Angle sensor

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an angle sensor in which the amount of resin in a connector housing can be reduced. [Solution] A resolver 1 is provided with a stator stack 11, a rotor, a conductor wound around the stator stack 11, a terminal pin 150 to which the conductor is connected, a connector housing 140 to which the terminal pin 150 is fixed, and a connection part 160 that connects the stator stack 11 and the connector housing 140. The terminal pin 150 is fixed inside the connection part 160, the connection part 160 has a recess 161, and the recess 161 faces the stator stack 11 in the rotation axis direction of the rotor.

Description

Angle Sensor

[0001] The present invention relates to an angle sensor such as a resolver, and more particularly to improving the moldability of resin.

[0002] Resolvers have been known as a means for detecting the rotation angle of rotating electrical machines such as motors and generators. A resolver includes a stator in which an insulator is insert-molded into a stator stack, and a connector housing is molded integrally with the insulator.

[0003] Terminal pins are insert-molded into a connector housing. There are usually six terminal pins, each L-shaped or crank-shaped, so the volume of resin in the connector housing with the terminal pins embedded is large. Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which recesses are formed in the connector housing to reduce the amount of resin.

[0004] Patent No. 5970355

[0005] In the resolver disclosed in Patent Document 1, the connector housing protrudes in the direction of the rotor's rotational axis, and the terminal pins also extend in the direction of the rotational axis. Therefore, the connector housing is disposed at a location radially away from the stator, and the recess is also disposed at a location radially away from the stator. This increases the amount of resin from the stator to the recess.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide an angle sensor that can improve the moldability of resin.

[0007] The present invention is an angle sensor comprising a stator, a rotor, a conductor wound around the stator, a terminal to which the conductor is connected, and a connector housing to which the terminal is fixed, and a connection portion connecting the stator and the connector housing, the terminal being fixed inside the connection portion, a portion of the connection portion having a recess, the recess facing the stator in the direction of the rotational axis of the rotor.

[0008] According to the present invention, the recess is provided at a position facing the stator, so the distance from the stator to the recess is short, and the moldability of the resin can be improved.

[0009] 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a resolver according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a resolver according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a back view showing a resolver according to an embodiment; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the resolver according to an embodiment as viewed from the back side; (A) is a side view of the resolver according to an embodiment, and (B) is a front view; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the resolver according to an embodiment; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the resolver according to an embodiment in a state where a cover is not attached; FIG. 7 is a plan view of the resolver according to an embodiment in a state where a cover is not attached; FIG. 8 is a back view of the resolver according to an embodiment in a state where a cover is not attached; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of a connector housing of the resolver according to an embodiment; FIG. 10 is a see-through view of the periphery of a terminal pin of the resolver according to an embodiment as viewed from the back side; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the terminal pin of the resolver according to an embodiment; FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a modified example of the resolver according to an embodiment as viewed from the back side;

[0010] 1. Overall Configuration of Resolver Figures 1 to 12 show a resolver (angle sensor) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The resolver 1 shown in Figures 1 to 6 is shown with a cover 200 attached, while Figures 7 to 9 show the resolver 1 without the cover 200 attached.

[0011] The resolver 1 is a VR (variable reluctance) resolver. The resolver 1 has a rotor 30 and a stator 10. The rotor 30 is fixed to the output shaft of a rotating electric machine (not shown) such as a motor. The rotor 30 has a structure in which a plurality of thin plate-shaped rotor cores are stacked in the axial direction. In the following description, the direction of the output shaft is referred to as the "axial direction," the direction perpendicular to the axial direction is referred to as the "radial direction," and the direction of rotation around the output shaft is referred to as the "circumferential direction." Furthermore, the terms "upper" and "lower" refer to the up and down directions in FIG. 1 .

[0012] The thin rotor core that constitutes the rotor 30 is manufactured by pressing an electromagnetic steel plate into a non-circular shape. Multiple rotor cores are stacked in the axial direction and fixed by caulking to form the rotor 30.

[0013] The stator 10 is disposed outside the rotor 30 and fixed to a housing (not shown) of the rotating electrical machine. A gap is provided between the rotor 30 and the stator 10, allowing the rotor 30 to rotate inside the stator 10. The housing is a component to which the stator 10 of the resolver 1 is attached, and is provided with screw holes for fixing the stator 10 of the resolver 1. The stator 10 of the resolver 1 is attached to the housing by threading bolts into the screw holes.

[0014] The stator 10 has a stator stack 11. The stator stack 11 has a structure in which a plurality of thin plate-shaped stator cores are stacked in the axial direction. As shown in Figures 7 to 9, the thin plate-shaped stator core has an annular core back 12, a plurality of teeth 13 protruding radially inward from the core back 12, and a plurality of flanges 14 protruding radially outward from the core back 12. The flanges 14 have oval through holes 14a formed concentrically in the circumferential direction.

[0015] Between adjacent flanges 14, multiple (seven in this example) U-shaped notches 15 that open radially outward are formed. The stator core is manufactured by pressing electromagnetic steel sheets. Multiple stator cores are stacked in the axial direction and secured by caulking to form the stator stack 11. Bolts for securing the stator to the housing are inserted into the notches 15, and the diameter of each notch 15 is sized so that the bolt does not come into contact with the stator stack 11 when inserted into the notch 15.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 , insulators 100 are fixed to both axial sides of the stator stack 11. The insulators 100 are made of insulating resin and are injection-molded using the stator stack 11 as an insert material. The insulators 100 have windings 110. The windings 110 are formed to surround the entire circumference of the teeth 13 and include a tube (not shown) in the radial center, a flange 111 that extends axially and circumferentially on the radially inner side of the tube, and walls 112 that protrude upward and downward in the axial direction on the radially outer side of the tube. A conductor is wound around the tube to form a coil 115. Note that the insulator 100 is not limited to being injection-molded; a separately formed insulator 100 can also be fixed to the stator stack 11.

[0017] 7 to 9, the insulator 100 has an annular protrusion 120 that protrudes upward and downward in the axial direction. A terminal block 130 that is rectangular in plan view and protrudes radially outward from both ends of the annular protrusion 120 is formed on one side of the insulator 100. A connector housing 140 is formed integrally with the terminal block 130. The connector housing 140 has a hollow connector accommodating portion 141.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 10, terminal pins (terminals) 150 are integrally formed by insert molding on the terminal block 130 and the connector housing 140. In this example, all six terminal pins 150 have a bent shape, as shown in Fig. 11. Therefore, the cross-sectional view of Fig. 10 shows a cross-section taken along the terminal pin 150.

[0019] 12, the terminal pin 150 includes a first member 151 having a portion (hereinafter referred to as a first exposed portion 151a) parallel to the axial direction to which the conductor wire is connected, and a second member 152 having a portion (hereinafter referred to as a second exposed portion 152a) located within the connector accommodating portion 141. These first and second members 151, 152 are connected to each other by a third member 153.

[0020] The third member 153 consists of an inclined portion 153a extending in a direction inclined radially from the lower axial end of the first member 151 toward the adjacent terminal pin 150, a parallel portion 153b extending in a direction parallel to the radial direction from the end of the inclined portion 153a, and a vertical portion 153c extending downward from the end of the parallel portion 153b.

[0021] In the second terminal pin 150 adjacent to the first terminal pin 150 located at the outermost side in the circumferential direction (for example, the leftmost side in FIG. 12 ), the inclination of the inclined portion 153 a relative to the radial direction is slightly smaller than that of the first terminal pin 150. In addition, in the adjacent third terminal pin 150 located further inward in the circumferential direction, the inclination of the inclined portion 153 a relative to the radial direction is even smaller than that of the second terminal pin 150. The configuration of the portions other than the inclined portion 153 a is the same for the first to third terminal pins 150. The remaining terminal pins 150 are formed to be plane-symmetrical to the three terminal pins 150.

[0022] As shown in Figures 4 and 10, the connector housing 140 and the terminal block 130 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 160. The connecting portion 160 has a recess (lightening portion) 161 recessed in the axial direction. The recess 161 faces the stator stack 11 and the terminal pin 150 in the axial direction. That is, the recess 161 is provided at a position overlapping the stator stack 11 and the terminal pin 150 when viewed from the axial direction. The recess 161 has a horizontal wall 162 extending in the radial direction and a vertical wall 163 extending in the axial direction. In addition, on both circumferential sides of the recess 161, there are pillars 164 with inclined surfaces 164a that slope downward radially inward.

[0023] As shown in Figure 10, the connection portion 160 has a first region 165 including the inclined portion 153a and the parallel portion 153b of the third member 153, and a second region 166 including the vertical portion 153c, and the axial dimension of the first region 165 is shorter than the axial dimension of the vertical wall 163, and the radial dimension of the second region 166 is shorter than the radial dimension of the horizontal wall 162.

[0024] The terminal pin 150 is arranged in the recess 161 configured as described above as follows. The inclined portion 153a and the parallel portion 153b of the third member 153 of the terminal pin 150 are arranged along the horizontal wall 162 of the recess 161 of the connection portion 160, and the vertical portion 153c of the third member 153 is arranged along the vertical wall 163 of the recess 161. The first exposed portion 151a of the first member 151 protrudes and is exposed on the upper surface of the terminal block 130, where the end of the conducting wire drawn from the coil 115 is entangled and fixed by means of welding or soldering. The second exposed portion 152a of the second member 152 protrudes and is exposed in the connector accommodating portion 141.

[0025] Next, the cover 200 is composed of an upper cover 210 and a lower cover 220. The upper cover 210 includes a ring-shaped flat plate 211 and a rectangular terminal pin cover 212 that protrudes radially outward from one side of the flat plate 211. An inner cylinder 213 extends axially from the radially inner edge of the flat plate 211. The inner cylinder 213 includes a recess 213a that has the same shape as the contours of the flange 111 of the insulator 100 and the teeth 13 of the stator stack 11.

[0026] An outer cylinder 214 extends in the axial direction from the radially outer edge of the flat plate 211. The inner periphery of the outer cylinder 214 contacts the outer periphery of the annular protrusion 120 of the insulator 100. As shown in FIG. 1 , a plurality of (two in this example) flanges 214a protruding radially outward are formed on the lower edge of the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 214. The flanges 214a are rectangular cylindrical. In addition, a plurality of (five in this example) protrusions 214b protruding radially outward are formed on the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 214.

[0027] 7 to 9, the annular projection 120 of the insulator 100 is formed with a plurality of (two in this example) flanges 126 that protrude radially outward, and the flanges 126 are formed with pins 127 that protrude axially. As shown in Fig. 9, the flanges 126 are formed with recesses 127a that are recessed upward. The recesses 127a are formed so as to fit into the through-holes 12a of the core back 12, and the pins 127 are formed by making the portion of the flange 126 on the surface side protrude upward.

[0028] Furthermore, a pin 127 that protrudes in the axial direction is formed at the center of the radially outer side of the terminal block 130. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the flange 126 of the insulator 100 is fitted inside the flange 214a of the upper cover 210. Furthermore, the pin 127 formed on the terminal block 130 protrudes from a through-hole 214c (see Figure 1) formed in the terminal pin cover 212 of the upper cover 210. With the above configuration, the upper cover 210 is positioned relative to the insulator 100.

[0029] 3 and 4 , the lower cover 220 includes a ring-shaped flat plate 221 and a rectangular terminal block cover 222 that protrudes radially outward from one side of the flat plate 221 and covers the radially inner portion of the terminal block 130. An inner cylinder 223 extends axially from the radially inner edge of the flat plate 221. The inner cylinder 223 includes a recess 223a that has the same shape as the contours of the flange 111 of the insulator 100 and the teeth 13 of the stator stack 11. An outer cylinder 224 extends axially from the radially outer edge of the flat plate 221. The inner periphery of the outer cylinder 224 contacts the outer periphery of the annular protrusion 120 of the insulator 100.

[0030] The outer periphery of the outer cylinder 224 is formed with multiple (five in this example) protrusions 224b that protrude radially outward. Each protrusion 224b has a boss 225 that protrudes upward (see FIG. 1). The boss 225 passes through a through-hole 12a (see FIGS. 7 to 9) formed in the core back 12 of the stator stack 11, penetrates the protrusion 214b of the upper cover 210, and is thermally caulked there. This positions the lower cover 220, and the upper and lower covers 210, 220 are fixed to each other and to the insulator 100.

[0031] The resolver 1 configured as described above includes a connection portion 160 that connects the stator 10 and the connector housing 140, and the connection portion 160 has a recess 161. The recess 161 faces the stator stack 11 in the axial direction, so the distance from the stator stack 11 to the recess 161 is short. Therefore, the amount of resin between the stator stack 11 and the recess 161 can be reduced.

[0032] In particular, in the above embodiment, terminal pin 150 has first member 151 having first exposed portion 151a to which a conductor is connected, second member 152 having second exposed portion 152a exposed in connector accommodating portion 141, and third member 153 connecting first member 151 and second member 152, with third member 153 consisting of inclined portion 153a and parallel portion 153b along horizontal wall 162, and vertical portion 153c along vertical wall 163. By giving terminal pin 150 this shape instead of the conventional L-shape, recess 161 can be shaped to have horizontal wall 162 and vertical wall 163 and positioned facing stator stack 11.

[0033] In the above embodiment, the terminal pin 150 has a wide circumferential spacing between the first exposed portions 151 a and a narrow circumferential spacing between the second exposed portions 152 a, which shortens the distance from the coil 115 to the first exposed portions 151 a, thereby reducing the length of the conductor wire drawn from the coil 115 and allowing the connector connected to the second exposed portions 152 a to be small.

[0034] 2. Modifications The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible as follows. i) As shown in FIG. 13 , a rib 167 having the same side shape as the pillar 164 can be formed in the recess 161 of the connection part 160. The rib 167 increases the strength of the connection part 160. The number of ribs 167 may be one or three or more. It is also possible to configure the connection part 160 without the pillar 164 or the rib 167. In this case, the amount of resin used can be further reduced.

[0035] ii) In the above embodiment, the third member 153 of the terminal pin 150 has a shape including an inclined portion 153 a and a parallel portion 153 b. However, instead of the inclined portion 153 a and the parallel portion 153 b, the third member 153 may be a portion that extends linearly from the lower end of the first member 151 to the upper end of the vertical portion 153 c.

[0036] The present invention can be used in an angle sensor that detects the rotation angle of a rotating electrical machine such as a motor or a generator.

[0037] 1... resolver (angle sensor), 10... stator, 11... stator stack, 12... core back, through hole 12a, 13... teeth, 14... flange, 14a... through hole, 15... notch, 30... rotor, 100... insulator, 110... winding portion, 111... flange, 112... wall, 115... coil, 120... annular protrusion, 126... flange, 127... pin, 127a... recess, 130... terminal block, 140... connector housing, 141... connector accommodating portion, 150... terminal pin (terminal), 151... first member, 151a... first exposed portion, 152... second member, 152a... second exposed portion, 15 3...third member, 153a...inclined portion, 153b...parallel portion, 153c...vertical portion, 160...connection portion, 161...recess (lightening portion), 162...horizontal wall, 163...vertical wall, 164a...inclined surface, 164...pillar, 165...first region, 166...second region, 200...cover, 210...upper cover, 220...lower cover, 211...flat plate, 212...terminal pin cover, 213...inner tube, 213a...recess, 214...outer tube, 214a...flange, 214b...protrusion, 214c...through hole, 221...flat plate, 222...terminal block cover, 223...inner tube, 223a...recess, 224...outer tube, 224b...protrusion, 225...boss.

Claims

1. An angle sensor comprising: a stator; a rotor; a conductor wound around the stator; a terminal to which the conductor is connected; a connector housing to which the terminal is fixed; and a connection portion connecting the stator and the connector housing, wherein the terminal is fixed inside the connection portion, and the connection portion has a recess, which faces the stator in the direction of the rotational axis of the rotor.

2. The angle sensor according to claim 1, wherein the recess is a hollowed-out portion extending toward the stator and toward the connector housing.

3. The angle sensor according to claim 2, wherein the recess has a horizontal wall extending in a radial direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction and a vertical wall extending in the rotation axis direction, and is located opposite the terminal.

4. The angle sensor according to claim 3, wherein the connecting portion comprises a pillar extending in a radial direction, the pillar being located adjacent to the recess.

5. The angle sensor according to claim 4, wherein the terminal has a portion that extends along the horizontal wall and a portion that extends along the vertical wall, and the portion that extends along the horizontal wall and the portion that extends along the vertical wall are connected.

6. The angle sensor described in claim 5, wherein the terminal comprises a first member having a first exposed portion to which the conducting wire is connected, a second member having a second exposed portion exposed within the connector housing, and a third member connecting the first member and the second member, the third member having a portion that follows the horizontal wall and a portion that follows the vertical wall, the portion that follows the horizontal wall being connected to the first member, and the portion that follows the vertical wall being connected to the second member.

7. The angle sensor according to claim 3, wherein the connection portion comprises a first region extending in the radial direction and a second region extending in the axial direction, the terminals are disposed inside the first region and the second region, the axial dimension of the first region is smaller than the dimension of the vertical wall, and the radial dimension of the second region is smaller than the dimension of the horizontal wall.

8. The angle sensor according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the terminals are provided, and the distance between the first members is wider than the distance between the second members.

9. An angle sensor as described in claim 8, wherein the third member comprises an inclined portion inclined toward the radial direction, a parallel portion extending from the end of the inclined portion substantially parallel to the radial direction, and a vertical portion extending from the end of the parallel portion in the direction of the rotation axis.

10. An angle sensor according to claim 8, wherein the third member has an inclined portion inclined toward the radial direction and a vertical portion extending from an end of the inclined portion in the direction of the rotation axis.

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