Patent ID: 7932653

Claim:
An electric motor assembly comprising: a rotor assembly rotatable about an axis, said rotor assembly including a shaft disposed along the axis; a bearing assembly for rotatably supporting the shaft, said bearing assembly including a bearing selected from the group consisting of a first bearing presenting a radially outer periphery that has a generally constant diameter along the axial span of the periphery and a second bearing presenting a radially outer periphery that has a variable diameter that varies along the axial span of the periphery; a stator assembly spaced radially from the rotor assembly; a case defining an internal motor chamber in which the rotor assembly and the stator assembly are housed, with the case presenting opposite axial margins, said case including an endshield adjacent one of said axial margins, said endshield including a universal bearing-receiving core configured to receive either one of said first and second bearings, said core presenting a radially inner periphery that includes a bearing assembly engagement surface, said engagement surface including a generally cylindrical first surface portion substantially centered about the axis, with the first surface portion presenting a generally constant diameter along its axial span, the first portion being configured for direct contact and engagement with the radially outer periphery of the first bearing, said engagement surface including a generally frustoconical second surface portion substantially centered about the axis, with the second surface portion presenting a variable diameter along its axial span and tapering radially inwardly toward the axial margin of the case, the second portion being at least partly configured for direct contact and engagement with the radially outer periphery of the second bearing, said bearing assembly being received within the core and disposed at least partially against the bearing assembly engagement surface, said bearing assembly engagement surface directly contacting and engaging the radially outer periphery of the bearing such that the first surface portion directly contacts and engages the radially outer periphery when the first bearing is selected and the second surface portion directly contacts and engages the radially outer periphery when the second bearing is selected.