Electric motor for a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to an electric motor (2) for a motor vehicle, having a motor housing (4), an electronics unit (8) arranged on the end face of the motor housing (4), wherein a number of phase connections (42, 70, 121) are routed from the motor housing (4) into the electronics unit (8), a circuit board assembly (34) of the electronics unit (8) as a control unit for the electric motor (2), and a cable harness connection (12) of the electronics unit (8) for a cable harness (10), wherein the cable harness connection (12) is designed to make plugged contact with the cable harness (10).

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Electric motor for a motor vehicle

[0003] The invention relates to an electric motor for a motor vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to an improved concept for maintenance, service, or repair work on engine electronics and / or a wiring harness connected to the electric motor.

[0004] In a modern motor vehicle, electric motors are used in a variety of ways as (adjustment) drives for various control elements. For example, electric motors are used as window regulators, sunroofs, or seat adjustment drives, as steering drives (EPS, Electrical Power Steering), as brake drives, as pump drives, as radiator fan drives, or as transmission actuators. Furthermore, electric motors are used, for example, as (traction) drives in electrically powered or drivable vehicles with two, three, or four wheels.

[0005] A brushless electric motor, in particular a three-phase electric machine, typically has a stator provided with a field or stator winding, which is arranged coaxially with a rotor with one or more permanent magnets. Both the rotor and the stator are constructed, for example, as laminated cores, with stator teeth in intermediate stator slots supporting the coils of the stator winding.

[0006] In a brushless electric motor, the alternating current used to power the stator winding is typically generated by an inverter. This inverter, along with associated control electronics, is often located on a circuit board and housed in an electronics compartment integrated into the motor housing.

[0007] The electronics compartment, for example, has a housing connection area in the form of an electrical interface for electrically contacting the electronics. The interface is intended and configured to connect the electronics to a vehicle electrical system or to a (vehicle) wiring harness. The interface, also referred to below as the wiring harness connection, has power contacts for supplying the electric motor or electronics with power and signal contacts for connecting the electronics to a signal or communication line, in particular a bus line, for example, a CAN bus line.

[0008] The integration design of electric motors, in which the printed circuit board is integrated into the electronics compartment of the motor housing, makes maintenance, repair, and service work on the internal printed circuit board difficult due to assembly restrictions.

[0009] For example, the circuit board is usually firmly secured in the electronics compartment by screw connections at various points. In particular, the circuit board is often also connected to the phase contacts of the stator winding using phase contact screws. Furthermore, the connections to the wiring harness are usually installed from inside the engine. The signal connection (CAN connection), which is provided in the wiring harness, is also directly connected to connectors (e.g., Erni) on the circuit board. Therefore, to remove the circuit board or the wiring harness, it is often necessary to completely disassemble both components. Maintenance or replacement of the wiring harness and / or the circuit board assembly is therefore not possible while installed.

[0010] Any damage to the circuit board during transport or operation renders the entire engine unit unusable. In such cases, the circuit board used as the engine control unit must be removed and replaced / reworked. Furthermore, replacing the wiring harness is not possible due to different cable specifications, taking into account design and assembly limitations.

[0011] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a particularly suitable electric motor for a motor vehicle, which is particularly improved with regard to maintenance, repair, or service work. In particular, a concept is to be provided for removing the printed circuit board assembly from the electric motor without interrupting the internal connections.

[0012] The object is achieved according to the invention with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments are the subject of the dependent claims (subclaims).

[0013] The electric motor according to the invention is intended for, and is suitable and configured for, a motor vehicle. The electric motor is preferably a drive or traction motor, wherein the motor vehicle is in particular an electrically driven or drivable motor vehicle, for example an electric or hybrid vehicle, with two, three, or four wheels.

[0014] The electric motor, in particular a brushless one, has a stator and a rotor. The stator is equipped with a multi-phase stator or rotating field winding, which has a number of phase contacts corresponding to the number of phases. The rotating field winding is designed, for example, as three- or six-phase. The stator and rotor are arranged in a motor housing.

[0015] An electronics unit is arranged on the front side of the motor housing, with the phase contacts of the stator winding being led from the motor housing into the electronics unit.

[0016] The electronics unit comprises a printed circuit board assembly contacted by the phase contacts as a control unit or (engine) control unit (MCU; Electronic Control Unit, ECU). The printed circuit board assembly comprises a printed circuit board or circuit board as a circuit carrier, which is equipped with a converter or inverter circuit and a controller. To supply current to the stator winding, the intermediate circuit of the inverter circuit can be connected to a DC circuit of an on-board electrical system using a cable harness. For this purpose, the electronics unit has a cable harness connection for a corresponding cable harness. The cable harness has, in particular, two power lines (HV+, HV-) for a power supply and at least one signal line for connection to a signal or vehicle bus, in particular a CAN bus (CAN: Controller Area Network).

[0017] According to the invention, the wiring harness connector is at least partially designed for plug-in contact with the wiring harness or a wiring harness connector. "At least partially designed for plug-in contact" is understood in particular to mean that at least one connection of the wiring harness connector, i.e., the power connection for the power lines and / or the signal connection for the signal bus line, is designed for plug-in contact. This results in a particularly suitable electric motor.

[0018] The conjunction “and / or” is to be understood here and in the following in such a way that the features linked by this conjunction can be formed both together and as alternatives to one another.

[0019] The electric motor concept according to the invention enables a service concept for electric motors that have an integrated printed circuit board assembly and are connected to a wiring harness for power supply and CAN communication. Service, maintenance, and repair work on the electric motor electronics are simplified by the plug-in connection of the contact harness connector. The proposed concept can be implemented with a combination of different types of connectors and wire connections within the printed circuit board for any type of electric motor, in this case specifically for a traction motor.

[0020] According to the invention, the printed circuit board assembly and the wiring harness connector for the power supply and the CAN communication signal are connected to the engine assembly in such a way that the respective assembly process is completely independent of other assembly processes and also independent of each other. This assembly process concept transforms the entire assembly of printed circuit board and wiring harness into a functional unit.

[0021] The inventive usability is a combination of removing and replacing / reinstalling the printed circuit board assembly and the wiring harness for motor assembly. Preferably, a completely independent assembly process is implemented, which optimizes the design to facilitate access for maintenance. Removing the printed circuit board assembly from the electric motor or phase contacts eliminates the need to remove all other mounted components that are not directly connected to the printed circuit board. The inventive concept thus eliminates dependencies on other components that are not directly related to the printed circuit board or wiring harness assembly.

[0022] The plug-in connectors improve the assembly process and provide access to the printed circuit board assembly and wiring harness at any point during operation. This ease of maintenance can also be utilized for vehicle-mounted engines without removing the engine or engine housing from the assembly site.

[0023] The electric motor concept according to the invention includes, in particular, an assembly process of the electronic unit as a sliding or sandwich press-in assembly, so that no further additional processes are required for connection to the respective interface.

[0024] The electric motor concept according to the invention further enables a modular design, so that both the printed circuit board assembly module and the wiring harness can be packaged separately and independently, and sold independently of each other to complete the electric motor, considering them as a single serviceable component. Thus, the same electric motor can meet different current specifications by simply changing the cable specifications for the power connections.

[0025] In a first embodiment of the invention, the electronics unit is designed for plug-in installation. The electronics unit comprises a plug-in compartment formed integrally, i.e., monolithically, onto the motor housing. The plug-in compartment has a front or side insertion opening for a plug-in carrier, in which the printed circuit board assembly is arranged. The cable harness connection is integrated into the plug-in carrier. In the assembled state, the plug-in carrier is inserted into the plug-in compartment along an insertion direction. This enables easy assembly and disassembly of the electronics unit.

[0026] In a suitable refinement, the rack has a flange plate on the front for screw fastening to the rack compartment, with the cable harness connection integrated into the flange plate. When assembled, the rack opening is closed by the flange plate. The flange plate is thus designed as a cover or cover plate.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the phase contacts protruding into the electronics compartment are designed as vertically upstanding contact lugs. The phase contacts of the stator winding are routed through a motor-side base of the drawer compartment. The phase contacts are distributed and arranged in a staggered manner so that when the drawer carrier is inserted along the insertion direction, each phase contact can be plugged into a corresponding phase connection of the drawer carrier or the circuit board without collision.

[0028] Here and below, the circuit board-side (phase) mating contacts for the stator-side phase contacts are referred to in particular as phase terminals. The phase contacts are connected to the stator windings, with the phase terminals being contacted with the circuit board assembly. The phase contacts are distributed along the insertion direction and offset from one another in an offset direction oriented transversely to the insertion direction. The insert carrier or the circuit board assembly has a number of socket-like phase terminals adapted to the distribution or offset dimension of the phase contacts, which are contacted with the circuit board assembly.

[0029] The phase terminals are essentially U- or C-shaped and open in the insertion direction, so that the contact lugs of the phase contacts slide into the receptacles of the phase terminals when inserted, thus establishing a plug-in connection with the printed circuit board assembly. This enables particularly simple and cost-effective contacting of the stator phases, in which only the insert carrier is inserted into the insert compartment. The contact can be easily removed by simply pulling out the insert carrier for maintenance, service, and repair work.

[0030] In a second embodiment, the electronics unit is designed for sandwich press-in assembly. For this purpose, the electronics unit has an electronics compartment with a compartment base integrally formed on the motor housing and a cooling cover joined to it. The printed circuit board assembly is arranged in the mounting space formed between the compartment base and the cooling cover. A raised connector assembly with the cable harness connection is arranged on a printed circuit board top side of the printed circuit board assembly facing the cooling cover.

[0031] The cooling cover has a window-like recess through which the connection module, in particular the cable harness connection, at least partially extends when assembled. The cable harness connection is thus arranged on an upper side of the cooling cover and is thus particularly easily accessible. In a suitable development, the connection module projects over an edge of the printed circuit board assembly. The connection module therefore projects above the edge of the printed circuit board assembly. The connection module has phase connections for contacting the phase contacts on an underside of the projecting area facing the compartment floor. The connection module thus has both the cable harness connection and the contact points for the phase contacts.

[0032] The phase contacts are designed, in particular, as plug-in sockets of a phase contact adapter and are arranged axially aligned below the phase terminals. In a suitable embodiment, the phase terminals have protruding contact pins or contact bolts that are inserted or pressed into the plug-in or contact sockets of the phase contact adapter.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, the connection assembly is sandwiched between the cooling cover and the contact sockets of the phase contact adapter. In particular, the sandwich-like mounting ensures reliable and operationally safe contacting of the phase contacts and phase connections.

[0034] In a third embodiment, the electronics unit has a base (base plate) arranged in the motor housing and a heat sink module covering it. The heat sink module has a plate-like mounting support with a (mounting) support bottom facing the base and a (mounting) support top facing away from the base. The printed circuit board assembly is arranged on the top of the support and connected to phase connections on the bottom of the support by means of busbars integrated into the mounting support.

[0035] The phase contacts are arranged, particularly on the base, in alignment with the phase terminals. The phase terminals and phase contacts are connected to each other by screw connections from the top of the carrier, for example, using phase contact screws. The screw connections of the phase terminals are therefore accessible from the outside.

[0036] In one conceivable embodiment, the cable harness connection has a communication connection integrated into the front of the mounting support and an integrated power connection, which is contacted with the cable harness by means of phase contact screws.

[0037] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing. In the drawings:

[0038] Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an electric motor in a first embodiment,

[0039] Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a slide-in carrier of the electric motor, Fig. 3 shows a perspective exploded view of the slide-in carrier with a printed circuit board assembly

[0040] Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the insert carrier with the printed circuit board assembly,

[0041] Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a slot for the electric motor,

[0042] Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the assembly of the electric motor,

[0043] Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the electric motor in a second embodiment,

[0044] Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of a connection assembly of the electric motor,

[0045] Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the connection module with a view of a bottom side,

[0046] Fig. 10 shows an electronic unit of the electric motor in a perspective exploded view,

[0047] Fig. 11 shows a perspective view of the assembly of the electric motor,

[0048] Fig. 12 shows a perspective view of a section of the connection module in the assembled state. Fig. 13 shows a perspective view of the electric motor in a third embodiment.

[0049] Fig. 14 shows a perspective view of a mounting bracket for a heat sink module of the electric motor,

[0050] Fig. 15 in perspective view of the mounting bracket with a view of an underside

[0051] Fig. 16 shows a perspective exploded view of the heat sink module, Fig. 17 shows a perspective view of an assembly of the electric motor, and Fig. 18 shows a perspective view of a phase contact screw.

[0052] Corresponding parts and sizes are always provided with the same reference symbols in all figures.

[0053] Fig. 1 shows a section of an electric motor 2 as a traction drive for an electrically powered or drivable motor vehicle. The electric motor 2, described in more detail below with reference to Figs. 1 to 6, has a motor housing 4 in which a stator and rotor (not shown in detail) are arranged. The rotor is rigidly connected to a motor shaft 6 (Fig. 5). An electronics unit 8 for operating the electric motor 2 is arranged on the front side of the motor housing 4.

[0054] The electronics unit 8 has a (first) electrical interface for supplying current to the motor phases or stator winding of the brushless electric motor 2, and a further (second) electrical interface for connection to a wiring harness 10 of a vehicle electrical system.

[0055] The wiring harness-side interface is designed as a wiring harness connector 12. The wiring harness 10 has two connecting contacts 14 with a vehicle battery (KL30, KL31) and a connecting contact 16 with a bus line (COM), which are connected to corresponding mating contacts 18, 20 of the wiring harness connector 12. The wiring harness 10 and the wiring harness connector 12 are designed for a plug connection or plug-in contact. In this embodiment, the mating contacts 18, 20 are designed as sockets for the connecting contacts 14 designed as plug contacts. The wiring harness connector 12 is thus designed as a hybrid connector for the power supply and the signal connection of the electric motor 2.

[0056] The electronics unit 8 has a plug-in compartment 22 formed integrally, i.e., monolithically, onto the motor housing 4. The plug-in compartment 22 is open on one side with a plug-in opening 24. The plug-in compartment 22 has a compartment base 26 through which axially oriented phase contacts 28 of the motor or stator winding are guided (Fig. 5).

[0057] The electronics unit 8 has a number of upstanding cooling fins 30 on the housing side facing away from the compartment base 26, which are provided with reference numerals in the figures only as examples.

[0058] The electronics unit 8 further comprises a slide-in carrier (printed circuit board mounting slide) 32 for a printed circuit board assembly 34 of the electronics unit 8, which can be inserted into the slide-in opening 24.

[0059] The printed circuit board assembly 34 comprises a printed circuit board 36 as a circuit carrier, which is equipped with a number of electronic parts and components. In particular, an inverter circuit for generating a multi-phase alternating current for energizing the stator winding and a controller as a control unit are arranged on the printed circuit board 36. The power switches (power semiconductor switches) of the inverter circuit are arranged on a printed circuit board top side 38 facing the cooling fins 30, with six phase connections 42 for the phase contacts 28 being provided on a printed circuit board bottom side 40 facing the compartment floor 26.

[0060] The insert carrier 32 has an approximately rectangular holding frame 44 for the printed circuit board assembly 34 and a front-end flange plate 46 oriented perpendicular to the frame plane. The insert carrier 32 is designed, in particular, as an injection-molded part. The cable harness connector 12 and the mating contacts 18, 20 are integrated into the flange plate 46. The contacts 18, 20 are designed as overmolded lead frames. The contacts 18, 20 are designed as bent-up contact tabs 48 on the circuit board side.

[0061] During assembly, the printed circuit board assembly 34 is inserted into the holding frame 44 and screw-fixed thereto, for example, using six fastening screws 50. The upward-facing contact tabs 48 engage from below into corresponding openings in the printed circuit board 36 and are contacted on the top side 38 of the printed circuit board, particularly by soldering, with the conductor tracks of the printed circuit board 36.

[0062] The flange plate 46 serves as a cover or closure for the insertion opening 24. For this purpose, the flange plate 46 has a circumferential flange collar that rests against the edge of the insertion opening 24 and is joined thereto by means of six fastening screws 52. The fastening screws 52 are provided with reference numerals in the figures merely as examples.

[0063] On the rear side of the flange collar, i.e. on the side of the flange plate 46 facing the interior of the insertion compartment 22, a circumferential sealing element 54 is arranged, which seals the insertion opening 24 safely and reliably in the assembled state.

[0064] As can be seen in Fig. 5, for example, the motor shaft 6 engages at least partially into the insertion compartment 22 through a through-opening in the compartment base 26. A sensor cap 55 with a sensor magnet is arranged on the motor shaft 6 at the shaft end, and the printed circuit board assembly 34 has a corresponding magnetic field sensor, in particular a Hall sensor, in order to detect and monitor the position of the motor shaft 6 or the rotor during motor operation. As shown in Fig. 5, in this exemplary embodiment, six phase contacts 28 designed as contact lugs are guided vertically by means of through-contacts 56 through the compartment base 26 into the electronics unit 8.

[0065] The phase contacts 28 are grouped as two groups of three, with the groups arranged on the opposite long sides of the approximately cuboid-shaped compartment interior. The phase contacts 28 of each group are distributed along an insertion direction E oriented perpendicular to the flange plate 46 or insertion opening 24 and along a transverse direction (offset direction) oriented perpendicular thereto. The phase connections 28 arranged further back in the insertion direction E are positioned offset, in particular, from a center line of the insertion compartment 22. Viewed from the insertion opening 24, the phase contacts 28 are thus not aligned, but offset or non-overlapping relative to one another.

[0066] The phase terminals 42 of the printed circuit board assembly 34 are arranged complementarily to the phase contacts 28. To stabilize the phase terminals 42, they are inserted into retaining receptacles 58 of the retaining frame 44, which are integrally formed on the retaining frame 44.

[0067] The assembly of the electronics unit 8 is shown in Fig. 6. Here, the insertion carrier 32, equipped with the printed circuit board assembly 34, is inserted along the insertion direction E into the insertion opening 24 of the insertion compartment 22, and the flange collar 46 is fixed to the insertion compartment 22. The phase contacts 28, acting as male connectors, are plugged into the phase terminals 42, acting as female sockets. Finally, the cable harness 10 is plugged into the cable harness terminal 12.

[0068] The phase connections 42 are, for example, essentially U- or C-shaped and open in the insertion direction E, so that the contact lugs of the phase contacts 28 slide into the receptacles of the phase connections 42 when the insertion compartment 22 is inserted, thus establishing a plug-in contact with the printed circuit board assembly 34. The embodiment of Figures 1 to 6 thus realizes a slide-on printed circuit board assembly 34 using the insertion carrier 32 with a hybrid cable harness connection 12 for power and signal.

[0069] A second embodiment of the electric motor 2 is explained in more detail below with reference to Figures 7 to 12.

[0070] In this embodiment, the electronics unit 8 is designed for sandwich press-in mounting. For this purpose, the electronics unit 8 has an electronics compartment with a compartment base 60 formed integrally with the motor housing and a cooling cover 62 joined thereto, wherein the printed circuit board assembly 34 is arranged in the mounting space formed between the compartment base 60 and the cooling cover 62.

[0071] On the printed circuit board top side 38 of the printed circuit board assembly 34 facing the cooling cover 62, a connection assembly 64 with the cable harness connection 12 is arranged, which is shown individually in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9.

[0072] The connection assembly 64, designed as an injection-molded part, has a joining plate 66. The cable harness connection 12 is molded onto the top of the joining plate, with the mating contacts 18, 20 being guided as overmolded lead frames onto an underside of the joining plate 66 and projecting approximately vertically upwards as solder lugs 67.

[0073] The cable harness connection 12 is enclosed by an annular sealing element 68, which is arranged on the upper side of the joining plate 66.

[0074] On the underside of the rectangular joining plate 66, six phase terminals 70 are arranged in a row along one of the long sides. The phase terminals 70 are provided with reference numerals in the figures merely as examples. The phase terminals 70 each have an elongated contact surface, from which a conical contact pin 72 extends, for example. The contact pins 72 are arranged on the edge of the joining plate 66. Opposite the contact pins 72, the phase terminals 70 have vertically bent contact legs 74 on the contact surface.

[0075] In the assembled state, the connection assembly 64 is arranged on the top side 38 of the printed circuit board assembly 34. The joining plate 66 is inserted into corresponding receptacles of the printed circuit board 36 in the area of ​​the solder lugs 67 and contact pins 74, with the solder lugs 67 in particular being solder-connected to the printed circuit board 36. The half of the joining plate 66 having the contact pins 72 protrudes beyond the edge of the printed circuit board 36. In other words, the joining plate 66 or the connection assembly 64 protrudes above the edge of the printed circuit board in sections.

[0076] The mating contacts 18, 20 of the cable harness connection 12 are thus placed upright on the top side 38 of the circuit board.

[0077] The cooling cover 62 has - as can be seen, for example, in Fig. 10 - a window-like recess or through-opening 76 for the cable harness connection 12 as well as a number of cooling fins 30. To assemble the electronics unit 8, the connection module 64 is first arranged and fixed on the printed circuit board assembly 34. The cooling cover 62 is then placed onto the assemblies 34, 64. The cable harness connection 12 is guided through the recess 76, with the sealing element 68 sealing the recess 76 all the way around. The assemblies 34, 64, in particular the printed circuit board 36, are screwed to the cooling cover 62 by means of six fastening screws 78 from the underside 40 of the printed circuit board.

[0078] The cooling cover 62, equipped with the assemblies 34, 64, is then placed on the compartment base 60. The six phase contacts 28 are routed through the compartment base 60 to six adjacent plug sockets by means of a phase contact adapter 80. The plug sockets or phase contacts 28 are arranged axially aligned with the row of contact pins 72 of the section of the connection assembly 64 that protrudes from the circuit board 36. A sealing element 82 enclosing the assemblies 34, 64 on the outer circumference is arranged between the cooling cover 62 and the compartment base 60.

[0079] To join the cooling cover 62 to the compartment base 60, six screw tabs 84 projecting upwards are formed on the edge of the cooling cover. The screw tabs 84—and thus the assembled cooling cover 62—are screw-fastened to the compartment base 60 or motor housing 4 using fastening screws 86. The screw tabs 84 and fastening screws 86 are provided with reference numerals in the figures merely as examples.

[0080] When screwing the cooling cover 62, the contact pins 72 are inserted or pressed into the sockets of the phase contacts 28. As shown in Fig. 12, the connection assembly 64 is sandwiched between the cooling cover 62 and the contact sockets of the phase contact adapter 80.

[0081] The electric motor concept shown in Figures 7 to 12 thus has a connection assembly 64 with a hybrid connection (power and signal) and sandwich phase contacts 28, 70 for press-fitting.

[0082] Figures 13 to 18 show a third embodiment of the electric motor 2, which is explained in more detail below.

[0083] In this embodiment, the electronics unit 8 has a base plate 88 inserted into the motor housing 4 and a heat sink module 90 covering it. The base 88 is enclosed by a circumferential annular wall, which has a window-like recess or through-opening 92 on one side.

[0084] In this embodiment, the cable harness connector 12 is designed as a signal connector 12a and a power connector 12b. The connecting contacts 14 of the cable harness 10 are integrated into a support structure 94 and guided through the through-opening 92. The support structure 94 is attached, in particular screw-fixed, to the annular wall or the motor housing 4. The heat sink module 90 has a plate-like mounting support 96, shown in more detail in Fig. 14 and Fig. 15.

[0085] The mounting bracket 96 has a trough-shaped receptacle 98 with a central recess 100 for the passage of the encoder cap 55 of the motor shaft 6. The approximately rectangular receptacle 98 is enclosed on three sides by a support surface 102 for the printed circuit board assembly 34. The receptacle 98 and the support surface 102 are enclosed by a circumferential sealing element 106 on a mounting bracket top side 104 shown in Fig. 14. Eight upstanding screw bosses 108 for receiving phase contact screws 110 are formed radially outside the sealing element 106. The screw bosses 108 and phase contact screws 110 are provided with reference numerals in the figures merely as examples.

[0086] An overmolded lead frame 112 is embedded or integrated in the mounting carrier 96, which is connected and contacted with the printed circuit board assembly 34 in the region of the contact surface 102 by means of upstanding contact sections.

[0087] The lead frame 112 has eight exposed contact surfaces 116 on a mounting support underside 114 shown in more detail in Fig. 15, which are arranged axially aligned with the screw bosses 108. The contact surfaces 116 each have a through-opening for a shaft 118 of the phase contact screws 110. The contact surfaces 116 are enclosed by a circumferential sealing element 120, which is arranged on the mounting support underside 114.

[0088] The signal connection 12a is molded onto one side of the mounting support top 104, with the mating contact 20 being formed as part of the lead frame 112. The signal connection 12a is flanked by two phase domes 108 as the power connection 12b, with the contact surfaces 116 arranged underneath forming the mating contacts 18. The remaining six contact surfaces 116 form the phase connections 121.

[0089] Fig. 16 shows a (pre-)assembly of the heat sink module 90. Here, the sealing element 106 is placed on the mounting support top side 104. The printed circuit board assembly 34 is then placed on the support surface 102 and connected to the contact sections of the lead frame 112. A plate-shaped heat sink 122 with cooling fins 30 is then placed on the printed circuit board assembly 34 as a cover. Starting at the mounting support bottom side 114, the mounting support 96 is joined to the printed circuit board assembly 34 and the heat sink 122 by means of six distributed fastening screws 124. The fastening screws 124 are provided with reference numerals in the figures merely as examples.

[0090] The sealing element 106 seals the edge of the cooling cover 122 against the mounting support top 104. The fastening points for the fastening screws 124 are arranged radially inside the sealing elements 106, 120.

[0091] Fig. 17 shows an assembly of the electronics unit 8. For this purpose, the (pre-assembled) heat sink module 90 is placed on the base plate 88 or in the receptacle formed by the surrounding annular wall, with the annular sealing element 120 interposed. Six phase contacts 28 are guided through the base plate 88 as screw tabs, with the mounting bracket 95 of the heat sink module 90 being placed on the base 88 such that the contact surfaces 116 rest on the screw tabs of the phase contacts 28.

[0092] The heat sink module 90 is then fastened to the front of the motor housing 4 from the mounting support top side 104 by means of eight fastening screws 126 arranged circumferentially. The fastening screws 126 are provided with reference numerals in the figures merely as examples.

[0093] Subsequently, the connecting contacts 14 are inserted through the through-opening 92 so that they are arranged below the contact surfaces 116 or mating contacts 18. The connecting contacts 14 have a threaded bore (not further designated) for the phase contact screws 110. The support structure 94 is screw-fastened to the motor housing 4. Next, the phase contact screws 110 are inserted into the screw bosses 108. The phase contact screws 110, shown in more detail in Fig. 18, have the shaft 118 with a screw head 128. A plate-like clamping head 130 is arranged around the screw head 128 and radially surrounds the screw head 128 provided with a tool engagement 132. A sealing ring 134 is arranged on the underside of the clamping head 130.

[0094] The phase contact screws 110 are screwed into corresponding threaded holes of the connecting contacts 14 and phase contacts 28, ensuring a more secure contact between the contact surfaces 116 or mating contacts 18 and the phase terminals 121. Finally, cover caps 136 are placed on the front sides of the screw bosses 108. The cover caps 136 are provided with a reference symbol in the figures merely as an example.

[0095] The third embodiment of the electric motor 2 thus has a hybrid heat sink module 90 with a heat sink 122 and with an integrated mounting housing for busbars 112 and CAN connections 12a.

[0096] Each of the three embodiments described above improves the serviceability of the printed circuit board assembly 34 and the wiring harness 10 at any point in operation or service life.

[0097] The claimed invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described above. Rather, other variants of the invention can also be derived therefrom by those skilled in the art within the scope of the disclosed claims without departing from the subject matter of the claimed invention. In particular, all individual features described in connection with the various exemplary embodiments can also be combined in other ways within the scope of the disclosed claims without departing from the subject matter of the claimed invention. List of reference symbols

[0098] 2 electric motor

[0099] 4 engine housing

[0100] 6 Motor shaft

[0101] 8 Electronic unit

[0102] 10 Wiring harness

[0103] 12 Wiring harness connection

[0104] 12a signal connection

[0105] 12b power connection

[0106] 14, 16 connecting contact

[0107] 18, 20 Counter contact

[0108] 22 slots

[0109] 24 insertion opening

[0110] 26 shelves

[0111] 28 Phase contact

[0112] 30 cooling fins

[0113] 32 insert carriers

[0114] 34 Printed Circuit Board Assembly

[0115] 36 circuit board

[0116] 38 PCB top side

[0117] 40 PCB underside

[0118] 42 phase connection

[0119] 44 holding frames

[0120] 46 Flange plate

[0121] 48 Contact flag

[0122] 50 fixing screw

[0123] 52 fixing screw

[0124] 54 Sealing element

[0125] 55 Sensor cap

[0126] 56 vias

[0127] 58 Holding bracket

[0128] 60 Shelf Cooling lid Connection assembly Joining plate Soldering lug Sealing element Phase connection Contact pin Contact leg Recess Fastening screw Phase contact adapter Sealing element Screw tab Fastening screw Base plate Heat sink module Through opening Support structure Mounting support Receptacle Recess Support surface Mounting support top side Sealing element Screw dome Phase contact screw Lead frame Mounting support bottom side Contact surface Shaft Sealing element Phase connection Heat sink 124 Fastening screw

[0129] 126 fixing screw

[0130] 128 screw head

[0131] 130 Clamping head 132 Tool holder

[0132] 134 Seal

[0133] 136 cover cap

[0134] E Insertion direction

Claims

Claims 1. Electric motor (2) for a motor vehicle, comprising - a motor housing (4), - an electronics unit (8) arranged on the front side of the motor housing (4), wherein a number of phase connections (42, 70, 121) are led from the motor housing (4) into the electronics unit (8), - a printed circuit board assembly (34) of the electronic unit (8) as a control unit for the electric motor (2), and - a wiring harness connection (12) of the electronic unit (8) for a wiring harness (10), - wherein the cable harness connection (12) is at least partially designed for plug-in contact with the cable harness (10).

2. Electric motor (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that - that the electronic unit (8) has a drawer (22) integrally formed on the motor housing (4), - that the printed circuit board assembly (34) is arranged in a slide-in carrier (32), - that the cable harness connection (12) is integrated into the insert carrier (32), and - that the insert carrier (32) is inserted into the insert compartment (22) along an insertion direction (E).

3. Electric motor (2) according to claim 2, characterized in that - that the insert carrier (32) has a front flange plate (46) for screw fastening to the insert compartment (22), and - that the cable harness connection (12) is integrated into the flange plate (46).

4. Electric motor (2) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that - that the phase contacts (28) are guided as vertically upstanding contact lugs through a base (26) of the drawer (22), - that the phase contacts (28) are distributed in the insertion direction (E), - that the phase contacts (28) are arranged offset from one another in an offset direction oriented transversely to the insertion direction (E), and - that the insert carrier (32) has a number of phase connections (42) contacted with the printed circuit board assembly (34) corresponding to the number of phase contacts (28), which are arranged on the insert carrier (32) in such a way that, when inserted along the insertion direction (E), each phase connection (42) is plug-connected to an associated phase contact (28).

5. Electric motor (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that - that the electronics unit (8) has an electronics compartment with a compartment base (60) formed integrally with the motor housing (4) and a cooling cover (62) joined thereto, - that an upstanding connection assembly (64) with the cable harness connection (12) is arranged on a circuit board top side (38) of the circuit board assembly (34) facing the cooling cover (62), and - that the connection assembly (64) extends at least partially through a window-like recess (76) of the cooling cover (62).

6. Electric motor (2) according to claim 5, characterized in that the connection assembly (64) projects beyond an edge of the printed circuit board assembly (34), wherein the connection assembly (64) has phase connections (70) for contacting the phase contacts (28) on an underside of the projecting area facing the compartment base (60).

7. Electric motor (2) according to claim 6, characterized in that the phase connections (70) have upstanding contact pins (72) which are pressed into corresponding contact sockets of a phase contact adapter (80) connected to the phase contacts (28).

8. Electric motor (2) according to claim 7, characterized in that the connection assembly (64) is sandwiched between the cooling cover (62) and the contact sockets of the phase contact adapter (80).

9. Electric motor (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that - that the electronics unit (8) has a base (88) arranged in the motor housing (4) and a heat sink module (90) covering it, - that the heat sink module (90) has a plate-like mounting support (96) with a mounting support underside (114) facing the floor (88) and a mounting support upper side (104) facing away from the floor (88), and - that the printed circuit board assembly (44) is arranged on the top side (104) of the mounting support and is connected to phase connections (121) on the bottom side (114) of the mounting support by means of busbars (112) integrated into the mounting support (96).

10. Electric motor (2) according to claim 9, characterized in that the cable harness connection (12) has a signal connection (12a) integrated into the front side of the mounting support (96) and an integrated power connection (12b), which is contacted with the cable harness (10) by means of phase contact screws (110).

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