Motor Contact Adapter Shielding for Protected Busbar Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing contact adapters for electric motors lack effective protection for electrical connections during assembly and transit, leading to potential damage and increased costs due to the need for additional covers or lack of protection.
Innovation Solution
The electric motor design incorporates a housing with a shield and a contact adapter featuring deformable ribs and a sandwiched end plate configuration, which secures the contact adapter between the shield and end plate, providing protection and secure electrical connections through a combination of welding and torque-based fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing contact adapters are used without additional protection, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability of electrical connections deteriorates due to lack of protection during assembly and transit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the protective shield function directly into the contact adapter body by forming a protrusion that extends from the base member. This merging of the protective function into the existing adapter structure provides reliability without requiring separate protective covers or additional components, thus avoiding increased device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusion is pre-formed as an integral part of the contact adapter base member before assembly. This preliminary formation of the protective structure ensures that electrical connections are protected from the outset during assembly and transit operations, eliminating the need for additional protective measures while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Reliability
If additional covers are added to protect electrical connections, then reliability improves, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The protective function is merged into the contact adapter base member through the integrally formed protrusion. This eliminates the need for separate protective covers, reducing the number of parts, simplifying manufacturing processes, and lowering production costs while maintaining reliable protection of electrical connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact adapter base member serves its own protective function through the protrusion structure. The base member provides both structural support and protection for electrical connections simultaneously, eliminating the need for additional dedicated protective components and reducing manufacturing complexity.
3Ease of operation
If deformable ribs are added to the contact adapter, then ease of operation improves during assembly, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ribs are designed to be deformable, allowing them to flex during the assembly process when the end plate is secured. This dynamic characteristic enables the ribs to accommodate assembly variations and provide tactile feedback, improving ease of operation. The deformability is achieved through material selection and geometric design that allow controlled flexibility while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The deformable ribs are integrated directly into the contact adapter base member structure rather than being separate components. This merging provides the operational benefit of deformability for easier assembly while avoiding the complexity of separate movable parts, as the ribs are formed as part of the monolithic base member structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An electric motor including a housing, a busbar, an end plate, and a contact adapter. The housing may include a shield that may define an aperture. The busbar may extend from a stator towards the aperture and the busbar may be disposed within the housing. The contact adapter may include a base member, a contact member, and a protrusion. The contact member may extend from the base member and contact the busbar. The protrusion may extend from the base member and the protrusion may be sandwiched between the shield and the end plate.