1. A marine propulsion system, comprising:
at least one vessel propeller;
at least one electric motor, by which the at least one vessel propeller is drivable; and
a converter-fed power supply, adapted to supply the at least one electric motor with electric power, and including
at least one drive machine and at least one generator, adapted to be driven by the at least one drive machine, wherein the at least one electric motor and the at least one generator are three-phase synchronous machines, wherein at least one of the at least one electric motor and the at least one generator includes a rotor and a stator winding arranged following one another in the radial direction of at least one of the at least one electric motor and the at least one generator, wherein the stator winding includes an air gap three-phase winding whose bundled conductors are formed from insulated thin copper wires arranged in an annular gap between the rotor and an iron yoke, wherein the air gap three phase winding is at least one of reinforced by a plastic structure and at least one of encapsulated and impregnated with resin, and is connected to a cooling apparatus by which heat losses produced are adapted to be dissipated, wherein the air gap three-phase winding includes no slots in the iron yoke and the iron yoke is in the form of a laminated magnetic iron yoke, and wherein the air gap three-phase winding of at least one of the at least one electric motor and at least one generator for the power supply is installed in an annular container including insulating material surrounded by the laminated magnetic iron yoke, and wherein the cooling apparatus includes a coolant circuit adapted to introduce coolant into the annular container on one end face of the annular container holding the air gap three-phase winding, and adapted to carry the coolant away from the annular container on its other end face with the coolant flowing between the first end face and the second end face of the annular container between the air gap three-phase winding and the annular container.
2. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one of the electric motor and the generator includes a rotating field winding on the rotor composed of high-temperature superconductor wire, arranged in a vacuum-insulated cryostat and cryogenically coolable to a temperature between 15 and 77 K.
3. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cooling apparatus includes at least one fan impeller, arranged on a rotor axis and by which a cooling gas flow is passable into at least one of the annular space between the air gap three-phase winding and the rotor and an annular space between the air gap three-phase winding and the laminated magnetic iron yoke of the at least one electric motor or generator.
4. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular container which includes the air gap three-phase winding without any slots in the iron yoke is formed from glass-fiber-reinforced plastic.
5. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein an insulating cooling liquid is provided as the coolant for the cooling apparatus.
6. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
a heat exchanger, arranged in the coolant circuit of the cooling apparatus, is coolable by use of the cooling water system of the vessel.
7. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged fixed in the vessel’s hull.
8. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
a heat exchanger, arranged in the coolant circuit of the cooling apparatus, is coolable by use of seawater.
9. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged fixed in the vessel’s hull.
10. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the marine propulsion system is in the form of a pod propulsion system and wherein at least one electric motor is arranged in a motor gondola of the pod propulsion system.
11. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the laminated magnetic iron yoke is shrunk into the housing of the motor gondola of the pod propulsion system.
12. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 11, wherein a heat exchanger for the coolant circuit is arranged in an azimuth module of the pod propulsion system.
13. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 11, wherein a heat exchanger for the coolant circuit is arranged in a strut module of the pod propulsion system, with tubes of the heat exchanger being thermally connected to the wall of the strut module.
14. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 10, wherein a heat exchanger for the coolant circuit is arranged in an azimuth module of the pod propulsion system.
15. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 10, wherein a heat exchanger for the coolant circuit is arranged in a strut module of the pod propulsion system, with the tubes of the heat exchanger being thermally connected to a wall of the strut module.
16. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 10, wherein a circulation pump, arranged in the coolant circuit, is arranged in or on an azimuth module of the pod propulsion system.
17. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coolant circuit is adapted to carry the coolant through further longitudinal channels in the air gap three-phase winding.
18. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein cooling lines, forming the coolant circuit for the cooling apparatus are designed to be flexible.
19. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the marine propulsion system is in the form of a pod propulsion system and wherein a heat exchanger for the coolant circuit is arranged in an azimuth module of the pod propulsion system.
20. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the marine propulsion system is in the form of a pod propulsion system and wherein a heat exchanger for the coolant circuit is arranged in a strut module of the pod propulsion system, with tubes of the heat exchanger being thermally connected to the wall of the strut module.
21. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling apparatus includes at least one fan impeller, arranged on a rotor axis and by which a cooling gas flow is passable into at least one of the annular space between the air gap three-phase winding and the rotor and an annular space between the air gap three-phase winding and the laminated magnetic iron yoke of the at least one electric motor or generator.
22. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 21, wherein one fan impeller is provided on each of the two end faces, respectively, of the rotor.
23. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 21, wherein the air gap three-phase winding includes cooling slots which extend in its radial direction and by which heat losses which are produced in the air gap three-phase winding are dissipated to this cooling gas flowing through it.
24. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the radial cooling slots in the air gap three-phase winding are formed by Teflon filling bodies, insertable between stator bars of the air gap three-phase winding during its assembly, and can be removable after at least one of an encapsulation and impregnation process.
25. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 24, further comprising a guide plate arrangement, through which the cooling gas flows are passed into the annular space between the rotor and the air gap three-phase winding, without any slots in the iron yoke, in the direction of the axial central area of the at least one electric motor or generator, with the cooling gas flows being passed through the radial cooling slots in the air gap three-phase winding from the annular space between the rotor and the air gap three-phase winding into the annular space between the air gap three-phase winding and the laminated magnetic iron yoke, and then back to the end faces of the rotor.
26. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 23, further comprising a guide plate arrangement, through which the cooling gas flows are passed into the annular space between the rotor and the air gap three-phase winding, without any slots in the iron yoke, in the direction of the axial central area of the at least one electric motor or generator, with the cooling gas flows being passed through the radial cooling slots in the air gap three-phase winding from the annular space between the rotor and the air gap three-phase winding into the annular space between the air gap three-phase winding and the laminated magnetic iron yoke, and then back to the end faces of the rotor.
27. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 21, wherein an inlet opening, through which the fan impeller sucks in cooling gas is formed in a housing of the at least one electric motor or generator, for each fan impeller.
28. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 21, wherein at least one outlet opening is formed in the housing of the at least one electric motor or generator, through which the cooling gas is passed out of the housing of the at least one electric motor or generator after it has once again left the annular gap between the rotor and the iron yoke.
29. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 28, wherein an inlet opening and the outlet opening are arranged on one of the two end faces of the rotor in the housing of the at least one electric motor or generator.
30. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 21, wherein the cooling gas flow is carried in a circuit, and is coolable again by use of gaswater heat exchangers.
31. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 21, wherein at least one gaswater heat exchanger is arranged within the housing of the at least one electric motor or generator, in one axial space or in both axial spaces between at least one end face of the at least one electric motor or generator and at least one end wall of the housing, which gaswater heat exchanger is connected to a cooling circuit in the vessel and past which the heated cooling gas flow which emerges from the annular gap between the rotor and the iron yoke is passed, before it is forced back into the annular gap by the at least one fan impeller.
32. The marine propulsion system as claimed in claim 21, wherein a gaswater heat exchanger is arranged outside the housing of the at least one electric motor or generator.
33. A marine propulsion system, comprising:
at least one vessel propeller;
at least one electric motor, by which the at least one vessel propeller is drivable; and
at least one drive machine and at least one generator, adapted to be driven by the at least one drive machine, wherein at least one of the at least one electric motor and the at least one generator is a three-phase synchronous machine including a rotor and a stator winding, wherein the stator winding includes an air gap three-phase winding whose conductors are formed from wires arranged in an annular gap between the rotor and an iron yoke, wherein the iron yoke is connected to a cooling apparatus by which heat losses produced are adapted to be dissipated, wherein the air gap three-phase winding includes no slots in the iron yoke and the iron yoke is in the form of a laminated magnetic iron yoke, and wherein the air gap three-phase winding is installed in an annular container including insulating material surrounded by the laminated magnetic iron yoke, and wherein the cooling apparatus includes a coolant circuit adapted to introduce the coolant into the annular container on one end face of the annular container holding the air gap three-phase winding, and adapted to carry the coolant away from the annular container on its other end face with the coolant flowing between the first end face and the second end face of the annular container between the air gap three-phase winding and the annular container.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A backlight unit, comprising:
a light source for generating light; and
an element comprising an incident portion, through which light generated by the light source enters into the element and an emitting portion through which the entering light is emitted after traveling through the element,
wherein a rib is provided on at least a portion of a periphery of the element to reinforce the element, and a panel receiving portion is provided at a portion of the element surrounded by the rib.
2. A backlight unit according to claim 1, wherein the element is a light guide plate comprising a side through which light generated by the light source enters into the element and a first broad side through which the light is emitted after traveling through the element.
3. A backlight unit according to claim 2, wherein:
the light guide plate is provided with a groove along at least a edge thereof and the light source is provided in the groove; and
light generated by the light source enters through a first side of the groove into the light guide plate.
4. A backlight unit according to claim 2, wherein:
a dot pattern of minute pits and projections is provided on the first broad side of the light guide plate; and
the light guide plate further comprises a second broad side opposed to the first broad side, a plurality of grooves being arranged in parallel on the second broad side.
5. A backlight unit according to claim 3, wherein a light reflective thin film is provided on a second side of the groove and not on the first side thereof.
6. A backlight unit according to claim 1, wherein:
a side of the element on which the emitting portion is provided is in the shape of a rectangle having four corner portions; and
the rib is provided in the vicinity of any of the four corner portions.
7. A backlight unit according to claim 6, wherein:
at least an additional rib is provided on at least a portion of the periphery of the element; and
a plurality of ribs including the rib and the additional rib are provided in the vicinity of two adjacent corner portions of the four corner portions, in the vicinity of two opposing corner portions of the four corner portions, or in the vicinity of the four corner portions.
8. A backlight unit according to claim 6, wherein the rib is provided on any of the four corner portions as well as in the vicinity thereof.
9. A backlight unit according to claim 1, wherein:
the element is a frame having a buried portion in which a light-transmissive material is buried; and
the buried portion comprises a side through which light generated by the light source enters into the element and a first broad side through which the entering light is emitted after traveling through the element.
10. A backlight unit according to claim 9, wherein:
the buried portion is provided with a groove along at least an edge thereof and the light source is provided in the groove; and
light generated by the light source enters through a first side of the groove into the buried portion.
11. A backlight unit according to claim 9, wherein:
a dot pattern of minute pits and projections is provided on the first broad side of the buried portion; and
the buried portion further comprises a second broad side opposed to the first broad side, a plurality of grooves being arranged in parallel on the second broad side.
12. A backlight unit according to claim 10, wherein a light reflective thin film is provided on a second side of the groove and not on the first side thereof.
13. A liquid crystal display apparatus, comprising:
a liquid crystal panel; and
a backlight unit for illuminating the liquid crystal panel,
wherein the backlight unit comprises:
a light source for generating light;
an element comprising an incident portion, through which light generated by the light source enters into the element, and an emitting portion through which the light is emitted after traveling through the element,
wherein a rib is provided on at least a portion of a periphery of the element to reinforce the element, and a panel receiving portion is provided at a portion of the element surrounded by the rib.