Electric water pump

Abstract

An electric water pump includes: a housing in which a cooling water inlet and a plurality of cooling water outlets are formed; the stator is arranged in the shell; a rotor disposed inside the housing and disposed to be spaced apart from the stator at a predetermined interval in a radial direction; and an impeller provided integrally with the upper portion of the rotor. The electric water pump further comprises a pump body arranged between the stator and the rotor and provided with a first middle outlet; and the driving device enables the first middle outlet to be selectively in fluid communication with any one of the cooling water outlets by enabling the pump body to rotate at a preset angle.

Description

[0001] Citations of Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0124602 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on September 19, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to an electric water pump, and more particularly, to an electric water pump including a plurality of cooling water outlets. Background Art

[0004] Air conditioning equipment used in environmentally friendly vehicles is generally referred to as a heat pump system.

[0005] The heat pump system is equipped with an electric water pump that pumps cooling water. The electric water pump pumps cooling water by rotating an impeller using power generated by a drive motor operated by electrical energy.

[0006] In recent years, as electric vehicles have been developed, the number of components that require cooling water supply has increased.

[0007] In order to supply cooling water to various components, it is necessary to control the path of cooling water pumped to the cooling water circuit by the electric water pump through a valve (for example, a three-way valve or a four-way valve). However, when various valves are provided in the electric water pump, there is a problem in that the manufacturing cost and assembly man-hours of the vehicle increase, and packaging of these components becomes difficult.

[0008] The above information disclosed in this Background section is provided only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Summary of the invention

[0009] The present disclosure has been made in an effort to provide an electric water pump which integrates functions of an electric water pump and a valve.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electric water pump includes: a housing in which a cooling water inlet and a plurality of cooling water outlets are formed; a stator disposed inside the housing; and a rotor disposed inside the housing. The rotor is disposed to be spaced apart from the stator at a predetermined interval in the radial direction of the rotor. The electric water pump also includes: an impeller formed integrally with an upper portion of the rotor; a pump body disposed between the stator and the rotor and having a first intermediate outlet; and a drive device configured to selectively connect the first intermediate outlet to any one of the plurality of cooling water outlets in fluid communication with the cooling water outlet by rotating the pump body at a predetermined angle.

[0011] In some embodiments, the housing may include an upper housing, an intermediate housing disposed below the upper housing, and a lower housing disposed below the intermediate housing. The stator, the rotor, the impeller, and the pump body may be disposed between the upper housing and the intermediate housing.

[0012] In some embodiments, the stator may be fixedly mounted inside the intermediate housing.

[0013] In some embodiments, a cooling water inlet may be formed at an upper center of the upper case, and a plurality of cooling water outlets may be formed on a side surface of the upper case.

[0014] In some embodiments, the cooling water outlet may include a first cooling water outlet, and a second cooling water outlet spaced apart from the first cooling water outlet at a predetermined angle in a circumferential direction of the upper housing.

[0015] In some embodiments, the drive device may be disposed inside the lower housing.

[0016] In some embodiments, the rotor may include a rotating body, and at least one magnet disposed outside the rotating body in a radial direction.

[0017] In some embodiments, a pump body may be formed between the stator and the rotor to integrally surround the rotor and the impeller.

[0018] In some embodiments, the pump body may include: an upper body corresponding to the impeller and having a first middle outlet formed on a side surface; a lower body corresponding to the rotor; and a body shaft disposed at the lower center of the lower body.

[0019] In some embodiments, the electric water pump may further include a sealing member disposed between the upper housing and the upper body. Specifically, the sealing member includes a plurality of second intermediate outlets corresponding to the plurality of cooling water outlets.

[0020] In some embodiments, the driving device may include: a driver; and a reduction device for transmitting power generated by the driver to the pump body.

[0021] According to the embodiment, functions of both the electric water pump and the valve are integrated into one component to perform pumping and distribution of cooling water, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and assembly man-hours of the vehicle.

[0022] In addition, the effects that can be obtained or predicted by the embodiments of the present disclosure are directly or implicitly disclosed in the specific embodiments of the embodiments of the present disclosure. In other words, the following discloses various effects predicted according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] These drawings are for the purpose of describing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, and thus, the technical spirit of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited to the drawings.

[0024] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an electric water pump according to an embodiment.

[0025] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of an electric water pump according to an embodiment.

[0026] Figure 3 is a partially sectional perspective view showing the configuration of an electric water pump according to an embodiment.

[0027] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an upper housing according to an embodiment.

[0028] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an intermediate housing according to the embodiment.

[0029] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the configuration of a rotor and an impeller according to an embodiment.

[0030] Fig. 7A is a perspective view showing the configuration of a pump body according to the embodiment.

[0031] Figure 7B is a partially sectional perspective view showing the configuration of a pump body according to an embodiment.

[0032] Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a sealing member according to the embodiment.

[0033] Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a driving device and a pump body according to an embodiment.

[0034] Fig. 10A and Fig. 10B is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the electric water pump according to the embodiment.

[0035] The above-mentioned drawings are not specifically shown according to scale, but should be understood to simply present various features that illustrate the basic principles of the present disclosure. For example, the specific design features of the present disclosure (including specific dimensions, directions, positions and shapes) should be determined in part by the specific intended application and use environment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not used to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form, unless they are clearly indicated differently by the context. It should be understood that when the terms "include" and / or "comprise" are used in this specification, the terms "include" and / or "comprise" are intended to indicate the presence of the mentioned features, wholes, steps, operations, constituent elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, operations, constituent elements and parts or their combinations. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any one or all combinations of the associated and listed items.

[0037] The present disclosure is described in detail so that it can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0038] In order to clearly describe the present disclosure, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the specification.

[0039] Furthermore, since the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily represented for convenience of explanation, the present disclosure is not particularly limited to the size and thickness of each component shown, and the thickness is exaggeratedly shown for clear expression of various components and regions.

[0040] The name suffixes “module” and / or “unit” of components used in the following description are given or mixed for easy preparation of the present disclosure only, and they themselves have no particularly distinguished meanings or roles.

[0041] Furthermore, when describing the embodiments, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology makes the gist of the embodiments of the present disclosure unclear, the detailed description is omitted.

[0042] In addition, the accompanying drawings are provided to help easily understand the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and the technical spirit disclosed in this specification is not limited by the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the present disclosure includes all modifications, equivalent contents and substitutes included within the spirit and technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0043] Terms including general numbers such as first and second are used to describe a plurality of constituent elements, but the constituent elements are not limited by the terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one component from another.

[0044] In the following description, unless an explicit expression such as "one" or "single" is used, an expression described in the singular may be construed as singular or plural.

[0045] When a component, device, element, etc. of the present disclosure is described as having a purpose or performing an operation, function, etc., the component, device, or element should be considered herein as being “configured to” satisfy the purpose or perform the operation or function.

[0046] Hereinafter, an electric water pump according to an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] Figure 1 A perspective view showing the configuration of an electric water pump according to an embodiment. Figure 2 An exploded perspective view showing the structure of an electric water pump according to an embodiment. Figure 3 A perspective view showing the configuration of an electric water pump according to an embodiment.

[0048] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the electric water pump according to the embodiment may include: a housing 10 in which a cooling water inlet 21 and a plurality of cooling water outlets are formed; and a driving motor 50 disposed inside the housing 10. The driving motor 50 includes: a stator 60 and a rotor 70. The electric water pump further includes: an impeller 75 formed integrally with the rotor 70; a pump body 80 disposed inside the housing 10 and formed to surround the driving motor 50 and the impeller 75; and a driving device 90 that rotates the pump body 80 at a predetermined angle.

[0049] The housing 10 may include an upper housing 20 , a middle housing 30 , and a lower housing 40 .

[0050] Reference Figure 4 The upper shell 20 is formed in a generally hollow cylindrical shape, and the lower part is open. A cooling water inlet 21 for introducing cooling water is formed at the upper center of the upper shell 20, and a plurality of cooling water outlets for discharging cooling water are formed on the side surface of the upper shell 20.

[0051] The cooling water outlet may include: a first cooling water outlet 22 formed on a side surface of the upper shell 20; and a second cooling water outlet 23 disposed to be spaced apart from the first cooling water outlet 22 at a predetermined angle in the circumferential direction of the upper shell. Two cooling water outlets are described in the embodiment, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the number of cooling water outlets may be appropriately adjusted as needed.

[0052] refer to Figure 5 , the intermediate housing 30 is disposed below the upper housing 20. The intermediate housing 30 may include a first intermediate housing 31 formed in a substantially hollow cylindrical shape and a second intermediate housing 32 having a substantially hollow rectangular shape disposed below the first intermediate housing 31. The upper and lower portions of the intermediate housing 30 are open.

[0053] The driving motor 50, the impeller 75, and the pump body 80 may be disposed in an inner space formed by connecting the upper housing 20 and the middle housing 30. The stator 60 may be fixedly installed at an inner side of the first middle housing 31 of the middle housing 30.

[0054] The lower housing 40 is disposed below the intermediate housing 30, is formed in a hollow rectangular shape, and the upper portion of the lower housing 40 is open. The lower housing 40 is formed to correspond in shape to the lower portion of the second intermediate housing 32 of the intermediate housing 30. The driving device 90 may be installed in an internal space formed by connecting the second intermediate housing 32 of the intermediate housing 30 and the lower housing 40.

[0055] Return to reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 The stator 60 may be formed in a substantially circular ring shape to sufficiently form a rotating magnetic field, and may include a stator core (not shown) and a stator coil (not shown). The stator core may be made of a metal material, and the stator coil is wound on the stator core.

[0056] Reference Figure 6 , the rotor 70 may include a rotating body 71 and at least one magnet 72 disposed radially outside the rotating body 71. The rotating body 71 is rotatably disposed at the center of the housing 10 and is formed in a cylindrical shape. A rotating shaft 73 may be disposed at a lower portion of the rotating body 71, and the rotating shaft 73 may be rotatably disposed inside the pump body 80. In one form, a plurality of magnets 72 may be disposed radially outside the rotating body 71 along the circumference of the rotating body 71. In other words, a plurality of magnets 72 may be circumferentially disposed outside the radial direction of the rotating body 71. The magnet 72 may be a permanent magnet.

[0057] The rotor 70 is rotated by electromagnetic action of the stator 60 and the rotor 70 .

[0058] The impeller 75 may be provided to be integrally formed with an upper portion of the rotating body 71 of the rotor 70. The impeller 75 rotates with the rotation of the rotor 70. The impeller 75 pumps cooling water introduced through the cooling water inlet 21, and the cooling water pumped by the impeller 75 is discharged to the outside through any one of a plurality of cooling water outlets.

[0059] The pump body 80 may be disposed between the stator 60 and the rotor, and formed to entirely surround the rotor 70 and the impeller 75 .

[0060] Reference Fig. 7A and Figure 7B The pump body 80 may include an upper body 81 , a lower body 85 disposed below the upper body 81 , and a body shaft 86 disposed at the lower center of the lower body 85 .

[0061] The upper body 81 may be formed to correspond in shape to the impeller 75, and may be formed with a first intermediate outlet 82 on a side surface of the upper body 81. In other words, the upper body 81 may be formed in a generally cylindrical shape to surround the outside of the impeller 75, except for the upper portion of the impeller 75. The upper body 81 may include an upper portion that is open as a whole, and a lower center that is also open. The first intermediate outlet 82 formed on the side surface of the upper body 81 may be selectively fluidly communicated with any one of a plurality of cooling water outlets formed in the upper housing 20.

[0062] The lower body 85 may be formed to correspond in shape to the rotating body 71. In other words, the lower body 85 may be formed in a substantially hollow cylindrical shape to be formed in a shape that surrounds the outside of the rotor 70 as a whole, and is connected to the open lower center of the upper body 81. The lower portion of the lower body 85 may be formed in a conical shape in which the radius gradually decreases downward. A seating groove 87 may be formed at the lower portion of the lower body 85, and the rotating shaft 73 of the rotor 70 may be rotatably seated on the seating groove 87.

[0063] The main body shaft 86 is formed to protrude from the lower center of the lower body 85 , and the main body shaft rotates by receiving power from the driving device 90 .

[0064] In another embodiment, a sealing member 24 may be provided between the upper shell 20 and the upper body 81. Specifically, the sealing member 24 may include a plurality of second intermediate outlets 25 corresponding to the plurality of cooling water outlets. Figure 8 , the sealing member 24 may be disposed between the outer side of the upper body 81 and the inner side of the upper shell 20. The sealing member 24 may be formed in a substantially annular shape. In addition, a plurality of second intermediate outlets 25 corresponding to the cooling water outlets of the upper shell 20 are formed in the sealing member 24. The second intermediate outlets 25 may be arranged to be spaced apart at a predetermined angle in the circumferential direction.

[0065] The driving device 90 provides power for rotating the pump body 80 at a predetermined angle. Fig. 9 The driving device 90 may include a driver 91 and a speed reducer 92 for transmitting the power of the driver 91 to the pump body 80. The pump body 80 is rotated at a predetermined angle by the driving device 90, so that the first intermediate outlet 82 of the pump body 80 is selectively fluidly connected to any one of the plurality of cooling water outlets formed in the upper shell 20.

[0066] The driver 91 may be implemented as an electric motor by electric power supplied from the outside to generate power.

[0067] The reduction gear 92 can be implemented by a gear train. To this end, the reduction gear 92 may include: a driving gear 93 coupled to the rotating shaft of the driving motor 50; a driven gear 95 coupled to the main shaft 86 of the pump body 80; and at least one intermediate gear 94, which is gear-coupled between the driving gear 93 and the driven gear 95.

[0068] The power generated by the driver 91 is transmitted to the pump body 80 through the speed reduction device 92 with the speed reduced and the torque increased.

[0069] Hereinafter, the operation of the electric water pump according to the embodiment is described in detail.

[0070] Cooling water flowing on a cooling water line located outside the electric water pump is introduced into the electric water pump through a cooling water inlet 21 of the upper housing 20 .

[0071] The cooling water introduced into the electric water pump is pumped by the impeller 75 rotated by the actuation of the drive motor 50, and the cooling water pumped by the impeller 75 is discharged to the outside of the electric water pump through the first cooling water outlet 22. In this case, the first intermediate outlet 82 formed in the upper body 81 of the pump body 80 can be in a state of fluid communication with the first cooling water outlet 22 formed in the upper housing 20 (see Fig. 10A ).

[0072] When the discharge path of the cooling water discharged from the electric water pump is changed, the pump body 80 is rotated at a predetermined angle by actuation of the driving device 90. Therefore, the first intermediate outlet 82 formed in the upper body 81 of the pump body 80 is fluidly communicated with the second intermediate outlet 25 formed in the upper housing 20 (see Fig. 10B ). Therefore, the cooling water pumped by the impeller 75 is discharged to the outside of the electric water pump through the second cooling water outlet 23.

[0073] According to one embodiment, the cooling water introduced into the electric water pump can be selectively discharged through a plurality of cooling water outlets. Therefore, there is no need to change the path of the cooling water pumped from the electric water pump through an independent valve device, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost, weight and assembly man-hours of the vehicle.

[0074] Although some embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and various modifications may be made within the scope of the claims. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

[0075] <Description of Reference Signs>

[0076] 10. Shell

[0077] 20. Upper shell

[0078] 21. Cooling water inlet

[0079] 22. First cooling water outlet

[0080] 23. Second cooling water outlet

[0081] 24. Sealing components

[0082] 25. Second intermediate exit

[0083] 30. Intermediate shell

[0084] 31. First intermediate housing

[0085] 32. Second intermediate housing

[0086] 40. Lower shell

[0087] 50. Drive motor

[0088] 60. Stator

[0089] 70. Rotor

[0090] 71. Rotating the subject

[0091] 72. Magnet

[0092] 73. Rotation axis

[0093] 75. Impeller

[0094] 80. Pump body

[0095] 81. Upper body

[0096] 82. First intermediate exit

[0097] 85. Lower body

[0098] 86. Main axis

[0099] 87. Placement slot

[0100] 90. Driving device

[0101] 91. Driver

[0102] 92. Speed ​​reduction device

[0103] 93. Drive gear

[0104] 94. Intermediate gear

[0105] 95. Driven gear.

Claims

1. An electric water pump, comprising: a housing having a cooling water inlet and a plurality of cooling water outlets formed therein; A stator is arranged inside the housing; a rotor disposed inside the housing and spaced apart from the stator at a predetermined interval in a radial direction of the rotor; an impeller configured to be integrally formed with an upper portion of the rotor; A pump body, disposed between the stator and the rotor, and having a first intermediate outlet; as well as The driving device is configured to selectively connect the first intermediate outlet to any one of the plurality of cooling water outlets by rotating the pump body at a predetermined angle.

2. The electric water pump according to claim 1, wherein: The housing comprises: Upper shell; an intermediate shell, disposed below the upper shell; and A lower shell is arranged below the intermediate shell, and Wherein, the stator, the rotor, the impeller and the pump body are arranged between the upper shell and the intermediate shell.

3. The electric water pump according to claim 2, wherein: The stator is fixedly installed on the inner side of the intermediate housing.

4. The electric water pump according to claim 2, wherein: The cooling water inlet is formed at the upper center of the upper shell, and A plurality of the cooling water outlets are formed on a side surface of the upper housing.

5. The electric water pump according to claim 4, wherein: The plurality of cooling water outlets include: a first cooling water outlet, and The second cooling water outlet is spaced apart from the first cooling water outlet at a predetermined angle in a circumferential direction of the upper housing.

6. The electric water pump according to claim 2, wherein: The driving device is disposed inside the lower housing.

7. The electric water pump according to claim 1, wherein: The rotor comprises: Rotate the subject, and At least one magnet is arranged outside the rotating body in a radial direction.

8. The electric water pump according to claim 1, wherein: The pump body is formed between the stator and the rotor to integrally surround the rotor and the impeller.

9. The electric water pump according to claim 8, wherein: The pump body comprises: an upper body, the upper body corresponding to the impeller and having the first intermediate outlet formed on a side surface of the upper body, a lower body, the lower body corresponding to the rotor, and The main body shaft is arranged at the lower center of the lower body.

10. The electric water pump according to claim 9, further comprising: A sealing member is disposed between an upper shell of the shell and the upper body, wherein the sealing member includes a plurality of second intermediate outlets corresponding to the plurality of cooling water outlets.

11. The electric water pump according to claim 1, wherein: The driving device comprises: Drivers; and A reduction device is configured to transmit the power generated by the driver to the pump body.

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