This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2013/061182 filed Apr. 15, 2013, the contents of all of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a rotor of a rotary machine.
A rotor of an electric motor is formed by laminating a large number of magnetic steel sheets and a magnet is embedded in an opening provided in an axial direction. Also, end plates are disposed on both end faces of the rotor to prevent the magnet from falling off.
For example, one structure of the end plates is such that a resin end plate is disposed at one end of the rotor and an end plate of an integral structure made up of a resin end ring and a metal end ring is disposed at the other end.
PTL 1: JP-A-2004-222348
The end plates provided to the both end faces of the rotor of the electric motor are made of a non-magnetic material in order to prevent a short circuit between magnetic poles. An austenitic stainless material is often used as the non-magnetic material.
The stainless material of the end plates, however, has a high rate of thermal expansion for an iron shaft of the rotor. Hence, in the case of a motor whose temperature varies, the motor has a problem that an interference of shrinkage fit between the end plate and the shaft becomes loose as the end plate press-fit to the shaft undergoes thermal expansion and the motor runs idle.
The invention was devised in view of the problem discussed above and provides a rotor of a rotary machine capable of suppressing loosening of an interference by lessening influences of a difference in thermal expansion between an end plate and a shaft.
A rotor of a rotary machine of the invention is characterized by including: a shaft; a rotor core fixed to the shaft; a ring-like fixing member press-fit and fixed to the shaft so as to limit a position of the rotor core in a shaft axial direction; and an end plate fixed to an outer peripheral side of the fixing member so as to limit a position of a magnet, embedded in the rotor core, in the shaft axial direction, and characterized in that: a value of a coefficient of linear expansion of the fixing member is an intermediate value between a coefficient of linear expansion of the shaft and a coefficient of linear expansion of the end plate; and influences of a difference in thermal expansion between the shaft and the end plate are lessened by the fixing member.
A rotor of a rotary machine of the invention is configured in such a manner that a fixing member plays a role of an intermediate member and therefore has an advantageous effect that an end plate can be fixed to a shaft in a stable manner even when a temperature varies.
The above and other objects, characteristics, points of view, and advantageous effects of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A rotor of a rotary machine according to a first embodiment of the invention will be described using
As is shown in
In the rotor 10, as is shown in
The end plates 2 are in contact with both axial ends of a magnet 5 embedded in the rotor core 1. Further, the end plates 2 are fixed to the shaft 4 via the fixing members 3. Hence, movements of the magnet 5 in the axial direction are limited to prevent the magnets 5 from becoming misaligned in the axial direction.
In the invention, the end plate 2 is, as is shown in
Also, the fixing member 3 is fixed to the shaft 4 first, followed by the end plate 2. More specifically, the fixing member 3 is fixed to the outer peripheral side of the shaft 4 and the end plate 2 is fixed to the outer peripheral side of the fixing member 3 so that all are fixed while all are aligned in a radial direction. In other words, the fixing member 3 is fit to a bore diameter of the end plate 2 and the shaft 4 is fit to a bore diameter of the fixing member 3.
A material of the shaft 4 is, for example, an iron magnetic body, such as steel. The end plate 2 in contact with the magnet 5 is a non-magnetic body that suppresses a leakage of a magnetic flux. The fixing member 3 is a magnetic steel sheet. For example, the end plate 2 is made from a thin plate as thin as 2 to 5 mm and, as shown in
In the first embodiment, an amount of protrusion of the end plate 2 in the axial direction is comparable with the thickness of the fixing member 3.
Also, the fixing member 3, which serves as an intermediate member between the shaft 4 and the end plate 2, is selected so that a value of a coefficient of linear expansion becomes equal to an intermediate value between coefficients of linear expansion of the shaft 4 and the end plate 2.
For example, assume that the value of the coefficient of linear expansion of the fixing member 3 is equal to that of the shaft 4, a degree of fitting between the fixing member 3 and the end plate 2 is thought to decrease with a temperature variation. Conversely, assume that the value of the coefficient of linear expansion of the fixing member 3 is equal to that of the end plate 2, a degree of fitting between the shaft 4 and the fixing member 3 is thought to decrease with a temperature variation.
However, by setting the value of a coefficient of linear expansion of the fixing member 3 to an intermediate value between the coefficients of linear expansion of the shaft 4 and the end plate 2 as in the first embodiment of the invention, a difference of coefficients of linear expansion between the shaft 4 and the fixing member 3 and a difference of coefficients of linear expansion between the fixing member 3 and the end plate 2 are made smaller than a difference of coefficients of linear expansion between the shaft 4 and the end plate 2. Accordingly, influences of a difference in thermal expansion between the shaft 4 and the end plate 2 are lessened and hence loosening of the interference can be suppressed.
A coefficient of linear expansion is a value indicating a variation in length of a substance that takes place with a temperature variation, and a coefficient of thermal expansion (rate of thermal expansion) is a value indicating a variation in volume.
In a case where the end plate is an end plate made of a non-magnetic body and directly press-fit and fixed to an iron shaft, when a temperature of the motor rises high, the interference is reduced and the end plate may possibly become misaligned in a rotational direction while the motor is run. In a case where a balance of the rotor is maintained by the end plates, when the end plate becomes misaligned in the rotational direction, an abnormal sound and vibrations are generated. Hence, there arises a problem that the motor performance is deteriorated. In order to prevent the end plate from rotating when the temperature is high, exact dimensional control is required for the press-fit portion. Such a requirement raises a problem that the rotor cannot be manufactured at a low cost. All these problems, however, can be solved by adopting the structure of the rotor 10 of the rotary machine of the invention.
According to the structure of the rotor 10 of the invention, the fixing member 3 serving as an intermediate member between the shaft 4 and the end plate 2 has a coefficient of linear expansion at an intermediate value between coefficients of linear expansion of the shaft 4 and the end plate 2. Hence, even when a temperature of the motor rises high, a reduction of the interference of a component press-fit to the shaft 4 can be suppressed. Consequently, a motor with stable performance can be provided.
More specifically, the rotor 10 of the invention can suppress a reduction of the interference even when a temperature of the motor 100 rises high by press-fitting and fixing the end plate 2 to the shaft 4 via the fixing member 3. Hence, the end plate 2 does not become misaligned in the rotational direction while the motor 100 is run. Further, because the end plate 2 does not become misaligned in the rotational direction, an abnormal sound and vibrations are not generated even in a case where a balanced of the rotor 10 is maintained by the end plates 2. Consequently, stable motor performance can be obtained. Further, in comparison with a case where the end plate is directly press-fit to the shaft, exact dimensional control on the press-fit portions is not required when the fixing member 3 is press-fit to the shaft 4 and the end plate 2 is press-fit to the fixing member 3. The rotor 10 can be therefore manufactured at a low cost.
A second embodiment will describe modifications of the fixing member 3 and the end plate 2 described in the first embodiment above.
In the first embodiment above, the fixing member 3 is shaped like a plate ring. By contrast, as is shown in
The fixing member 3a having substantially a U-shaped cross section is disposed in such a manner that respective three planes on the outside are in contact with an outer surface of the shaft 4, an end face of the rotor core 1 in the axial direction, and an inner surface of the endplate 2 along a bore diameter.
In short, the shaft 4 is press-fit and fixed to an inner side of a thin annular portion of the fixing member 3a on an inner peripheral side of the rotor 10. Further, the end plate 2, which is a concentric annular plate, is press-fit and fixed to a thin annular portion of the fixing member 3a on an outer peripheral side of the rotor 10.
As has been described in the first embodiment above, in a case where the fixing member 3 is solid (shaped like a simple flat plate), too large an interference induces circumferential stress greater than an allowable value of the material when the fixing member 3 is press-fit to the shaft 4. It is therefore difficult to control dimensions of the components. Such being the case, dimensional control is made easy in the first embodiment above by selecting a material of the fixing member 3 using the value of a coefficient of linear expansion as a parameter.
By contrast, the second embodiment adopts an intermediate member structure by which the circumferential stress is hardly increased by reducing a thickness of the press-fit portion of the fixing member 3a to the shaft 4 and a thickness of the press-fit portion of the fixing member 3a to the end plate 2. By using a thin plate as a material of the fixing member 3a, the interference can be increased while the circumferential stress is suppressed in comparison with a case where a thick material is used. Hence, a difference in variation of the interference arising from a difference of coefficients of linear expansion can be absorbed by reducing a thickness of the material of the fixing member 3a.
By interposing the fixing member 3a made from a thin plate as an intermediate member between the shaft 4 and the end plate 2 in this manner, influences of a difference in thermal expansion between the shaft 4 and the end plate 2 can be lessened.
Alternatively, as is shown in
The example of
In either case, a tip end of the U-shaped cross section of the fixing member 3a or 3b is in a state closer to the thin plate and circumferential stress is lessened in this portion. Hence, it can be said that either shape is suitable for an intermediate member.
The first embodiment above has described that a value of the coefficient of linear expansion of the fixing member 3 is an intermediate value between those of the shaft 4 and the end plate 2 and that a magnetic steel sheet is used for the fixing member 3. The second embodiment above has described that the fixing members 3a and 3b are made from a thin plate having substantially a U-shaped cross section. A third embodiment will describe a case where a spring material is used for the fixing member 3 (3a or 3b).
The spring material referred to herein is a material having a spring property and generally used often for a sheet spring, an etching material, and a shim plate. Representative materials include but not limited to a stainless strip for spring called a SUS spring material, such as SUS304CSP and SUS301CSP.
By using a spring material for the fixing member 3 (3a or 3b), a fixing force can be increased by a spring force of the spring material. Hence, the shaft 4, the fixing member 3 (3a or 3b), and the end plate 2 (2b) can be fixed more firmly.
It should be appreciated that the respective embodiments of the invention can be combined without any restriction and the respective embodiments can be modified and omitted as needed within the scope and sprit of the invention.
A rotor of a rotary machine of the invention can be used as a rotor of an electric motor equipped with an end plate used to prevent a magnet from falling off.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2013/061182 | 4/15/2013 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2014/170939 | 10/23/2014 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4433261 | Nashiki | Feb 1984 | A |
4639627 | Takekoshi | Jan 1987 | A |
4650560 | Ueno | Mar 1987 | A |
4835840 | Stokes | Jun 1989 | A |
5140210 | Shirakawa | Aug 1992 | A |
6437474 | Chu | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6672786 | Schenk | Jan 2004 | B2 |
7646194 | Makino | Jan 2010 | B2 |
7795771 | Lott | Sep 2010 | B2 |
7808147 | Riedl | Oct 2010 | B2 |
7986068 | Suzuki | Jul 2011 | B2 |
8237432 | Inotsuka | Aug 2012 | B2 |
8890385 | Sano | Nov 2014 | B2 |
9172278 | Nakano | Oct 2015 | B2 |
20070138890 | Yu | Jun 2007 | A1 |
20070147990 | Kamimura et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
20080075402 | Hewitt | Mar 2008 | A1 |
20090020870 | Watanabe et al. | Jan 2009 | A1 |
20090315423 | Suzuki | Dec 2009 | A1 |
20100247229 | Kaiser | Sep 2010 | A1 |
20110254399 | Blanc | Oct 2011 | A1 |
20120139382 | Yamagishi et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
20130022474 | Nakayama | Jan 2013 | A1 |
20140028139 | Hamer | Jan 2014 | A1 |
20140191608 | Jang | Jul 2014 | A1 |
20150275921 | Pinkney | Oct 2015 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
86100466 | Jul 1986 | CN |
1333479 | Jan 2002 | CN |
1987165 | Jun 2007 | CN |
101156237 | Apr 2008 | CN |
2001045685 | Feb 2001 | JP |
2004-222348 | Aug 2004 | JP |
2006-187063 | Jul 2006 | JP |
4365194 | Nov 2009 | JP |
2010-4618 | Jan 2010 | JP |
2010-4630 | Jan 2010 | JP |
2011-205860 | Oct 2011 | JP |
4837288 | Dec 2011 | JP |
2012-125000 | Jun 2012 | JP |
2013-66305 | Apr 2013 | JP |
Entry |
---|
International Search Report of PCT/JP2013/061182 dated Jul. 9, 2013. |
Communication dated Jul. 13, 2017 from the State Intellectual Property Office of the P.R.C. in counterpart Application No. 201380075591.2. |
Communication dated Feb. 4, 2017, from the State Intellectual Property Office of People's Republic of China in counterpart Application No. 201380075591.2. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20150340917 A1 | Nov 2015 | US |