Patent ID: 9614406
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: H02K

Claim:
1. A stator for use in an electric motor, said stator comprising: a circumferentially continuous annular core including a plurality of arcuately spaced apart teeth, each of said teeth including a generally radial leg and a head projecting from the leg to present a pair of arcuately spaced apart head ends, with a slot opening being defined between the opposed head ends of each adjacent pair of teeth; a plurality of stator wedges, each of said wedges including first and second locking plates that cooperatively present wedge surfaces facing generally radially opposite directions; and an electrically insulative overmolding molded over at least a portion of the core, said overmolding defining a plurality of wedge-retaining structures, each being at least in part fixed relative to the core and cooperating with a respective one of the wedges to compressibly retain the respective wedge between the head ends defining the corresponding slot opening, each of said wedge-retaining structures including a pair of walls, each of said walls projecting into the corresponding slot opening from a respective one of the head ends, said walls being spaced apart from one another to define an axially extending gap therebetween, each of said wedges being axially received within a corresponding one of the gaps, with the wedge cooperating with the corresponding wedge-retaining structure to prevent radial and axial movement of the wedge relative to the core, said walls presenting radially opposite inner and outer faces, each of which engages a respective one of the wedge surfaces of the corresponding wedge to restrict relative radial movement between the wedge-retaining structure and the corresponding wedge.