Motor Mount Spacer Design for Multi-Diameter Electric Motor Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor mounts for industrial applications, such as HVAC units, face challenges in securely aligning and positioning electric motors with varying cross-sectional dimensions, particularly those with different upper and lower body diameters, which can lead to improper clamping and potential airflow and cooling issues.
Innovation Solution
A multi-dimension motor mount spacer/adapter arrangement featuring a wire cage with C-shaped clamps and spacers/ adapters that accommodate motors with different diameters, using C-shaped cuffs and vertical spacers to ensure secure clamping without affecting airflow or cooling, by adjusting the working diameter of the clamps to match the motor's dimensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If C-shaped clamps with equal inner dimensions are used to secure the motor, then the clamp design is simplified and manufacturing is easier, but motors with varying cross-sectional dimensions cannot be properly aligned and positioned
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces spacers as intermediary components between the C-shaped clamps and the motor body. These spacers act as mediators that bridge the dimensional mismatch between the fixed inner dimensions of the clamps and the varying cross-sectional dimensions of different motor models, enabling precise alignment without modifying the clamp design itself
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system is segmented into distinct functional components: the C-shaped clamps provide the basic securing function, while separate spacer components provide the dimensional adjustment function. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - clamps for ease of manufacture and spacers for precision alignment
2Adaptability or versatility
If the clamp inner diameter is made larger to accommodate motors with smaller diameters, then smaller motors can be secured, but airflow obstruction increases and cooling efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer components provide localized dimensional adjustment only at the clamping interface, while leaving the rest of the motor housing and airflow passages unchanged. This ensures that the clamp inner diameter can be optimized for securement without unnecessarily increasing airflow obstruction, as the spacer compensates for size differences only where needed
3Adaptability or versatility
If spacers or adapters are added to accommodate motors with different dimensions, then motors with varying diameters can be properly secured, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacers are designed as simple, inexpensive, and potentially interchangeable components that can be easily added or removed based on the specific motor model being installed. Their simplicity and low cost mean that having multiple spacer variants for different motor sizes does not significantly increase overall system complexity or expense
Data Source
AI summary
A motor mount spacer/adapter arrangement includes a wire cage and at least one spacer. The wire cage includes one or more clamps having substantially equal inner dimensions. The at least one spacer/adapter is disposed adjacent the inner dimension of one of the clamps. As such, the one or more clamps is configured to secure an electric motor in the wire cage. In some versions, the electric motor can have a lower body portion of a first dimension and an upper body portion of a second dimension that is different than the first dimension. The at least one spacer/adapter is therefore configured to reside between one of the clamps and one of the upper and lower body portions of the electric motor.