JP2023135964A - Driving device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a driving device which comprises two or more substrates and relaxes stress generated in a terminal between the substrates through expansion/contraction of a resin connector housing.SOLUTION: The driving device comprises two substrates 31 and 32 which are provided with a plurality of hierarchies on a side opposite to a motor 80 with respect to a motor frame 840, and are mounted with electronic components constituting a control unit 10. A resin connector housing 50 is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape having a top plate 561 and an outer cylindrical part 562. A plurality of connector terminals 45 are fixed to the connector housing 50, are electrically connected at one ends to the connector side substrate 32, and are exposed at the other ends to an opening of a connector. A plurality of inter-substrate terminals 43 are electrically connected between the substrates 31 and 32 through press-fitting. Resin inter-substrate terminal binders 61 and 62 are provided between the substrates 31 and 32 so as to be divided into a plurality of stages in a layering direction of the substrates 31 and 32, and the plurality of inter-substrate terminals 43 adjacent to each other are bundled to be held.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a drive device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, among drive devices in which a motor and a control unit are integrated, a drive device including two or more substrates is known.

For example, the drive device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a logic board (20), a first power board (30), and a second power board (30). A plurality of connector pins connected between the logic board and the first power board are bundled in a logic connector housing (71, 61) to form a logic connector (70, 60).

International Publication No. 2021/223876

Patent Document 1 does not describe in detail the technical significance of bundling a plurality of connector pins together using a connector housing. One logic connector housing (71) is used in the first logic connector (70) with the shorter connector pin length, and two logic connectors are used in the second logic connector (60) with the longer connector pin length. Housings (61.1, 61.2) are used. This simply means that the number of logic connector housings is adjusted depending on the length of the connector pins.

Further, in the drive device of Patent Document 1, the main body of the connector plate (10) provided with the plug connector (11) is formed in a substantially disk shape, and is unlikely to be deformed or bent due to thermal expansion or contraction. It is the shape. Therefore, it is presumed that the possibility that stress is transmitted to the connector pins via the logic board due to deformation of the plug connector is not taken into account.

On the other hand, in a drive device including two or more boards, a configuration is assumed in which a connector to which an external power cable and a signal cable are connected is provided in a bottomed cylindrical part made of resin. In this specification, this bottomed cylindrical component made of resin is referred to as a "connector housing" in the sense of "a housing provided with an external connector." Confusingly, Patent Document 1 uses the term "connector housing" for a component for bundling pins for electrical connection between boards, so care must be taken to avoid misunderstandings.

The connector housing, which is a bottomed cylindrical component made of resin, bends due to thermal expansion and contraction, and the stress is applied to the terminals connected between the boards via the board on the connector side. At this time, stress exceeding the allowable load of the terminal may occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drive device that alleviates the stress generated in the inter-board terminals due to expansion and contraction of a resin connector housing in a drive device equipped with two or more boards. The goal is to provide equipment.

The drive device according to the present invention includes a motor (80) including a stator (860) and a rotor (865), and a control unit (10) provided on one side in the axial direction of the motor to drive and control the motor. ing. This drive device includes a metal motor frame (840), two or more substrates (31, 32), a resin connector housing (50), a plurality of connector terminals (45), and a plurality of substrates. It includes a terminal (43) and a plurality of resin inter-board terminal binders (61-64).

The motor frame is provided at the end of the motor on the control unit side in the axial direction. The two or more boards are provided in layers on the opposite side of the motor frame from the motor, and electronic components constituting the control unit are mounted thereon.

The connector housing has a top plate portion (561) facing the motor frame, and an outer cylinder portion (562) that extends from the outer edge of the top plate portion toward the motor and has an end fixed to the motor or the motor frame. The bottom is cylindrical. The connector housing is provided with one or more connectors (57, 58) on the top plate. The plurality of connector terminals are fixed to the connector housing, one end is electrically connected to one of the substrates, and the other end is exposed to the frontage of the connector.

The plurality of inter-board terminals are electrically connected between the boards by a press-fit method. The inter-board terminal binder is provided between the boards in a plurality of stages in the stacking direction of the boards, and binds and holds a plurality of mutually adjacent inter-board terminals.

In the present invention, since the inter-board terminal binder is divided into a plurality of stages, stress transmission is blocked at the terminal exposed portion between each stage. Therefore, stress generated in the inter-board terminal due to expansion and contraction of the connector housing can be alleviated.

For example, the inter-board terminal binder is composed of two stages: a lower binder (61) on the motor frame side and an upper binder (62-64) on the top plate side. Preferably, the total thickness (Tsum) of the lower binder and the upper binder in the stacking direction of the substrates is larger than the terminal exposed length (Lex), which is the distance between the lower binder and the upper binder.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electric power steering device to which the drive device is applied. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the motor section of the drive device. FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a control unit section according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view taken in the direction of arrow V in FIG. 4. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the inter-board terminal module according to the first embodiment. A plan view of the motor side board. A plan view of the connector side board. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an inter-board terminal binder according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of an inter-board terminal binder. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of an inter-board terminal module according to a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of an inter-board terminal module according to a third embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of an inter-board terminal module according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of an inter-board terminal module according to a fifth embodiment.

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of a drive device according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Substantially the same configurations in the plurality of embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The first to fifth embodiments are collectively referred to as "this embodiment." The drive device of this embodiment is applied, for example, as a steering assist motor of an electric power steering device, and includes a motor and a control unit that drives and controls the motor.

[Configuration of electric power steering device]
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic configuration of the electric power steering device 99 will be described. Although a rack assist type electric power steering device is illustrated in FIG. 1, the drive device 800 of this embodiment is similarly applicable to a column assist type electric power steering device. A steering system 90 including an electric power steering device 99 includes a steering wheel 91, a steering shaft 92, a pinion gear 96, a rack shaft 97, wheels 98, an electric power steering device 99, and the like.

A steering shaft 92 to which a steering wheel 91 is connected is provided with a torque sensor 93 that detects steering torque. A pinion gear 96 that meshes with a rack shaft 97 is provided at the tip of the steering shaft 92. When the driver rotates the steering wheel 91, the rotational movement of the steering shaft 92 is converted into linear movement of the rack shaft 97 by the pinion gear 96. A pair of wheels 98 connected to both ends of the rack shaft 97 are steered to an angle corresponding to the amount of displacement of the rack shaft 97.

The electric power steering device 99 includes a drive device 800 in which a motor 80 and a control unit 10 are integrated, a reduction gear 89 that reduces the rotation of the motor 80 and transmits it to the rack shaft 97, and the like. The motor 80 is a two-system three-phase brushless motor having two sets of three-phase windings. The control unit 10 has at least a "dual drive system" configuration in which power can be supplied to two sets of three-phase windings by two systems of inverter circuits. The motor 80 outputs steering assist torque by being supplied with three-phase AC power converted from DC power by the inverter circuit of the control unit 10.

DC power is supplied from a vehicle power supply 905 to the power supply system connector 57 of the control unit 10, and communication signals with a vehicle communication network ("CAN" in the figure) 906 are input/output. A sensor signal detected by the torque sensor 93 is input to the signal system connector 58 via a harness 94 . In this way, the power supply system connector 57 and the signal system connector 58 are configured as connectors with different frontages.

[Configuration of drive device]
The overall configuration of the drive device 800 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. A direction parallel to the rotation axis O of the motor 80 shown in FIG. 2 is referred to as an "axial direction", and a view seen from above in FIG. 2 in the axial direction is referred to as a plan view. The control unit 10 is provided on one side of the motor 80 in the axial direction. In other words, the drive device 800 has a so-called "mechanical and electrical integrated type" configuration.

The motor 80 includes a motor case 830, a motor frame 840, a stator 860, a rotor 865, and the like. The motor case 830 is formed into a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape including a bottom portion 831 and a cylindrical portion 832, and the control unit 10 is provided on the opening side. A thin groove-forming wall 834 is formed at the open end of the cylindrical portion 832 via a stepped portion 833 .

The stator 860 is fixed inside the cylindrical portion 832 of the motor case 830, and has three-phase motor windings 880 wound therein. A rotating magnetic field is formed in the stator 860 by controlling the energization of the motor winding 880 by the control unit 10 . The rotor 865 is provided inside the stator 50, and a shaft 870 is fixed at the center. The shaft 870 is rotatably supported by a front bearing 871 held at the bottom 831 of the motor case 830 and a rear bearing 872 held at the motor frame 840.

In the rotor 865, a plurality of permanent magnets 867 are provided on the outer periphery of a rotor core 866. Rotor 865 rotates about shaft 870 by a rotating magnetic field formed in stator 860 . A sensor magnet 875 for detecting the rotation angle is provided at the end of the shaft 870 on the control unit 10 side.

The motor frame 840 is provided at the end of the motor 80 on the control unit 10 side in the axial direction. The motor frame 840 is made of aluminum alloy or the like, and has a frame portion 841 and a flange portion 842. The frame portion 841 is press-fitted inside the motor case 830. A flange portion 842 formed on the outer periphery of the frame portion 841 abuts against a stepped portion 833 of the motor case 830. A seal groove 843 filled with adhesive is formed in an annular space defined by the outer wall of the frame portion 841, the surface of the flange portion 842 on the control unit 10 side, and the inner wall of the groove forming wall 834 of the motor case 830. . The motor frame 840 also functions as a heat sink to which heat generated when the control unit 10 is energized is radiated.

The connector housing 50 is made of a resin material such as PBT, and has a bottomed cylindrical shape having a top plate portion 561 and an outer cylinder portion 562. An annular protrusion 563 that protrudes in the axial direction is formed at the tip of the outer cylindrical portion 562. By inserting the convex portion 563 into the seal groove 843, the outer cylinder portion 562 is fixed to the motor 80 or the motor frame 840. The top plate portion 561 is provided with one or more connectors 57 and 58. In this embodiment, the frontages of the connectors 57 and 58 face toward the side opposite to the motor 80.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the arrangement of the connectors 57 and 58. Although FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2, the scale is not made to match that of FIG. 2, but the scale is made to match that of FIGS. Illustrated in. In FIG. 3, the x-axis is defined in the horizontal direction, and the y-axis is defined in the vertical direction. The x-axis and y-axis are referenced in FIGS. 9 and 10.

The power supply system connector 57 and the signal system connector 58 may be provided redundantly in two sets as shown in FIG. 3, or in other arrangement examples, one set may be provided. The configuration in which two sets of connectors 57 and 58 are provided is mainly adopted in a "completely dual system" drive device in which two inverter circuits are connected to separate power supplies and various signals are redundantly input/output. Ru. On the other hand, in a "two-system drive" drive device in which two systems of inverter circuits are connected in parallel to a common power source and various signals are shared between the systems, one set of connectors is mainly provided. In FIG. 3, the connectors of the two systems are not distinguished from each other by the same reference numerals "57" and "58".

The power supply system connector 57 is connected to two power supply terminals 45p including a positive power terminal connected to the positive terminal of the vehicle power supply 905 and a ground terminal connected to the ground, and a vehicle communication network 906 such as CAN. For example, five communication terminals 45c are provided. The power supply terminal 45p through which a large current flows has a connection portion with the harness formed in a prismatic shape. The signal system connector 58 is provided with, for example, six sensor terminals 45s connected to the harness 94 from the torque sensor 93. Note that the symbols "45p", "45c", and "45c" indicating the types of connector terminals 45 are used only in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, they are uniformly referred to as "connector terminals 45."

Inside the connector housing 50, two or more boards on which electronic components constituting the control unit 10 are mounted are accommodated. The two or more boards are provided in layers on the side of the motor frame 840 opposite to the motor 80 (upper side in FIG. 2). The boards are electrically connected to each other by interboard terminals.

Next, the first to fifth embodiments will be explained in order. The first to fifth embodiments differ in the configuration of an "inter-board terminal module" which will be described later in the drive device including two boards. For the reference numeral of the inter-board terminal module of each embodiment, the third digit following "60" is assigned the embodiment number. Note that a configuration including three or more substrates will be referred to as another embodiment.

(First embodiment)
The configuration of the inter-board terminal module 601 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10. FIG. 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the entire control unit 10, and FIG. 5 shows an enlarged schematic cross-section of the portion surrounded by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 as viewed from the arrow V direction. FIG. 6 shows a schematic side view of the inter-board terminal module 601. 7 and 8 show plan views of the motor side board 31 and the connector side board 32. 9 and 10 show plan views of the inter-board terminal (lower stage) binder 61 of one embodiment and another embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connector housing 50 made of resin has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an outer cylindrical portion 562 extending toward the motor 80 from the outer edge of a top plate portion 561 facing the motor frame 840. A convex portion 563 formed at the tip of the outer cylinder portion 562 is inserted into an annular seal groove 843 filled with adhesive. When the connector housing 50 is assembled, the load receiving portion 564 provided at the end of the outer cylinder portion 562 comes into contact with the frame outer edge portion 844 of the motor frame 840. As described above, the top plate portion 561 is provided with connectors 57 and 58.

Between the motor frame 840 and the top plate portion 561 of the connector housing 50, two boards, a motor side board 31 and a connector side board 32, are provided in a layered manner. An inverter circuit that energizes the motor winding 42 is mounted on the motor side board 31 . Components such as a filter circuit and a communication driver are mounted on the connector side board 32.

As shown in FIG. 7, the motor side board 31 has a screw hole 341 and a motor terminal hole 342 formed therein. The motor side board 31 is fixed to the motor frame 840 with screws 41, and a motor terminal 42 connected to the motor winding 880 is connected thereto.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, inter-board terminal holes 343 are formed in the motor-side board 31 and the connector-side board 32 at positions along the outer periphery. A plurality of inter-board terminals 43 are electrically connected between the motor-side board 31 and the connector-side board 32 using a press-fit method. In FIG. 4, only three inter-board terminals 43 on each side of the figure are shown among the large number of inter-board terminals 43. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, connector terminal holes 345 corresponding to the four connectors 57 and 58 are formed near the center of the connector side board 32.

That is, in the axial projection of the motor 80, the plurality of inter-board terminals 43 are arranged in a region radially outside of the plurality of connector terminals 45. Since the connectors 57 and 58 are provided near the center of the top plate portion 561 of the connector housing 50, the plurality of connector terminals 45 are necessarily arranged in the central region. Therefore, by arranging the plurality of inter-board terminals 43 in the radially outer region, the mounting space of the boards 31 and 32 can be used effectively.

The connector terminal 45 is fixed to the connector housing 50 by, for example, insert or outsert molding. One end of the connector terminal 45 is electrically connected to the connector side board 32, which is a board on the top plate section 561 side. Therefore, when the connector housing 50 expands and contracts, stress is transmitted to the connector-side substrate 32 via the connector terminals 45.

The other end of the connector terminal 45 is exposed at the frontage of the connectors 57 and 58. FIG. 4 shows five connector terminals 45 in the power system connector 57 and two connector terminals 45 in the signal system connector 58 along the cross-sectional line of FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of an electrical connection between the inter-board terminal 43, the motor-side board 31, and the connector-side board 32 using a press-fit method. In the following specification, when it is obvious that "connection between a terminal and a board" means electrical connection, the description of "electrical" will be omitted as appropriate. Connection portions 38 such as via holes are provided in the terminal holes 343 of the motor side substrate 31 and the connector side substrate 32. The connecting portion 38 is electrically connected to connecting portions of electronic components and other terminals via conductive patterns, bus bars, etc. (not shown).

A press-fit portion 48 formed at the end of the inter-board terminal 43 so as to be elastically deformable is press-fitted into the terminal hole 345 to achieve a press-fit connection. The shape of the press-fit portion 48 in which a through hole is formed at the end of the terminal is disclosed, for example, in FIGS. 6 and 7 of Japanese Patent No. 6443055 (corresponding US publication: US10424991B2).

The inter-board terminal binders 61 and 62 made of resin are provided between the boards 31 and 32 in a plurality of stages in the stacking direction of the boards 31 and 32. In the first embodiment, the inter-board terminal binder is composed of two stages: a lower binder 61 on the motor frame 840 side and an upper binder 62 on the top plate portion 561 side. The inter-board terminal binders 61 and 62 bind and hold a plurality of mutually adjacent inter-board terminals 43 together. Since the inter-board terminal binders 61 and 62 bind the plurality of inter-board terminals 43, relative positional accuracy of the plurality of inter-board terminals 43 is ensured.

Here, a plurality of inter-board terminals 43 that are adjacent to each other in a specific range are defined as a "group of inter-board terminals". For example, in FIGS. 7 and 8, a plurality of inter-board terminals 43 connected to terminal holes 343 formed along the left outer periphery of the motor-side board 31 and the connector-side board 32 form "a group of inter-board terminals". . In addition, in FIGS. 7 and 8, a plurality of inter-board terminals 43 connected to terminal holes 343 formed along the right outer periphery of the motor-side board 31 and the connector-side board 32 connect to "another group of inter-board terminals". Eggplant.

The lower binder 61R of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is integrally formed in an annular shape, and binds two groups of inter-board terminals 43. Lower binders 61A and 61B of another embodiment shown in FIG. 10 are formed by being divided into two in the circumferential direction, and each binds a group of inter-board terminals 43. The direction in which the inter-board terminal binders 61 and 62 bundle the plurality of inter-board terminals 43 is referred to as a "binding direction." In the examples shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the circumferential direction of the substrates 31 and 32 is the bundling direction.

A structure in which a plurality of inter-board terminals 43 are bound together by inter-board terminal binders 61 and 62 is referred to as an "inter-board terminal module". FIG. 6 shows a schematic side view of the inter-board terminal module 601 of the first embodiment. In the schematic side view, detailed shapes, the number of inter-board terminals 43, etc. are simply omitted. Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when FIG. 6 is viewed from above, it has an arcuate shape, and in detail, FIG. 6 corresponds to a schematic developed side view. The same applies to FIGS. 11 to 14 of the second to fifth embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the thickness of the lower binder 61 in the stacking direction of the substrates 31 and 32 is T1, and the thickness of the upper binder 62 is T2. Further, the distance between the lower binder 61 and the upper binder 62 is defined as the terminal exposure length Lex. The total thickness Tsum (=T1+T2) of the lower binder 61 and the upper binder 62 is greater than the terminal exposure length Lex. In other words, the inter-board terminals 43 are bound by the inter-board terminal binders 61 and 62 in a range that is more than half the distance between the boards 31 and 32.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, insertion guides 67 are provided at both ends of the lower binder 61 in the binding direction, and protrude outward in the stacking direction, that is, on the opposite side from the upper binder 62. The insertion guide 67 passes through the insertion hole 317 formed in the motor side board 31 and fits into the guide hole 847 formed in the motor frame 840. As a result, in the step of assembling the inter-board terminal module 601 to the motor frame 840 after the motor side board 31 is attached to the motor frame 840, the inter-board terminal module 601 is positioned, so that the assembly work efficiency is improved.

(effect)
Since the connector housing 50 made of resin in this embodiment is a large component that covers the entire board-to-board terminal module 601, it undergoes relatively large deformation and bending due to thermal expansion and contraction when the environmental temperature changes. Stress due to deformation or bending of the connector housing 50 is applied to the inter-board terminal 43 via the connector terminal 45 and the connector-side board 32. At this time, stress exceeding the allowable load of the inter-board terminal 43 may occur.

In this embodiment, since the inter-board terminal binders 61 and 62 are divided into two upper and lower stages, stress transmission is blocked at the terminal exposed portion between each stage. Therefore, stress generated in the inter-board terminal 43 due to expansion and contraction of the connector housing 50 can be alleviated.

By the way, Fig. of Patent Document 1 (International Publication No. 2021/223876). 1.Fig. 2 shows a diagram in which parts (61.1, 61.2) equivalent to a terminal binder for bundling inter-board terminals are divided into two stages. However, in the drive device of Patent Document 1, since the connector plate (10) is not a bottomed cylindrical resin component, there is no premise of the problem of stress generation due to thermal expansion or thermal contraction. The reason why the parts (61.1, 61.2) corresponding to the terminal binders are divided into two stages is simply to adjust the number of binders according to the length of the terminal.

In contrast, this embodiment does not aim to change the number of stages of the inter-board terminal binder depending on the length of the inter-board terminal 43. In this embodiment, the purpose of the present embodiment is to reduce the stress applied to the inter-board terminals 43 by dividing the inter-board terminal binder into multiple stages instead of one stage, regardless of the length of the inter-board terminals 43. Therefore, the two-stage inter-board terminal binders 61 and 62 according to this embodiment are completely different from the components (61.1, 61.2) disclosed in Patent Document 1.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the total thickness Tsum of the lower binder 61 and the upper binder 62 in the stacking direction of the substrates 31 and 32 is larger than the terminal exposure length Lex, which is the distance between the lower binder 61 and the upper binder 62.

By holding the plurality of inter-board terminals 43 in a bundle with resin-made inter-board terminal binders 61, 62 within a range of more than half of the interval between the boards 31, 32, relative positional accuracy of the plurality of terminals 43 can be ensured. The effect of unity is effectively demonstrated without diminishing.

(Second embodiment)
Referring to FIG. 11, an inter-board terminal module 602 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the upper binder is divided into a plurality of parts for one lower binder in the binding direction. In the example shown in FIG. 11, two upper binders 63 and 64 are provided for one lower binder 61.

When an annular integral lower binder 61R as shown in FIG. 9 is used, for example, if the upper binders arranged on the left and right sides of the figure with respect to the rotation axis O are each divided into two, one lower binder 61R is used. On the other hand, the upper binder is divided into four parts. When split-type lower binders 61A and 61B as shown in FIG. 10 are used, for example, two upper binders are used for one lower binder 61A and 61B on the left and right sides of the figure with respect to the rotation axis O, respectively. Divided into parts.

The lower binder 61 fixed to the motor frame 840 side has a small dimensional change in the binding direction, whereas the upper binder, which is affected by the expansion and contraction of the connector housing 50, is subjected to stress that causes it to expand and contract in the binding direction. Therefore, stress can be alleviated by dividing the upper binder into a plurality of parts 63 and 64 in the binding direction to provide flexibility.

(Third embodiment)
The inter-board terminal module 603 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 12 has a plurality of damper members 66 whose heights can be expanded and contracted between a lower binder 61 and an upper binder 62 that are adjacent to each other in the stacking direction of the boards 31 and 32. is provided. For example, the damper member 66 is constructed by folding a band-shaped spring metal into a bellows shape. Thereby, the stress applied to the inter-board terminals 43 due to expansion and contraction of the connector housing 50 can be further alleviated.

(Fourth embodiment)
An inter-board terminal module 604 according to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. A damper member 66 is provided. The fourth embodiment has the effects of the second embodiment and the third embodiment.

(Fifth embodiment)
In contrast to the inter-board terminal module 601 of the first embodiment, the inter-board terminal module 605 of the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. An insertion guide 68 is provided. As can be inferred from FIG. 4, the insertion guide 68 passes through a hole formed in the connector-side substrate 32 and fits into a guide hole formed in the top plate portion 561 of the connector housing 50. This improves assembly workability in the process of covering the inter-board terminal module 605 with the connector housing 50.

(Other embodiments)
(a) In a configuration in which three or more boards are provided in layers, a plurality of interboard terminals are electrically connected between each board by a press-fit method. Moreover, between each board, an inter-board terminal binder for bundling a plurality of inter-board terminals is divided into a plurality of stages and provided. According to the third and fourth embodiments, a plurality of damper members 66 may be provided between the inter-board terminal binders of each stage.

(b) The inter-board terminal binder is not limited to two stages, but may be divided into three or more stages in the stacking direction of the boards.

(c) The number, size, shape, etc. of the connectors provided on the top plate portion 561 of the connector housing 50 are not limited to those illustrated in the above embodiment. The number of connectors may be one or more. Furthermore, the connector is not of the "top" type in which it protrudes from the top plate part 561 of the cover 50 in the direction of the motor axis, but is of the "sideways type" type in which it protrudes from the side surface of the outer cylindrical part 562 in the direction perpendicular to the motor axis. Good too.

(d) In the example shown in FIG. 4, the connector terminals 45 are electrically connected to the connector-side substrate 32 by a press-fit method, but the connector terminals 45 may be soldered to the connector-side substrate 32.

(e) The connection shape of the press-fit method is not limited to the one illustrated in the drawings of the above embodiment. For example, as disclosed in FIGS. 10 to 12 of Japanese Patent No. 6,443,055 (corresponding US publication: US 1,042,4991B2), a pair of opposing claws may be shaped so as to come into elastic contact with the side surface of the terminal.

(f) The drive device 800 of the present invention can be used not only as a steering assist motor of an electric power steering device, but also as a reaction motor or steering motor of a steer-by-wire system, or any other type of motor drive device. Good too.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit thereof.

10...control unit,
31...Motor side board, 32...Connector side board,
43...Inter-board terminal, 45...Connector terminal,
50...Connector housing,
561...Top plate part, 562...Outer cylinder part,
57, 58... connector,
61 ...lower binder (inter-board terminal binder),
62 ... Upper binder (terminal binder between boards),
63, 64... (divided type) upper stage binder (inter-board terminal binder),
80...Motor, 860...Stator, 865...Rotor.

Claims (4)

The drive device is a drive device in which a motor (80) including a stator (860) and a rotor (865), and a control unit (10) provided on one side in the axial direction of the motor to drive and control the motor. hand,
a metal motor frame (840) provided at an end on the control unit side in the axial direction of the motor;
two or more boards (31, 32) provided in a hierarchy on the opposite side of the motor frame to the motor frame, and on which electronic components constituting the control unit are mounted;
A top plate part (561) facing the motor frame, and an outer cylinder part (562) extending from an outer edge of the top plate part toward the motor and having an end fixed to the motor or the motor frame. a resin connector housing (50) having a cylindrical shape with a bottom and having one or more connectors (57, 58) provided on the top plate;
a plurality of connector terminals (45) fixed to the connector housing, one end electrically connected to the board on the top plate side, and the other end exposed at the frontage of the connector;
a plurality of inter-board terminals (43) electrically connected between the boards by a press-fit method;
a plurality of resin-made inter-board terminal binders (61-64) that are divided into a plurality of stages in the stacking direction of the boards between the boards and bind and hold the plurality of mutually adjacent inter-board terminals;
A drive device comprising: The inter-board terminal binder is composed of two stages: a lower binder (61) on the motor frame side and an upper binder (62-64) on the top plate side,
The drive according to claim 1, wherein a total thickness (Tsum) of the lower binder and the upper binder in the stacking direction of the substrates is larger than a terminal exposed length (Lex) that is a distance between the lower binder and the upper binder. Device. The inter-board terminal binder is composed of two stages: a lower binder (61) on the motor frame side and an upper binder (63, 64) on the top plate side,
3. The drive device according to claim 1, wherein the upper binder is divided into a plurality of parts with respect to one lower binder in a binding direction in which the plurality of inter-board terminals are bundled. The drive according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of damper members (66) whose height can be expanded and contracted are provided between the inter-board terminal binders adjacent to each other in the stacking direction of the boards. Device.

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