The invention relates to a brush cage, also known as a case, for a brush-holder of an electrical machine, as well as to the corresponding brush-holder.
The invention has particularly advantageous, but not exclusive, application with electrical machines which are used in motor vehicle starters. In particular, the invention is implemented with starters used with vehicles which are equipped with the function of starting and restarting of the thermal engine (so-called stop and start function), according to which the thermal engine of the vehicle is stopped for reasons of traffic conditions (in particular during stoppage at a red light), and is then restarted in order to make fuel savings.
In order to start a thermal engine, in particular of a motor vehicle, it is known to use a rotary electrical machine in the form of a starter provided with a launcher which can transmit rotation energy of the starter to a crankshaft of the thermal engine by means of a drive crown.
This launcher, which is displaced by a lever connected to a mobile rod of a contactor, is fitted on an output shaft of the electrical machine, if applicable by means of a speed reducer.
The electrical machine is provided with a stator, or inductor, consisting of a head and a magnetised structure with a plurality of permanent magnets which are generally made of ferrite. The machine also comprises a rotor, or armature, comprising conductors which form the winding of the rotor. For this purpose, the rotor comprising a core formed by laminated plates has longitudinal notches which are separated by teeth, with the conductors being inserted in the interior of these notches.
The machine also comprises at least two brushes which are made of electrically conductive material, arranged in the interior of the brush-holder, in order to make possible the electrical supply to the rotor by switching of the electric current in the conductors of the rotor.
For this purpose, each brush comprises a body with a front surface which is designed to rub against a collector with conductive plates which are connected to the winding of the rotor, these plates being separated by gaps which are provided with an insulator. Brushes also comprise a securing area which is connected to an end of an electrically conductive element known as a braid. One braid ensures the electrical supply to one of the brushes, whereas the other braid ensures earthing of the other brush via a metal housing of the starter.
A spring which is supported against a cover of the starter exerts a force in the direction of the collector on the body of each brush, in order to ensure the contact between the brush and the plates of the collector.
Since the number of operating cycles of the starters which are used with systems of the stop and start type is very large, the need exists to modify the existing configuration of the brush cage and the brush-holder in order to increase the service life of the brushes.
The objective of the invention is to fulfill this need by proposing a brush cage for a brush-holder which acts as a receptacle for a brush of an electrical machine, comprising a front surface of the brush which is designed to be supported against a collector, a rear surface of the brush against which a spring is designed to be supported, and, on at least one of these surfaces which connect the front surface to the rear surface, a space between the first and second guiding portions, in order to permit the passage of a braid of the brush as far as the end of a front surface.
Thus, the brush cage allows the brush to be worn as far as the braid. It will be appreciated that the brush cage can comprise a stop so that the braid cannot touch the collector, whilst making it possible to increase the service life of the brush by increasing the functional distance of the brush. For example, the stop can be situated such that the braid comes into contact with the stop when the braid is situated at a predetermined distance from the collector, for example 0.5 mm.
Thus, the brush cage which is used as a receptacle for a brush of an electrical machine comprises a first portion for guiding the brush, and a second portion for guiding the brush, these first and second guiding portions being open on the side of a front surface of the brush which is designed to be supported against a collector, and on the side of a rear surface of the brush against which a spring is designed to be supported, the brush cage comprising at least one space between the first guiding portion and the second guiding portion, in order to permit the passage of a braid of the brush as far as the end of a front surface.
According to one embodiment, the space is situated in a lateral surface of the brush cage which separates two lateral walls.
According to another embodiment, the space is situated in a transverse surface of the brush cage which separates two transverse walls.
According to one embodiment, the first portion is a lower guiding portion formed by two lateral walls which are parallel to one another, and the second portion is an upper guiding portion formed by two lateral walls which are parallel to one another, and the two lateral walls are connected to one another at least by a transverse wall.
According to one embodiment, the brush cage comprises two spaces between the first and second guiding portions, in order to permit the passage of a braid of the brush as far as the end of a front surface, on two opposite faces of these surfaces which form the contour of the first and second portions.
According to one embodiment, the brush cage comprises two flaps which connect the first and second guiding portions to one another, each flap comprising an opening which is situated in the extension of the space between the first and second guiding portions, in order to permit displacement of the braid of the brush as close as possible to a collector of the electrical machine.
This permits displacement of the braid of the brush as close as possible to a collector of the electrical machine, whilst preventing the collector from being touched. In addition, it makes it possible to contain electric arcs between the brush and the collector, in order to protect the electrical machine.
According to one embodiment, a dimension of the space between the first guiding portion and the second guiding portion tends to decrease when displacement from the rear towards the front of the brush cage takes place.
According to one embodiment, the brush cage comprises a support (60) which is connected to one of the first and second portions, and the support comprises at least one system for securing of the brush cage on a body of the brush-holder.
According to one embodiment, the securing system comprises two branches forming a hook, which are turned back towards one another at the level of their end.
According to one embodiment, the brush cage comprises at least one system for retention of a spiral spring.
According to one embodiment, the retention system is formed by a pin.
According to one embodiment, the pin has a substantially rectangular cross-section.
According to one embodiment, the pin has two parts with different cross-sections which delimit a shoulder at the level of a junction between the two parts.
According to one embodiment, the retention system comprises three teeth, with one of the teeth situated between the other two teeth being positioned on a plane which is offset relative to the plane on which the other two teeth are situated.
The invention also relates to a brush-holder for an electrical machine, characterised in that it comprises a body, at least one brush cage according to the invention secured on the said body, a brush which is positioned in the interior of the brush cage, a connection braid which is connected to the brush and a spring (42) which is fitted such as to exert a force between the brush and the body, the spring being in contact on the rear surface of the brush (25), the braid being connected to a surface of the brush which faces the space between the first and second portions of the brush. According to one embodiment, the brush comprises two support surfaces which are defined by the base of recesses provided in a rear surface of the brush, and the braid is connected to the brushes between these two recesses.
According to one embodiment, the spring is of the spiral type, and has an end which is folded in the form of a “U” and two sets of spirals each derived from one of the stems of the “U” opposite one another, each set of spirals ending in an arm with a return which is designed to be supported against a surface of the brush.
According to one embodiment, the spring is of the spiral type, and comprises a wound part which is formed by a plurality of substantially concentric spirals of a flat strip which is wound around itself, the wound part ending in a flat end which is extended by at least one arm designed to be supported against the surface of the brush.
The invention will be better understood by reading the following description and examining the figures which accompany it. These figures are provided purely by way of illustration of the invention which is in no way limiting.
a and 1b show views in perspective and from above of a first embodiment of a brush-holder according to the invention;
a and 2b show views in perspective and from above of the brush-holder in
a to 4c show respectively views in perspective of the front and rear, as well as a front view of a brush cage according to the invention;
a to 5c show respectively views in perspective, from above and from the side, of a second embodiment of the brush-holder according to the invention;
In
Elements which are identical, similar or analogous retain the same reference from one figure to another.
a, 1b, 2a, 2b and 5a to 5c show a brush-holder 21 according to the invention comprising a body 22 and at least one case 23 which is secured on the body 22, and acts as a receptacle for a brush 25. In this case, the brush-holder can comprise two brush cages. In the figures which correspond to partial views, a single brush cage or case 23 can be seen. Each brush 25 is fitted such as to slide axially in the interior of the brush cage 23, in order to co-operate with a collector 27 of a rotor of an electrical machine which can be seen in
More specifically, as can be seen clearly in
In addition, each brush 25 shown in detail in
The body 34 also comprises an area 44 for securing with an end of an electrically conductive element known as a connection braid 45. The securing area 44 of the braid 45 is situated between the two support surfaces 39, on a lateral surface of the body 34 perpendicular to the front 35 and rear 38 surfaces. The two support surfaces 39 correspond to bases of recesses 50 provided on both sides of the securing area 44. The securing area 44 is thus positioned on a protuberance delimited by the recesses 50, which in the figure are in the form of a “V” in order to facilitate the guiding of the arms of the spring 42.
For the brush 25 represented at the bottom of
For the brush 25 represented at the top of
It can be noted that a configuration of this type of the brush 25 makes it possible to maximise the functional distance DF, and therefore to increase the service life of the brush 25.
The braid 45 one of the brushes 25 connects this brush 25 electrically to the cover in this case via a metal lug 48 which is secured on the bearing plate 28 of the body 22 of the brush-holder (cf.
As can be seen clearly in
In addition, as can be seen clearly in
Each flap 57 comprises an opening 571 which is situated in the extension of the space 61, in order to permit displacement of the braid of the brush 25 as close as possible to the collector 27. This therefore maximises the useful length of the brush 25. As shown in
As can be seen in
Each part 601, 602 comprises a system 62 for securing the brush cage 23 on the body 22 of the brush-holder 21. Each securing system 62 is formed by two branches 63 which form a hook, and are folded back towards one another at the level of their end. More specifically, as can be seen clearly in
In the embodiment in
As shown in
Each arm 82 comprises a first straight portion 84 which extends on the plane of the flat end 81 of the spring, and a second straight portion 85 which extends in a direction spaced from the wound part 80. The straight portion 85 is connected to the portion 84 by means of a folded portion 91 with a rounded form. The straight portion 85 is also connected to a third straight portion 86 by means of a second folded portion 92 with a rounded form. According to one embodiment, the straight portion 84 forms together with the straight portion 85 an angle A of approximately 90°, whereas the straight portion 86 forms together with the straight portion 85 an angle B of approximately 135°.
A configuration of this type of the arms 82 makes it possible to guarantee good support surface for the arms 82 of the spring against the rear surface 38 of the brush 25, irrespective of the state of wear of the brush 25. In fact, as can be seen clearly in
In order to produce the arms 82, a portion of material with a rectangular form is removed from the flat end of the strip, such as to obtain straight portions which are parallel to one another, and form the shape of a “U” together with the end of the strip. These portions are then folded according to the required form of the arms 82.
Alternatively, in the embodiment in
In this embodiment, the spiral spring 42 is formed from a metal wire with a small diameter. As can be seen in
The assembly of the different elements of the brush-holder 21 according to the invention is described hereinafter.
In a first stage, the brush cage 23 is secured on the body 22 of the brush holder by means of securing systems 62. The brush 25 is then positioned from the rear in the interior of the brush cage 23.
According to the configuration of the spiral spring 42, the latter is put into position on the retention system 67, which is designed such that the arms of the spring are positioned supported against the back of the brush 25.
Thus, in the embodiment in
In the embodiment in
In both cases, the guiding in translation of the brush 25 is ensured by the lateral walls 261, 281 of the lower 56 and upper 58 portions of the brush cage 23, the upper wall 582 of the upper portion 58, and the surface of the body 22 on which the brush 25 is supported. In this case, as can be seen in
It will be appreciated that persons skilled in the art will be able to modify the configurations of the brush cage 23 and the brush-holder 21 shown in the figures without departing from the context of the invention. Thus, as a variant in particular, the brush 25 comprises only a single support surface 39 on its rear surface 38, and a spring with a single arm can then be used.
As a variant, the brush 25 has a conventional parallelepiped form shown in
As shown in
As a variant, the brush cage 23 is without a flap 57 and the lateral walls 561, 581 are then connected to one another on the front surface side of the brush 25. As a variant, the flaps 57 are without an opening 571.
It is also apparent that certain characteristics described in a particular embodiment could be transposed without difficulty to another embodiment.
In this document, relative terms of the type such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal” or “vertical” are understood relative to a brush cage 23 which is supported on a flat support, with the lower guiding portion 56 being closest to the support, whereas the upper guiding portion 58 is furthest from the support, as represented in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1259192 | Sep 2012 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/FR2013/052297 | 9/27/2013 | WO | 00 |