rotating electric machine system is mounted on a mounting object.

1 to 3 are, respectively, a schematic perspective view of main parts of a rotating electric machine system 10 according to the present embodiment, a schematic front view of the inside of a casing 14 viewed from the radiator 16 side in FIG. It is a schematic plan sectional view. This rotary electric machine system 10 includes a rotary electric machine 12, a casing 14 housing the rotary electric machine 12, a radiator 16, and a first pipe group 18a and a second pipe group 18b bridged between the casing 14 and the radiator 16. Prepare. That is, in this embodiment, there are two pipe groups.

The rotating electrical machine 12 includes a rotor 22 including a rotating shaft 20 and a stator 24 surrounding the outer circumference of the rotor 22 . A plurality of permanent magnets 26 are held on the side peripheral wall of the rotary shaft 20 such that the magnetic poles of the surfaces facing the stator 24 are alternately different. On the other hand, the stator 24 is constructed by covering an electromagnetic steel plate (not shown) with an insulator 28 and winding an electromagnetic coil 30 around the insulator 28 . The stator 24 has a substantially annular shape, and the rotor 22 is inserted into a hole formed in the center. Since such a configuration is well known, detailed illustration and description are omitted.

The casing 14 includes a main body member 32 having open ends, a first cap member 34 facing the left opening of the main body member 32, and a second cap member 36 facing the right opening. The left end of the rotating shaft 20 is exposed from the first cap member 34 and the right end is exposed from the second cap member 36 . The axial center line L of the casing 14 passes through the radial center of the casing 14 and the radial center of the rotating shaft 20 . 2, the second cap member 36 is omitted.

The main body member 32 has a substantially cylindrical shape with an inner diameter and an outer diameter that are substantially equal in the longitudinal direction (axial direction), which is the left-right direction in FIG. 3 . Note that in this case, the casing 14 is in a recumbent posture in which the axial direction extends along the horizontal direction. Stator 24 and permanent magnets 26 of rotor 22 are housed within body member 32 in a recumbent position. Therefore, the rotating shaft 20 of the rotor 22 also extends along the horizontal direction.

The casing 14 contains a cooling medium 40 (see FIG. 2) made of a liquid phase organic substance. Since the casing 14 is lying down, the cooling medium 40 stays in the lower space inside the casing 14 . Since both openings of the body member 32 are provided with the first cap member 34 and the second cap member 36 , the cooling medium 40 is prevented from leaking out of the casing 14 . Preferable specific examples of organic substances include polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol.

First ends 46a and 46b of a first heat pipe 44a and a second heat pipe 44b constituting a first pipe group 18a are arranged on the inner peripheral surface of the casing 14 above the left end thereof. Moreover, the first ends 46c and 46d of the third heat pipe 44c and the fourth heat pipe 44d that constitute the second pipe group 18b are arranged above the right end. That is, in the present embodiment, each of the first pipe group 18a and the second pipe group 18b is configured by combining two heat pipes adjacent to each other.

In the first pipe group 18a, the first ends 46a of the first heat pipes 44a are curved in an arc along the upper inner peripheral surface of the casing 14 inside the casing 14. As shown in FIG. Here, when the central angle α (see FIG. 2) of the arc formed by the first end 46a is 360°, part of the first end 46a is immersed in the cooling medium 40. As shown in FIG. In order to avoid this, it is preferable to set the central angle α to 270° or less. On the other hand, the central angle α is preferably obtuse. This is because, in this case, the cooling medium 40 condensed by the first heat pipe 44a can be brought into contact with the stator 24 over a wide range. In this embodiment, the case where the central angle α is set to about 180° is illustrated. In this case, the first end 46a has a substantially semicircular shape.

The first heat pipe 44a is passed through one of the first two continuous holes 50a formed on the front left side in FIG. That is, the portion of the first heat pipe 44 a other than the first end 46 a extends to be exposed from the casing 14 . Immediately after being exposed from the casing 14 , the portion is bent approximately 90° and extends approximately parallel to the axial direction of the casing 14 toward the right front side of the radiator 16 in FIG. 1 . That is, the second end 48 a of the first heat pipe 44 a faces the radiator 16 .

The second heat pipe 44b is adjacent to the first heat pipe 44a and has the same shape as the first heat pipe 44a. That is, the first end 46b of the second heat pipe 44b extends inside the casing 14 so as to be adjacent to the first end 46a of the first heat pipe 44a. Therefore, the first ends 46a and 46b of the first heat pipe 44a and the second heat pipe 44b are in substantially the same phase, and overlap when the casing 14 is viewed from the axial direction, as shown in FIG.

A portion of the second heat pipe 44b other than the first end 46b is passed through the remaining one of the first two continuous holes 50a and extends to be exposed from the casing 14. As shown in FIG. Similar to the first heat pipe 44a, this portion is bent approximately 90° immediately after being exposed from the casing 14, and while maintaining a state adjacent to the first heat pipe 44a, it is substantially bent with respect to the axial direction of the casing 14. Extend parallel to the radiator 16 . The radiator 16 faces the second end 48b of the second heat pipe 44b.

In the second pipe group 18b, the third heat pipe 44c and the fourth heat pipe 44d are adjacent to each other and have substantially the same shape. The first ends 46c and 46d of the third heat pipe 44c and the fourth heat pipe 44d are also curved in an arc along the upper inner peripheral surface of the casing 14 within the casing 14, and the central angle α is It is preferably set to 270° or less. In the illustrated example, the angle is about 180°, and the first ends 46c, 46d of the third heat pipe 44c and the fourth heat pipe 44d are aligned with the first ends 46a, 46b of the first heat pipe 44a and the second heat pipe 44b. Similarly, it has a substantially semicircular shape.

In this way, the first ends 46a to 46d of the first heat pipes 44a to 44d all extend along the upper inner peripheral surface of the body member 32 constituting the casing 14 with a central angle α of about 180°. It has a semicircular shape. Therefore, the first ends 46a-46d of the first heat pipe 44a-fourth heat pipe 44d are in substantially the same phase, and overlap when the casing 14 is viewed from the axial direction, as shown in FIG.

First ends 46a and 46b of the first heat pipe 44a and the second heat pipe 44b (the first pipe group 18a) are located near the left opening of the body member 32. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the first ends 46c and 46d of the third heat pipe 44c and the fourth heat pipe 44d (the second pipe group 18b) are located near the right opening of the body member 32. As shown in FIG. That is, the first ends 46 a and 46 b of the first pipe group 18 a and the first ends 46 c and 46 d of the second pipe group 18 b are separated from each other inside the casing 14 .

The third heat pipe 44c and the fourth heat pipe 44d are formed in the vicinity of the right opening of the side peripheral wall of the main body member 32, and are connected to the second two-connected hole 50b having a phase difference of approximately 180° from the first two-connected hole 50a. Passed. That is, portions of the third heat pipe 44 c and the fourth heat pipe 44 d other than the first ends 46 c and 46 d also extend to be exposed from the casing 14 . Immediately after being exposed from the casing 14 , the portion is bent at approximately 90° and extends substantially parallel to the axial direction of the casing 14 toward the radiator 16 while maintaining an adjoining state. Second ends 48c and 48d of the third heat pipe 44c and the fourth heat pipe 44d face the heat radiator 16 on the far right side in FIG.

The radiator 16 has, for example, a plate-shaped aluminum alloy plate fin 54 and a brazing sheet 56 bonded to the curved top of the plate fin 54. A substantially annular shape is formed by being curved so as to go around all the way. An inner end ring 58 is arranged on the innermost peripheral side, and an outer end ring 60 is arranged on the outer peripheral side. Further, the plate fins 54 and the brazing sheet 56 are partly removed to form the third double hole 62a and the fourth double hole 62b. The second ends 48a and 48b of the first heat pipe 44a and the second heat pipe 44b are fitted and joined to the third double hole 62a on the front right side in FIG. On the other hand, the second ends 48c and 48d of the third heat pipe 44c and the fourth heat pipe 44d are fitted into the fourth two-connected hole 62b, which has a phase difference of approximately 180° with respect to the third two-connected hole 62a.

Through the fitting described above, the radiator 16 is connected to the second ends 48a to 48d of the first to fourth heat pipes 44a to 44d. Note that the radiator 16 may be supported by the casing 14 via a stay (not shown) or the like.

The radiator 16 configured in this way is arranged in the vicinity of the right end, which is one of the ends in the axial direction of the casing 14 in this case. A rotating shaft 20 is passed through the radiator 16 . The axial center line L of the casing 14 passes through the radial center O of the radiator 16 . That is, the radial center of the casing 14, the radial center of the rotating shaft 20, and the radial center O of the radiator 16 are aligned on the axial center line L. As understood from this, the radial center O of the radiator 16 overlaps the radial center of the casing 14 when viewed from the axial direction of the casing 14 . That is, the radiators 16 are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the casing 14 .

The inner diameter of the radiator 16 (the inner diameter of the inner end ring 58) is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the casing 14. As shown in FIG. Also, the outer diameter of the radiator 16 (the outer diameter of the outer end ring 60) is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the casing 14. As shown in FIG. The difference obtained by subtracting the inner diameter from the outer diameter of the radiator 16 is slightly larger than the sum of the diameters of the adjacent second ends 48a and 48b or the second ends 48c and 48d.

Here, the configuration of the first heat pipe 44a to the fourth heat pipe 44d will be briefly described with reference to the first heat pipe 44a schematically shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, a closed space 80 is formed in the first heat pipe 44a along its longitudinal direction. This closed space 80 accommodates a working fluid 82 that is a heat medium. A wick 84 is provided in the first heat pipe 44a along the longitudinal direction, and the closed space 80 is divided by the wick 84 to form a main passage 86. As shown in FIG. The working fluid 82 is generally water, but may be any other liquid. An appropriate amount of hydraulic fluid 82 is enclosed in the closed space 80 and the closed space 80 is not filled.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cooling medium 40 in the vapor phase (vapor 90) is in contact with the first end 46a of the first heat pipe 44a. This contact transfers heat from vapor 90 of cooling medium 40 to working fluid 82 . As a result, the working fluid 82 is vaporized into steam 92 . The steam 92 travels along the main passageway 86 away from the relatively hot first end 46a, ie, in this case, toward the second end 48a. On the other hand, at the second end 48a, heat is taken from the steam 92 by heat dissipation from the radiator 16 (see FIGS. 1 and 3). As a result, vapor 92 condenses back into liquid phase working fluid 82 . The hydraulic fluid 82 in the liquid phase is recirculated through the wick 84 by capillary force toward the first end 46a.

Needless to say, the above configuration of the first heat pipe 44a and the movement of the working fluid 82 or steam 92 are the same for the second heat pipe 44b to the fourth heat pipe 44d. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the present embodiment, the first ends 46a to 46d of the first heat pipes 44a to 44d inserted into the casing 14 are curved in an arc shape. be. On the other hand, the portion exposed outside the casing 14 extends substantially linearly including the second ends 48a to 48d connected to the radiator 16. As shown in FIG.

The rotary electric machine system 10 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above, and the effects thereof will be described next.

The rotary electric machine system 10 is mounted on a vehicle, an airplane, or the like. It is attached. Here, the rotary electric machine system 10 is mounted on the mounting target in a posture in which the rotating shaft 20 extends along the horizontal direction. Therefore, the rotating electric machine system 10 is in a lying posture in which the casing 14 extends along the horizontal direction.

At this time, the casing 14 is set so that the first ends 46a to 46d of the first heat pipes 44a to 44d face upward. In this posture, the liquid-phase cooling medium 40 stored in advance in the casing 14 stays in the lower space of the casing 14 (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the electromagnetic coil 30 positioned below is immersed in the cooling medium 40 . The cooling medium 40 does not contact the first ends 46a-46d of the first heat pipe 44a-fourth heat pipe 44d.

As described above, in this rotating electric machine system 10 , the radiators 16 are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the casing 14 . Therefore, the radiator 16 and the casing 14 are brought closer to each other. Further, in this rotating electric machine system 10 , a radiator 16 is arranged at the axial end of the casing 14 , and the outer diameter of the radiator 16 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the casing 14 . Moreover, portions of the first to fourth heat pipes 44 a to 44 d exposed from the casing 14 extend substantially parallel to the axial direction of the casing 14 . In addition, it is not necessary to assemble the first ends 46a to 46d and the second ends 48a to 48d of the first heat pipes 44a to 44d and the second ends 48a to 48d diametrically outward of the casing 14 to provide a heat radiating portion. . For the above reasons, the rotating electric machine system 10 is prevented from becoming large along the diametrical outside of the casing 14 .

Therefore, the size of the rotary electric machine system 10 can be reduced. In addition, since the rotary electric machine system 10 is small, there are fewer restrictions on the arrangement positions of the rotary electric machine system 10 and other devices mounted on the mounting target. In other words, the degree of freedom in layout of the rotary electric machine system 10 and other devices is improved. This increases the degree of freedom in designing the mounting target. Moreover, since the radiator 16 is substantially annular (hollow), it has the advantage of being lighter than a solid radiator such as a circle or square.

The rotating electric machine system 10 is operated as, for example, a generator. In this case, the member attached to the rotary shaft 20 is rotationally biased. Along with this, the rotary shaft 20 and thus the rotor 22 rotate integrally with the member. Since the radiator 16 is annular, the rotating shaft 20 can be passed through the radiator 16. Therefore, the rotating shaft 20 can pass through the radiator 16 by arranging the radiator 16 at the end of the casing 14 in the axial direction. Interference is avoided. Therefore, the rotor 22 is prevented from becoming unrotatable.

As the rotating shaft 20 rotates, the plurality of permanent magnets 26 held on the rotating shaft 20 rotate. Therefore, the permanent magnets 26 with different magnetic poles alternately face the electromagnetic coils 30 of the stator 24 . As a result, current is induced in the electromagnetic coil 30, and the rotating electric machine 12 generates electric power. Electric power is taken out from terminals (not shown) and utilized as electrical energy for energizing an external load.

During this process, the electromagnetic coil 30 heats up. In other words, the electromagnetic coil 30 becomes a heat source. Here, the liquid-phase cooling medium 40 is in contact with the electromagnetic coil 30 positioned below. Therefore, the lower electromagnetic coil 30 is cooled by the cooling medium 40 . That is, some of the heat of the electromagnetic coils 30 is taken away by the cooling medium 40 . The cooling medium 40 that has taken heat from the electromagnetic coil 30 is vaporized into vapor 90 (gas phase).

The steam 90 rises inside the casing 14 and contacts the first ends 46a-46d of the first heat pipe 44a-fourth heat pipe 44d curved along the upper inner peripheral surface of the casing 14. As shown in FIG. At these first ends 46 a to 46 d , the working liquid 82 (see FIG. 4 ) as a heat medium enclosed therein takes heat from the vapor-phase cooling medium 40 . This cools the vapor 90 so that it liquefies. That is, the cooling medium 40 condenses and returns to the liquid phase. The liquid-phase cooling medium 40 drops as droplets 94 within the casing 14 as shown in FIG.

Droplet 94 contacts, for example, electromagnetic coil 30 located above. This cools the upper electromagnetic coil 30 . Some of the droplets 94 evaporate, rise as vapor 90, and then contact the first ends 46a-46d of the first heat pipe 44a-fourth heat pipe 44d. Most of the droplets 94 contacting the insulator 28 whose temperature has not risen relatively reach the lower space of the casing 14 without being vaporized, and cool the electromagnetic coil 30 positioned below. In either case, the above vaporization and condensation are repeated thereafter.

In the casing 14, the first ends 46a, 46b of the first pipe group 18a and the first ends 46c, 46d of the second pipe group 18b are separated from each other (see FIGS. 1 and 3). Therefore, even if the vapor 90 of the cooling medium 40 spreads over a wide area, the vapor 90 is cooled by the working fluid 82 in the first ends 46a-46d. Therefore, the cooling medium 40 can be efficiently returned to the liquid phase. Moreover, the droplet 94 drips over the wide range in the casing 14 by this. Therefore, the upper electromagnetic coil 30 not immersed in the liquid-phase cooling medium 40 is sufficiently cooled over a wide range. That is, the electromagnetic coil 30 can be efficiently cooled by separating the first ends 46a and 46b of the first pipe group 18a and the first ends 46c and 46d of the second pipe group 18b from each other.

Therefore, even when the rotor 22 is rotated at a high speed, it is possible to prevent the amount of magnetic flux of the permanent magnets 26 from being reduced due to heat generation. Therefore, it is possible to improve the output while reducing the size of the rotary electric machine system 10 . Moreover, since the electromagnetic coil 30 is efficiently cooled, the durability of the electromagnetic coil 30 is improved. That is, it is also possible to improve the durability of the rotary electric machine 12 .

As shown schematically in FIG. 4, vapor 92 of working fluid 82 generated within first ends 46a-46d travels along main passageway 86 toward second ends 48a-48d. Since the second ends 48a-48d are exposed outside the casing 14, steam 92 is discharged outside the casing 14 during this movement. Since the exterior of casing 14 is cooler than the interior of casing 14, steam 92 can be cooled on its way to second ends 48a-48d.

Also, the radiator 16 is connected to the second ends 48a to 48d (see FIGS. 1 and 3). The heat of the steam 92 that reaches the second ends 48a-48d is dissipated to the atmosphere via the plate fins 54 (see FIG. 1) that constitute the radiator 16. As shown in FIG. Here, since the inner and outer diameters of the radiator 16 are sufficiently large compared to the outer diameters of the second ends 48a-48d, the surface area of the plate fins 54 can be increased as much as possible. The steam 92 is also cooled before reaching the second ends 48a-48d as described above. Combined with the above, the heat of the steam 92 is efficiently removed in the radiator 16, whereby the steam 92 is quickly cooled and condensed. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, vapor 92 returns to liquid phase working fluid 82 . The working fluid 82 flows back along the wicks 84 in the first to fourth heat pipes 44a to 44d and back to the first ends 46a to 46d.

At the first ends 46 a to 46 d , the liquid-phase working fluid 82 takes heat from the gas-phase cooling medium 40 (steam 90 ) and is vaporized to change into steam 92 . Thereafter, the movement of vapor 92 to second ends 48a-48d, condensation of vapor 92, and reflux of liquid-phase working fluid 82 to first ends 46a-46d are repeated. Therefore, the cooling medium 40 is also repeatedly vaporized and condensed, thereby continuing the cooling of the rotating electric machine 12 .

The present invention is not particularly limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the number of heat pipes can be appropriately set according to the sizes of the rotary electric machine 12 and the casing 14 . When the rotary electric machine 12 and the casing 14 are large, the number of heat pipes forming the first pipe group 18a and the second pipe group 18b may be three or more. Alternatively, the first ends of a plurality of heat pipes (for example, the first ends 46a to 46d of the first heat pipe 44a to the fourth heat pipe 44d) are arranged apart from each other within the casing 14. may There is no particular need to match the central angles of the first ends.

Thus, in the present invention, the number of heat pipes and their positions can be arbitrarily set. That is, the degree of freedom in designing the rotary electric machine system 10 is increased.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the second ends 48a to 48d of the first heat pipe 44a to the fourth heat pipe 44d are bent inward in the diameter direction of the casing 14 near the right end of the casing 14. After that, it may be bent again so as to extend linearly toward the radiator 16 . In this case, the inner and outer diameters of the radiator 16 can be further reduced.

Further, corrugated fins may be employed in place of the plate fins 54 in the radiator 16 .

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the rotary electric machine 12 may be made to function as a motor.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Rotary electric machine system 12... Rotary electric machine 14... Casing 16... Radiator 18a, 18b... Pipe group 20... Rotating shaft 22... Rotor 24... Stator 26... Permanent magnet 30... Electromagnetic coil 32... Main body member 40... Cooling medium 44a~ 44d Heat pipe 46a-46d First end 48a-48d Second end 54 Plate fin 56 Brazing sheet 82 Hydraulic fluid 84 Wick 86 Main passage 90 Vapor of cooling medium 92 Vapor 94 of hydraulic fluid …Droplet

Claims (5)

In a rotating electric machine system containing a rotating electric machine having a stator and a rotor in a substantially cylindrical casing,
a first end inserted into the casing, in which a heat medium that takes heat from the cooling medium that has cooled the rotating electrical machine in the casing and undergoes a phase change from a liquid phase to a gas phase is sealed; a heat pipe having a second end exposed outside the casing;
a radiator coupled to the second end for extracting heat from and condensing the heat medium in the heat pipe;
with
The radiator has a substantially annular shape, and the radial center of the casing and the radial center of the radiator substantially overlap when viewed from the axial direction of the casing. A rotary electric machine system arranged nearby. 2. The rotating electric machine system according to claim 1, wherein said heat pipe extends from a side peripheral wall of said casing to the outside of said casing and extends substantially parallel to the axial direction of said casing to said radiator. 3. The rotary electric machine system according to claim 1, wherein said first end of said heat pipe is curved in an arc shape along an inner peripheral surface of said casing and positioned on an outer peripheral side of said stator. 4. The rotating electric machine system according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of said heat pipes. 5. The rotary electric machine system according to claim 1, wherein said casing is mounted on a mounting target in a recumbent position with its axial direction facing the horizontal direction.

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