Pump motor control assembly

• US 8,546,984 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2010
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nidec Motor Corporation (Nidec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nidec Motor Corporation (Nidec Corporation)
• Inventors: Heilman, Raymond D., Meagher, James P., Sherman, Jeffrey S., Skinner, James L., Schrader, John G.
• Primary Examiner(s): MULLINS, BURTON S
• Application Number:
  US12/938,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20120104878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,063 Days
• Field of Search: 310/68.R, 310/89, 349/58, 417/423.14
• US Class Current: 310/68.R
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/065 and making use of computers
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/33 Drive circuits, e.g. power electronics H02K11/38 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 5/10 with arrangements for protection from ingress, e.g. water or fingers
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 5/225 Terminal boxes or connection arrangements specially adapted for submersible motors H02K5/132

Abstract

A pump motor assembly operable to provide driving power to a fluid pump includes a rotor, a stator, a case housing the rotor and the stator, and a control assembly mounted to the case and operable to control motor operation. The control assembly includes an information display and a cover overlying the display, with a window section in general alignment with the display. The control assembly also includes a filler plate underlying the window section to prevent any air gap along an underside thereof, allowing the display to be visible while reducing the risk of condensation buildup. The control assembly further includes a low voltage housing with the display disposed in a first compartment defined thereby, and a high voltage housing with a high voltage component disposed in a second compartment defined thereby. The low voltage housing includes a thermal and fluid barrier that substantially fluidly separates the first and second compartments to reduce the risk of liquid electrical conduction therebetween and to reduce heat transfer into the low voltage housing.

Claims

1. A pump motor assembly operable to provide driving power to a fluid pump, said pump motor assembly comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis;

a stator spaced radially from the rotor;

a case at least substantially housing the rotor and the stator; and

a control assembly mounted to the case and operable to control motor operation based upon at least one input,

said control assembly including a display on which information regarding motor operation is displayed,

said control assembly including a cover disposed in a covering relationship relative to the display,

said cover including a substantially transparent window section in general alignment with the display,

said control assembly including a substantially transparent filler plate underlying the window section in an interposed relationship between the display and the cover, with the filler plate contacting the window section so as to at least substantially eliminate any air gap along an underside of the window section, thereby permitting the display to be visible through the window section while reducing the risk of condensation buildup along the underside of the window section,

said control assembly including at least one high voltage component comprising a power input operable to receive high voltage power,

said control assembly including at least one low voltage component that includes the display,

said control assembly including a high voltage housing that defines a high voltage compartment in which said at least one high voltage component is housed,

said control assembly including a low voltage housing that defines a low voltage compartment in which said at least one low voltage component is housed, with the cover being part of the low voltage housing,

said low voltage compartment being devoid of any high voltage components of the control assembly,

said high and low voltage compartments being substantially fluidly separated from one another so as to reduce the risk of liquid electrical conduction between the compartments.

2. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 1,

said filler plate contacting the display so as to be sandwiched between the window section and the display, with the filler plate at least substantially eliminating any air gap along the display.

3. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 2,

said filler plate comprising a thermoplastic.

4. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 3,

said filler plate presenting a thickness measured between the display and the underside of the window section,

said plate thickness being at least about 0.125 of an inch.

5. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 1,

said at least one input including a manually operable switch,

said switch and said display cooperatively presenting a user interface of the control assembly so as to provide user-selected control of the motor, and thereby the pump, at the motor.

6. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 5,

said switch comprising a manually depressible button underlying the cover,

said cover comprising a flexible membrane so as to permit button operation from outside the cover.

7. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 6,

said flexible membrane being formed of polyester.

8. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 1,

said display comprising a liquid crystal display.

9. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 1,

said low voltage housing including an open-ended box, with the cover being sealingly coupled to the box adjacent one end thereof,

said low voltage housing including a thermal and fluid barrier that spans the box adjacent an opposite end from the cover, with the barrier at least substantially fluidly sealing the low voltage compartment adjacent the opposite end and reducing heat transfer to the low voltage compartment.

10. A pump motor assembly operable to provide driving power to a fluid pump, said pump motor assembly comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis;

a stator spaced radially from the rotor;

a case at least substantially housing the rotor and the stator; and

a control assembly mounted to the case and operable to control motor operation based upon at least one input,

said control assembly including a display on which information regarding motor operation is displayed,

said control assembly including a cover disposed in a covering relationship relative to the display,

said cover including a substantially transparent window section in general alignment with the display,

said control assembly including a substantially transparent filler plate underlying the window section in an interposed relationship between the display and the cover, with the filler plate contacting the window section so as to at least substantially eliminate any air gap along an underside of the window section, thereby permitting the display to be visible through the window section while reducing the risk of condensation buildup along the underside of the window section,

said control assembly including a housing mounted to the case,

said housing including an open-ended box defining a control compartment,

said display being located within the control compartment, and said cover being sealingly coupled to the box adjacent one end thereof,

said housing including a thermal and fluid barrier that spans the box adjacent an opposite end from the cover, with the barrier at least substantially fluidly sealing the control compartment adjacent the opposite end and reducing heat transfer to the control compartment.

11. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 10,

said housing including a protective lid shiftable into and out of a closed position, in which the lid is substantially superimposed over the cover,

said lid including an insulating pad that overlies the cover when the lid is in the closed position, such that the insulating pad reduces any temperature differential between the cover and air contained within the control compartment so as to reduce the risk of condensation buildup along an underside of the cover.

12. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 11, said insulating pad being formed of foam rubber.

13. A pump motor assembly operable to provide driving power to a fluid pump, said pump motor assembly comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis;

a stator spaced radially from the rotor;

a case at least substantially housing the rotor and the stator; and

a control assembly mounted to the case and operable to control motor operation based upon at least one input,

said control assembly including a display on which information regarding motor operation is displayed,

said control assembly including a cover disposed in a covering relationship relative to the display,

said cover including a substantially transparent window section in general alignment with the display,

said control assembly including a substantially transparent filler plate underlying the window section in an interposed relationship between the display and the cover, with the filler plate contacting the window section so as to at least substantially eliminate any air gap along an underside of the window section, thereby permitting the display to be visible through the window section while reducing the risk of condensation buildup along the underside of the window section,

said housing including a protective lid shiftable into and out of a closed position, in which the lid is substantially superimposed over the cover,

said lid including an insulating pad that overlies the cover when the lid is in the closed position, such that the insulating pad reduces any temperature differential between the cover and air contained within the control assembly so as to reduce the risk of condensation buildup along an underside of the cover.

14. A pump motor assembly operable to provide driving power to a fluid pump, said pump motor assembly comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis;

a stator spaced radially from the rotor;

a case at least substantially housing the rotor and the stator; and

a control assembly mounted to the case and operable to control motor operation based upon at least one input,

said control assembly including a display on which information regarding motor operation is displayed,

said control assembly including a cover disposed in a covering relationship relative to the display,

said cover including a substantially transparent window section in general alignment with the display,

said control assembly including a substantially transparent filler plate underlying the window section in an interposed relationship between the display and the cover, with the filler plate contacting the window section so as to at least substantially eliminate any air gap along an underside of the window section, thereby permitting the display to be visible through the window section while reducing the risk of condensation buildup along the underside of the window section,

said control assembly including a housing mounted to the case, with the cover being part of the housing,

said housing defining a control compartment in which the display is located,

said control assembly including at least one high voltage component comprising a power input operable to receive high voltage power,

said at least one high voltage component being located generally adjacent the housing.

15. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 14,

said at least one high voltage component being located below the housing.

16. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 14,

said housing including a top and bottom open-ended box defining the control compartment,

said cover being sealingly coupled to the box adjacent the top end thereof,

said housing including a thermal and fluid barrier that spans the box adjacent the bottom end thereof, with the barrier at least substantially fluidly sealing the control compartment adjacent the bottom end and reducing heat transfer from said at least one high voltage component to the control compartment.

17. A pump motor assembly operable to provide driving power to a fluid pump, said pump motor assembly comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis;

a stator spaced radially from the rotor;

a case at least substantially housing the rotor and the stator; and

a control assembly operable to control motor operation based upon at least one input,

said control assembly including a housing mounted to the case,

said housing including an open-ended box defining a control compartment,

said control assembly including a visual indicator located within the control compartment and operable to provide visually perceptible information regarding motor operation,

said housing including a cover sealingly coupled to the box adjacent one end thereof in a covering relationship relative to the indicator,

said cover including a substantially transparent window section in general alignment with the indicator so that the indicator is visible through the window section,

said housing including a thermal and fluid barrier that spans the box adjacent an opposite end from the cover, with the barrier at least substantially fluidly sealing the control compartment adjacent the opposite end and reducing heat transfer to the control compartment.

18. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 17,

said barrier including a plate extending across the box adjacent the opposite end,

said barrier including sealant provided along the junction defined between the plate and the box.

19. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 18,

said barrier plate defining a wire-receiving opening,

said control assembly including wiring extending through the opening in the barrier plate,

said sealant being provided within the opening around the wiring.

20. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 18,

said barrier plate being formed of a thermoplastic material.

21. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 20,

said barrier plate presenting a thickness measured along a direction extending transversely relative to the box ends,

said thickness being about 0.060 of an inch.

22. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 20, said sealant comprising a vulcanized rubber.

23. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 17,

said housing including a protective lid shiftable into and out of a closed position, in which the lid is substantially superimposed over the cover,

said lid including an insulating pad that overlies the cover when the lid is in the closed position, such that the insulating pad reduces any temperature differential between the cover and air contained within the control compartment so as to reduce the risk of condensation buildup along an underside of the cover.

24. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 17,

said control assembly including at least one high voltage component comprising a power input operable to receive high voltage power,

said at least one high voltage component being located generally adjacent the housing.

25. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 24,

said at least one high voltage component being located below the housing.

26. A pump motor assembly operable to provide driving power to a fluid pump, said pump motor assembly comprising:

a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis;

a stator spaced radially from the rotor;

a case at least substantially housing the rotor and the stator; and

a control assembly mounted to the case and operable to control motor operation based upon at least one input,

said control assembly including at least one high voltage component comprising a power input operable to receive high voltage power,

said control assembly including at least one low voltage component comprising an indicator providing information regarding motor operation,

said control assembly including a high voltage housing that defines a high voltage compartment in which said at least one high voltage component is housed,

said control assembly including a low voltage housing that defines a low voltage compartment in which said at least one low voltage component is housed, with the low voltage compartment being devoid of any high voltage components of the control assembly,

said high and low voltage compartments being substantially fluidly separated from one another so as to reduce the risk of liquid electrical conduction between the compartments.

27. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 26,

said at least one low voltage component including a computing device coupled to the indicator.

28. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 27,

said computing device including a printed circuit board.

29. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 26,

said indicator being visually perceptible.

30. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 29, said indicator comprising a display.

31. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 26,

said at least one high voltage component including a relay coupled between the power input and the stator.

32. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 26,

said control assembly including wiring interconnecting at least some of the high and low voltage components.

33. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 26,

said low voltage housing including an open-ended box,

said low voltage housing including a cover sealingly coupled to the box adjacent one end thereof in a covering relationship relative to the indicator,

said housing including a thermal and fluid barrier that spans the box adjacent an opposite end from the cover, with the barrier at least substantially fluidly sealing the low voltage compartment adjacent the opposite end and reducing heat transfer to the low voltage compartment.

34. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 26,

said low voltage housing including a cover disposed in a covering relationship relative to the indicator,

said low voltage housing including a protective lid shiftable into and out of a closed position, in which the lid is substantially superimposed over the cover,

said lid including an insulating pad that overlies the cover when the lid is in the closed position, such that the insulating pad reduces any temperature differential between the cover and air contained within the low voltage compartment so as to reduce the risk of condensation buildup along an underside of the cover.

35. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 34,

said high voltage housing being located below the low voltage housing.

36. The pump motor assembly as claimed in claim 26,

said high voltage housing comprising a vented endshield cover secured to the motor case.