This application claims the priority benefit of China application no. 202220649096.4, filed on Mar. 23, 2022, China application no. 202221341188.2 filed on May 30, 2022, China application no. 202221425888.X filed on Jun. 6, 2022, and China application no. 202221503693.2 filed on Jun. 15, 2022. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
The disclosure relates to electric traction, and more particularly relates to a winch integrated with a permanent magnet brushless motor and a controller.
A winch is a towing apparatus geared to maneuver an object. The winch is powered by an electric motor to output. Pulling of the winch is realized when the gear train in a reduction gearbox is driven via a coupling and a driving rod to move a drum to rotate and respool the rope wound around the drum. Operating of the winch may be controlled in a wired or wireless mode by a controller. Conventional winches in the market are generally driven by a brushed motor, the commutator carbon brush of which easily get frayed and is inconvenient to change. In addition, a control box assembly for controlling a forward reverse relay needs to be provided, which results in a bulky size and unstable relay contact. The electric motor and the relay are connected via a wire, but if the wire is overly long, electrical energy loss and voltage drop occur. The relay contacts are prone to adhesion or loose contact, potentially causing safety hazards. Moreover, the whole set is inefficient with a high energy consumption. In conventional electric winches powered by a brushless motor, the brushless motor and the controller are generally separately designed, rendering a low integration level.
A winch integrated with a permanent magnet brushless motor and a controller is provided, which uses a brushless motor assembly to actuate the winch, thereby rendering a compact structure and a simplified wiring. The disclosure significantly improves the overall efficiency and reduces energy consumption. In addition, the brushless motor assembly integrates the brushless motor and the controller, which reduces the overall cost and enhances reliability.
The disclosure is implemented through the following technical solutions:
A winch integrated with a permanent magnet brushless motor and a controller comprises a brushless motor and a controller. The brushless motor comprises a stator having a wire coil, and a motor bracket, the stator is fixedly provided in the motor bracket, a rotor and a rotating shaft fixed in a rotor center are provided inside the stator, and the rotating shaft is rotatably connected to the motor bracket. One end of the rotating shaft is fixedly connected with a magnet mount, and a cylinder magnet is mounted in the magnet mount. The controller comprises a control circuit board, and the control circuit board is fixed to one end of the motor bracket proximal to the cylinder magnet. A sensor chip for angle sensing in conjunction with the cylinder magnet is provided on the control circuit board.
In some embodiments, the motor bracket comprises a motor tail cap, the controller further comprises a controller end cap, and an accommodation cavity is formed between the motor tail cap and the controller end cap. The cylinder magnet passes through the motor tail cap to extend into the accommodation cavity, and the control circuit board is fixed in the accommodation cavity. The connection between the motor tail cap and the controller end cap renders the overall structure of the brushless motor assembly more compact, and the controller end cap may better protect the circuit board from accidental damages to the control circuit board.
In some embodiments, an opening is provided in a sidewall of the accommodation cavity, and a connection wire passes through the opening and is connected to the control circuit board. Or, a wiring lug is provided in the opening, and the control circuit board and the connection wire are electrically connected to the wiring lug respectively. By providing the opening provided in the sidewall of the accommodation cavity or the motor tail cap, the overall mount length required by the brushless motor is effectively reduced such that the brushless motor is adapted to be mounted in a narrower space.
In some embodiments, a cross section of the controller end cap has a regular polygonal or round shape, a recessed cavity is provided in the controller end cap, the motor tail cap encloses the recessed cavity to form the accommodation cavity, and the opening is provided in a sidewall of the recessed cavity. Since the cross section of the controller end cap has a regular polygonal or round shape, the controller end cap may be rotated till an appropriate angle along the rotating shaft of the brushless motor so as to reach a better mounting position, allowing the opening to face an appropriate direction.
In some embodiments, the stator comprises an iron core and a three-phase wire coil wound around the iron core, and an output wire of the three-phase wire coil is connected to a corresponding contact on the control circuit board. This setting may avoid an overly long wire connection between the electric motor and the relay, whereby to reduce electrical energy loss.
In some embodiments, a first fixation hole running along an axis of the rotating shaft is provided in an end surface of the rotating shaft, and one end of the magnet mount is adapted to the first fixation hole. A second fixation hole running co-axially with the rotating shaft is provided at another end of the magnet mount, and the cylinder magnet is fixed in the second fixation hole. This structural setting may ensure co-axial rotation between the cylinder magnet and the rotary shaft, whereby to control rotor rotation more precisely.
In some embodiments, the motor bracket comprises a motor end cap, a motor casing, and a motor tail cap, one end of the motor casing is integrally formed with the motor end cap, and another end of the motor casing is detachably connected to the motor tail cap. Or, the motor bracket comprises the motor end cap, the motor casing, and the motor tail cap, the motor end cap is detachably connected to one end of the motor casing, and the another end of the motor casing is detachably connected to the motor tail cap. The motor end cap may be separately or integrally formed with the motor casing. This flexible setting is adapted to different scenarios or different models of winches.
In some embodiments, a front end of the rotating shaft is rotatably connected on the motor end cap via a bearing, and a rear end of the rotating shaft is rotatably connected on the motor tail cap via a bearing. With the bearing, the rotating shaft is fitted with the motor end cap and the motor tail cap, realizing a rotatable connection between the rotating shaft and the motor bracket. The bearing renders a higher stability and a lower fault rate, whereby to ensure long-term, stable rotation of the rotating shaft.
In some embodiments, the stator comprises an iron core, and the iron core is stamped-out and laminated from a silicon steel sheet. This feature offers a better electric performance to the stator.
In some embodiments, the winch further comprises a reduction gearbox, a drum, and a rope wound around the drum. The other end of the rotating shaft actuates the reduction gearbox to rotate via a driving rod, the reduction gearbox drives the drum to rotate, and the drum brings the rope to wind to implement pulling of the winch.
Compared with conventional technologies, the disclosure offers the following benefits.
By fixing the controller to the end of a motor tail cap proximal to the cylinder magnet, the issue of the overly long distance between the sensor and the cylinder magnet in a conventional brushless motor is resolved, the interval between the control circuit board and the cylinder magnet is reduced, the control box assembly and connection wires are eliminated, and manufacturing and installation are facilitated. In the disclosure, by integrating the brushless motor and the controller, the overall length of the electric winch is reduced, whereby to reduce footprint, facilitate mold making, reduce manufacture cost, enhance reliability, and simplify wiring of the whole set.
A winch integrated with a permanent magnet brushless motor and a controller is provided. The winch comprises a brushless motor and a controller. The brushless motor comprises a stator having a wire coil, and a motor bracket, and the stator is fixedly provided in the motor bracket. A rotor and a rotating shaft fixed in the rotor center are provided in the stator. The rotating shaft is rotatably connected to the motor bracket, one end of the rotating shaft is fixedly connected with a magnet mount, and a cylinder magnet is mounted in the magnet mount. The controller comprises a control circuit board, and the control circuit board is fixed to one end of the motor bracket proximal to the cylinder magnet. A sensor chip for angle sensing in conjunction with the cylinder magnet is provided on the control circuit board. By fixing the controller to the end of a motor tail cap proximal to the cylinder magnet, the issue of the overly long distance between the sensor and the cylinder magnet in a conventional brushless motor is resolved, the interval between the control circuit board and the cylinder magnet is reduced, the control box assembly and connection wires are eliminated, and manufacturing and installation are facilitated. In the disclosure, by integrating the brushless motor and the controller, the overall length of the electric winch is reduced, whereby to reduce footprint, facilitate mold making, reduce manufacture cost, enhance reliability, and simplify wiring of the whole set.
Hereinafter, the implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Examples of the implementations are shown in the drawings. The implementations described with reference to the accompanying drawings are intended to explain the present disclosure, which shall not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.
In the description of the present disclosure, it needs to be understood that the orientational or positional relationships indicated by the terms “center,” “longitudinal,” “transverse,” “length,” “width,” “thickness”, “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” and “outer,” etc. are orientational and positional relationships based on the drawings, which are intended only for facilitating or simplifying description of the present disclosure, not for indicating or implying that the devices or elements have to possess those specific orientations and have to be configured and operated with such specific orientations; therefore, they should not be understood as limitations to the present disclosure.
Besides, the terms “first” and “second” are only used for description purposes, which shall not be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, the features limited by “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In the description of the present disclosure, “plurality” indicates at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless otherwise indicated.
In the present disclosure, unless otherwise explicitly provided and limited, the terms such as “mount,” “attach,” “connect,” and “fix” should be understood broadly, which, for example, may refer to a secured connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; which may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; which may be a direct connection or an indirect connection via an intermediate medium; which may also be a communication between the insides of two elements or an interactive relationship between the two elements, unless otherwise explicitly defined. To a person of normal skill in the art, specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure may be understood based on specific situations.
The output shaft of the brushless motor 100 drives the reduction gearbox 300 via a coupling and a driving rod to move the drum 410 to rotate about the axial direction (as shown in the arrow of the figure) or rotate about a direction reverse thereto. For example, the brushless motor 100 is driven along the first direction in
Referring to
The control circuit board 210 is mounted in the space formed by the motor tail cap 121 and the controller end cap 220. The stator 110 comprises an iron core. A three-phase wire coil 111 is provided on the iron core, and an output wire of the three-phase wire coil 111 is directedly connected to a corresponding contact on the control circuit board 210. Such configuration can reduce additional harness connectors, shorten the length of the connecting line between the brushless motor 100 and the control circuit board 210, reduce electrical energy loss to improve efficiency of the brushless motor 100, and further reduce energy consumption.
As illustrated in
As mentioned above, the motor tail cap 121 and the controller 200 in the interior of the controller end cap 220 are connected via an outwardly extending wire 230. The wire 230 may be fixed to a circular opening 222 at the controller end cap 220 side via an intermediate medium (e.g., a water-proof connector), one end of the wire 230 is connected on the control circuit board 210. In this implementation, the wire 230 connected to a receptacle allows the current to directly flow into the brushless motor 100 through the connecting line between the control circuit board 210 and the brushless motor 100, which eliminates the need for a control box assembly and an additional harness for connection, thereby reducing loss while achieving a higher electrical efficiency. In addition, a control switch may also be provided on the outwardly extending wire 230, and the wire 230 connected on the control switch is connected to the respective phase terminals on the control circuit board 210, whereby to allow for On/Off control.
The control circuit board 210 has a data storage functionality, for carrying out wired remote control or wireless remote control of the operation of the winch and one or more accessories (e.g., the connected display in the vehicle, automatic stop of the rope 20, etc.) in response to a wired or wireless control input from an operator of an external power supply or external power pack. In this implementation, the control circuit board 210 may comprise a motor speed sensor, a motor current sensor, a voltage sensor, a motor direction sensor, a motor location sensor, a motor temperature sensor, and a drum 410 rotation sensor. The control circuit board 210 may input a signal for a connected external device to display a status.
The control circuit board 210 may be further electrically connected to respective phase terminals of the stator 110, and the control circuit board 210 is energized by wired remote control or wireless remote control. The data acquisition module 226 on the control circuit board 210 may be configured to read signals from a cylinder magnet 150 disposed on the magnet mount 140 to detect a position of the rotor 130 in real time. The stator 110 produces a rotating magnetic field with a direction uniformly varied, such that the rotor 130 may rotate with the magnetic field. For example, the control circuit board 210 may perform soft start, measure motor rotation speed, and motor revolving direction.
The control circuit board 210 may comprise an instruction stored therein. The instruction is configured for instructing one or more sensors (such as temperature sensor, current sensor, and voltage sensor) to correspondingly output and remotely display statuses. In this implementation, the temperature sensor, the current sensor, and the voltage sensor are integrated on the control circuit board 210.
In an implementation, the data acquisition module 226 may be provided with a voltage sensor for measuring the operating voltage of the motor. The data acquisition module 226 may monitor (e.g., measure) an output of the voltage sensor and compare a difference between measured voltages. In the case of an overly large difference, the control circuit board 210 may shut down the motor, thereby eliminating the need for an additional electrical connector or an additional voltage system, whereby to suspend operating of the winch so as to protect the winch or the winched vehicle or object.
In an implementation, the data acquisition module 226 may be provided with a soft start functionality. The controller 200 monitors an output of the sensor, enabling the brushless motor 100 to output a stable rotation speed so as to reach the rotation speed required by the rated torque, thereby protecting the winch or the winched vehicle or object.
In an implementation, the data acquisition module 226 may be provided with a temperature sensor to measure temperature rise of the control circuit board 210. The controller 200 may monitor an output of the temperature sensor and compare a difference between measured values. If the difference exceeds a set value, the controller 200 may shut down the motor, eliminating the need for an additional electrical connector or an additional temperature measuring system, whereby to suspend operating of the winch so as to protect the winch or the winched vehicle or object.
In an implementation, the data acquisition module 226 may be provided with a current sensor to measure operating current of the motor. The controller 200 may monitor an output of the current sensor and compare a difference between the measured current and the rated current. In the case that if the difference exceeds a set value, the controller 200 may shut down the motor, eliminating the need for an additional electrical connector or an additional current measuring system, so as to suspend operating of the winch so as to protect the winch or the winched vehicle or object.
As illustrated in
Those contents not detailed in this implementation may refer to the first implementation.
As illustrated in
Those contents not detailed in this implementation may refer to the first implementation.
As illustrated in
Those contents not detailed in this implementation may refer to the first implementation.
As illustrated in
Those contents not detailed in this implementation may refer to the second implementation.
As illustrated in
The power board 260 is disposed in the housing 270, and the control main board 211 may be disposed in the housing 270. Alternatively, the control main board 211 may be disposed in the accommodation cavity 211. The wiring lug 240 may be disposed on the motor casing 123 or the housing 270.
Those contents not detailed in this implementation may refer to the second implementation.
What have been described above are only specific examples of the disclosure. However, the technical features of the disclosure are not limited thereto. Any alteration or modification made by those skilled in the art fall within the scope of the disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
202220649096.4 | Mar 2022 | CN | national |
202221341188.2 | May 2022 | CN | national |
202221425888.X | Jun 2022 | CN | national |
202221503693.2 | Jun 2022 | CN | national |
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1937404 | Dudick | Nov 1933 | A |
6328136 | Tauchi | Dec 2001 | B1 |
6891299 | Coupart | May 2005 | B2 |
7080825 | George | Jul 2006 | B1 |
8985555 | Cryer | Mar 2015 | B2 |
9022358 | Williams | May 2015 | B2 |
9463965 | Heravi | Oct 2016 | B2 |
10870562 | Thirunarayana | Dec 2020 | B2 |
10934141 | Brady | Mar 2021 | B2 |
11242230 | Kou | Feb 2022 | B2 |
20100127229 | Kverneland | May 2010 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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113060665 | Jul 2021 | CN |
2019202837 | Nov 2019 | JP |