In-line Dual Pump Motor with Integrated Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dual pump and motor devices face challenges in optimizing function, features, and characteristics for small package space, minimized assembly, and reduced manufacturing costs while maintaining independent control and operation of motors and pumps.
Innovation Solution
A dual pump and motor device with a unitary housing that integrates two pumps and two brushless DC motors, featuring a shared shaft and stators, with a printed circuit board for independent control, and an overmolded housing that minimizes material usage and assembly time, allowing for flexible design and robust operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If dual pump and motor devices are designed with separate housings for each pump, then each pump can be independently manufactured and assembled, but the overall package space increases and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the housings of two separate pump-motor assemblies into a single integrated housing structure. This allows both pumps to be mounted within one housing while maintaining independent drive shafts and motor assemblies, thereby reducing the overall package volume without compromising the independent manufacturability of individual pump units.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated housing serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support for both pumps, contains the motor assemblies, facilitates fluid passage between pumps, and enables thermal management. This multi-functional design reduces the need for separate housing structures while maintaining independent operation of each pump.
2Ease of manufacture
If dual pump and motor devices use traditional assembly methods with multiple separate components, then each component can be optimized independently, but assembly time increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate components (housings, mounting brackets, fluid passages) into a single integrated housing structure. This reduces the number of parts that need to be assembled, thereby reducing assembly time and manufacturing cost while still allowing independent optimization of functional components like motors and pumps.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated housing is designed with pre-formed mounting features, fluid passages, and structural elements that are created during the housing manufacturing process itself rather than requiring separate assembly steps. This preliminary integration of features reduces assembly operations and lowers manufacturing costs.
3Volume of moving object
If dual pump and motor devices use integrated housing structures, then package space is reduced and assembly is simplified, but design flexibility may be constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated housing is segmented into distinct functional zones for each pump-motor assembly, allowing independent optimization of each side while maintaining overall integration. The housing includes separate compartments for the first and second pumps with independent drive shafts, enabling design flexibility within the constraints of the integrated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing design incorporates adjustable and configurable elements that allow adaptation to different application requirements. The integrated structure can accommodate varying pump configurations, fluid passage arrangements, and mounting orientations while maintaining the benefits of integration, thereby preserving design flexibility.
4Quantity of substance
If dual pump and motor devices minimize the number of parts through integration, then assembly cost and material usage are reduced, but manufacturing complexity may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate components into a single integrated housing structure, significantly reducing the total number of parts and material usage. The housing integrates structural support, fluid passages, mounting features, and thermal management functions that would otherwise require separate components, thereby reducing material consumption while the modular nature of the integration keeps manufacturing complexity manageable.
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
The solution enables efficient, flexible, and cost-effective operation with reduced package size, assembly time, and material usage, while maintaining independent control of fluid flow and robust design, suitable for various applications including automotive and industrial systems.
Implementation Method 1
A first stator adjacent the first rotor assembly and a second stator adjacent the second rotor assembly both include windings for causing independent rotation of the first rotor assembly and the second rotor assembly, respectively
Implementation Method 2
a first pump impeller in the first pump cavity... a second pump impeller in the second pump cavity
Data Source
AI summary
The present pump devices provide a dual pump using two (or more) electric motors (e.g. brushless DC motors) driving the pumps independently, including integration of hydraulic and electrical components and connectors. The illustrated arrangements include an in-line single shaft version, a parallel side-by-side shaft version, and an inside-outside version. Each configuration includes a housing supporting formation of: shared structural support for the pumps and motors (e.g., bearings, stator, relationship of components), fluid pump and hydraulic system (e.g., fluid passageways, ports connectors) and motor electrical control (e.g., control circuitry and sensory components).