Patent Description:
A motor includes a stator and a rotor. The stator may include a stator core and a coil wound around teeth of the stator core. The stator may be composed of a plurality of stator cores. The coil may be wound around each of the stator cores.

In this case, the motor may include a bus bar which is disposed above the stator and connects the coils wound around the stator cores. In this case, a terminal included in the bus bar is fused with and connected to the coil. However, when there are a plurality of stator cores, there are many problems in a fusing process.

Further, when the above described motor is connected to a vehicle component such as a braking device, a power transmitter for transmitting a rotational force of the motor is required. For example, when a direction of power transmission is a vertical direction, a rotational shaft of the motor may be provided with a worm shaft composed of a rotational shaft on which a thread is formed. In addition, a worm wheel which is engaged with the worm shaft may be provided. In this case, there is a problem that a size of the actuator is inevitably increased due to a length of the worm shaft and a required diameter of the worm wheel.

Different architectures of motors comprising a bus bar assembly are known from patent documents <CIT> and <CIT>.

The present invention is directed to providing a router for a motor capable of reducing the number of fusing processes, reducing the number of parts, and reducing a size thereof, and an actuator including the same.

The problems to be solved by the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems which are not mentioned herein can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide an actuator including a rotational shaft, a rotor coupled to the rotational shaft, a stator disposed on an outside of the rotor, and a terminal cover, wherein the terminal cover includes a body part covering an upper portion of the stator and a side part extending downward from the body port, the body part including a terminal connected to a coil of the stator, and the terminal may be disposed inward of the side part.

The terminal may include a terminal body and a terminal pin formed at an end portion of the terminal body, and the body part may include a hole positioned to allow the terminal pin to be exposed therethrough.

The body part may include a plurality of holes disposed along a circumference thereof.

The plurality of holes may be disposed at regular intervals in a circumferential direction with respect to a center of the body part.

The body part may be divided into a fist region portion and a second region portion along a circumference thereof, and a plurality of holes may be disposed in only the first region portion of the first and second region portions.

The terminal body may include a first terminal body and a second terminal body connected to each other, the first terminal body may include the terminal pin, and the second terminal body may be disposed to perpendicularly extend from the first terminal body.

The body part may include a first body and a second body, the first body may include the first terminal body therein, and the second body may be disposed perpendicularly to the first body to include the second terminal body therein.

The second body may be disposed in the first region portion.

According to the embodiment, by omitting the bus bar assembly, a fusing process between the coil wound around the stator and the terminal of the bus bar assembly is not included, and thus an advantageous effect of inherently eliminating defects that can occur in the fusing process is provided.

According to the embodiment, the bus bar is omitted to provide an advantageous effect of reducing a length of an entire actuator.

According to the embodiment, by reducing fusing points of the coil and the terminal, an advantageous effect of significantly reducing the number of fusing processes is provided.

Objects, specific advantages, and novel features of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments related to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the terms and words used in the specification and claims should not be construed to be limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings and should be construed as the meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present disclosure in view of the fact that an inventor should appropriately define the concept of term in order to describe own disclosure in the best way. In addition, in the following description, a detailed description of related arts which may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure will be omitted.

<FIG> is a view illustrating an actuator according to one embodiment, and <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of the actuator taken along line A-A in <FIG> and <FIG> clearly illustrate only main feature parts in order to conceptually clearly understand the present disclosure, and as a result various variations of the illustrations are to be expected, and there is no need to limit the scope of the present disclosure to the specific configuration illustrated in the drawings.

<FIG> is a view illustrating an actuator according to one embodiment, and <FIG> is a view illustrating a cross-section of the actuator taken along line A-A in <FIG> and <FIG> clearly illustrate only main feature parts in order to conceptually clearly understand the present disclosure, and as a result various variations of the illustrations are to be expected, and there is no need to limit the scope of the present disclosure to the specific configuration illustrated in the drawings.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, an actuator <NUM> according to the embodiment may include a rotational shaft <NUM>, a rotor <NUM>, a stator <NUM>, a router <NUM> and a housing <NUM>.

The rotational shaft <NUM> may have a thread formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof to be implemented as a worm shaft.

The rotor <NUM> may be disposed inward of the stator <NUM>. The rotor <NUM> may include a rotor core and a magnet. The rotor <NUM> may be classified into the following according to a coupling method of the rotor core and the magnet. The rotor <NUM> may be embodied with a configuration in which the magnet is coupled to an outer circumferential surface of the rotor core. In such a type of the rotor <NUM>, a separate can member may be coupled to the rotor core to prevent disengagement of the magnet and increase a coupling force. Alternatively, the magnet and the rotor core may be double-injection molded to be integrally formed with each other. The rotor <NUM> may be embodied with a configuration in which the magnet is coupled to the inside of the rotor core. In such a type of rotor <NUM>, a pocket into which the magnet is inserted may be provided in the rotor core.

On the other hand, the rotor core may be largely classified into two types of rotor cores.

First, the rotor core may be formed by mutually laminating a plurality of plates, each of which is formed in the form of a thin steel plate. In this case, the rotor core may be formed as a single piece that does not form a skew angle, or may be formed by coupling a plurality of unit cores (puck), which form a skew angle.

Second, the rotor core may be formed in the form of one cylinder. In this case, the rotor core may be formed as a single piece that does not form a skew angle, or may be formed by coupling a plurality of unit cores (puck), which form a skew angle, with each other.

Meanwhile, each of the unit cores may include the magnet disposed inward or outward thereof.

The stator <NUM> is disposed on an outside of the rotor <NUM>. The stator <NUM> electrically interacts with the rotor <NUM> to induce rotation of the rotor <NUM>. A coil <NUM> may be wound around the stator <NUM> to cause an interaction between the rotor <NUM> and the stator. A specific configuration of the stator <NUM> for winding the coil <NUM> is as follows. The stator <NUM> may include a stator core including teeth. The stator core is provided with an annular yoke, and the teeth extending from the yoke to a center of the yoke may be provided. The teeth may be provided at regular intervals along a circumference of the yoke. Meanwhile, the stator <NUM> may be formed by mutually laminating a plurality of plates, each of which is formed in the form of a thin steel plate. Further, the stator core may be formed by coupling or connecting a plurality of divided cores. The coil <NUM> is wound around the teeth to have magnetic poles, the rotor <NUM> is rotated by a magnetic field formed by the wound coil <NUM>, and the rotational shaft <NUM> is simultaneously rotated.

The router <NUM> is disposed above the stator <NUM>. The router <NUM> guides the coils <NUM> wound around the stator <NUM> to connect the coil to a terminal <NUM> of a power part located above of the housing <NUM>. In this case, the terminal <NUM> of the power part may be an element to which a power source with U, V and W phases is connected.

<FIG> is a view illustrating the interior of the housing.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the housing <NUM> may include a first receiving part <NUM>, a second receiving part <NUM>, a third receiving part <NUM>, and a worm wheel receiving part <NUM>.

The first receiving part <NUM> is disposed at a lower portion of the housing <NUM> and has an inner space in which the rotor <NUM>, the stator <NUM>, and a body <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the router <NUM> are accommodated.

The second receiving part <NUM> is disposed to be vertically elongated and has a receiving space for a guide part <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the router <NUM>. The second receiving part <NUM> is configured to communicate with the first receiving part <NUM> through a lower portion thereof and to have an opened upper portion.

The third receiving part <NUM> is disposed above the first receiving part <NUM> and communicates with the first receiving part <NUM>. This third receiving part <NUM> is disposed to be vertically elongated. The rotational shaft <NUM> is disposed in the third receiving part <NUM>. An inlet of the third receiving part <NUM> is connected to the first receiving part <NUM> and an outlet thereof may be connected to a component of a vehicle, such as a brake device. In addition, the third receiving part <NUM> is separated from the second receiving part <NUM>. On the other hand, brake oil or lubricating oil of the brake device may flow into the third receiving part <NUM> via the outlet of the third receiving part <NUM>. To prevent this, the outlet of the third receiving part <NUM> may be covered with a sealing cover <NUM>.

The worm wheel receiving part <NUM> communicates with the third receiving part <NUM>. The worm wheel receiving part <NUM> has a space for receiving a worm wheel engaging the rotational shaft <NUM>. The worm wheel receiving part <NUM> may be disposed on one side with respect to the third receiving part <NUM>, and the second receiving part <NUM> may be disposed on the other side. As one example, the worm wheel receiving part <NUM> may be located in front of the third receiving part <NUM>, and the second receiving part <NUM> may be located behind the third receiving part <NUM>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating the stator <NUM> including the router <NUM> according to one embodiment, <FIG> is an enlarged view of region A in <FIG>, and <FIG> is a view illustrating a first coil guide and a second coil guide.

Referring to <FIG>, the router <NUM> may be disposed above the stator <NUM>. The router <NUM> may include an annular body <NUM> and a guide part <NUM>.

The body <NUM> may be an annular plate-shaped member having a constant height and having a hole formed in a center thereof. In addition, the body <NUM> may include a first coil guide <NUM>. The first coil guide <NUM> serves to guide an extended portion of the coil <NUM> wound around the stator <NUM> to the guide part <NUM>. The first coil guide <NUM> may be concavely disposed in an upper surface of the body <NUM> to form a space in which the coil <NUM> is accommodated. The first coil guide <NUM> is formed to be elongated in a circumferential direction with respect to a center of the router <NUM> to guide the extended portion of the coil <NUM>, which is rolled around the stator <NUM>, to the guide part <NUM>. To this end, the first coil guide <NUM> may be disposed to correspond to a position where the extended portion of the coil <NUM> wound around the stator <NUM> ascends in a radial direction with respect to a center of the router <NUM>.

A through hole <NUM> may be formed in the first coil guide <NUM>. The through hole <NUM> may be formed to pass through the upper surface and a lower surface of the body <NUM>. The coil <NUM> located below the body <NUM> passes through the through hole <NUM> and is positioned in the first coil guide <NUM>. The coil <NUM> positioned in the first coil guide <NUM> is guided along the first coil guide <NUM> and connected to the guide part <NUM>. The number of the through holes <NUM> may be set according to a method for winding the coil <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, a plurality of first coil guides 411a and 411b may be provided. Each of the first coil guides 411a and 411b may be disposed along a circular orbit, which has a different radius R1, with respect to the center of the router <NUM>. This configuration is provided to cope with a position where the coil <NUM> ascends or to secure a space for connecting the coil <NUM> to the second coil guide <NUM> of the guide part <NUM>.

The guide part <NUM> may be disposed to protrude perpendicularly to the body <NUM>. That is, the guide part <NUM> may be disposed to be elongated in a direction of a rotational shaft passing through a center C of the body <NUM>. The above described guide part <NUM> serves to guide the coil <NUM>, which is guided through the first coil guide <NUM> of the body <NUM>, to the terminal <NUM> of the power part located at an upper portion of the housing <NUM>. To this end, the guide part <NUM> may include a second coil guide <NUM> connected to the first coil guide <NUM>.

The second coil guide <NUM> may be disposed to be concave in a surface of the guide part <NUM>. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the second coil guide may be disposed inside the guide part <NUM>.

Meanwhile, the guide part <NUM> may include a plurality of second coil guides 421a, 421b, and 421c. As one example, the guide part <NUM> may be implemented to have a shape including an inner circumferential surface 420a, an outer circumferential surface 420b, and a side surface 420c for connecting the inner circumferential surface 420a and the outer circumferential surface 420b. In this case, the second coil guide <NUM> may be concavely disposed in the inner circumferential surface 420a or the side surface 420c.

Three second coil guides 421a, 421b, and 421c may be provided. The coils <NUM> of U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase may be accommodated in the second coil guides 421a, 421b, and 421c, respectively. As one example, two second coil guides 421a and 421b may be disposed on the inner circumferential surface 420a of the guide part <NUM> and the other one second coil guide 421c may be disposed on the side surface 420c of the guide part <NUM>.

Each of the second coil guides 421a, 421b, and 421c is connected to the first coil guides 411a and 411b.

The extended portion of the coil <NUM> wound around the stator <NUM> passes through the through hole <NUM> and is then accommodated in the first coil guide <NUM>. The coil <NUM> accommodated in the first coil guide <NUM> is guided in a circumferential direction with reference to the center of the router <NUM> to reach the second coil guide <NUM> of the guide part <NUM>. The coil <NUM> accommodated in the second coil guide <NUM> is guided to the upper portion of the housing <NUM> to reach the terminal <NUM> of the power part.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a stator <NUM> including a router <NUM> according to another embodiment, <FIG> is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in <FIG> that shows a first coil guide <NUM>, and <FIG> is a view illustrating a second coil guide <NUM>.

As another type of router <NUM>, a body <NUM> may be implemented as an annular plate shaped member having multiple steps with different heights. For example, the body <NUM> may include a first body 410a and a second body 410b formed on the first body 410a. An outer diameter of the second body 410b which is correspondingly disposed on an upper side is smaller than an outer diameter of the first body 410a. In addition, the second body 410b may include the first coil guide <NUM> which is concavely disposed in an outer circumferential surface thereof.

The first body 410a may include a through hole <NUM>. The through hole <NUM> is formed to pass through an upper surface and a lower surface of the first body 410a.

The guide part <NUM> may be disposed to protrude perpendicularly to the second body 410b. That is, the guide part may be formed to be elongated in a direction of the rotational shaft passing through a center C of the body <NUM>. As one example, the guide part <NUM> may be implemented to have a shape including an inner circumferential surface 420a, an outer circumferential surface 420b, and a side surface 420c for connecting the inner circumferential surface 420a and the outer circumferential surface 420b, and all the second coil guides <NUM> may be disposed on the outer circumferential surface 420b.

A coil <NUM> guided along the outer circumferential surface of the second body 410b to the first coil guide <NUM> is guided to an upper portion of a housing <NUM> by the second coil guide <NUM> and then reaches the terminal <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the power part.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a terminal cover applied to a motor according to still another embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, a terminal cover <NUM> replacing the router <NUM> (see <FIG>) may be disposed. The terminal cover <NUM> covers an upper portion and a portion of side surface of a stator <NUM>.

The terminal cover <NUM> includes a body part <NUM>, a side part <NUM>, and a terminal <NUM>. Here, the body part <NUM> and the side part <NUM> may be described as being divided according to their shapes and functional characteristics and may be one part vertically connected to each other.

The body part <NUM> covers the stator <NUM>. The body part <NUM> may be an annular member having a hole <NUM> formed in a center thereof. The hole <NUM> is a region through which the rotational shaft <NUM> passes.

The body part <NUM> includes a first body <NUM> and a second body <NUM>. The first body <NUM> is an annular member horizontally disposed above the stator <NUM>, and the second body <NUM> is a member which is vertically disposed on the first body <NUM> and disposed to be elongated in a longitudinal direction. The first body <NUM> and the second body <NUM> may be connected to each other to be formed as a unitary mold member. Meanwhile, the body part <NUM> may include a guide <NUM> protruding from a lower end of the first body <NUM>. The guide <NUM> is in contact with an insulator <NUM> of the stator <NUM> or the coil <NUM> to support the first body <NUM>. A side part <NUM> is formed to extend downward from a periphery of the body part <NUM>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating an outer diameter of the stator <NUM> and an outer diameter of the terminal cover <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, a diameter of the terminal cover <NUM>, that is, an outer diameter D1 of the side part <NUM> may be equal to an outer diameter D2 of the stator <NUM>. A lower end portion of the side part <NUM> is in contact with an upper end portion of the stator <NUM>. Specifically, a lower surface end of the side part <NUM> is in contact with a top surface of the stator <NUM>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating the terminal <NUM>, and <FIG> are views illustrating each of three terminals.

Referring to <FIG>, the terminal <NUM> may be partially included in the inside of the first body <NUM>. Three terminals <NUM> of U, V and W phases may be provided. Common features of the three terminals <NUM> are as follows.

Each of the terminals <NUM> may include a terminal body <NUM> and a terminal pin <NUM>.

The terminal body <NUM> is contained in the first body <NUM> and the second body <NUM>, and the terminal pin <NUM> is exposed out of the first body <NUM>.

The terminal body <NUM> may include a first terminal body 831a and a second terminal body 831b. The first terminal body 831a may be disposed within the first body <NUM> and the second terminal body 831b may be disposed within the second body <NUM>. Here, the first terminal body 831a and the second terminal body 831b may be described as being divided according to their shapes and functional characteristics and may be one body vertically connected to each other.

Terminal pins <NUM> may be provided at both ends of the first terminal body 831a. The terminal pin <NUM> may be formed to be bent for being fused with the coil <NUM> wound around the stator <NUM>. In addition, the first terminal body 831a may be formed to be bent in a circumferential direction of the terminal body <NUM>.

The second terminal body 831b may be formed to be bent so as to extend vertically from the first terminal body 831a.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a hole of the terminal cover.

Referring to <FIG>, a hole 811a through which the terminal pin <NUM> is exposed may be formed in the first body <NUM>. The plurality of holes 811a may be disposed along a circumference of the first body <NUM>. In order to reinforce a structural strength of the plurality of holes 811a, a bridge <NUM> may be disposed between the holes 811a. In addition, the holes 811a may be provided to be aligned with positions of the terminal pins <NUM> of the terminal <NUM>.

The coil <NUM> of the stator <NUM> passing through the hole 811a comes in contact with the terminal pin <NUM> and is then fused. The first body <NUM> may be divided into a first region portion <NUM> and a second region portion <NUM> depending on whether the hole 811a is formed therein. The first region portion <NUM> is a portion where the plurality of holes 811a are formed, and the second region portion <NUM> is a portion where the hole 811a is not formed. The terminal pins <NUM> of the terminal <NUM> are disposed in the first region portion <NUM>. The second terminal body 831b which is vertically formed may also be disposed in the first region portion <NUM>.

The terminal pin <NUM> exposed to the outside of the first body <NUM> is located inward of the side part <NUM>. Therefore, the side part <NUM> surrounds the terminal pin <NUM> to which the coil <NUM> is fused. In the actuator according to the embodiment, the body part <NUM> and the side part <NUM> replace a role of a bus bar for covering the stator <NUM> and connection of the coil <NUM> at the same time, and therefore it is possible to omit the bus bar. In the actuator according to the embodiment, since the bus bar is omitted, a length of the entire actuator can be reduced. In addition, since the number of components can be reduced by omitting the bus bar, there is also an advantage that manufacturing costs can be reduced.

In the first region portion <NUM>, as an example, six terminal pins <NUM> may be arranged. This is a configuration that can be obtained by reducing the number of terminal pins <NUM> to which the coil <NUM> is connected. In order to reduce the number of terminal pins <NUM>, a structure of the stator <NUM> and a winding method may be changed.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a modified example of the terminal cover, <FIG> is a view illustrating the hole of the terminal cover illustrated in <FIG>, and <FIG> is a view illustrating a modified example of the terminal.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, a terminal cover <NUM> includes a plurality of holes 811a, and the holes 811a may be disposed at regular intervals over an entire first body <NUM>. Specifically, the plurality of holes 811a may be disposed at regular intervals in a circumferential direction with respect to a center of a body part <NUM>.

A position of the hole 811a corresponds to a position of a terminal pin <NUM>. The hole 811a may include a rounded periphery to correspond to a curved shape of a terminal pin <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, as a modified example of the terminal <NUM>, three terminals <NUM> for U, V and W phases are provided, and a total of twelve terminal pins <NUM> may be disposed.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a stator including an insulator, and <FIG> is a view illustrating the insulator.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, a stator <NUM> of an actuator according to the embodiment may be embodied as a deployable stator in which adjacent stator cores are connected to each other. In the deployable stator, stator cores may be unfolded on a plane in the form of a band. When the stator cores are unfolded in the form of a band, an open slot is expanded, so that not only a space factor of the coil <NUM> is increased, but also it is possible to perform the winding operation for the adjacent stator cores at once. For example, when the winding operation is performed with one coil <NUM> for two adjacent stator cores, the fusing points can be reduced by half.

In this case, the coil <NUM> wound around the stator <NUM> may be guided to be wound around a rear side (outer side) of the insulator <NUM>. Specifically, the insulator <NUM> may include an inner guide <NUM> and an outer guide <NUM>. The inner guide <NUM> and the outer guide <NUM> serve to prevent the coil <NUM> wound around the insulator <NUM> from being detached. The outer guide <NUM> includes an extended portion 312a extended upward. In addition, a groove 312b may be formed in the extended portion 312a. The coil <NUM> wound around the stator <NUM> may be inserted into the groove 312b, and thus the coil <NUM> may be guided outward of the insulator <NUM>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a terminal and a sealing cover.

Referring to <FIG>, a sealing cover <NUM> may include a terminal <NUM> of a power part connected to an external power source. A terminal body <NUM> is disposed to be elongated in an axial direction of the rotational shaft <NUM> and is connected to the terminal <NUM> of the power part.

As described above, the router for a motor and the actuator including the same according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The above description describes only exemplarily the technical idea of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains may variously modify, change, and substitute the present disclosure without departing from the essential characteristics of the disclosure. The scope of protection of the present invention is only limited by the subject-matter of the following claims.

Claim 1:
A motor comprising:
a rotational shaft (<NUM>);
a rotor (<NUM>) disposed on an outside of the rotational shaft (<NUM>);
a stator (<NUM>) disposed on an outside of the rotor;
a coil (<NUM>) wounded around the stator (<NUM>); and
a terminal cover (<NUM>),
wherein the terminal cover (<NUM>) comprises a body part (<NUM>), a terminal (<NUM>), and a side part (<NUM>) extending downward from the body part (<NUM>), the side part (<NUM>) being in contact with an upper end portion of the stator,
wherein the terminal (<NUM>) is disposed inward of the side part (<NUM>),
wherein the body part (<NUM>) comprises a first body part (<NUM>) and a second body part (<NUM>),
wherein the first body part (<NUM>) comprises an upper surface and a protruding portion protruded from the upper surface,
wherein the terminal (<NUM>) comprises a plurality of terminal pins (<NUM>) disposed outside, in a radial direction of the motor, of the protruding portion of the first body part (<NUM>), each terminal spin (<NUM>) being fused with the coil <NUM> wound around the stator (<NUM>);
wherein the second body part (<NUM>) is extended from the protruding portion of the first body part (<NUM>),
wherein the second body part (<NUM>) is overlapped with at least one of the terminal pins (<NUM>), of the plurality of terminal pins (<NUM>), in a length direction of the shaft (<NUM>), and
wherein an outer circumferential surface of the first body part (<NUM>), around an entire circumference of the first body part (<NUM>), extends farther outward in the radial direction than each terminal pin of the plurality of terminal pins (<NUM>).