This application claims priority to Chinese Application Serial Number 201210131113.6, filed on Apr. 27, 2012, which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a controller for car. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a waterproof controller used for electric power steering.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic devices are increasingly being applied in vehicles. An example is EPS (electric power steering) which is used in place of traditional mechanical steering, HPS (hydraulic power steering), and EHPS (electric hydraulic power steering). Because EPS is more energy-efficient and is easier to control than mechanical or hydraulic steering, it is widely used for vehicles, such as automobiles.
In EPS, a controller is indispensable. The controller is used to detect the steering wheel angle and to correspondingly control the steering mechanism.
Many electronic elements are installed in the controller. Some elements may be damaged when water enters into the controller. Once this occurs, the steering system may fail to operate, severely affecting driving safety.
In order to make a waterproof controller, a waterproof shell is typically provided to cover the controller. However, with such a configuration, additional connecting devices (such as male and female connectors) are required between the controller and the waterproof shell, so that the electric signals in the controller can be transmitted to other devices in the steering system. These additional connecting devices not only increase the cost of the controller, but also reduce the reliability thereof.
A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a waterproof controller used for electric power steering includes a shell, a chamber, at least one sealing block, a circuit board, at least one cable, and at least one board mounting accessory. The chamber is formed in the shell. The sealing block is disposed on the shell, and includes at least one hole. The circuit board is accommodated in the chamber. The cable includes a first terminal and a second terminal opposite to the first terminal. The first terminal passes through the hole of the sealing block. The board mounting accessory covers the second terminal, in which the board mounting accessory and the second terminal insert into the circuit board together.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:
With reference to the present embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
In this embodiment of the present invention, the board mounting accessory 500 is used to fix the second terminal 420 of the cable 400 on the circuit board 300, and the first terminal 410 of the cable 400 can pass through the hole 210 of the sealing block 200 and can be connected to connectors or converting terminals outside of the controller, such as a connector, a ring terminal, or a y-shaped terminal. Therefore, signals of all electronic devices on the circuit board 300 can be directly transmitted out of the shell via the cable 400 without making use of any connector disposed on the shell 100, so that the cost of the waterproof controller can be lowered down and the reliability thereof can be increased.
In some embodiments, the board mounting accessory 500 may further include a second reverse hook 520. The first reverse hook 510 and the second reverse hook 520 are respectively positioned on opposite sides of the circuit board 300. For example, the first reverse hook 510 can be positioned above the circuit board 300 to prevent the board mounting accessory 500 and the second terminal 420 from moving downwards. The second reverse hook 520 can be positioned beneath the circuit board 300 to prevent the board mounting accessory 500 and the second terminal 420 from moving upwards. Therefore, the first reverse hook 510 and the second reverse hook 520 can limit the board mounting accessory 500 and the second terminal 420 from moving along the vertical direction, so as to fix the cable 400 in place on the circuit board 300.
It should be noted that “vertical direction” as used herein refers to a direction that is perpendicular to the circuit board 300.
In some embodiments, the second terminal 420 of the cable 400 has an axial surface 422, and the first reverse hook 510 and the second reverse hook 520 are provided at an angle relative to the axial surface 422. That is, the first reverse hook 510 and the second reverse hook 520 are tilted at an angle relative to the axial surface 422, rather than closely contacting the axial surface 422. Therefore, if the cable 400 is pulled along the direction from the second terminal 420 to the first terminal 410, the second reverse hook 520 can be blocked by the circuit board 300, thereby preventing the second terminal 420 from being removed from the circuit board 300. Further, the circuit board 300 can block the first reverse hook 510, so as to prevent the second terminal 420 from moving downwards.
It should be noted that the axial surface 422 of the cable 420 refers to the surface parallel to the axis of the cable 400. In other words, the axial surface 422 is perpendicular to the radial direction of the cable 400.
Referring back to
In some embodiments, the sealing block 200 can be made of elastic material such as rubber. Therefore, when it is desired to place the sealing block 200 into the opening 122, the sealing block 200 can be pushed so as to undergo elastic deformation and thereby realize an interference fit between the sealing block 200 and the opening 122. That is, after the sealing block 200 is put into the opening 122, it can expand based on the inherent elastic ability thereof, so that the sealing block 200 can be tightly fitted into the opening 122 and thereby promote the waterproof ability of the waterproof controller.
In some embodiments, the waterproof controller may further include a waterproof ring 600. The waterproof ring 600 is clamped between the first shell body 110 and the second shell body 120. For example, the waterproof ring 600 can be made of elastic material such as rubber. The waterproof ring 600 can be used to fill gaps between the first shell body 110 and the second shell body 120. By using both the sealing block 200 and the waterproof ring 600, water can be prevented from entering into the controller of the present invention. The waterproof ring 600 may include an O-ring, but the present invention is not limited in this regard.
In some embodiments, the second shell body 120 may further include at least one beam 124. The beam 124 is positioned between the sealing block 200 and the waterproof ring 600. Specifically, the opening 122 is formed under the beam 124, and, as described above, the sealing block 200 is put into the opening 122. The waterproof ring 600 is disposed on the beam 124. In other words, the waterproof ring 600 and the sealing block 200 are respectively disposed on the opposite sides of the beam 124.
In addition to the advantages of the waterproof controller of
The recess 126 is a groove that extends downwards from the supporting surface 128. In other words, the supporting surface 128 of the second shell body 120 is a discontinuous surface, such that the sealing block 200 can be inserted into or pulled out of the recess 126 along the direction that is perpendicular to the supporting surface 128. Therefore, the wave-soldering process can be performed with the cable 400, the circuit board 300 and the sealing block 200 without the second shell body 120, and the sealing block 200 can be inserted into the recess 126 along the direction perpendicular to the supporting surface 128 following the wave-soldering process, thereby promoting convenience during assembly process.
Referring back to
Specifically, the support 116 is protruded on the inner surface of the first shell body 110 that faces the sealing block 200 and the cable 400. The support 116 can be a plate that presses on the sealing block 200. In some embodiments, the first shell body 110 may include a plurality of supports 116 (e.g., two or three) for providing greater support.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the sealing block 200 can be made of elastic material such as rubber. Therefore, when it is desired to place the sealing block 200 into the recess 126, the sealing block 200 can be pushed so as to undergo elastic deformation and thereby realize an interference fit between the sealing block 200 and the recess 126. That is, after the sealing block 200 is put into the recess 126, it can expand based on the inherent elastic ability thereof, so that the sealing block 200 can be tightly fitted into the recess 126 and thereby promote the waterproof ability of the waterproof controller.
Referring back to
In some embodiments, the waterproof controller may further include a heat dissipating plate 800 contacting the circuit board 300, so as to dissipate heat from the circuit board 300.
Further, the sealing block 200 in
The aforementioned embodiments only introduce some possible variations of the sealing block 200. In practice, the shape of the sealing block 200 may be square, circular, elliptic, rectangular, triangular, and so on, depending on the user's demands, and the present invention is not limited in this regard. It should be noted that the recess 126 should also be modified in shape to correspond to the shape of the sealing block 200, so that the sealing block 200 can be tightly fitted into the recess 126.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2012 1 0131113 | Apr 2012 | CN | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20130286597 A1 | Oct 2013 | US |