Abstract:
A terminal of a vehicle traction motor includes a plurality of bus bars placed on an assembly jig, a plurality of insulation spacers, where an insulation spacer is inserted between the a pair of bus bars, and a terminal mold placed over the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers, the terminal mold being coupled to an outermost bus bar of the plurality of bus bars, wherein a diameters of each of the plurality of bus bars is different from the other bus bars, and a diameters of each of the insulation spacers is different from the other insulation spacers.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The following description relates to a terminal unit of a traction motor, and to a power distribution module for a traction motor used in a terminal, which is a power supply portion of a traction motor. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A terminal unit of a traction motor is a module that supplies a traction motor with a voltage input from the outside. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional terminal unit of a traction motor  10  includes a terminal mold  12 , a mold cover  13 , a plurality of bus bars  15 , and spacers  17  for insulating the plurality of bus bars  15 , which are fixed and insulated by silicon. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the mold cover  13  is coupled to a part that extends from the terminal mold  12 . 
     Conventional terminal unit of a traction motor  10  has a structure where the non-insulated bus bars  15  are press-fitted to the terminal mold  12  using the spacers  17 . After being assembled to the terminal mold  12  to secure the distances between the bus bars  15 , and insulation is maintained by filling the spaces where the spacers  17  are not present with silicon. The spacers  17  are divided into plural numbers, and each of the spacers  17  is formed in the form of a partition wall as shown in an enlarged view of  FIG. 1 . 
     In a process of press-fitting the spacers  17  that have the form of the partition wall in the conventional terminal unit of a traction motor  10 , a possibility of generating plating foreign substances on the bus bars  15  may increase, thereby increasing the likelihood of deterioration of the insulation and durability of the terminal unit. 
     In addition, burrs of the bus bars  15  generated during manufacturing and burrs generated during annular forming of the bus bars  15  may fall between the bus bars  15  in the press-fitting process of the spacers  17 , thereby increasing the likelihood of deterioration of the insulation and durability of the terminal unit. 
       FIG. 2  is an example of a diagram illustrating a partial perspective view of the terminal mold  12  in the conventional terminal unit of a traction motor  10 .  FIG. 3  is a drawing illustrating a cross-sectional taken along line III-III′ of  FIG. 2 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the terminal unit of a traction motor  10  has a problem of deteriorating insulation and durability since empty spaces are present between the plural spacers  15  after press-fitting, as shown in portion “A” of  FIG. 3 . 
     SUMMARY 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     In one general aspect, there is provided a terminal of a vehicle traction motor, including a plurality of bus bars placed on an assembly jig, a plurality of insulation spacers, where an insulation spacer is inserted between the a pair of bus bars, and a terminal mold placed over the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers, the terminal mold being coupled to an outermost bus bar of the plurality of bus bars, wherein a diameters of each of the plurality of bus bars is different from the other bus bars, and a diameters of each of the insulation spacers is different from the other insulation spacers. 
     The plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers may be alternately and sequentially assembled on the assembly jig. 
     Each insulation spacer of the plurality of insulation spacers may have a four-divided structure to allow diameters of the insulation spacer to be adjustable. 
     Positions of the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers may be fixed using an overmold. 
     Positions of the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers may be fixed using resin. 
     The plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers may be assembled in a reversed order. 
     The terminal mold may be assembled in a direction from up to down. 
     Each of the plurality of bus bars and each of the plurality of insulation spacers may have an annular shape. 
     The plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers may form a subassembly assembled before being placed in the terminal mold. 
     The subassembly may be fixed by an overmold. 
     The subassembly may be fixed by silicon. 
     In another general aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a terminal of a vehicle traction motor, the method including preparing an assembly jig, arranging a plurality of insulation spacers and a plurality of bus bars on the assembly jig such that an insulation spacer is inserted between a pair of bus bars, the plurality of insulation spacers having different diameters from each other and the plurality of bus bars having different diameters from each other, disposing a terminal mold over the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers, and coupling the terminal mold to an outermost bus bar of the plurality of bus bars. 
     The plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers may be alternately and sequentially assembled on the assembly jig. 
     Positions of the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers may be fixed using an overmold. 
     The method may include fixing positions of the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of spacers using an overmold. 
     The method may include fixing positions of the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of spacers using resin. 
     The plurality of bus bars and the plurality of spacers may be assembled in a reversed order. 
     The terminal mold may be assembled in a direction from up to down. 
     Each of the plurality of bus bars and each of the plurality of insulation spacers may have an annular shape. 
     The plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers may form a subassembly. 
     Each of the plurality of bus bars may correspond to a phase of connected power. 
     Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an example of a diagram illustrating a conventional terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor. 
         FIG. 2  is an example of a diagram illustrating a partial perspective view of a structure in which spacers and bus bars are assembled to a conventional terminal mold. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of a cross-sectional taken along line III-III′ of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIGS. 4A to 4F  are diagrams illustrating examples of a method of manufacturing a terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagrams illustrating an example of a spacer. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating an example of an enlarged view of portion “A” of  FIG. 4D . 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating an example of a cross-sectional taken along line VII-VII′ of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating an example of the terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor. 
     
    
    
     Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise described, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative size and depiction of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein. However, various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the systems, apparatuses, and/or methods described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. The progression of processing steps and/or operations described is an example; however, the sequence of and/or operations is not limited to that set forth herein and may be changed as is known in the art, with the exception of steps and/or operations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Also, descriptions of functions and constructions that are well known to one of ordinary skill in the art may be omitted for increased clarity and conciseness. 
     The features described herein may be embodied in different forms, and are not to be construed as being limited to the examples described herein. Rather, the examples described herein have been provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the full scope of the disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art. 
       FIGS. 4A to 4E  are diagrams illustrating examples of a method of manufacturing a terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor.  FIG. 4F  is a diagram illustrating an example of the terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor produced by such a manufacturing method. 
     A method of manufacturing a terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor  100  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 4A to 4E . The operations in  FIGS. 4A to 4E  may be performed in the sequence and manner as shown, although the order of some operations may be changed or some of the operations omitted without departing from the spirit and scope of the illustrative examples described. Many of the operations shown in  FIGS. 4A to 4E  may be performed in parallel or concurrently. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4A , the method includes preparing an assembly jig J for assisting assembly of the terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor  100 , and preparing bus bars  115  and spacers  117 . 
     The bus bars  115  are provided corresponding to phases U, V, W, and N of power connected thereto. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the bus bars  115  may be alternately and sequentially assembled in a terminal mold  112  by overlapping each other while interposing the annular spacers  117  having different diameters. 
     Each of the spacers  117  has a reversed annular shape and is inserted between the bus bars  115  to serve as an insulation between the bus bars  115 . The spacers  117  have varying diameters so that they can be inserted between the bus bars  115 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , each of the spacers  117  has a four-divided structure, which allows its diameter to be adjustable during assembly. Accordingly, the spacers  117  may be manufactured at low costs since spacers having different diameters need not be separately manufactured to correspond to diameters of the bus bars  115  connected to the respective phases U, V, W, and N. 
     Since each spacer  117  has a four-divided structure, the diameters of the spacers  117  are adjustable during the assembly. Therefore, the spacers  117  may be manufactured using only one mold, compared to requiring three molds to manufacture the spacers  117  for the respective phases in the related art. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4B , the bus bars  115  and the spacers  117  are sequentially overlapped and assembled using the prepared assembly jig J as a support base, so that a subassembly  120  is completed. 
     Unlike the related art, in the terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor  100  empty spaces are not present between the spacers  117 , because the bus bars  115  and the spacers  117  are sequentially assembled. The empty spaces may cause reduce durability due to an injection-molded product not being adequately filled during overmolding. 
     Unlike the related art, in assembling the bus bars  115  and the spacers  117  using the assembly jig J as a support base, the spacers  117  are inserted between the bus bars  115  in a reversed state instead of being performed inside the terminal mold  112 . Therefore, it may be possible to prevent deterioration of durability caused due to foreign substances being left inside the terminal mold  112  during the conventional assembly process. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4C , the subassembly  120  assembled with the bus bars  115  and the spacers  117  is supported by the assembly jig J. The terminal mold  112  is assembled in a direction from up to down such that the subassembly  120  is inserted into an inner space of the terminal mold  112 , as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
     An assembly formed by such an process is shown in  FIG. 4D .  FIG. 4D  shows that the terminal mold  112  assembled with the subassembly  120  is rotated such that an opening portion thereof is directed forward. 
     Unlike the conventional assembly method in which the spacers and the bus bars are assembled in the direction from up to down to the inner space of the terminal mold located below, the assembly is performed such that the inner space of the terminal mold  112  is covered by the subassembly  120 . Therefore, it may be possible to minimize deterioration of durability caused due to foreign substances left in the inner space of the terminal mold  112 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4E , the terminal mold  112  receiving the subassembly  120  may be fixed by an overmold  119  or resin, as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4F , a mold cover  113  may be assembled on the terminal mold  112 .  FIG. 4F  shows that the terminal mold  112  is located downward such that the opening of the terminal mold  112  is directed upward, and shows the completed terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor  100  by the assembly process according to the embodiment. 
     The method of manufacturing the terminal unit of a vehicle traction motor  100  may enhance durability and insulation by performing the assembly process of the bus bars and the spacers performed inside the conventional terminal mold by the separate assembly jig J provided outside the terminal mold so as to reduce a possibility of generating plating foreign substances on the bus bars including burrs of the bus bars  115 . 
     As is apparent from the above description, the present disclosure may enhance durability and insulation by performing an assembly process of bus bars and spacers performed inside a conventional terminal mold by a separate assembly jig provided outside a terminal mold so as to reduce a possibility of generating plating foreign substances on bus bars including burrs of the bus bars. 
     In addition, the present disclosure may enhance reliability of vibration resistance and shock resistance by introduction of an insulation method using annular spacers having different diameters and a fixing structure using an overmold to reduce empty spaces between the spacers. 
     In addition, the present disclosure may reduce manufacturing costs since the four-divided spacer allows a diameter thereof to be adjustable and a spacer for each diameter need not be manufactured. 
     While this disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made in these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples described herein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects in each example are to be considered as being applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order, and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure is defined not by the detailed description, but by the claims and their equivalents, and all variations within the scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included in the disclosure.