Patent Application
20170363109
The present disclosure relates generally to pumps for use in generating a flow of a fluid. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an oil pump controlled by a controller for generating a fluid flow such as an oil pump for use in an engine in a vehicle.
It is generally known that an oil pump is used to create a flow of fluid oil through an engine to cool and lubricate components of the drive train or engine during operation of the vehicle. It is also generally known to operate the oil pump using a power take off from the engine. In some applications, it is also generally known to provide an electric motor for operating the oil pump. Typically, it is also known to provide a controller including a circuit board and other electronic components for use in controlling the oil pump during operation of the vehicle. Most of the current applications have the controller integrated at the back of the motor housing where it is cooled only by the air flow. These applications are limited by maximum ambient temperature and the amount of power (i.e., current) that the system can draw before the electrical components of the controller overheat and shut down.
So, if the electronic control apparatus is provided in the vehicle's power generation compartment, the temperature in the compartment generally creates a potential problem. While the air temperature in the compartment can be maintained at a sufficiently low temperature when a vehicle is moving and/or operating since fresh air flows can be used to transfer heat from the compartment, when the vehicle is stopped, such as after its high-speed running, the air stagnates in the compartment and is heated by the heat of the engine, with the result that the air temperature in the compartment rises to a relatively very high level which may lead to component fatigue, failure or other troubles.
To obtain an electric motor which is both compact and capable of delivering high output torque, a large current must be passed through the coil of the motor proper and thus the controller must be capable of providing such high current to the motor. Passing a large current through the coil of the motor and the controller used to manage the supply of electrical energy to the motor can cause the motor and/or the controller to heat up and if heated too high, to eventually fail. Generally, it is required that the motor be cooled and that the controller be located at a distance from the motor and the heat source to protect the controller from extensive heat. Further, it is generally known to use very expensive components in the controller capable of functioning properly at such elevated temperatures. Accordingly, space must be provided to locate the controller and the motor to be able to function. However, it is very difficult to provide additional space for accommodating the installation of the electric motor and the controller because space is already very limited, particularly in the aforementioned motorized vehicle applications. Thus, it is very difficult to provide both the electric motor and the pump in a limited space. This has made it almost impossible and very expensive to implement such an electric-motor-driven pump.
The present disclosure is based on the object of providing an electric motor-driven pump and control device by means of which the above-described problems of the prior art are avoided.
In one exemplary embodiment, there is disclosed an electronic motor-driven pump and integrated controller including a housing in which the controller, including power control components (e.g., MOSFETS) for supplying power to the motor, is arranged for controlling the rotational speed of a fluid pump and the output of the fluid pump to be supplied to a vehicle component. The electronic motor-driven pump includes a motor portion located at one end, the fluid pump in the middle and an inlet/outlet housing portion including an integrated portion for containing the controller and its components such that the integrated portion is located proximal the flowing fluid in the inlet and outlet and has sufficient thermal conductivity to sufficiently dissipate heat from the controller located in a cavity formed in the inlet/outlet housing portion. The inlet/outlet housing portion may also include one or more passages which extend parallel to the central axis of the pump and the motor for receipt of the wires required for electrically coupling the controller and the stator of the motor such that the wires also pass through a sealed passage extending axially through the fluid pump. Additionally, the fluid passes through the pump and the electric drive-motor to dissipate heat from all of the components of the assembly.
The drawings illustrate, by way of example only, embodiments of the present disclosure wherein:
Referring in general to all of the figures, the present disclosure and teachings described herein provide for a combined motor-driven pump and controller system, hereinafter referred to as an electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10, for use in automotive applications such as in association with a vehicle engine or drive train, such as a transmission. The electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10 provides lubrication, cooling and pressure in various system configurations. The primary elements of this electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10 system are: the pump 20 contained with a pump housing 21, which may be of any known or appropriate type (such as a fixed or variable displacement type pump), a motor 30, in particular a brushless direct current (DC) type motor contained within a motor casing, also referred to as casing 31, and a motor controller 40, such as a power inverter and an appropriate electrical connector for electrically coupling the electric motor-driven oil pump 10 to a source of electrical current power (such as a battery or similar type device). In addition, the electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10 may also include known and/or appropriate diagnostics and sensor signals (not shown). The electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10 is configured such that the whole assembly may be fully integrated (i.e., the pump 20, motor 30, controller 40 and electrical connector) and contained in a single, sealed (integrated) body due to system restrictions such as packaging. However, in application, such a system is exposed to high ambient temperatures due to mounting locations and positions directly on the transmission or engine body (not shown) and even sometimes locations inside the transmission body. In these applications, the electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10 is typically exposed to potentially very severe environments including elevated temperatures. The most sensitive component to high ambient temperatures is the motor controller 40 which has the effect of limiting the maximum operating temperature of the electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10. Currently, maximum operating temperatures for the motor controller subcomponents are as generally: 175 degrees Celsius for the FET junction, 150 degrees Celsius for the motor controller unit MCU and 135 degrees Celsius for the capacitor.
To ensure that the noted temperature limits are not exceeded during maximum ambient temperature operation (Ta=138 degrees Celsius), the oil pump 20 uses oil flow to cool the controller 40. Primarily, the benefit of the electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10 according to the present disclosure is that it enables operation of the electric motor-driven oil pump assembly 10 under relatively higher ambient temperature conditions and at the same time provides for the possibility to reduce cost by using lower temperature grade electronic components as compared to known systems. As best shown in
As shown in the cross-section of
In an alternate embodiment shown in
In particular, it is contemplated that the assembly 10 according to the present disclosure, provides for a novel motor design for increasing the overall electric motor-driven pump performance while increasing the efficiency and reliability of the assembly 10 while reducing the costs of the components of the controller 40 and thereby the overall costs of the assembly 10.
Referring now in particular to the intersecting vane pump of
The internal components of the electric motor-driven oil pump 200 generally include the Motor Rotor, the Pump Outer Rotor, Vane 1, Vane 2, Vane 3, the Pump Inner Rotor and the Bushing all coupled together as shown. The Inlet Port and Outlet Port are located in the Base Plate and are coupled to the pump 200 for flowing the fluid through the pump using the intersecting vane design as shown.
The Pump Outer Rotor is preferably pressed into the Motor Rotor. The Pump Outer Rotor includes at a first location a half circle or scallop on the inner bore of the Pump Outer Rotor for receiving a first end of Vane 1. Vane 1 extends from the scallop in the inner bore of the Pump Outer Rotor and through a first slot located transversely across the Pump Inner Rotor. Vane 2 and Vane 3 are installed in second and third slots of the Pump Inner Rotor and are each guided by the shaped contour of the inner circumference of the bore or passage of the Pump Outer Rotor. The contour of the inner circumference of the bore or passage of the Pump Outer Rotor is shaped to affect the operation of the Vanes 1, 2, and 3 during rotation of the rotors for the pump 200 to perform consistent with desired design requirements. When the motor 200 is working, the Motor Rotor and Pump Outer Rotor will rotate in a clockwise direction as shown in
The configuration of the pump 200 according to the present disclosure is selected so the Pump Outer Rotor is a driving member and the Inner Rotor is driven by Vane 1 connected with Pump Outer Rotor. This type of pump driving method and configuration is unique so the contour of the inner circumference of the bore or passage of the Pump Outer Rotor is a pre-selected curve so that when the Pump Outer Rotor is rotated, the three Vanes 1, 2, and 3 will only swing back and forth during some angles related to the Pump Rotor.
The pump 200 of the present disclosure particularly benefits from the current design because the electric motor-driven oil pump 200 may work at high ambient temperature conditions while at the same time providing the possibility for significantly reduced cost by using lower temperature grade electronic components in the controller (PCB) as well as a reduced number of mechanical components making up the pump 200 as compared to conventional vane pumps thereby further reducing cost.
Any numerical values recited herein or in the figures are intended to include all values from the lower value to the upper value in increments of one unit provided that there is a separation of at least 2 units between any lower value and any higher value. As an example, if it is stated that the amount of a component or a value of a process variable such as, for example, temperature, pressure, time and the like is, for example, from 1 to 90, preferably from 20 to 80, more preferably from 30 to 70, it is intended that values such as 15 to 85, 22 to 68, 43 to 51, 30 to 32 etc. are expressly enumerated in this specification. For values which are less than one, one unit is considered to be 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01 or 0.1 as appropriate. These are only examples of what is specifically intended and all possible combinations of numerical values between the lowest value and the highest value enumerated are to be considered to be expressly stated in this application in a similar manner. As can be seen, the teaching of amounts expressed as “parts by weight” herein also contemplates the same ranges expressed in terms of percent by weight. Thus, an expression in the Detailed Description of the Invention of a range in terms of at “‘x’ parts by weight of the resulting polymeric blend composition” also contemplates a teaching of ranges of same recited amount of “‘x’ in percent by weight of the resulting polymeric blend composition.”
Unless otherwise stated, all ranges include both endpoints and all numbers between the endpoints. The use of “about” or “approximately” in connection with a range applies to both ends of the range. Thus, “about 20 to 30” is intended to cover “about 20 to about 30,” inclusive of at least the specified endpoints.
The disclosures of all articles and references, including patent applications and publications, are incorporated by reference for all purposes. The term “consisting essentially of” to describe a combination shall include the elements, ingredients, components or steps identified, and such other elements, ingredients, components or steps that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the combination. The use of the terms “comprising” or “including” to describe combinations of elements, ingredients, components or steps herein also contemplates embodiments that consist essentially of the elements, ingredients, components or steps. By use of the term “may” herein, it is intended that any described attributes that “may” be included are optional.
Plural elements, ingredients, components or steps can be provided by a single integrated element, ingredient, component or step. Alternatively, a single integrated element, ingredient, component or step might be divided into separate plural elements, ingredients, components or steps. The disclosure of “a” or “one” to describe an element, ingredient, component or step is not intended to foreclose additional elements, ingredients, components or steps.
It is understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments as well as many applications besides the examples provided will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. The disclosures of all articles and references, including patent applications and publications, are incorporated by reference for all purposes. The omission in the following claims of any aspect of subject matter that is disclosed herein is not a disclaimer of such subject matter, nor should it be regarded that the inventors did not consider such subject matter to be part of the disclosed inventive subject matter.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/982,777 filed Jul. 31, 2013, which is a U.S. National Phase of PCT/US2013/027874 filed Feb. 27, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/603,907 filed Feb. 27, 2012. The disclosures of each of the above-referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61603907 | Feb 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13982777 | Jul 2013 | US |
| Child | 15695572 | US |
