CN116867972A - Pump with a multi-piece electronics housing - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a pump, in particular a heating circulation pump, having at least one electronics housing for a pump electronics, wherein the electronics housing is composed of at least two housing parts, and at least one sealing element is inserted into a connection gap of the at least two housing parts in order to seal the connection gap of the housing parts from the surroundings, characterized in that the at least one housing part has a skirt protruding beyond at least one section of the connection gap and covering the connection gap at least in an outer partial section.

Description

Pump with a multi-piece electronics housing

Technical Field

The invention relates to a pump, in particular a centrifugal pump, having at least one electronics housing for a pump electronics, wherein the electronics housing is composed of at least two housing parts, and at least one sealing element is inserted into a connection gap of the at least two housing parts in order to seal the connection gap of the housing parts from the surroundings.

Background

Such a centrifugal pump may be implemented as a heating circulation pump. Modern heating circulation pumps are equipped with control logic for energy efficient pump operation. This includes, in addition to the control module and possibly the operating and display elements, a frequency converter for the rotational speed adjustment of the pump drive. The electronics required for this purpose are accommodated in an electronics housing which is fastened to the pump motor on the peripheral side and/or on the end side.

During operation of the pump, the electronic components generate heat losses, which must be extracted from the electronics housing in order to protect the components. The separate cooling body of the electronics housing is responsible for sufficient heat dissipation. For this reason, the electronic device housing can also be constructed in multiple parts, wherein a part of the housing is formed by a metal cooling body, to which a housing cover made of plastic is attached. However, in general, such an electronic device housing may also be composed of any housing parts.

Since pumps, in particular centrifugal pumps or heated circulation pumps, are used for transporting fluids, the electronics must be sealed from the surroundings in order to prevent the fluid from entering the interior of the housing. For this reason, at least splash protection conforming to IP44 is required in the heating circulation pump.

The interface between the housing parts and the connection gap between the housing parts produced there are problematic. One possibility for sealing the gap is to use a simple sealing wire which is inserted into the gap between the housing parts. However, for this purpose, a usable minimum area in the contact region of the housing parts is required to support the sealing line, which is accompanied by a certain minimum thickness of the housing wall. In this solution, too, additional components in the form of sealing lines must be placed as required in the gaps between the housing parts during the assembly process.

Disclosure of Invention

A simpler solution is therefore sought in order to limit the number of components used to assemble the pump. Furthermore, this solution places less stringent demands on the geometry of the housing parts. In any case, a simple, cost-effective and reliable solution for the assembly should be found.

This object is achieved by a pump according to the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

According to the invention, at least one housing part is formed with a skirt which, after the housing parts have been joined together, protrudes beyond at least one section of the connection gap of the two housing parts. The skirt covers the gap on the outside of the electronics housing and thus serves as a kind of protective shield for the connection gap from external influences, such as splash water. By this additional protective measure, it is possible to design the sealing element inserted in the connection gap more simply.

The pump may preferably be embodied as a centrifugal pump, particularly preferably as a heating circulation pump.

The skirt is preferably formed by a side wall of at least one housing part protruding beyond the connection gap, which side wall at the same time overlaps an adjoining side wall of the other housing part. The connecting gap is formed by an edge, in particular a circumferential edge, formed on the inner side of the side wall, which, when joined together, is located opposite an opposite edge of the other housing part.

According to an advantageous embodiment, it may be provided that at least one sealing element is formed from or comprises a compressible sealing material. The sealing element is applied to the edge of the at least one housing part forming the connection gap. When the housing parts are joined together, the sealing element is compressed by the compression edge of the other housing part. Preferably, the compression edge is an integral part of the housing part with the skirt, and the sealing element is applied to the other housing part.

A main point of the invention is that the sealing element has been applied to its sealing seat before final assembly of the electronic device housing. Thereby reducing the number of parts to be assembled during the assembly process. Ideally, the sealing element is already applied during the production of the at least one housing part.

It is expedient if the sealing element is applied circumferentially to the entire edge of the housing part in order to seal the connection gap over the entire housing circumference. The edge of the housing part may be provided with a groove as a sealing seat for securing the sealing element.

If the sealing element is applied circumferentially over the entire housing circumference on the edge, this is preferably also applicable to the shaping of the compression edge. The compression edge may be embodied in the form of a lip encircling the inner side of the side wall of the housing part.

It may be particularly advantageous if the housing wall of at least one housing part forming the connection gap has an inclined portion. In the installed position of the pump, the inclined portion of the housing wall on the outside of the electronics housing therefore has an inclined course with respect to the horizontal. The inclination is oriented in such a way that, in the installed position of the pump, a gradient is produced away from the connection gap. Thereby, the gravity-induced draining or guiding away of the amount of liquid accumulated in the region of the connection gap or in the vicinity of the connection gap is facilitated.

Such an inclination may be a demolding inclination of the housing part, as is generally the case in casting production.

According to a possible and advantageous embodiment, the sealing element may be a foam seal. Such a seal can be applied, preferably as a pasty mass, to the edge of one of the housing parts before the housing parts are joined together, in particular by injection into a sealing seat, preferably a groove. This process of applying the material can expediently already take place at the time of the production of the housing parts. Such seals are also known as FIPGH seals (foam-in-place gaskets).

Alternatively to the seal form described above, it is also conceivable for the sealing element to be formed from at least two parts. For example, such a two-part seal comprises at least one elastic element which achieves the desired sealing effect by compression. In particular, it is provided that the elastic element is located at least partially in the region of the connection gap in order to achieve the desired sealing of the gap.

The at least one second component may instead be composed of inelastic or at least significantly less elastic material. This component (hereinafter referred to as rigid component or shape rigid component) adjoins the elastic component and serves to stabilize the elastic component, preferably for shape and/or position stabilization of the elastic component, in particular during the assembly process of the pump, i.e. before or during joining together of the housing components.

The rigid part may be configured as a stabilizing frame which is applied to the edge of the at least one housing part forming the connection gap. The elastic member may be applied directly on the rigid member.

It is conceivable that the face of the rigid part is provided with one or more recesses, in particular penetrations, desirably holes, for receiving the resilient part. The elastic members have corresponding ridges and/or protrusions that engage into the recesses or pass through the through-holes when the members are assembled together. Thereby, an additional position fixing of the elastic member on the rigid member is achieved.

The sealing element, preferably the elastic part, particularly preferably the shaped sealing lip of the elastic part, is compressed in the radial direction by the skirt when the housing parts are combined together. By radial direction is meant that the sealing element is compressed from the outer periphery of the housing in the direction of the housing interior, i.e. transversely to the joining direction of the two housing parts. The compressed lip of the resilient member is preferably located between the outer periphery of the cooling body and the inner wall portion of the skirt. In this case, a sealing effect is already achieved in the region of the apron, i.e. between the outer surface of one housing part and the inner surface of the apron of the other housing part.

The radial thickness of the seal, in particular of the sealing lip, is compressed here by 50% to 80%, in particular 60% to 70%. In particular, it can also be provided that the ratio between the gap thickness and the seal thickness is between 0.5 and 0.85, preferably between 0.6 and 0.75.

The elastic member may be a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), in particular a Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU). The rigid part may be or comprise a stable polymer, in particular PA6.

The at least two housing parts may be composed of the same or different materials. It is conceivable that the first housing part is composed of plastic and the other housing part is composed of metal, in particular aluminum. In one embodiment, at least one housing part, in particular a housing part made of metal, preferably aluminum, can be a cooling body for dissipating heat generated by the electronic device by drawing the heat loss away from the electronic device housing. In particular, the cooling body forms part of the housing wall of the electronic device. The other housing part may be a plastic cover which is placed onto the cooling body. The sealing element is preferably applied to the edge of the cooling body, while the plastic housing part is provided with a skirt and in particular a compression edge.

In an advantageous embodiment of the pump, at least one first electronic circuit board of the pump is inserted into the cooling body, i.e. is mounted there. The side walls of the cooling body completely surround the periphery of the electronic circuit board. The electronics circuit board may be a main circuit board, for example, equipped with the required power electronics for pump regulation. At least one second electronic device circuit board can be mounted to the first electronic device circuit board at a defined spacing. The periphery of the second electronic device circuit board is completely surrounded by the side walls of the assembled plastic cover. The connection gap is thus located in the region of the housing part which is at a height between the two electronic circuit boards. The second electronics circuit board comprises, for example, the required components for implementing the operating interface of the pump.

Drawings

Additional advantages and features of the invention are explained below in terms of the embodiments shown in the drawings. Wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective side view of a pump according to the invention in an embodiment as a heating circulation pump;

fig. 2a shows a top view towards the end side of the pump;

fig. 2b shows a sectional view through the electronics housing with the first embodiment of the sealing element along the section axis A-A in fig. 2 a;

fig. 3 shows a detailed view of the region marked D in fig. 2 at the contact point between the plastic with integrated FIPFG seal and the cooling body housing;

fig. 4 shows a view toward a housing edge of a housing part of the pump according to fig. 1,2a with an alternative embodiment of a sealing element;

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a housing rim of the pump according to FIG. 4; and is also provided with

Fig. 6 shows a further sectional view of the pump according to fig. 4,5 with the housing combined together.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a perspective side view of a pump according to the invention, which in this exemplary embodiment is embodied as a heating circulation pump. The pump comprises a hydraulic part, not shown here, and a drive assembly comprising an electric motor 3 for driving the pump and an electronics housing 2. The electronics housing 2 is composed of a plastic housing part 4 and a cooling body 5 made of aluminum, wherein the cooling body 5 forms a base of the electronics housing 2, by means of which the electronics housing 2 is mounted axially on the motor 3. The electronics housing 2 also extends in the radial direction of the electric motor 3. The region of the cooling body 5 there is embodied with a plurality of cooling ribs 6.

The electronics housing 2 must be protected from water ingress. In particular, in this case, a splash protection is required in accordance with IP44 in the case of a heat pump. The interface between the cooling body 5 and the plastic housing part 4 of the electronic device housing 2 is critical, which must be sealed against the outside by special measures. The solution according to the invention starts at this point and is explained hereinafter in terms of a cross-section along the cutting axis A-A.

Fig. 2a shows the electronics housing 2 from a rear view towards the pump. Fig. 2b is a sectional view along the sectional axis A-A and gives a line of sight into the interior of the electronic device housing 2. Fig. 3 shows a detail part D of the gap between the housing parts 4, 5. The electronic main circuit board 7 of the heat pump is inserted into an aluminum cooling body 5, the side wall 5a of which encloses the circuit board 7 in a self-sealing manner. The second electronic circuit board 8 is mounted within the plastic housing 4 and is mounted spaced apart on the main circuit board 7. The resulting connection gap between the plastic housing 4 and the aluminum housing 5 must be sealed to prevent water splashing.

To this end, a FIPFG seal 10 (in-situ formed foam gasket) is applied on the edge 5b of the side wall 5a of the aluminum cooling body 5, which FIPFG seal is thus part of the cooling body assembly 5. No additional assembly steps are required in the production of the pump. In particular, in the manufacture of the aluminium cooling body 5, the sealing element 10 is already injected as a sealing seat in the form of a pasty mass into the groove 5c encircling along the edge 5 b. The seal 10 thus extends over the edge 5b over the entire circumference defined by the side wall 5a of the cooling body 5.

The plastic housing 4 is placed onto the cooling body with the skirt 9 overlapping the side wall 5a of the cooling body 5. At the level of the foam seal 10, there is a lip 11 surrounding the inner periphery of the plastic housing 4 at the inner wall of the skirt 9, which lip 11 is pressed into the foam seal 10 when the housing parts 4,5 are assembled together. The pressed-in lip 11 establishes the compression of the sealing foam 10 required for sealing the gap.

Since only a slight compression of the sealing foam 10 takes place by the lip 11, the sealing area must be additionally protected from water splashing, which is achieved by the skirt 9 of the plastic housing 4. A large part of the splash water is already blocked by the skirt 9 by the seal 10. Thanks to the defined insertion position of the pump and the required demoulding inclination of the cooling body in the region of the side wall 5a, the inclination of the side wall with respect to the horizontal is obtained, whereby the water is guided away from the sealing point 10. Nonetheless, splash water reaching the foam seal 10 is blocked from entering the housing 2 by the compressed foam seal 10.

The main advantage of the invention is that no additional sealing parts have to be installed during the assembly process of the pump or electronic device housing 2, since the foam seal 10 is already an integral part of the cooling body 5. There is also the possibility of producing the plastic housing 4 with a reduced wall thickness, whereby the production costs of the pump can be reduced.

Fig. 4 to 6 show a pump according to the invention with an alternative embodiment of the sealing element (100).

Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the open side facing the cooling body 5, on which side the plastic housing 4 is placed. Unlike the embodiment of fig. 2b,3, the edge 5b of the side wall of the cooling body does not have a groove, but instead is provided with a shoulder 5d. In the embodiment shown in fig. 4-6, a two-part seal 100 is applied on the circumferential edge 5b of the side wall 5a of the aluminum body 5. The seal 100 includes an elastic member 110 that is or includes a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). In particular, thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) is used. For the second part 120 a shape-rigid material is used, for example a stable polymer or comprising a stable polymer. In particular, the component 120 may be composed of PA6.

In this case, the elastic element 110 is compressed when the housing parts 4,5 are joined together, in order thereby to achieve the sealing effect required for sealing the gap between the housing parts. Instead, the rigid component 120 serves as a stabilizing frame for receiving the elastic component during the assembly of the electronic device housing 2, whereby the elastic component 110 can be stabilized both in terms of its shape and in terms of its position on the edge 5b of the cooling body 5 during the assembly process. In fig. 4, it can be seen that not only the elastic element 110 but also the rigid element 120 extends over the entire peripheral edge 5b of the cooling body 5.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-section through the cooling body 5 shown in fig. 4 with an applied two-part seal 100. Here, it can be seen that the side wall 5a of the cooling body 5 has an elastic element 110 applied circumferentially to its upper edge 5 b. It can also be seen that the edge 5b comprises a stepped shoulder 5d which is fully occupied by the resilient member 110. In the region of the shoulder, the elastic part 110 additionally comprises a radially outwardly directed sealing lip 111 which is pressed and compressed in the radial direction against the back wall of the step 5d by the skirt of the housing part 4 when the housing parts 4,5 are joined together. This can be seen in fig. 6, which shows a corresponding sectional view with the housing part 4 mounted.

In fig. 5 and 6, it can additionally be seen that the rigid sealing part 120 has a plurality of preferably evenly spaced-apart passages 121 on the circumference. The corresponding projection 112 of the elastic sealing element 110 engages into the through-opening 121 and thus provides for improved position stabilization. Furthermore, it can be seen in fig. 5 and 6 that the elastic sealing member 110 does not completely cover the upper side of the rigid sealing member 120, but only protrudes in the radial direction up to half of the member 120. Instead, the elastic sealing element 110 protrudes beyond the radially outer edge of the element 120 and extends at an angle in the direction of the stepped shoulder 5d of the cooling body 5. Thus, the radially outer portion of the rigid member 120 is surrounded by the elastic member 110.

Claims (15)

1. A pump, preferably a centrifugal pump, particularly preferably a heating circulation pump, having at least one electronics housing (2) for pump electronics (7, 8), wherein the electronics housing (2) is composed of at least two housing parts (4, 5) and at least one sealing element (10, 100) is inserted into a connection gap of the at least two housing parts (4, 5) in order to seal the connection gap of the housing parts (4, 5) from the surroundings,

it is characterized in that the method comprises the steps of,

at least one housing part (4) has a skirt (9) which protrudes beyond at least one section of the connection gap and covers the connection gap at least in an outer partial section.

2. Pump according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one sealing element (10) is formed from or comprises a compressible sealing material and is applied to the edge (5 b) of at least one housing part (5) forming the connection gap, wherein the sealing element (10) is compressed by the compression edge (11) of the other housing part (4) when the housing parts (4, 5) are joined together.

3. Pump according to claim 2, characterized in that the sealing element (10) is applied circumferentially over the entire edge (5 b) of the housing part (5), wherein preferably the edge (5 b) of the housing part (5) is provided with a groove (5 c) as a sealing seat, into which the sealing element (10) is introduced.

4. A pump according to any of the preceding claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the compression edge (11) is formed over the entire circumference of the side wall of the further housing part (4), in particular in the form of a circumferential lip (11).

5. Pump according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing wall (5 a) with the edge (5 b) has an inclination which in the loading position of the pump has a slope away from the connection gap with respect to the horizontal in order to promote gravity-induced drainage or leading away of liquid accumulated around the area of the connection gap.

6. Pump according to claim 5, characterized in that the inclined portion is a demoulding inclined portion of the housing part (5) manufactured by casting.

7. Pump according to any of the preceding claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the at least one sealing element (10) is a foam seal, which is applied to the edge (5 b) of the one housing part (5), preferably as a pasty material, before the housing parts (4, 5) are joined together, ideally during the manufacture of the housing part (5).

8. Pump according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one sealing element (100) is a two-part sealing element, in particular consisting of a resilient part (110) and a rigid part (120).

9. Pump according to claim 8, characterized in that the rigid part (120) forms a stabilizing frame which is applied to the edge (5 b) of at least one housing part (5) forming the connection gap, in particular a stepped shoulder formed there, wherein the elastic part (110) is received by the rigid part (120) and is stable in shape and/or position.

10. Pump according to any of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the sealing element (100), in particular the shaped lip (111) of the elastic member (110), is compressed by the skirt (9) in radial direction, in particular the lip thickness of the elastic member (110) is arranged to be compressed at 50% to 80%, in particular at 60% to 70%.

11. Pump according to claim 10, characterized in that the compressed lip (111) of the elastic member (110) is located between the outer periphery of the cooling body (5), in particular a stepped shoulder (5 d), and the inner wall portion of the skirt (9).

12. Pump according to any of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the elastic member (110) is a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), in particular a Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), and/or the rigid member (120) is a stable polymer, in particular PA6.

13. Pump according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing parts (4, 5) consist of different material types, for example of metal and plastic.

14. Pump according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that one housing part is a cooling body (5) composed of metal and the other housing part is a plastic cover (4).

15. Pump according to claim 14, characterized in that at least one first electronic circuit board (7) of the pump, in particular a main circuit board of the pump, is inserted into the cooling body (5) and a side wall (5 a) of the cooling body (5) encloses the electronic circuit board (7) in a closed manner, wherein preferably at least one second electronic circuit board (8) is mounted on the first electronic circuit board (7) and the periphery of the second electronic circuit board (8) is completely enclosed by a side wall of the assembled plastic cover (4), and wherein the connection gap of the housing parts (4, 5) is at a height between the two electronic circuit boards (7, 8).