Methods and apparatus for reducing size and costs of motor controllers for electric motors

A method for reducing an overall size of an electronic motor controller for an electric motor, said method comprising:

• fabricating a circuit board using an insulated metal substrate operable as a heat sink for a plurality of components mounted thereon;
• attaching a plurality of driver components, at least one current sensor, and at least one control device to the circuit board to form a motor management circuit board;
• fabricating a printed circuit board physically separate from the motor management circuit board using a composite material;
• attaching a plurality of power processing components to the printed circuit card to form a power supply circuit board operable to convert an input voltage into at least one output voltage to be supplied to the motor management circuit board;
• and
• electrically coupling the motor management circuit board to the power supply circuit board using a wiring harness.

A method for heat reduction and dissipation within an electronic motor controller for an electric motor, said method comprising:

• operatively attaching at least one component of a power supply circuit board to a heat sink within an electric motor chassis, the power supply circuit board including a fiberglass circuit having a plurality of components operably attached thereto, the power supply circuit card operable to convert an input voltage into at least one output voltage;
• operatively attaching a motor management circuit board to the electric motor chassis in a location separate from the power supply circuit board, the motor management circuit board including a plurality of driver components, current sensing components, and at least one control device in a surface mount configuration on an insulated metal substrate configured to provide a heat sinking capability to the plurality of driver components, current sensing components, and at least one control device surface mounted thereon;
• and
• providing a wiring harness between the power supply circuit board and the motor management circuit board to apply the at least one output voltage to the motor management circuit board.

An electronic motor controller comprising:

• a motor management circuit comprising:
• an insulated metal substrate;
• a plurality of driver components operably attached to said insulated metal substrate and operable to provide output signals for application to windings of said electric motor;
• at least one current sensor operable for sensing an amount of current applied to the windings of said electric motor;
• and
• at least one control device operably attached to said insulated metal substrate and programmed to control operation of said driver components;
• and
• a power supply circuit physically separate from said motor management circuit, said power supply circuit comprising:
• a circuit card comprising a composite material;
• and
• a plurality of power processing components operably attached to said circuit card and operable to convert an input voltage into at least one output voltage to be supplied to said motor management circuit.