1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to motor mounting structures, and more particularly, to a motor mounting assembly that dampens motor vibrations.
2. Description of Related Art
Appliances and tools driven by electric motors typically have a motor mounting structure that rigidly attaches the motor to the appliance itself. For example, wet/dry vacuum appliances often have the motor attached directly to the appliance lid via fasteners such as screws or bolts. Further, the junction of the motor mount area of the lid and the sides of the lid typically includes stiff ribs joining these areas together.
When mounted in this manner, the motor directly abuts the lid, creating a solid mounting position. Additional benefits of such a mounting arrangement include easily locating the motor during the appliance assembly process and creating a motor-to-lid water seal due to the direct part-to-part contact. However, motor vibrations are transferred to the lid due to the motor mounting and construction of the lid itself.
Prior art attempts to dampen vibration and reduce the noise associated with such vibrations have been largely unsatisfactory. For example, rubber parts and/or seals have been added to separate the motor from direct contact with the lid and absorb motor vibrations. This results in undesirable additional parts and associated increased material and labor costs. Moreover, in applications such as wet/dry vacuums that require the motor be water sealed, additional parts may be required to provide the water seal. Still further, when the motor is mounted such that it does not directly seal against the lid, additional structure may be necessary to provide a vacuum seal to achieve the desired appliance performance.
The present application addresses shortcomings associated with the prior art.
Among other things, this disclosure concerns a motor mounting assembly that dampens vibration to reduce motor noise from the motor. The motor mounting assembly includes a motor mount member having first and second generally opposing sides. The motor mount member may have an opening therethrough to receive the shaft of a motor attached to the assembly. A generally U-shaped channel is formed in the second side of the motor mount member extending around its periphery to form a lip extending from the first side of the motor mounting member. The U-shaped channel allows slight movement of the motor mount member in a radial direction to absorb vibrations from a motor attached thereto.
The motor mounting assembly may be used to attach a motor to a vacuum appliance, such as a wet/dry vacuum. For instance, the appliance may include a collection drum, with the motor being operable to create a vacuum in the collection drum to suck debris or liquids into the drum. A lid is affixed to the collection drum with the motor mount member having the motor attached thereto. The motor mount member has first and second generally opposing sides. A generally U-shaped channel is formed in the second side of the motor mount member extending around the periphery thereof forming a lip extending from the first side of the motor mount member. The U-shaped channel allows slight movement of the motor mount member to absorb vibrations from the motor, rather than transfer the vibrations to the lid, and vacuum appliance.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
As noted above, the wet/dry vacuum 10 shown in
In exemplary embodiments, the mounting assembly 100 is formed from plastic, such as polypropylene, with a wall thickness of about 0.100 inch. The channel 130 extends about 0.5 inch into the bottom side 140 of the mounting member 112, so the lip 132 extends about 0.5 inch from the upper side 142. The channel 130 allows slight movement of the mounting member 112 in the radial direction (side-to-side as shown in
Moreover, the channel 130, and thus the lip 132, extend completely around the periphery of the mounting member 112, surrounding the motor 110. Accordingly, there is no opening that would allow liquids to reach the motor 110, or allow air leaks that would decrease the vacuum created in the collection drum 14 and reduce performance of the appliance 10. Since the channel 130 and lip 132 are formed as part of the mounting surface, no additional parts are required for vibration damping purposes. This keeps the part count at a minimum and simplifies assembly procedures.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nonetheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5353469 | Fellhauer | Oct 1994 | A |
5813085 | Fritz et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
6508867 | Schoenewald et al. | Jan 2003 | B2 |
6757935 | Sjoberg | Jul 2004 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20050132526 A1 | Jun 2005 | US |