Drilled Motor Shaft for Electric Machine Gasket Seal Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric machines for motor vehicles often require the temporary installation of a relief valve for pressurization testing, which is time-consuming and costly, and lacks a method to effectively test gasket sealing without this valve.
Innovation Solution
The electric machine incorporates a drilled shaft that functions as an air duct to pressurize the internal chambers during testing, eliminating the need for a relief valve by using the shaft's through hole to channel air and maintain airtight conditions, allowing for effective sealing verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a relief valve is temporarily installed to perform pressing tests, then the sealing of gaskets can be verified, but the production time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the air duct function from the temporary relief valve and integrates it directly into the shaft structure. The shaft now contains a through-hole that serves as a permanent air duct, eliminating the need to install and remove external relief valves for pressing tests, thereby reducing production time while maintaining sealing verification capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the air duct function with the shaft structure by creating a through-hole in the shaft. This combines two previously separate functions (shaft support function and air duct function) into a single integrated component, eliminating the need for separate relief valve installation and reducing production complexity
2Reliability
If a relief valve is temporarily installed to perform pressing tests, then the sealing of gaskets can be verified, but the production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the air duct function with the shaft structure by creating a through-hole in the shaft. This combines two previously separate functions (shaft support function and air duct function) into a single integrated component, eliminating the need for separate relief valve installation and reducing production complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft is designed with multi-functionality: it serves both as a mechanical support component and as an air duct for pressing tests. This universal design eliminates the need for separate dedicated test equipment, reducing overall production costs while maintaining effective sealing verification
3Device complexity
If the shaft is drilled to create an air duct, then the relief valve installation is eliminated, but the shaft structure is modified
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is drilled with a through-hole during the initial manufacturing process, before assembly. This preliminary action integrates the air duct function into the shaft structure itself, eliminating the need for subsequent relief valve installation while incorporating the modification into the standard manufacturing workflow
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method simplifies and cost-reduces the pressurization testing process by using the shaft as an air duct, ensuring effective sealing verification of gaskets without the need for a relief valve, while maintaining the ability to adapt to pressure differences during normal operation.
Implementation Method 1
The shaft (20) has a through hole (50), i.e., the shaft (20) extends, without obstacles and preferably without branches, between an input mouth (51a) and an output mouth (51b)
Data Source
AI summary
An electric machine for motor vehicles has a casing defining at least one chamber accommodating electric/electronic components; the rotor of the electric machine has a shaft provided with a first and a second end portion, axially opposite one another; the first end portion is configured so as to define a coupling point, at an axial end of the electric machine, to transmit motion; at the axial opposite end, the electric machine is closed by a lid having an outer annular portion coupled to the casing through the interposition of at least one gasket; the shaft has a through hole with an input mouth at the first end portion and an output mouth communicating with the above-mentioned chamber; in a testing method for testing the sealing of the gasket, pressurised air is blown through this input mouth.