Motor Housing Harness Integration Without a Hollow Shaft

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing vehicle drive systems face challenges in routing harnesses for temperature sensors and resolvers outside the motor housing without using a hollow shaft structure, particularly when these components are positioned at different locations, making it difficult to integrate their layouts.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle drive system design that integrates the temperature sensor and resolver harnesses within the motor housing, using a coupling part to form a collective harness, which passes through a window in the housing and connects to an external connector, allowing detection signals to be transmitted without a hollow shaft.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If harnesses are routed through a hollow shaft structure, then the harness can be extended outside the housing, but the structure becomes complex and difficult to implement when components are at different locations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveharness routingVSAvoidhollow shaft structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the harness routing function from the hollow shaft structure and relocates it to the housing wall. The window is formed directly in the housing wall to allow harness passage, eliminating the need for a complex hollow shaft structure while maintaining the ability to route harnesses outside the housing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The window in the housing wall serves as an intermediary structure that facilitates harness passage between the internal sensor locations and the external environment. This intermediary solution avoids the complexity of hollow shafts while enabling effective harness routing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If temperature sensor and resolver are placed inside the housing for protection, then they are protected from external environment, but routing their harnesses outside becomes challenging

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesensor protectionVSAvoidharness layout
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention segments the housing structure by forming a window in the housing wall, creating a dedicated passage for harness routing. This segmentation allows the sensors to remain protected inside the housing while enabling independent harness passage through the window, simplifying the overall layout.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of routing harnesses through the axial hollow shaft, the invention utilizes the radial dimension of the housing wall by forming a window in the housing wall. This dimensional change provides an alternative routing path that simplifies harness layout while maintaining sensor protection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Device complexity

If multiple harnesses are integrated inside the housing, then layout is facilitated, but the harness must pass through the housing wall requiring an external connector

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveharness integrationVSAvoidexternal connection
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The invention merges the temperature sensor harness and resolver harness into a single integrated harness structure inside the housing. This combined harness is routed through a single window in the housing wall and connects to an external connector, simplifying both internal layout and external connection compared to separate routing paths.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP4611230A1Vehicle drive system
Publication Date: 2025.09.03 MAZDA MOTOR CORP
  • EP4611230A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4611230A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4611230A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A vehicle drive system including a motor, a temperature sensor, and a resolver includes a motor housing accommodating the motor, the temperature sensor, and the resolver, a cover member covering the motor housing from one side in a motor axial direction, and temperature sensor and resolver harnesses connected to the temperature sensor and the resolver, respectively. The temperature sensor harness and the resolver harness are integrally provided inside the motor housing. The motor housing has a window through which a collective harness of the temperature sensor harness and the resolver harness passes. An external connector connectable to an external harness is attached to the cover member to pass through the cover member. The external connector is connected to a tip-end part of the collective harness.