Rotor structures for motor
AssigneeTRW Inc.
InventorsAndrew Lee Court, Jeffrey Ronald Coles
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotor structure for a motor comprising a rotor having an end surface; a shaft extending from the end surface; an encoder member attached to the end surface of the rotor; and a coupler coupled to the shaft adjacent to the encoder member for coupling a further member to the shaft, in which the coupler surrounds the shaft and has a lip associated therewith, the lip extending from the coupler towards the encoder member so as to define a void between the coupler and the encoder member. The void defined by the rotor structure may act to contain matters such as swarf that is ejected from the rotor when the encoder member is fixed to the rotor. The rotor may be used in a motor of an electric power assisted steering (EPAS) system.
Claims19
A rotor structure for a motor comprising:
- a rotor having an end surface;
- a shaft extending from the end surface;
- an encoder member attached to the end surface of the rotor;
- and
- a coupler coupled to the shaft adjacent to the encoder member for coupling a further member to the shaft, the coupler surrounding the shaft and having a lip associated therewith, the coupler lip extending from the coupler towards the encoder member so as to define a void between the coupler and the encoder member.
A motor comprising:
- a stator;
- and
- a rotor structure, the rotor structure including:
- a rotor having an end surface;
- a shaft extending from the end surface;
- an encoder member attached to the end surface of the rotor;
- and
- a coupler coupled to the shaft adjacent to the encoder member for coupling a further member to the shaft with the coupler surrounding the shaft and having a lip associated therewith, the coupler lip extending from the coupler towards the encoder member so as to define a void between the coupler and the encoder member.
An Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) system comprising:
- a motor having a stator and a rotor structure, the rotor structure including:
- a rotor having an end surface;
- a shaft extending from the end surface;
- an encoder member attached to the end surface of the rotor;
- and
- a coupler coupled to the shaft adjacent to the encoder member for coupling a further member to the shaft, with the coupler surrounding the shaft and having a lip associated therewith, the coupler lip extending from the coupler towards the encoder member so as to define a void between the coupler and the encoder member;
- and
- a steering mechanism of a vehicle, the steering mechanism being operatively coupled to the motor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.