Patent ID: 11862543
Assignee: AMERICAN AXLE & MANUFACTURING, INC.
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 15:
16. An electric drive unit comprising:
a motor assembly having an electric motor and an inverter assembly, the electric motor having a plurality of sets of field windings and defining a plurality of cooling channels, each of the sets of field windings including a phase terminal, the inverter assembly having a retainer, a plurality of power semiconductors, a circuit board, first and second bus bars, a plurality of conductor plates, and a plurality of heat sinks, the retainer including an annular end plate that is sealingly coupled to the electric motor, each of the power semiconductors having a plurality of device terminals that are received through the annular end plate, each of the power semiconductors being electrically coupled to the first and second bus bars, each of the conductor plates being electrically coupled to a corresponding set of the power semiconductors and a corresponding one of the phase terminals, the heat sinks being mechanically and thermally coupled to the power semiconductors;
wherein the power semiconductors and the heat sinks are disposed concentric with the plurality of sets of field windings;
wherein the end plate defines a coolant tube;
wherein the end plate and the electric motor cooperate to form an annular cavity that is in fluid communication with the coolant tube;
wherein the heat sinks have fins that are disposed in a flow channel, and wherein the flow channel is disposed in fluid communication between the annular cavity and the cooling channels.